For those who love all things scary and eerie, THIS is the most wonderful time of the year. From horror movies to ghost tours, spooky season is full of frightful activities and the U.S. is home to many historic spots that are reportedly busy with paranormal activity. To help narrow down the best ones, new research reveals the most popular haunted locations in the country.
The study from Camping World analyzes Google search data on more than 60 famously haunted places across the U.S. to determine the hottest haunts. These are the top 10 haunted locations in the country.
- Winchester Mystery House, California - Located in San Jose, it started as a two-story farmhouse purchased by Sarah Winchester in 1886. She reportedly believed there were ghosts haunting the home, so she ordered continuous construction and expansion of the home, thinking it would confuse the ghosts, and the result is a seven-story Victorian mansion known for staircases that lead nowhere and doors that don’t open.
- Eastern State Penitentiary Philadelphia - Al Capone was once locked up in this Pennsylvania prison, and he allegedly spoke of his experiences with the paranormal here. Visitors and investigators have also reported hearing voices and seeing shadowy apparitions.
- Main Street, St. Charles, Missouri - This road is rumored to have spirits roaming around, possibly from the area’s “lost cemetery.”
- Jacob’s Well, Wimberley, Texas - This sinkhole is part of an underwater cave system 140-feet deep and more than 43-hundred feet long, where at least 12 people have reportedly died while exploring it and some say their spirits still haunt it.
- The Stanley Hotel, Colorado - Best known as the inspiration for Stephen King’s “The Shining,” visitors claim to have encountered everything from ghostly whispers to unseen hands touching their hair.
- White Horse Tavern, Newport, Rhode Island - Opened in 1673, it’s believed to be the oldest tavern in the U.S. and if you believe the legend, it’s home to a ghost of an old man who died here in the 1720s.
- Masonic Temple Detroit, Michigan - Known as the largest Masonic temple in the world, it opened to the public in 1926 and many claim to have seen George Mason’s ghost causing mischief over the years.
- Waipi'o Valley, Hawaii - Located on the BIg Island, the area is known for its natural beauty, as well as ghosts and myths.
- St. Roch Chapel, Yellow Fever Shrine, Louisiana - It’s been in New Orleans since 1874 and it’s filled with prosthetic body parts as a shrine to Saint Roch, Patron Saint of Good Health, who is thought to have saved many from death during the black plague.
- Myrtles Plantation, Louisiana - Built in 1796 by Revolutionary War general David Bradford, it was the site of tragedies in the family, including the deaths of two young kids, and many visitors have reported ghost sightings here.
Source: USA Today
Scott's Thoughts:
- The closest I want to get to these places is in my nightmares, where they’ll no doubt be appearing!
- Major Graham's Haunted Mansion and St. Alban's Sanatorium are the scariest places I have been.
- Have you ever seen a ghost? Where were you and how did it appear? Was it in a known haunted place?