United States of America offers many haunted places for you to explore. Explore Boston’s King’s Chapel Burying Ground and listen for Puritan Governor John Winthrop’s ghost; or head inside the Alamo, famous for its bloody battle between Mexican and Texan forces.
Head to Detroit’s Whitney Restaurant, reportedly haunted by Madame LaLaurie and other New Orleans socialites who still inhabit its walls, for an unforgettable dining experience.
1. Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum
Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum opened for business in 1858 as an oasis from the harsh treatment of mental health patients at other institutions, but instead quickly became a place for murder, torture and sadistic medical practices that still haunt its halls today. According to many accounts, its halls still seem haunted by tortured souls today.
Gothic Revival asylum was intended to accommodate up to 250 patients in an airy sanctuary; however, its capacity soon skyrocketed and at its peak held 10 times more patients living in cramped conditions than originally projected.
Now a National Historic Landmark, this building is considered to be one of the most haunted locations in America. Visitors have reported hearing bloodcurdling screams, feeling their hair stand on end and objects moving mysteriously on their own. Most notable among the ghostly activities at this building is Lily who can often be found playing and laughing with visitors while creating noise such as banging pipes or humming sounds.
2. Villisca Axe Murder House
Villisca, Georgia is famously associated with one of America’s most horrific unsolved murders – for good reason. This idyllic house still protects the identity of the person responsible for brutally murdering three generations of Moore family and two overnight guests on June 10, 1912.
Villisca Axe Murder House reports are scarce, but some highlights include shadowy figures of children walking around a room, voices, disembodied footsteps, closet doors that open on their own and EVP captures of people saying “hello.”
According to reports, it appears as if the killer conducted some sort of ritual within their home. He covered both parents with sheets while covering up their faces with clothing; then left a bowl filled with blood-spattered water in the kitchen as though he had washed his hands after murdering everyone there.
3. Bodie
Bodie, California’s abandoned Gold Rush boomtown offers an eerie glimpse into Wild West life. Preserved in a state of arrest decay with buildings sitting empty and dusty, giving visitors plenty of time to wander the crooked buildings, visit the on-site museum, mine tours and cemetery tours as well as peer through windows–you might catch sight of some unusual morgues with child coffins at work!
Attracting approximately 200,000 visitors annually, but without permanent residents, the ghost town serves as a shrine to the Wild West and is thought to be haunted by spirits of those long dead. One such ghost can be found lurking outside Dechambeau House; others have seen her peering out through windows or playing with children who visit her gravesite in the cemetery.
4. The Crescent Hotel
Since 1886 when this hotel first opened its doors, there have been reports of paranormal activity within. Guests have reported seeing shadowy figures in mirrors, hearing painful cries of agony, and experiencing doors that close on their own. Many believe that Room 218, where an Irish stonemason named Michael fell to his death during construction of the hotel is most haunted.
thrill-seekers and paranormal enthusiasts from across the country flock to Eureka Springs every year to experience America’s most haunted hotel, the Hotel in Eureka Springs. True to its reputation, there are year-round ghost tours and terrifying shows at this hotel that draw thrill-seekers and paranormal enthusiasts alike.
Hotel was constructed near natural hot springs for use as a luxury mountaintop resort, but has also served as a girls’ college and (infamously) cancer hospital run by charlatan “Doctor” Norman Baker. An accidental excavation revealed hundreds of bottles and jars with surgical specimens removed by Baker from his patients, adding macabre touches to its macabre setting.
