Airbnb Renter Finds 'Haunted' Abandoned Shopping Mall Beneath Her Unit 'It's kind of creepy, but it's fine.'
By Emily Rella
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Most Airbnb renters find the unique features, rooms and decorations in the homes they rent to be one of the best parts about opting for using the service instead of a traditional hotel.
But for one Airbnb user, there was one distinctive feature to her rental that she could have gone without seeing.
Claire Schuelin has gone viral on TikTok after posting a video that showed her Airbnb rental had an entire abandoned shopping mall in the basement.
The original video, set to creepy music, shows Schuelin happily walking around before flipping the camera to show what appears to be the first floor of an old mall.
It was also shown in this video that the rental was part of a larger hotel, not an individual home.
@claire.scheulinsketchy
♬ original sound - boo
After garnering over 7 million likes on the first clip, Schuelin posted a follow up video addressing questions and concerns from the millions of viewers.
"I did not expect this to blow up but we are okay … it's kind of creepy, but it's fine," she says to viewers.
@claire.scheulinReply to @paigejaynes
♬ original sound - claire
In a third follow up video, which shows a tour of the mall, viewers began to sound off in the comments about where they believe the rental is located.
"This is Hollywood beach resort in FL and its being renovated," one user wrote assuredly.
"This hotel is in Hollywood beach and used to be a hospital," another seemed to confirm.
According to Reddit, the building in question is most likely the Oceanwalk Mall in Hollywood Beach, Florida.
"I've heard the place is haunted, but I've never actually stayed there for more than two hours so I can't confirm this," one user commented.
Another thread shows an outdoor view of the shut down mall, confirming that it sits beneath several condo units.
"This place holds strong in a vacuum sealed time loop," a local resident wrote.
Schuelin's video became so popular that another TikTok user, who goes by @whomjosh, created a response to the original video confirming the abandoned mall in the basement by revealing that he had also stayed in the same Airbnb.
@claire.scheulin##duet with @whomjosh we still see the old people and the fire alarm woke us up this morning and there's no fire
♬ original sound - Josh
"The place was so run down and sketchy … weird simulation glitch," he says.
But perhaps the most bizarre detail was the discovery that the place was not entirely abandoned — people were still visiting the space to sit and socialize.
"There was a cafe that old people still came in and sat there and had their coffee and newspaper. We would walk past them and they would just sit there like we weren't in an abandoned mall."
Schuelin then posted a final video that in fact confirmed there were several people sitting in the basement area at what appear to be old food court tables.
@claire.scheulinReply to @isabedumbbb
♬ original sound - claire
The Oceanwalk Mall sits below the Hollywood Beach Resort, which has a "famed and storied past that will entertain history and architectural buffs alike," according to the resort's website.
Related: Airbnb Hosts: 3 You Can Do to Reassure Travelers Right Now (Infographic)
