Most Haunted Places In The US: A Spooky Guide

TL;DR

America’s top haunted tourist spots are popular for their spooky encounters and historical significance. 

Key locations include:

1. Eastern State Penitentiary (PA): Crumbling prison with reports of shadows, footsteps, and sudden chills.
2. Gettysburg Battlefield (PA): Site of intense Civil War fighting; apparitions, phantom sounds, and eerie lights reported.
3. The Stanley Hotel (CO): Inspired “The Shining”; features self-unpacking luggage, phantom laughter, and ghostly piano music.
4. Alcatraz (CA): Infamous prison island with aggressive spirits in solitary confinement, phantom inmates, and unexplained voices/doors.
5. Savannah Historic District (GA): “America’s most haunted city” with numerous cemeteries, houses, and pubs featuring cold spots, scents, and apparitions.
6. Winchester Mystery House (CA): Bizarre mansion built to confuse spirits; features cold spots, footsteps, and malfunctioning electronics.
7. Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (WV): Former overcrowded asylum known for screams, aggressive spirits, and Civil War soldier hauntings.
8. The Queen Mary (CA): Retired ocean liner with phantom splashes, child voices, a ghostly engineer, and a notoriously haunted stateroom.
9. Waverly Hills Sanatorium (KY): Former TB hospital infamous for its Death Tunnel and the tragic nurse haunting Room 502.
10. Myrtles Plantation (LA): Antebellum plantation featuring the ghost of Chloe (a slave), poisoned children’s laughter, and a spirit-trapping mirror.

Why Visit?

Ghost hunting? It’s thrilling. Plus, it gives you peeks into a grim past. We’re talking crime, war, disease, and social injustice. You experience echoes of those events firsthand.

Planning Tips

Book overnight tours well ahead of time. Aim for shoulder seasons – crowds are usually smaller then. Pack a camera (don’t forget spare batteries!), an EMF meter, comfortable shoes, and a jacket. Stick close to your group. Always be respectful towards spirits.

Beyond the Scare

Checking out historic sites helps keep them standing. It also lets people get in touch with America’s story. Whether you’re into history or not, spending time at these places gives you powerful memories. They’re soaked in real events from long ago.

Why Try Ghost Hunting?

Ghost hunting has exploded as a fast-growing US tourist attraction. All across the country, people fascinated by the paranormal – plus just plain curious travelers – visit places said to have ghosts roaming around. These haunted spots give visitors more than just a fright. They also offer peeks into dark corners of American history and its puzzling past.

Most Haunted Places In The US

Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia

Eastern State Penitentiary once locked up Al Capone and other infamous gangsters. Today, it ranks among America’s scariest spots. This crumbling place ran from 1829 until 1971. It pioneered solitary confinement, a practice that broke many minds.

People visiting report shadows darting through empty cells. Over in Cell Block 12, things feel especially weird – footsteps echo down corridors with no source. Several witnesses swear they’ve heard guards shouting orders in deserted halls.

Their yearly Halloween show, Terror Behind the Walls, turns this already eerie site into pure nightmare fuel. Yet even on normal daytime tours, guests get chills. Temperatures plunge suddenly. Some even feel unseen hands brush their shoulders.

Gettysburg Battlefield, Pennsylvania

America’s bloodiest battle left deep marks on history. Over 50,000 soldiers died in just three days of brutal July fighting back in 1863. Many feel those lost souls never really left this ground.

Devil’s Den draws ghost hunters from everywhere. Photographers snap pictures showing strange figures wearing old-time uniforms near rocks where Confederate snipers hid. On quiet nights, visitors sometimes hear musket shots and cannon booms.

Sachs Covered Bridge, once used to move wounded men, is also known for ghostly encounters. Locals say don’t cross it alone after dark. Weird lights flicker over nearby fields where field hospitals once stood.

The Stanley Hotel, Colorado

Stephen King found inspiration for “The Shining” at this place, and it still draws horror lovers and ghost hunters today. Finished back in 1909, this grand hotel sits nestled among Rocky Mountain peaks near Estes Park.

Room 217 made King’s stay memorable, sparking his famous novel. Guests say luggage unpacks itself there, and lights flicker on mysteriously. After dark, empty ballrooms sometimes fill with sounds of children laughing.

Piano notes drift from the concert hall, even when it’s empty. Hotel staff hardly blink when elevators move by themselves, stopping at floors where nobody pressed a button.

Night tours explore the building’s spookiest corners. People often leave with strange photos showing glowing orbs or shadowy shapes caught in mirrors.

Alcatraz Island, California

From 1934 to 1963, “The Rock” held America’s toughest criminals. Names like Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, and Robert Stroud (yep, the Birdman) all did time inside this island prison fortress, ringed by cold San Francisco Bay waters.

Solitary confinement cell 14D is considered the most haunted spot. Inmates locked up there told stories of a creature with glowing eyes attacking them. Guards usually avoided that cell; they said it stayed strangely chilly even in summer.

Audio tours play recordings of former prisoners talking about ghostly events. Visitors using headphones sometimes catch voices not on the tour track. Cell doors slam shut in empty sections where no staff are around.

In the recreation yard, people report seeing phantom inmates playing cards or working out. Tour guides often see guests suddenly step back from nothing, saying someone unseen pushed them. Yikes.

Savannah Historic District, Georgia

Spanish moss hangs heavy on old oak trees, giving America’s most haunted city an otherworldly feel. Savannah’s historic district packs more ghost stories per square mile than anywhere else.

Bonaventure Cemetery featured in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. People visit Little Gracie Watson’s statue, leaving toys and flowers behind. Some say her spirit plays with kids who come to her grave.

Mercer Williams House, where that famous murder trial happened, runs tours through rooms touched by violence. Visitors mention sudden cold spots and catching the scent of gardenias when no flowers are around.

Trolley ghost tours roll nightly, stopping at spots where apparitions show up regularly. Moon River Brewing Company sits where a hotel once stood; people died there in yellow fever outbreaks, and their spirits are said to linger.

Winchester Mystery House, California

Sarah Winchester’s strange house boasts 160 rooms. Staircases twist and turn, often ending abruptly at ceilings. After her husband died in 1881, Sarah became convinced spirits demanded constant building. These were souls lost to Winchester rifles. So construction ran non-stop, day and night, for 38 years until Sarah herself passed away.

That locked Séance Room? Staff still hear odd noises coming from behind its sealed doors. Doors throughout the house open onto solid walls. Windows sometimes peer into other rooms, not outside. Sarah built these confusing features to trap angry spirits. Instead, they might have made the place feel more haunted.

Flashlight tours reveal unsettling things. Guests feel sudden cold spots. Footsteps echo from empty rooms above. Tour guides always pack extra batteries. Electronic gear often dies here without any clear reason.

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, West Virginia

This huge Gothic building held mentally ill patients for 130 years, closing in 1994. Built for just 250 people, it ended up crammed with close to 2,400. Conditions got pretty bad. Ward F kept the most violent cases. In treatment rooms that look much like they did back then, doctors performed lobotomies and electroshock therapy regularly. Visitors often mention hearing screams down empty halls.

Overnight ghost hunts let brave folks explore normally closed-off spots. Many guests leave early. Some report aggressive spirits who don’t like being disturbed. Civil War soldiers treated here when the place first opened still haunt hallways. You might hear their heavy boot steps echoing in deserted wings.

The Queen Mary, California

This retired ocean liner sits docked for good in Long Beach Harbor. It once sailed as a luxury cruise ship and later hauled troops in World War II. Over 50 people died on board during its working life.

The old First Class Pool stays empty now. Yet guests hear splashing sounds there. They also find wet footprints on dry decks nearby. Kids’ voices sometimes echo around the pool area. That’s where a young girl supposedly drowned long ago.

Down in the Engine Room, people have spotted a bearded man wearing coveralls. He died doing routine maintenance ages back. This figure looks so real that security guards often think he’s just an employee working late.

Stateroom B340 isn’t rented out anymore. Too much weird stuff happened there. Visitors on special tours tell of beds shaking suddenly. Bathroom faucets in that room also turn on by themselves.

Waverly Hills Sanatorium, Kentucky

Between 1910 and 1961, this hilltop hospital saw thousands lose their lives to tuberculosis. To hide bodies from public sight and prevent panic, workers used the Death Tunnel – a 500-foot underground passage.

In Room 502, a nurse tragically ended her own life. She’d just discovered she carried both a child and the disease. Now, guests sometimes spot her shadow in windows or hear crying where no one stands.

Shadowy figures zip down hallways where patients once wheeled themselves, hoping mountain air would heal. Tours take visitors through body chutes – tunnels where countless souls made their final journey.

Myrtles Plantation, Louisiana

Spanish moss drapes over old Louisiana plantation buildings. This place, built way back in 1796, is often called one of America’s most haunted spots. Its long history includes slavery, murder, and strange deaths across many years.

Folks talk about Chloe, a slave said to have been killed for overhearing family secrets. Her ghost shows up in photos taken by visitors. She appears wearing a green turban, just like witnesses describe.

There are stories of poisoned children dying in upstairs rooms. Guests spending nights sometimes hear little footsteps and kids laughing in those empty bedrooms.

A mirror in the main hall supposedly holds spirits of family members who died badly. Handprints keep appearing on its glass, even after staff clean it.

Planning Your Paranormal Adventure

October’s great for Halloween events at haunted spots. But visiting during quieter shoulder seasons means fewer people and easier time getting guides.

Remember to pack these:

• Camera with full charge plus spare batteries;
• EMF meter if you’re serious about ghost hunting;
• Comfy walking shoes for long tours;
• Light jacket – haunted spots often feel chilly;

Book tours ahead of time. This is extra important for overnight investigations. Places usually offer different tour types, from family options to adults-only intense stuff.

Always stick with your group. Follow the guide. Some locations have unstable buildings or marked-off dangerous areas. Stay safe.

Making Contact With The Other Side

When dealing with spirits, pros say respect matters. Being aggressive or mocking them often backfires. Those negative encounters can sometimes follow you home.

Many spots offer simple ghost hunting gear or let you bring your own. 

Here’s what often helps:

• Digital voice recorders catch EVPs – those electronic voice phenomena.
• Infrared thermometers pick up sudden cold spots, which might mean a spirit is near.

For photos, cameras good in low light work best. Flash usually ruins shots of paranormal stuff. Natural light or ambient room lighting gives better results. It’s worth knowing.

Beyond The Scares

These haunted spots aren’t just about ghost stories. Each one holds real history, teaching us something while we get spooked.

Eastern State Penitentiary shows us how prisons changed. Gettysburg remembers lives lost in the Civil War. Alcatraz gives a look at federal law enforcement over time. Savannah displays classic Southern architecture.

Going to these places links us to people who lived before us. They felt happiness, pain, and everything else life throws at you. Believer or not, these locations prove history sticks around in surprising ways.

Ghost tours actually help save old buildings. Often, money for upkeep is scarce. Your ticket money helps keep these places running. That means future visitors can learn and explore too.

America’s haunted spots are ready if you feel brave. Pack some nerve and expect an unforgettable trip. Just hope any spirits let you keep your memories.

FAQ

Why Would Someone Visit A Haunted Location?

Get a kick from maybe bumping into something spooky / See unique, often grim slices of American history up close – think crime, war, disease, injustice / Feel the vibe and check out the architecture at places steeped in the past / Join in on this whole paranormal tourism thing that’s getting popular.

I’m Not Sure I Believe In Ghosts. Is It Still Worth Visiting?

For sure. These places are packed with history—fascinating stuff, sometimes sad too. You don’t need to believe in ghosts to get something from them. The tales, the buildings, the way things are kept… they all show you glimpses of how life was back then.

Are These Places Safe?

Sure, you can usually go in safely if you follow the rules. Stay with your group and guide at all times. Watch out for spots with shaky walls, floors that aren’t level, or roped-off danger zones. Pay attention to every safety instruction given.