No matter your belief system, many Americans enjoy the suspense associated with haunted locations. Legends surrounding such locales often create tourism revenue while sparking paranormal activity in nearby locations.
Cities may be more prone to supernatural experiences than others. Here are a few of America’s most haunted places.
1. Eastern State Penitentiary
East State Penitentiary’s high walls, dark corridors and somber history resemble something out of a horror film set – reports of ghostly sightings, noises in the walls and cackling laughter are frequent here; making this former prison one of America’s most haunted places.
Eastern State Prison was home to numerous suicides, murders and acts of torture during its 142-year run; making it the ideal location for haunted spirits to appear. Not just former inmates are said to haunt this prison either – even Al Capone himself was reported roaming its halls!
Tourists come to admire its architecture and learn about Philadelphia’s criminal past, making Terror Behind the Walls one of the more thrilling attractions at Halloween.
2. The Stanley Hotel
The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado is an attractive destination for paranormal thrill-seekers. This longstanding haunting inspired both novel and film The Shining; guests have reported hearing children running and laughing through its halls as well as sighting full-body apparitions.
Ghosts of the hotel’s original owner and wife can often be seen wandering about. Additionally, Room 217 – famously featured in Stanley Kubrick’s film The Shining – has its own haunted energy as well.
Hotel employees provide two tours of their property: one focusing on history, architecture and folklore and another that investigates paranormal phenomenon. Estep argues that many ghostly experiences at the hotel may be explained away through natural processes, creaks and tics or human errors.
3. Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg was an unforgettable, bloody conflict which claimed thousands of lives and wounded. Due to popular belief that people who die violently often leave an impression as ghosts after passing, it stands to reason that Gettysburg battlefield would become home for many such spirits.
Unusual soldiers have been reported on the grounds, while many visitors to the area report experiencing unexplained phenomena like doors opening and closing on their own and ghost-sounds of gunfire and wounded soldier cries.
Gettysburg’s Orphanage, once a private home and transformed into an emergency hospital during the battle, is considered one of the most haunted places. Paranormal investigators believe its cellar contained dying and dead soldiers who have not found peace after death and therefore may remain haunting this building until their souls find closure after life.
4. The Marshall House
Marshall House in Savannah served as a hospital during both World Wars, as well as during two 19th-century yellow fever epidemics, so it should come as no surprise that its ghostly spirits still haunt it today. Visitors report hearing sounds of battle as well as soldiers shouting their names out afar, sometimes hearing cannon fire firing off from within its walls!
Children ghosts at this hotel are known to make frequent appearances. You might hear them laughing and playing throughout the day and night; guests have reported skipping and playing games with them in hallways; some guests have even reported hearing children’s feet echo through halls or faucets turning themselves on spontaneously!
Savannah is home to many haunted locales beyond Marshall House; from historic districts and Bonaventure Cemetery to Gothic laneways. Savannah boasts an array of haunted history that make for an atmospheric journey.
5. New Orleans
New Orleans is widely known for being one of the most haunted places in America due to its history of slavery and its connection to voodoo culture and witchcraft. Additionally, water surrounds this city creating wind corridors where ghosts can travel freely around.
New Orleans is full of ghostly tales, from lawyers wandering the Louisiana Supreme Court building at nighttime to employees hearing footsteps when no one else is around; regardless of your perspective on ghostly phenomena it’s evident that many dead don’t leave this beautiful city quickly enough.
