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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"Relax," said the night man,''
''"We are programmed to receive.''
''"You can check out any time you like,''
''"[[Wham! Line|But you can never leave!]]"''|'''[[The Eagles]]''', "Hotel California"}}
Basically, a place of accommodation that kills its customers and robs their corpses. For unknown reasons, this turns up a lot in French literature/works set in France. Sometimes, to "get more bang for the buck," the proprietors will [[I'm a Humanitarian|"serve"]] their guests as well. One wonders how these places advertise and attract guests/victims, other than the possible curiosity if rumors of their crimes are publicized. See also [[Hell Hotel]] and [[Inn Security]], although in the latter, attacks on guests are generally not by the inn's owners.
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== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* A two parter in the ''[[Hatenkou Yuugi]]'' anime features one of these.
* In ''[[
== [[Comic Books]] ==
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* Two words: [[Psycho|Bates Motel]].
* The 1992 Hong Kong action film ''Dragon Inn'' features Maggie Cheung as the innkeeper at a remote inn where she occasionally seduces the guests, murders them, carves them up, and makes them into meals for the other patrons.
* The bar in ''[[From Dusk
* ''[[Motel Hell]]'', in which the owner and his sister make sausages out of the guests.
* The ''[[Hostel]]'' films take this trope and just roll with it.
* Played with in ''[[The Happiness of the Katakuris]]'', where the innkeepers ''aren't trying'' to kill their guests. Everyone who stays dies, and it bothers the hell out of the owners.
* ''[[
* A variation of this occurs in ''[[Stardust (
== Folklore and Mythology ==
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** One of these was named "Three Cups and you cannot cross the Mountain," referring to their rice wine-based house drink, which rendered travellers unconscious and ready for butchering.
* Likewise, Japan has myths about a mysterious "Sparrow's Inn," where shapeshifting birds lure humans in and kill them in their sleep, presumably to eat them.
* [[Older Than Feudalism]]: In [[Greek Mythology]] is the story of "Procrustes' Bed." It was owned by the bandit/innkeeper of the same name, who claimed it was a perfect fit for everyone: He made sure of it by racking out and flattening too short and hacking off the legs of those too tall. He was [[Hoist
* The original ''[[Sweeney Todd]]'' legend fits this pretty well, as do its adaptations.
== [[Literature]] ==
* The short story ''The Red Inn'' by [[Balzac]] is a good example, and was filmed twice as a horror comedy, even closer to this trope.
* Used to real [[Shoot the Shaggy Dog]] effect in Camus' story ''The Inn'', which he also wrote as a play titled ''Cross Purposes''. In brief, a guy abandons his family at a young age and then comes home rich to the inn run by his mother and sister with the intent of bettering their lives. They don't recognize him and have gotten in the habit of killing and robbing customers. They do this to him, discover who he was, and [[Hilarity Ensues|suicides ensue]].
* [[
** [[
*** [[
* Sbirro's restaurant in mystery writer Stanley Ellin's short story ''The Specialty of the House''.
* Sort of used in [[James Bond (
* In Isaac Bashevis Singer's ''Stories for Children'', one story, ''The Fearsome Inn'' tells of an inn run by a married couple of two witches/demons who would lure and trap lost travelers.
* Happens in ''Rattle of Bones'', one of the [[Solomon Kane]] short stories by [[
* [[Roald Dahl]]'s story ''The Landlady'', although in this case, the killer is simply psycho rather than greedy.
* In a short story by [[Frank Herbert]], a honeymooning couple on their way to Vegas become trapped in a hotel which imprisons gamblers. Although it doesn't actively attempt to kill them, ''no-one'' has ever left.
* In the [[H.P. Lovecraft
* Kenji Miyazawa's eponymous ''Restaurant of Many Orders''. The "guests" finally caught on about the time they figured out [[To Serve Man|the "cologne" was actually vinegar]].
* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s [[Conan the Barbarian]] story "[[
* ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'': {{spoiler|Harfang.}}
* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] and Subverted then Inverted in [[The Black Company]] series (''The White Rose''). A wayside inn is taken over by deserters from the Lady's army. Croaker refers to them as Trapdoor Spiders. The {{spoiler|remnant of the}} Company stays the night, scouting the Deserters as they, in turn attempt to scout the company, and are allowed on their way. The Deserters {{spoiler|attack on the road the next day, and get counter ambushed by the squad mages}}.
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== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* The eponymous pub in the ''[[
* The ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' team went after a Bates-style serial killer. Played by [[Wil Wheaton]] of [[Creator's Pet|all people]].
** So the ending of the episode has {{spoiler|Wesley [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Crushed]].}}
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== [[Music]] ==
* [[Mind Screw|Possibly]] the subject of the song "Hotel California."
* Nancy White's song "Senator Lawson at the Motel Cucaracha" (on CBC's "Sunday Morning") applied the slogan "they check in, but they don't check out" to the Canadian Senate.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
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** Also in ''Avernum 3'': exploring further east than the quests provide any need to will bring your party to an isolated town that appears unpopulated and undisturbed, except for a sickly odor, difficult to identify. A single inhabitant welcomes you to his Inn. If [[Genre Savvy]] doesn't clue you why it's a bad idea to drink the wine or sleep in the beds, [[Save Scumming]] will teach you.
* ''[[Breath of Fire]] 2'' has the Wildcat Cafe, in which you are politely instructed to discard your equipment, pick up your utensils and season yourself liberally, culminating in a fight with the chef after a trip across a hot grill. Partly subverted in that the Wildcat Cafe is happy to serve patrons who are strong enough to fight their way in. Of course, they [[To Serve Man|serve]] everybody else, too...
* The Ultra-Luxe Casino (which includes hotel facilities) is rumored to be this in ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]''. In reality, {{spoiler|the only cannibals are Mortimer and a small group of his followers, who want to return the White Glove Society to its old customs. The rest are okay}}.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* The refreshingly honest Rob-U-While-U-Sleep Inn in ''[[The Order of the Stick
* Parodied in [http://www.angryflower.com/viands.html this] ''[[Bob the Angry Flower]]'' comic.
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* One episode of ''[[Courage the Cowardly Dog]]'' features this, with the owner being [[Primal Fear|Katz]].
* The Bates Motel is parodied in ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]''.
{{quote|
* The motel Taz and Bushwacker Bob stay at in the ''[[Taz
* [[Porky Pig]] and Sylvester check into a hotel full of murderous mice in the [[Looney Tunes]] short ''Claws for Alarm''.
== [[Real Life]] ==
* From [[The Other Wiki]] article on Cave-In-Rock, Illinois: Isaiah L. Potts operated Potts Inn on the Ford's Ferry Road in Illinois, where travelers checked in, but sometimes failed to check out. It's noted in the ''Life Treasury of American Folklore'' p.
* H.H. Holmes and his Murder Castle.
* [
* [
* There was allegedly an inn called The Ostrich in Colnbrook, Berkshire, England where the owner and his wife would put rich guests into a special room with a trapdoor in the floor by the bed. When the guest was sleeping the bed would lift up, sliding them through the trapdoor into boiling ale, and then the owners would steal all their belongings.
** The sheer elaborateness of the story renders it highly questionable; all that preparation when a plain old knife would suffice.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121210093215/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/partners/william-danthan-holbert/1-real-life-hostel-murders.html This recent case] has been given the moniker "The real-life ''Hostel'' murders."
* Karl Denke's boardinghouse.
* There's a Pennsylvania version set on Hawk Mountain about one Matthias Schaumbaucher, who in the post-[[American Civil War|Civil War]] period would bump off the odd wanderer for their goods. His misdeeds were only discovered when he confessed on his deathbed and damaged human skulls were found in a well on the property.
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[[Category:Nightlife Index]]
[[Category:Horror Tropes]]
[[Category:Inn
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