The Most Haunted Places in America

This military facility built in 1771 is the country's only remaining Revolutionary War battlefield. Its 14 restored buildings are rumored to be routinely visited by the dead, from a shrieking woman to a faceless man—even the ghosts of dogs!

This spooky spot, originally called the City Hotel and dating back to 1821, was a hotbed of violence throughout the Civil War era. A number of men—including at least one unfortunate Yankee—were killed during vicious bar brawls. These days, folks report seeing bottles fly through the air and some claim they’ve been touched—even slapped!—by invisible fellow patrons.

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In the late 1800s, it is said that a Turkish sultan lorded over a harem of captive women and young boys—along with multiple wives and children—at this classic French Quarter residence. Wild orgies, fueled by opium, were believed to go on until the sultan and his family were hacked to pieces inside. The killer was never caught, and the sultan’s unsettled spirit is said to still stalk the place, exotic aromas and strange music issuing in his wake.

Warning to would-be male guests: Book a room here and you may not get out alive! Two women who were thrown to their deaths from an upper floor are said to haunt this hotel, attempting to strangle men in their beds. Even tough guy John Wayne was rumored to be scared out of his wits during a stay here.

On the day of their 1927 divorce, an enraged bootlegger chased his wife into this park and gunned her down. The murdered woman—who’d dressed in black to mourn her broken marriage—never left the site of her undoing. Her ebony-clad image has been spotted strolling near the gazebo at twilight, seeking revenge.

This historic home, built in 1796, is rumored to sit atop an Indian burial ground, which (un)naturally makes it a hospitable hangout for spirits. A dozen different ghosts are rumored to roam here, including a slave who murdered her master’s daughters with a poisonous birthday cake.

What happens at the Mizpah stays in the Mizpah—including, according to legend, the ghost of a woman who died mysteriously in a fifth floor room. The whispering voice of this "Lady in Red" as she’s called, has been heard by shocked male guests, and remnants of her broken pearl necklace have been discovered on peoples’ pillows.

Paranormal performance is a hot ticket here at one of in America’s oldest theaters. Two of its most prominent spirit stars apparently include a prostitute struck by lightning just outside the premises and Junius Brutus Booth, a 19 th century thespian who just happened to be the father of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth.

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Mr. and Mrs. Pittock built themselves a stunning home in 1909 —only to both die there within a decade. Perhaps they never left the building, however, as visitors report the overpowering scent of roses filling rooms with no flowers in them and a particular painting moving from one spot to another all on its own.

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A thriving copper town during its Wild West heyday, Jerome had been a real rough-and-tumble place to live — and die, due to assorted mining accidents and fierce gunfights. Among the apparitions seen on its now-lonely streets is that of a lady of the night strangled by a homicidal customer, who’s said to roam the red light district seeking justice.

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This 1890 structure was originally a finishing school for young girls, and its headmistress was apparently unable to retire, even after she passed on. Her ghost is believed to remain in room 410, her former office, and guests who check in there may wake to find themselves tightly tucked into bed at night a tad too tightly!

Cruel treatment, overcrowded conditions, and numerous riots plagued this violent correctional facility. Many men were put to death by hanging and the electric chair, while others met their maker at the hands of fellow inmates. Though the penitentiary is no longer in operation, tormented souls are said to linger behind its bars, rattling their cages and hollering in pain.

Locals call this the most haunted stretch of blacktop in the state, and further claim that those who cross its seven bridges, finishing the journey at the stroke of midnight, enter hell itself. While that may seem farfetched, a more believable tale is that of several teens, high on hallucinogens, who lost control of their vehicle and fell to their death in the creek beneath one of the bridges. It’s now known as Acid Bridge, and weird sounds and a cold, clammy sensation are reported by many who traverse it to this day.

This stately 1893 structure has a long history of poltergeist activity, be it strange noises emanating from the empty ballroom, appliances turning on and off as if possessed, or things going bump in the hallways at night. While a few guests have reported sightings of notorious gangster and former owner Al Capone; far more have claimed to see a disembodied gloved hand, believed to belong to a worker who inadvertently got walled in during construction.

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Not one but two former leaders of the great state of Texas are said to meander through this mansion. Folks say Sam Houston lingers in his former bedroom while others claim to have seen Pendleton Murrah inside and out on the grounds. But the most tragic figure said to wander throughout is the ghost of a young man who committed suicide here after being scorned by his romantic interest, Murrah’s niece.

The Navy cruiser, now a museum, is said to harbor numerous spirits and has been called one of the world’s most haunted ships. In fact, at least one case has been documented: A woman’s voice screaming, “Get it out!” was recorded using Electronic Voice Phenomena technology. Other wraiths reportedly rattle around on the decks, bang the hatches, and lurk in the machinery room.

Ever wonder how horror writer Stephen King gets his ideas? His bestseller The Shining was spawned during a stay at this enormous hotel, where children’s laughter and strange music issue from empty rooms. The creepiest spot on the premises is an underground tunnel that brave guests are invited to visit.

Some 47 workers lost their lives at this pig iron factory during the tenure of a notorious foreman in the early 1900s. One horrific accident after another apparently led workers to revolt — and throw the cruel boss into the furnace. Ever since, a mysterious commanding voice has been heard on the site, and several supervisors were found unconscious in a locked boiler room.

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Hauntings happen even in the paradise of Hawaii! The bridge that crosses this ravine — site of a huge battle — is said to be the path of ancient warrior ghosts who carry lit torches as they march from the mountains. Locals claim to see mysterious moving lights and to hear weird wails at night.

This decidedly demonic-looking Gothic structure was a mental institution with a death rate so high, corpses were trundled out through a system of tunnels. But it wasn’t just the poor patients who met unsavory ends: A nurse is known to have hung herself while employed there. Insane spirits are often seen wafting and wavering about, some of them documented in photographs.

Originally commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, this lonely lighthouse was the site of a murder-suicide in 1896. Records reveal that a squatter killed another man and then shot himself. Moans and the sounds of gunshots, strange shadows, and doors flying open of their own volition have all been reported. Hmm, maybe leave the light on?

Everyone has heard about the brutal 1892 murders of Andrew and Abbey Borden — and how daughter Lizzie was accused and then acquitted of the crime. The house where the atrocity occurred, however, was never set free. Visitors to the infamous inn continue to report the touch of icy fingers, the sound of loud footsteps, and the sight of a pale apparition in Victorian garb.

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If you’re driving along at night and think you spy a woman in a raggedy white dress standing in the middle of this road, don’t turn around to check. If you do, folks claim, she’ll be sitting in your back seat! Legend has it that the woman in white is the spirit of a witch — but she’s not the only one to haunt this stretch of highway. Locals insist that the ghost of a young Native American also has a place on the road and it’s her they hear screaming beneath the full moon.

Talk about school spirit! In 1964, a young man blacked out in the while brushing his teeth, due to a brain hemorrhage. After his death, students began siting his phantom standing behind them in the bathroom mirror; others claim to turn on the faucet only to see blood flowing out!

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When a violent tornado swept through this Deep South town in 1936, many of the injured and dying made their way to the local theater. Some of those who perished stuck around, including Antoine, a theater employee who has been seen strolling the aisles and playing pranks on innocent folks who are just trying to watch a movie.

Check into the hotel in this East Texas town — built 1851 as a cotton warehouse — and you might hear phantom footsteps, experience sudden chills, or see objects move on their own. Employees will tell you that’s just the ghost of a teen bride who hung herself at the hotel on her wedding night many moons ago.

Though they were highly successful brewers, bad luck and madness led various Lemps to sudden untimely deaths and suicide. Ghosts of family members are routinely noticed at the mansion, now a restaurant and inn, as well as piano music, flying glasses, and doors that lock and unlock themselves. Cheers—um, chills!

One of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War took place on this site, where countless members of Robert E. Lee’s army met their ends. The rebel soldiers’ bodies were interred in mass graves, and their spirits remain, haunting the property and reminding visitors of their horrifying demise.

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