Lexington is one of the most beautiful towns in Kentucky. You will see acres of stunning farmlands with white mansion style barns and a near endless sea of bluegrass. However, this scenic little town has a darker underbelly in the form of a whole host of spooks and spectres waiting to pounce after dark!
Let’s looks a little bit closer at the 9 most haunted places in Lexington, KY.
9 - Transylvania University
When you hear the name ‘Transylvania’ it probably conjures up thoughts of Count Dracula! However, in terms of Lexington’s Transylvania University the name is LAtin for ‘across the woods’ – a description that is quite fitting for the school!
However, Transylvania University does also have its dark side! The school is apparently under a curse put on the school by former professor Constantine Rafinesque.
A number of untoward things have happened that have been blamed on the curse including the suicide of one student who is still said to haunt the university.
Students sleeping in a certain dorm on campus have awoken to see a male in gym shorts standing at the foot of the bed who then vanishes!
8 - Don Young Farm House
The Don Young Farm House is apparently haunted by the spirit of an older gentlemen who died while building the house back in the late 1800s.
Ever since his death there have been plenty of unexplained things happening in the house including door opening and closing of their own volition, windows opening and closing by themselves in the dead of night and the sound of a vehicle coming up the gravel driveway when no such vehicle is present!
When this sound is heard on the driveway, the household dogs have been known to run around the house to greet the visitor only to be disappointed when they discover that there is nobody there after all!
7 - The John Hunt Morgan House
The John Hunt Morgan House sits on the corner of N. Mill Street and West Second Street close to the Transylvania University. It is a federal style red brick mansion that was built in 1814 by millionaire John Wesley Hunt.
The house now serves as an interpretive museum allowing visitors the opportunity to take a look at what the life and culture was like in Kentucky in the early part of the nineteenth century.
There is also one room on the second floor which is dedicated to the Alexander T. Hunt Civil War Museum. It is said that the spirit of John Wesley Hunt has been seen walking the halls of the house, still going about his business which is entirely plausible given that he died quite suddenly in 1849 of Cholera and left lots of unfinished business.
There have also been sightings of another spirit – that of Mammy Bouviette James who was the beloved nanny to the Morgan children. She became a member of the family rather than a servant and upon her death she was laid out in the parlor of the house and buried in the family plot something that was unheard of at the time.
She often appears to sick children in the house and will sing to them and stroke their hair.
She is usually seen wearing her trademark red shoes which were given to her as a gift by John Hunt Morgan.
6 - Lexington Cemetery
Who doesn’t love a good haunted cemetery? It is said that the Mausoleum in Lexington Cemetery are haunted and visitors have reported hearing disembodied voices, strange noises, and even blood curdling screams coming from inside over the years.
There are also reports of a strange shadow like figure which is seen moving around near the back of the mausoleum and that when it appears witnesses feel themselves overwhelmed by a real sense of anger.
Other witnesses have commented on smelling a foul odor at times although some dismiss this as rotting vegetation.
5 - Loudoun House
The Loudoun House was built in 1852 and is a Gothic style villa which once served as the private residence of the families of both Francis Key Hunt and William Cassius Goodloe.
It is now the home of the Lexington Art League and is one of the most haunted places in Lexington KY.
Just some of the examples of paranormal activity that has been reported here over recent years includes the appearance of a Victorian woman who haunts the Western section of the house, the apparition of a ghostly black cat and a second Victorian Woman who often appears sitting in what would once have been the dining room.
One of the upstairs rooms which now serves as a studio is often filled with the scent of some kind of antique floral perfume and some say that they have heard disembodied voices and the faint strains of ballroom music drifting through the house.
Nobody has identified for sure who the two female apparitions are, but some investigators have suggested that one of them is probably Julia Hunt who desperately wanted to stay at Loudoun House but was forced to sell the house and go to live with her daughter and son-in-law.
Some have suggested that the second entity in the dining room is perhaps a servant still hanging around to serve guests at meal times!
4 - Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate
Ashland is a 1857 Italianate style house that is a part of the Henry Clay Estate in Lexington. The main house, outbuildings and formal gardens are now a museum that is open to the general public and maintained by the Henry Clay Memorial Foundation.
The house is also one of the most haunted places in Lexington KY and is haunted by Henry Clay himself! This was his refuge in life, so it is no surprise that he has decided to stay on here in death!
His apparition has been seen in the original red parlor room, which is now staged as his study. He is described as having white hair and being dressed in a black frock coat.
He is said to lean against the mantel of the fireplace, sometimes looking at the mementos of his achievements that are displayed there. It seems that he approves of how Ashland has been cared for since his passing.
3 - The Mansion-Griffin Gate
The Mansion-Griffin Gate is a historical building that at one time served as a private residence. At one time there was a teenager who lived there by the name of Gretta, and it is her spirit who apparently haunts the building today.
The house has been transformed into a restaurant and the employees have been known to issue warnings about the blue room. This is the room that was Gretta’s and it is also where she died.
Gretta apparently hanged herself after a local boy had either rejected her advances or stood her up for a date. This is why the lights and/or candles in this room will often flicker.
Guests also comment on feeling a cool breeze across their legs as they sit down to eat, but there are no air vents in the room that would cause this!
Gretta still considers this her room and if someone makes her mad she has been known to make the chandeliers swing or slam the shutters on the windows closed!
2 - Leestown Division VA Hospital
Leestown Division VA Hospital is actually made up of a collection of different buildings set in vast wooded grounds. Over the years, the property is said to have been the site of a number of strange and often very frightening occurrences which have led to it being known as one of the most haunted places in Lexington KY.
There have been sightings of a number of different apparitions over the years and witnesses also say that they have heard disembodied voices, moaning and agonizing screams.
Doors will often slam by themselves and it is not at all uncommon to hear footsteps in the corridors even though there is nobody there!
Electronic equipment and appliances are known to completely malfunction here and will turn on and off at random without anyone even touching them!
1 - Campbell House InnBOOK A ROOM
The Campbell House Inn is a very old hotel and is considered to be one of the most haunted places in Lexington KY. According to the local rumours there were two women murdered here.
The first was stabbed to death on the stairs and you can actually still see the blood stains on the carpet. The second was shot in one of the rooms on the third floor.
It seems likely that the spirits of these two women are responsible for the strange things that have been reported in the hotel including doors opening and closing by themselves as well as guests seeing apparitions and other things that are not actually there!