• The Byron Hot Springs Hotel is an abandoned resort in northern California. 
• Over the last century, it has hosted Hollywood celebrities, housed prisoners of war, and attracted worshippers from the Greek Orthodox church.
• But the building has been vacant for decades. Today, the hotel lures curious spectators, some of whom believe the property is haunted.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The Byron Hot Springs Hotel has been the subject of numerous ghost stories since it was abandoned decades ago.

One look at the northern California property and it's clear why: The ceilings are crumbling, the walls are coated in graffiti, and the empty hotel rooms are littered with rubble. 

But, like the spirits that some believe occupy its floors, the property refuses to die. 

The building has gone up for sale numerous times, and many owners and prospective buyers have expressed plans to restore the hotel to its former glory. But for now, it remains in a state of decay, attracting curious visitors who are technically trespassing. 

Photographer Thomas Hawk snuck into the site at night in 2009. Here's what he saw. 

The abandoned hotel had two predecessors on the site, both of which burned down.

The original hotel was made of wood and built in 1889, but it burned down two years later. The second hotel — this time made of stucco — lasted from 1901 to 1912. But it, too, was consumed by a fire. The hotel that's now standing is made of brick. 

The hotel was popular among celebrities in the 1920s.

The resort hosted baseball players like Joe DiMaggio and Hollywood actors like Charlie Chaplin, Mae West, and Clark Gable. Guests were fond of soaking in the hotel's natural hot springs or playing on its golf courses, which were among the first to be built on the West Coast. 

The resort closed in 1938, near the end of the Great Depression. 

The US government took over the property in 1941. It was used for interrogations during World War II.

The military interrogated German and Japanese prisoners of war on the hotel grounds. At the time, the property was known as "Camp Tracy." 

After the war, the property was sold to the Greek Orthodox Church. It served as a monastery until 1956.

Since then, multiple developers have tried to renovate the property, but various financial setbacks prevented most of them from moving forward with their plans. 

The building has been empty for decades. It sustained minor damage during a fire in 2005.

The fire burned down a Victorian cottage that was still on the grounds, but the hotel remained standing. 

Hawk visited the property a decade ago. He used a flashlight and colored filters to accentuate its ominous appearance at night.

Hawk explored the hotel rooms, balconies, and kitchen with a group of six photographers.

The walls are covered in graffiti. Hawk spotted this spooky portrait.

Over the years, many people seem to have tagged and drawn on the hotel walls.

The hotel has four stories. No glass remains in the windows, and some of the walls have toppled.

There's a vacant shaft where an elevator once stood.

Dead cows have occasionally been found in the empty guest rooms.

The property is surrounded by lush landscape that's ideal for grazing. But cows that wander inside the building can get injured by the sharp rubble. 

The hotel attracts curious spectators who believe the property is haunted.

A common tale is that the property is haunted by a man wearing white rags and a child scurrying about.

Some visitors have reported strange sounds that they attribute to ghosts.

In all likelihood, the screeches belong to owls nestled in the hotel's upper floors. 

Another legend suggests that the property is haunted by a student who died in a train accident nearby in 1902.

The collision, which occurred near Byron, California, killed an entire wedding party and injured 12 people. The wounded passengers were taken to the Byron Hotel, where they received emergency medical care. One of those passengers, a 22-year-old student at the University of California, Berkeley, died on the premises.  

David Fowler, who purchased the property in 1989 for $1.5 million, wanted to turn the site back into a resort. He held onto it until 2011, but lost the building in foreclosure.

It was put up for sale again last year, but no developer has snatched it up yet.

Despite many people's attempts to visit the hotel, it's on private property, so visitors are technically trespassing. Neighbors are also known to harass spectators and chase them off the land, which may be scarier than any paranormal encounter.  

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