What is the history of the Langham Hotel in London and are there other hotels with simular stories?
The Langham Hotel, forerunner of London’s grand hotels, was built in 1864. To its Victorian splendour came the likes of Mark Twain, Arnold Bennett, Napoleon 111 of France, and the composer Dvorak – who managed to offend the sensibilities of the management when, in an attempt to save money, he requested a double room for himself and his grown up daughter. As grander hotels were built across London, however, the Langham’s popularity waned, and by the 1950’s it had been pressed into service as administrative offices for the BBC, whose radio studios still stand opposite. Several rooms on the third floor were kept as accommodation for staff, whose late finishes or early starts necessitated an overnight stay. In 1973, announcer James Alexander Gordon was sleeping over one night in room 333, when he awoke to find a fluorescent ball hovering on the opposite side of the room. As he watched, it began to take on the clearly defined form of an Edwardian gentleman in full evening dress. Summoning u
