Haunted Buffalo, NY: 12 Haunted Places in Buffalo and Niagara
A Richardson asylum turned hotel, a railroad cathedral that hosted a live Ghost Hunters special, a church that became a funeral home and then a haunted museum, and a headless soldier at Fort Niagara. These are Buffalo’s most haunted places.
Buffalo’s haunted places run from the old asylum on Forest Avenue to the canal towns and lakeshore of Niagara County. We have checked every place below against current sources and marked where a ghost story has no published source behind it. Haunted Rooms runs ghost hunts at Graestone Manor in Gasport, and the Red Coach Inn is the place to stay at the falls.
Visit on a tourGhost toursParanormal investigations allowedOvernight investigations
Address 998 Lovejoy Street, Buffalo, NY 14206
Where to look The basement and the old chapel
Reported ghosts Edgar Zernicke, two young boys
Visiting Volunteer-run museum; tours and hunts by booking
Hours and season Guided tours Thursdays 6:30 to 8 PM
Tickets Thursday tours $5; overnight investigations $350 for up to 6 people
Ghost hunting Public ghost hunts, private investigations and overnights
This building in Buffalo’s Lovejoy neighborhood was built as a Methodist Episcopal church in 1883. After the congregation left it stood empty for a time, and from the late 1950s it was a funeral home with three viewing rooms built inside the old church. In 2000 Anthony Amigone donated it to the Iron Island Preservation Society, which runs it as a museum of the neighborhood, the railroad and the military.
The museum says it is haunted because of that history. Among the spirits it names are Edgar Zernicke, whose cremated remains went unclaimed in the basement, and two six-year-old boys linked to the funeral home in the 1960s. It runs public ghost hunts, private investigations and inexpensive haunted history tours.
What investigators report
Public investigations run dark EVP sessions in the chapel, asking questions and replaying the recordings on the spot, plus equipment experiments in the kids room and military room. One group of 20 reports all hearing a cat-like meow from the hallway with no cat in the building.
Open to the publicGhost toursParanormal investigations allowed
Address 7171 East Lake Road (Route 18), Appleton, NY 14008
Where to look The doorway where Lewis Merritt died and the tasting rooms
Reported ghosts A Victorian boy, the Merritt family, a dog called Duke
Visiting Winery tasting room
Hours and season Monday to Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM, Sunday noon to 6 PM
Tickets Tastings $7, or $10 with a keepsake glass
Ghost hunting Pre-scheduled ghost hunts and medium events
Shubal Scudder Merritt bought this land near the Lake Ontario shore in 1834 and built the brick house in 1854. His wife died here in 1864 and his son Lewis in 1865; the Haunted History Trail says Shubal accidentally shot him. It was later a peach farm called Appleton Hall and, from 1933 to 1993, a camp and retreat of the Sisters of St. Joseph. Since 2004 it has been a winery.
Staff tell the ghost stories during tastings: a Victorian boy seen standing in the doorway where Lewis died, a voice asking “Who’s in my house?”, lights that switch on and bottles that fall from shelves. Others name Shubal, his daughter Sophia and Duke, a dog kept by the Sisters, among the spirits. The winery hosts pre-booked ghost hunts and psychic teas.
Haunted Rooms tip: Do a tasting and ask the staff to tell you about Lewis.
Visit on a tourOvernight investigationsHaunted Rooms ghost hunts
Address 4049 Root Road, Gasport, NY 14067
Where to look The basement, the Green Room and the Gold Room
Reported ghosts A man in the cellar, a laughing lady, a tall shadow on the stairs
Visiting Private home and B&B; visits only on booked events
Ghost hunting Haunted Rooms ghost hunts and overnight VIP nights in the most active rooms
This farmhouse in Niagara County’s fruit country belonged by the 1860s to Curtis Root. In 1889 Root was crushed when his racehorse reared at a passing train; he died weeks later in the room now called the Green Room. His wife Melissa died here in 1901 and a young son before that, and the Roszman family who followed lived here from 1923 to 1999.
The owners and visitors describe a man in the cellar who calls for help, a laughing lady upstairs and a tall shadow at the top of the stairs. The house has appeared on Kindred Spirits and is on New York’s Haunted History Trail. It is the owners’ home, so ghost hunts cover the most active rooms. Haunted Rooms runs ghost hunts here.
What our team has found
Dowsing rods have drawn responses in every room, and Estes in the pool room area has come with cold spots and cat balls going off. The children’s room is a focus: its door has opened by itself every time it was closed, and its curtain was seen pulling back during an Ovilus session outside. Cups strung on ropes have also been moved repeatedly.
From Haunted Rooms event reports
Haunted Rooms tip: See our event page for the next dates; the owners are on hand to share the house’s history.
Where to look The central towers and the empty outer wards
Reported ghosts Former patients, footsteps in the closed wards
Visiting Hotel and architecture center open to the public; the outer wards are closed
Ghost hunting None; the campus does not host ghost hunts
H. H. Richardson designed this vast sandstone asylum on the Kirkbride plan, with grounds by Frederick Law Olmsted. It admitted its first patients on November 15, 1880, the western wings were finished in 1895, and the last patients left the historic wards in 1974. Its twin copper-roofed towers are a Buffalo landmark.
The central buildings reopened in 2017 as Hotel Henry, closed in 2020 and reopened in March 2023 as the 88-room Hotel Richardson, with Lipsey Architecture Center exhibits on the ground floor. The haunted reputation rests on the asylum past: local stories speak only in general terms of figures and footsteps, with no named witnesses, and the campus does not host ghost hunts. You can stay the night in the restored center.
Haunted Rooms tip: Stay at Hotel Richardson or visit the architecture center, and see the towers lit from Forest Avenue.
Where to look The concourse and the empty upper floors of the tower
Reported ghosts Footsteps, voices, figures in the concourse
Visiting Interior closed during a multi-year restoration; outdoor events and a self-guided outdoor audio tour
Ghost hunting None at present
The New York Central opened this 17-story Art Deco terminal on June 22, 1929. Trains ran until October 28, 1979, when Amtrak moved out, and the building was stripped and left to decay. A nonprofit restoration group now owns the main building and has run tours and events since 2003.
TAPS investigated here for Ghost Hunters in 2008, returned for Ghost Hunters Academy, and Syfy broadcast a live five-hour Halloween night special from the terminal on October 31, 2010. The concourse is closed during a multi-year restoration, but events continue outside and a self-guided outdoor audio tour is available.
What investigators report
The Ghost Hunters team investigated with thermal imaging and audio recorders and report voices stating names, while visitors describe flashlights flickering on and off and odd lights in photos of the main hall near the old restaurant.
Address Fort Niagara State Park, Youngstown, NY 14174
Where to look The French Castle and the grounds
Reported ghosts A headless French soldier
Visiting State historic site museum
Hours and season Daily 10 AM to 4 PM most of the year (5 PM in July and August); fewer days from mid-October to March
Tickets Adults $17; children 6 to 12 $12
Ghost hunting None advertised
The stone “French Castle” was built in 1726 at the mouth of the Niagara River, and the fort around it was expanded in 1755. The British took it after a 19-day siege in July 1759, the United States gained it in 1796, and the British captured it again on the night of December 19, 1813. The army stayed until 1963, and it is now a state historic site with reenactments and events.
Its best-known ghost is a headless French soldier. In the usual telling two officers fought over a woman, one beheaded the other, and the body went down the well in the French Castle. The headless figure is said to sit by the well on full-moon nights or roam the halls looking for his head. It is a legend with no record behind it.
What investigators report
Ghost hunt organizers say the chapel is a focus, with reports of heavy benches heard dragging and, during one investigation, a whisper calling a guest by name that about 20 people heard. Hunts also cover the 1726 French Castle, its tunnels and the castle well.
Visiting a haunted place by day is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through a historic building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and vigils, and gives you time to explore on your own. These are the nearest ones we run.
Where to look The burned sections and the canal-side buildings
Reported ghosts Canal workers and travelers, a voice saying "Get out, fire"
Visiting Commercial building; hunts by booking
Tickets Public hunts $35; family session $25
Ghost hunting Public and private ghost hunts with ParaNiagara
This 100,000-square-foot complex on the Erie Canal in Lockport’s Lowertown Historic District includes stone buildings from the early 1800s, among them the Western Block Company warehouse, on a site where a hotel burned in 1841. It later housed a fire station and a police department, and it has seen several fires and accidents over two centuries.
Tenants and former workers describe paranormal experiences, and investigators say they have recorded a voice saying “Get out, fire” in parts of the building that burned. ParaNiagara and Buffalo Phantom Hunters run public hunts, family ghost hunting classes and private bookings year-round.
Haunted Rooms tip: Try the daytime Family Ghost Hunt 101 if you are bringing children.
Where to look The USS Little Rock, the USS The Sullivans and the submarine Croaker
Reported ghosts The Sullivan brothers, a sailor called John on the Croaker
Visiting Museum ships; closed December to March
Hours and season Seasonal; weekends 10 AM to 4 PM in the off season
Ghost hunting None advertised
Opened in 1979 and moored at Buffalo’s Canalside, the park lets visitors go aboard the cruiser USS Little Rock, the destroyer USS The Sullivans, named for five brothers lost together when USS Juneau sank in 1942, and the World War II submarine USS Croaker.
Ghost Hunters investigated all three ships for its “Phantom Fleet” episode. Local radio retells the stories: footsteps on The Sullivans blamed on George Sullivan searching for his brothers, an officer who helped a couple on a tour though none was aboard, a hostile spirit called John on the Croaker who pulls hair, and a tap on the Little Rock that turns on by itself. These are stories, not record. The park runs a Halloween event called Nightmare Wharf.
What investigators report
On the Ghost Hunters visit, investigators tapped on the floor in the missile room and report getting clear knocks back, and audio review picked up whistling and knocking aboard the ships.
Where to look The stage, the balcony and the basement
Reported ghosts A woman's voice, whistling, a shadow figure
Visiting Closed for repairs under new operators; a reopening is planned
Ghost hunting Public ghost hunts were held before the closure; none scheduled now
The Rapids opened on September 1, 1921, as the Bellevue Theatre, a movie house and vaudeville stage, and took its present name in 1961. After years as nightclubs it reopened in December 2009 as a concert venue. Following a foreclosure, the city bought it in 2024, and in May 2026 the owners of Buffalo’s Rec Room were picked to repair, rename and reopen it, aiming for a soft opening around Thanksgiving 2026.
The theater has called itself one of Western New York’s haunted destinations. Staff report whistling, footsteps, moving objects and doors closing; a general manager described a tune whistled a foot from his head with no one there. Ghost Hunters investigated for the 2011 episode “Stage Fright”, and public ghost hunts followed from 2012. Whether hunts return under the new owners is not yet known.
Haunted Rooms tip: Check for news of the reopening before you go; the building is closed for repairs.
Where to look The upstairs suites and hallways, the dining room
Reported ghosts A bride and groom said to have died on their wedding day; music and dancing overhead
Visiting A working hotel; stay the night to experience it
Ghost hunting No public ghost hunts; stay the night instead
The Red Coach Inn opened on August 30, 1923, a three-and-a-half-story English Tudor inn modeled on the Bell Inn at Finedon in England. It looks over the Upper Rapids a short walk from the falls, and it still runs as an inn with suites upstairs and a restaurant downstairs. It is named for the red carriage of General Lafayette, who was welcomed at the Eagle Tavern across the street in the early 1800s.
The Red Coach is a stop on New York’s Haunted History Trail. Guests report jewelry moving across dressers, music playing in the middle of the night and footsteps and dancing overhead, and the story told most often is of a bride and groom who died on their wedding day. Staff are happy to share more if you ask.
What investigators report
One guest who walked the inn with an EMF meter reports readings climbing on the stairs and peaking at the door of the third-floor Victoria Suite, while staff point to the lobby ship’s bell, which they say has rung loudly with no one near it.
Address University at Buffalo South Campus, Buffalo, NY
Where to look The halls and the clock tower
Reported ghosts An old woman in the halls
Visiting University building; campus grounds open
Ghost hunting None
Hayes Hall was built in 1874 for the Insane Department of the Erie County Almshouse and later became the county hospital’s main building. The University of Buffalo bought the land in 1909 and rebuilt the hall with its bell tower in the late 1920s. It houses the School of Architecture and Planning and was listed on the National Register in 2016.
The burials are real: thousands died at the poorhouse, many bodies were dug up and moved to Amherst in the 1960s, and a South Campus memorial honors 372 people buried there. Ghost stories, such as an old woman seen in the halls, are passed around but we found no detailed published account. It is a working campus building.
Haunted Rooms tip: See the tower lit at night from the South Campus green.
Where to look Christ the King Chapel and its basement
Reported ghosts Voices from the confessionals, shadow figures
Visiting University campus
Ghost hunting None
Canisius was founded in Buffalo in 1870. Its Christ the King Chapel, designed by Duane Lyman and seating 492, was completed in 1951.
Local radio puts the chapel at the top of Buffalo’s haunted list, with voices heard from the confessionals and a 2004 student photo said to show a priest in the basement. The student paper, The Griffin, adds a little boy on the fourth floor of Old Main, running footsteps in Frisch Hall, and a book that flew off a shelf in the library. These are campus stories, not record. It is a working campus.
Haunted Rooms tip: Admire the chapel from the quad; respect services and students.
These places appear in older lists of haunted spots. We keep them here so you know the facts before you go, but you cannot (or should not) visit them.
St. Mary's School for the Deaf
Older lists tell of ghostly nuns moving a bell on the third floor and a boy who drowned in the old pool. It is a working school on Main Street: please do not visit for ghost hunting. We found no published source for the stories.
The German Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum
Our older guide described voices and shadows at the former orphan asylum, which it said closed in 1956 and whose surviving buildings it said are now apartments. Treat it as private property; we found no published source for the stories.
Delaware Road, Clarence Center
Local legend tells of an old man with a lantern, a little girl and a strange animal on this unlit country road. It is a public road with no sidewalks, so we do not recommend walking it at night, and we found no published source for the stories.
Changed from our older guide: the Richardson Olmsted Campus hotel reopened in 2023 as Hotel Richardson; the Central Terminal interior is closed for stabilization; St. Mary’s School for the Deaf, the old orphan asylum and Delaware Road now sit in the off-limits section. Where we could not find a published source for a ghost story, as at the Naval Park, Hayes Hall and Canisius, we now say so. New in this update: Old Fort Niagara, the Rapids Theatre, the Western Block in Lockport, Marjim Manor, Graestone Manor and the Red Coach Inn.
Visited one of these places? Tell us what happened
We collect first-hand accounts from visitors and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your visit. We read every story before it’s published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most haunted place in Buffalo?
The Central Terminal, which hosted a live six-hour Ghost Hunters broadcast on Halloween 2010, and the Iron Island Museum, a former church and funeral home, have the biggest reputations. Just outside the city, Graestone Manor in Gasport is one of Western New York’s best-known haunted homes.
Can you go ghost hunting in Buffalo?
Yes. The Iron Island Museum runs public hunts and overnights, the Rapids Theatre in Niagara Falls and ParaNiagara in Lockport run public ghost hunts, and Haunted Rooms runs ghost hunts at Graestone Manor.
Is the Buffalo Central Terminal open?
The interior is closed while a major stabilization project runs into 2027, but the restoration group holds events on the Great Lawn outside.
Can you stay at the old Buffalo State Hospital?
Yes. The central towers building of the Richardson Olmsted Campus reopened in March 2023 as Hotel Richardson.
Where can I stay in a haunted hotel near Buffalo?
The 1923 Red Coach Inn at Niagara Falls has its own ghost stories. See our Red Coach Inn guide.
Sources and how we research
Every place in this guide is checked against its official website, historic register listings and news coverage, and we confirm whether it is open, closed, private or gone before we list it. Ghost stories are reported as staff, visitors and local historians tell them; we say so where records contradict a story. Each place shows how many independent sources we checked it against; our own Haunted Rooms pages are not counted.
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About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every place in our guides using official sites, historic registers, local archives and news coverage, and we report ghost stories as the stories they are. We review each guide regularly so you are not sent to a place that has closed, changed hands or banned visitors. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
