No matter if it be spending two nights at the castle that inspired Stephen King’s The Shining or visiting an eerie sanatorium where tuberculosis patients perished, there are numerous spine-tingling places you should explore. Join a ghost tour or take your own self-guided journey and discover haunted homes, prisons, hotels and more along your travels.
Gladesville Mental Hospital
There are plenty of spooky destinations around the world that will send chills down your spine, from abandoned insane asylums to Renaissance castles with underground dungeons; you are sure to find your thrills!
Gladesville Mental Hospital was Sydney’s inaugural psychiatric institution and had a sadistic history. Opening its doors in 1838, this institution reportedly performed shock treatments and burned its patients. At that time, relatives would often place loved ones into these institutions for fear that insanity ran in families.
Visitors to this location report hearing voices, laughter, footsteps and whispers echo through its empty hallways. One room known as Z Ward has witnessed dark apparitions; and there has been speculation of an angry female spirit haunting this facility due to mistreatment during her stay at hospital – one group of explorers recorded an EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) message from this woman telling them they needed to leave immediately.
Machpelah Cemetery
Since 1858, this cemetery has provided rest for thousands of individuals and remains picturesque with aging trees and decorative headstones. Famous people such as Mark Twain, Eastman Kodak CEO Miles Lampson, the founder of major local banks as well as Harry Houdini himself can all be found within its grounds.
According to Scripture, Abraham purchased Machpelah (also known as Hebron) from Ephron the Hittite and purchased space there to bury Sarah as well as Isaac, Rebekah and Jacob with Leah following their deaths.
Paul has been working at Machpelah Cemetery since 1978 and believes it to be one of the most haunted locations on Long Island, having witnessed and experienced paranormal activity such as seeing ghostly figures or hearing voices during work shifts. Paul believes it must be caused by those buried there.
The Dakota
The Dakota, located on Manhattan’s edge near Central Park, has long been revered for its striking architecture and as the first luxury apartment building. But more recently it has made headlines for being one of the most haunted places in America due to a certain famous deceased resident’s murder.
The Dakota became instantly famous following John Lennon’s murder at its main entrance doors in 1980. However, even without John’s murder and its subsequent fallout from it being at its forefront, The Dakota has an extensive and intriguing history to draw from.
This building is said to be home to the ghost of a young girl wearing white, and there have been reports of mysterious poltergeist activity which causes furniture and windows to open and close unexpectedly. Also living here were Yoko Ono, Lauren Bacall, Peter Tchaikovsky and Boris Karloff – to name just some notables!
Rolling Hills Asylum
Rolling Hills Asylum in East Bethany, western New York has quickly become an epicenter for paranormal activity and ghost hunting enthusiasts. Once home to thousands of residents before it became an asylum, this former poor farm-turned asylum is considered one of the most haunted locations in America – as evidenced by several paranormal TV shows that feature it as haunted. Guided flashlight tours as well as private ghost hunts can be booked.
Visitors attending these events can learn more about the history and spirits present on site, with Roy Coruse standing out as an entity allegedly active here; a patient who suffered from gigantism during his lifetime who now appears as a seven-foot tall shadow man within the building.
Rolling Hills offers more than ghost hunting. Events at Rolling Hills range from movie nights and special hunts with notable ghost hunters, to educational workshops on paranormal subjects.
