10 Most Haunted Places in America to Visit
America has a dark side. One that hides behind charming colonial facades, crumbling prison walls, and moss-draped Southern plantation homes. It is a country barely 250 years old, and yet somehow it has already accumulated enough tragedy, violence, and unanswered mystery to fill a hundred ghost stories. Honestly, I think that is part of what makes paranormal tourism so irresistible here.
Searches for “ghost city near me” have skyrocketed by 86% in recent years, while “haunted houses near me” was searched over 3.65 million times in the U.S. in a single year alone. People are curious, and rightfully so. From iconic prisons to whispering plantations, there are places in this country that seem to carry the weight of the past in ways that are simply hard to explain. Get ready to be surprised by what you find.
1. The Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, Colorado
Tucked away near the entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park, just 70 miles from bustling downtown Denver, sits one of the country’s most notoriously haunted destinations. The Stanley Hotel is a historic 140-room Colonial Revival hotel in Estes Park, and it has been treating guests to luxurious mountain views and frightening folklore since it first opened its doors on July 4th, 1909.
Imagine a place spooky enough to give Stephen King nightmares. King spent the night at the Stanley Hotel, and the creepiness inspired him to write “The Shining.” Many guests since have reported seeing or hearing spirits while staying there. Some of the more famous spectral residents include Elizabeth Wilson, a former maid known to visit the infamous Room 217, and a cowboy spirit in Room 428.
On the night of June 25, 1911, a storm knocked out power to the hotel. When the head chambermaid, Ms. Elizabeth Wilson, entered Room 217 to light the candles, she fell victim to an unknown gas leak. The force of the explosion blew her through the floor into the dining room below. She broke both ankles but survived. In May 2025, it was reported that the century-old hotel had been acquired by The Stanley Partnership for Art Culture and Education for $400 million.
It is said that nearly half of the hotel’s annual guests are there for one reason and one reason only: to catch a glimpse of one of the hotel’s famous ghosts. The wait time to book the most “spirited” rooms, including Rooms 217, 407, and 428, can be more than a year.
2. Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Once one of the most notorious prisons in America, Eastern State Penitentiary operated from 1829 to 1971. It housed infamous criminals like Al Capone. Visitors claim to hear disembodied voices, footsteps, and wails echoing through its crumbling cells. The site now serves as a museum and haunted attraction, making it a hotspot for ghost hunters.
Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia was built to apply the Pennsylvania System of imprisonment and served as a model for numerous other prisons throughout the world. The cornerstone was placed on May 22, 1823, and the first prisoner was admitted on October 25, 1829.
Eastern State Penitentiary is a site where visitors frequently describe hearing disembodied voices echoing in empty hallways. Once the most famous and expensive prison in the country, it was known for jailing inmates like Al Capone and Willie Sutton. The decaying interiors alone are enough to bring a chill down your spine, but visitors have reported ghostly encounters on their tours as well.
Every Halloween, Eastern State Penitentiary hosts a haunted attraction called “Terror Behind the Walls,” a can’t-miss event for ghost enthusiasts that adds to the prison’s reputation as an eerie hotspot.
3. Salem, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts, is perhaps the most infamous haunted town in the United States, largely due to its association with the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. The town’s dark history, in which 20 people were executed for witchcraft, has left a lasting mark, both culturally and paranormally. Today, Salem is a popular destination for those fascinated by witchcraft, haunted history, and just about anything that goes bump in the night.
The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between early 1692 and mid-1693. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft, and 20 were executed, mostly by hanging. The trials were fueled by fear, religious extremism, and social tensions.
The Witch House, the former home of witch trial Judge Jonathan Corwin, is one of the town’s key haunted sites. As one of the few remaining buildings directly tied to the infamous trials, its stark black walls are now said to be the source of strange noises and ghost activity.
By 1982, the city planned the first Salem Haunted Happenings Festival during Halloween weekend. Following the first festival’s success with about 50,000 guests in attendance, the annual event has continued to grow each season, drawing families, couples, history buffs, and Halloween enthusiasts from all over the world.
4. Gettysburg Battlefield, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg marked the deadliest battle of America’s deadliest war, claiming 7,000 lives and wounding another 33,000 soldiers between July 1 and July 3, 1863. The violent confrontation turned the quiet fields of Pennsylvania into a veritable hell on earth. In the aftermath, the dead outnumbered citizens 12 to 1.
Thousands of soldiers died at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, but some of their spirits remain. The ghosts of soldiers are often seen in multiple hotels and restaurants in town, and they’re even known to run across the battlefield at night. People also claim to hear cannons and smell gunpowder during their visits.
The Gettysburg National Military Park has many infamous sites that have seen paranormal activity, like strange floating orbs spotted around the Gettysburg National Cemetery. There’s also Sachs Covered Bridge, where people previously claimed to see three disembodied heads floating, rumored to be the ghosts of three Confederate soldiers hanged there.
Since the battle, the town has developed a reputation as one of the most haunted places in the country, and nearly every building can be associated with a ghost story. Austin, Texas; Houston, Texas; and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, lead the way in the U.S. with the highest number of reported ghost sightings.
5. The Myrtles Plantation, St. Francisville, Louisiana
Built in 1796, The Myrtles Plantation is believed to be one of America’s most haunted homes. Rumored to be the site of multiple murders, the plantation is said to be haunted by the ghost of a slave named Chloe, who appears wearing a green turban. Guests have also experienced objects moving and mysterious handprints on mirrors.
Louisiana’s Myrtles Plantation houses at least 12 different spirits, making it one of the country’s most haunted destinations. Despite its stunning architecture and gardens, the plantation is known to be a place of frequent supernatural activity. Many have reported ghostly encounters there, including hearing mysterious footsteps, objects moving by themselves, and even apparitions.
Various paranormal investigation teams have explored the Myrtles Plantation, and their findings include unexplained noises, moving objects, and electronic voice phenomena. The Myrtles Plantation functions as a bed and breakfast, allowing guests to fully immerse themselves in the potentially paranormal experience.
6. Winchester Mystery House, San Jose, California
The Winchester Mystery House in California is one of the most famous haunted buildings in the world. Built by Sarah Winchester, widow of the firearm magnate William Wirt Winchester, the house became a labyrinthine estate filled with staircases that lead nowhere and secret passageways.
The Winchester Mystery House is the home of Sarah Pardee Winchester, the widow of William Wirt Winchester, who was “the son of the manufacturer of the famous Winchester Repeating Rifle.” Sarah Winchester built the mansion to confuse spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles. The house features unconventional architectural elements, such as staircases that lead to nowhere, making it a popular site for ghost hunters and historians alike.
Visitors can take the standard Mansion Tour to see 110 of its 160 rooms. Special events include the “Walk with Spirits” tour where guests join a Victorian-era séance, and the “Explore More Tour” that shows hidden areas like the basement.
TripAdvisor ranked the Winchester Mystery House among the top 10% of attractions worldwide in 2024. Visitors have reported hearing ghostly whispers, footsteps, and sudden cold spots throughout the property.
7. Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, California
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary is one of the most famous haunted places in the U.S. This well-known prison is famous for its tough rules and notorious prisoners. When people visit, they often report hearing strange sounds like voices, footsteps, and even screams. Alcatraz has an eerie atmosphere created by its grim history.
It has housed some of the most dangerous criminals, including Al Capone and the “Birdman of Alcatraz.” According to many visitors, their presence still seems to linger. Guests talk about hearing whispers in the empty cells, sensing a cold, unearthly breeze, and even witnessing shadowy figures.
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary has become an iconic sightseeing destination in the United States due to its sinister history and the spooky encounters reported by many guests. The island sits in the middle of San Francisco Bay, and that isolation alone is enough to send a chill through you before you’ve even stepped through the gate.
8. The Queen Mary, Long Beach, California
When one of the world’s most luxurious ocean liners was converted into a hotel, its transformation was superficial. Even decades later, the spirit of the Queen Mary remains connected to its history. With 200 original first-class staterooms and suites interspersed among the 80,000 square feet of Art Deco salons, the Queen Mary is as majestic today as it was on its maiden voyage in 1936.
The RMS Queen Mary, a retired ocean liner, is now a floating hotel. It is reputed to be haunted by spirits of former passengers and crew. Guests report sightings of a woman in a white dress dancing in the ship’s ballroom, and eerie sounds coming from the engine room. The Queen Mary even offers paranormal tours for thrill-seekers.
Brave visitors can book paranormal experiences on the ship, joining after-hours Paranormal Ship Walks that access hidden rooms, or taking the thrilling Graveyard Tour to meet the ocean liner’s most famous ghosts after midnight.
Stateroom B340 opened again for bookings on September 13, 2024, and comes equipped with tarot cards, a crystal ball, and an Ouija board. That is not something you find at your typical Holiday Inn.
9. The LaLaurie Mansion, New Orleans, Louisiana
It isn’t surprising that one of the most unnerving houses in the U.S. would be in New Orleans, long considered to be a haunted town. What is surprising, though, is the agonizing history of this house that led to its acclaimed status. Located in the French Quarter, the multistory, neoclassical home originally belonged to Madame Delphine LaLaurie, a wealthy socialite known for her lavish parties and later for her cruelty.
New Orleans is surely one of the most haunted cities in the U.S. For gothic Southern haunting, it’s hard to beat the infamous LaLaurie Mansion in the French Quarter. This grand structure was once the residence of socialite Madame Delphine LaLaurie.
New Orleans has endured hurricanes, plagues, fires, and floods, each tragedy leaving behind restless spirits. The French Quarter alone contains hundreds of haunted locations. The city’s unique cultural approach to death and the afterlife may explain why spirits seem particularly active here.
10. The Lizzie Borden House, Fall River, Massachusetts
If you can complete the rhyme that begins “Lizzie Borden had an ax,” you’ll want to put the alleged murderer’s childhood home on the top of your haunted places list. Before she became fodder for scary sleepover stories, Borden was accused of killing her father, Andrew, and stepmother, Abby, in the house in broad daylight in 1892. She was later acquitted for lack of evidence.
The angular Greek Revival home is now run as the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast Museum, where you can learn about the case and sleep on the premises, including in the room where Abby Borden met her untimely demise.
During visits, guests have spied doors that opened seemingly on their own and reported hearing disembodied whispers. Others have reported seeing ghostly images reflected in the glass of family photos.
The haunting nursery rhyme “Lizzie Borden took an ax and gave her mother 40 whacks” brings to life one of America’s most notorious murder scenes. Today, the Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, Massachusetts, stands as a must-see destination for anyone exploring haunted places in the U.S. It is unsettling, unforgettable, and genuinely one of the most talked-about dark tourism stops on the East Coast.
