When it comes to the Paranormal, it seems like Massachusetts have a little something for everyone from creepy haunted asylums and cursed forests to famous murder scenes!
Now, let’s take a closer look at the most haunted places in Massachusetts:
9 – Freetown-Fall River State Forest, Assonet
Freetown-Fall River State Forest is better known locally as ‘The Cursed Forest of Massachusetts’! It is a strange place with hundreds of weird stories linked to it.
Among the eye-witness reports, there have been claims of UFOs, ghosts, mysterious lights, giant snakes, murders, disappearances, human and animal sacrifice, poltergeists and more!
This really is one of the most haunted places in the state, not to mention one of the most bizarre!
8 – Dogtown, Cape Ann
In 1693 Dogtown was established as a very respectable settlement. However, somewhere along the way, it gained itself a very bad reputation and by the early 1800s, Dogtown was all but abandoned with only vagabonds and feral dogs calling it home.
As the years passed, there were growing rumors that the residents of Dogtown had been practicing witchcraft. It was believed that Tammy Younger, aka Queen of the Witches, was placing curses on traders who strayed too close to the town.
These rumors are supported by the fact that some strange words and phrases are carved into boulders around the town boundaries.
These days the remains of Dogtown are open to hikers and although the witches themselves are long gone, many say that the surrounding woods remain cursed and there have been many unexplained occurrences reported!
7 – Spider Gates Cemetery, Leicester
Spider Gates Cemetery gets its name from the distinctive design on the gates. However, it has also been known as Quaker Cemetery and as ‘The Eighth Gate to Hell’!
The burial ground has been in use since 1740 and local legends state that it is a gate to another dimension!
Among the creepy tales linked to the burial ground is a story of a young boy who hanged himself in the trees, ghostly sightings, strange noises and evidence that satanic rituals are conducted on a strange stone known as the altar!
6 - Taunton State Hospital, Taunton
Taunton State Hospital, or the State Lunatic Hospital at Taunton as it was formerly known, was abandoned in 1975. In the 1800s, there were rumors that the hospital was being operated by a Satanic Cult who would take patients into the basement to conduct dark rituals and even human sacrifices.
There are apparently still some strange and unexplained markings on the walls of the basements, and while the hospital was still open, staff would attempt to go downstairs into the basement area only for them to feel something physically stopping them from reaching that bottom step!
Staff also reported seeing a shadow man who would crawl along the walls and often lurked in corners watching the patients!
The most famous resident of Taunton State Hospital was probably serial killer Jane Toppan who killed more than 31 people while working as a nurse.
It is no wonder this abandoned hospital is thought to be one of the most haunted places in the US!
5 – The Colonial Inn, ConcordBOOK NOW
The building that houses The Colonial Inn was originally built in 1716, but it only started operating as a hotel in 1889. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and it is considered one of the most haunted places in Massachusetts.
Room 24 of the Inn is a focal point for the paranormal activity in the hotel. In 1966 a pair of newlyweds stayed in the room and the following morning they left quickly with the bride looking very pale.
A few weeks later, the hotel was sent a letter from her explaining that she had woken to find a grey figure standing by her bed! Similar reports have been made ever since.
More info on the haunted Colonial Inn, Concord MA
4 - The Houghton Mansion, North Adams
One of the most well-known ghosts linked to Houghton Mansion is ‘Mary’ a girl thought to the daughter of the original owner, Albert Houghton, who died in a car accident in August of 1914.
Mary had dedicated herself to looking after her father and upon learning that both Mary and a trusted servant, Mrs. Hutton, had died in the accident he was unable to forgive himself and ended up shooting himself in the basement of the house the following day. The mansion is now a Masonic Temple.
There have been various ghostly tales linked to the building over the years.
For example, one of the masons says that he and his wife were in the records room when they both heard the sound of papers being shuffled. They looked around but no-one else was in the room. As the sound got louder the tow fled the building in fright! On another occasion, 2 Masons were sitting in the building when the side door opened and shut with both hearing the distinctive sound of it.
There were about 2 feet of snow on the ground that night and after the door was heard to close it was as though there was someone stomping their feet to knock off the snow. However, on investigating the noises they found no-one in the room, no-one outside and no footprints in the snow!
Read more about the haunted Houghton Mansion, North Adams
3 - Danvers State Hospital, Danvers
Danvers State Hospital is said to have been the real-life inspiration for H.P. Lovecraft’s Arkham Sanatorium.
When the hospital was open American physician Walter Jackson Freeman II carried out a number of lobotomies and a small number of the patients did see some slight benefits, but most had adverse effects and visitors would often report seeing patients aimlessly wandering the halls or simply staring at blank walls.
In short, there was a great deal of pain and suffering here and the patients were subjected to some brutal conditions so it is really no surprise that Danvers State Hospital is considered to be one of the most haunted places in Massachusetts!
Apparitions of former patients who died at the hospital are fairly common in the building and the grounds. The entire place seems to be shrouded in a very eerie atmosphere.
It is usually guarded well to stop would-be ghost hunters from breaking in and to date, just one group has ever been granted access to the hospital for a paranormal investigation outside of the television shows that have featured it.
Much of the hospital has actually been demolished and all that remains are the tunnels, cemeteries and the outer shell of the administration block and Wings D and G.
Learn more on the haunted Danvers State Hospital, Danvers, Massachusetts
2 - Lizzie Borden's House, Fall River
Everyone knows the story of Lizzie Borden! In a seemingly ordinary house which is now a themed bed and breakfast, Lizzie Borden is alleged to have brutally murdered her father and stepmother.
However, she was ultimately acquitted of the crime despite the general consensus that she was in fact guilty. It is no surprise that her former home and the scene of this horrific double murder is now considered to be one of the most haunted places in Massachusetts.
Guests who dare to spend the night in Lizzie Borden’s House say that they have been woken in the night by the sound of a woman weeping softly to herself. Other guests have witnessed shoes moving across the floor without being touched.
Some have even encountered the apparition of an older lady who tries to tuck them into bed at night!
It is believed that Abby and Andrew Borden, the two murder victims, are still in the house and some visiting psychics have also picked up on Lizzie herself.
The house has hosted a number of paranormal television shows and they have all struggled with equipment failures as lights and equipment turn on and off at random in the house and some of the cameras have been moved or turned off while locked in a room without nobody around!
Read more on the haunted Lizzie Borden’s House, Fall River, MA
1 – Hawthorne Hotel, SalemSTAY HERE
The Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Massachusetts has become something of a landmark for visitors since it was built in 1925 and not surprisingly the hotel has ghost stories, like so many other buildings in this haunted city – due to the dark and bloody history which dates back to the Witch Trials of 1692.
There are rumors that the hotel is haunted, although they have never been confirmed. The TV-show Ghost Hunters did an extensive investigation in 2007, but their reports were inconclusive.
Over the years, guests have reported supposed activities in rooms 325 and 612; some say they have seen the apparition of a woman lingering in the corridors, yet others have felt a more active presence in the rooms.
Famed author, historian, and ghost-hunter Rebecca F. Pittman is planning to write a book about the Hawthorne Hotel and its haunting presence in 2017 that will cover some of those stories.