America is home to so many haunted places and scary locations to visit – continue reading to see if there are scary places near you! I bet there is!
Let’s start your journey now and get right into the top 10 most haunted places in America.
Please Note: Most of the haunted locations are open to the public, though please do check with the location first before you go and always abide by the law.
10. ST. AUGUSTINE LIGHTHOUSE, ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA
This is a unique and incredibly active location where activity has occurred in both the lighthouse and the lighthouse keeper’s house. Many Floridians believe it’s the most haunted place in America, and without a doubt, it’s one of the most haunted places in St Augustine and Florida! Reports consist of apparitions, dark shadowy figures, disembodied voices, and unexplained sounds.
TV’s paranormal show ‘Ghost Hunters’, found several pieces of evidence on their visit in Season 2, but the best footage out of those was a video of a figure leaning over a railing inside the lighthouse.
Reports consist of apparitions, dark shadowy figures, disembodied voices, and unexplained sounds. TV’s paranormal show ‘Ghost Hunters’, found several pieces of evidence on their visit in Season 2, but the best footage out of those was a video of a figure leaning over a railing inside the lighthouse.
It is believed that the daughters of the man in charge of the construction of the lighthouse died nearby, and these two girls have continued to haunt the lighthouse ever since.
The apparition of a young girl has been seen, the sound of running up the lighthouse steps, and laughing and giggling have also been heard.
Adjacent to the lighthouse building is the Lighthouse Keeper’s building, which is now the gift shop.
Previous lighthouse keepers have reported hearing strange sounds, seeing lights switch on and off, and witnessing an apparition of a man in the basement.
Read more on the ghosts of St. Augustine Lighthouse
9. TRANS-ALLEGHENY LUNATIC ASYLUM, WESTON, WEST VIRGINIA
When people ask the question “what is the most haunted place in America”, one of the most frequent responses is the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum! Formerly known as Weston State Hospital, this former mental asylum in West Virginia is a place where a lot of pain and mental suffering was experienced.
Built in 1858 to house up to 250 patients, this the largest hand-cut stone building in North America, became severely overcrowded, and by its peak in the 1950s over 2,000 patients called this place home.
Due to severe mistreatment, which involved being locked in cages, chained to walls, electroshock therapy, and even lobotomies, hundreds of people sadly died.
The grounds were also served as a Civil War military base, and this has resulted in the sighting of many apparitions in Civil War uniforms. However, the vast majority of hauntings are caused by the patients that lived and died there.
Find more haunted places in West Virginia
8. MYRTLES PLANTATION, ST. FRANCISVILLE, LOUISIANA
No. 8 on our list of America’s most haunted places is Myrtles Plantation. Located in the most haunted state in America, Louisiana, and renowned as America’s most haunted plantation by paranormal experts worldwide, this stately old home was built in 1796.
Now an impeccable B&B, it is believed to house no fewer than 12 ghosts.
Visitors and staff have reported seeing a woman with curly hair who appears and disappears in a moment, the apparitions of children on the verandah, faces and figures in mirrors, mysterious handprints, strange sounds, cold spots, footsteps, and disembodied voices to name but a few.
Related: Louisiana’s Most Haunted Plantations
Out of all the spirits that haunt the house and its grounds, the most famous is the ghost of a slave girl named Chloe.
She was executed by fellow slaves after a failed attempt at poisoning the house mistress. Her ghost is believed to have walked the grounds of the plantation ever since.
Learn more about the haunted history of Myrtles Plantation
7. CRESCENT HOTEL, EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS
One of the most haunted hotels in America – the Crescent Hotel & Spa in Arkansas. It was built in 1886 and is a member of the Historic Hotels of America Association.
It was originally opened as a luxurious hotel, but went into decline and re-opened as a school for girls in 1908. It was later used by the fraudulent, Dr. Norman Baker as a supposed cancer hospital.
He was found guilty of deceiving patients with useless treatments, carrying out experiments on both the living and deceased, and making fortunes from their families.
The morgue where Dr. Baker carried out his experiments is the source of one haunting, where the apparition of a man has been seen and captured on thermographic videotape.
Apparitions of other ghosts include that of Michael, a former worker who fell from the roof in 1886, a nurse who is seen pushing a gurney, a young female student who is believed committed suicide, and a man with a mustache wearing a Victorian suit in the lobby. Dr. Baker himself has also been seen on occasion.
Learn more about the haunted Crescent Hotel
6. WHALEY HOUSE, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
The Whaley House, San Diego, California – One of the most haunted houses in America! Built on the grounds of the first public hanging spot in San Diego, the Whaley House is a historic landmark.
Built in 1857 by Thomas Whaley for use as a general store and granary. As soon as he moved into the home, Whaley began to hear disembodied footsteps upstairs.
He believed it was the ghost of “Yankee” Jim Robinson, who was hanged there in 1852.
Other people have since experienced the opening and closing of doors, chairs rocking, and swinging chandeliers. The ghosts of both Whaley and his wife, who announce themselves by the sudden aroma of cigar smoke and perfume are also believed to haunt the house.
Another ghost said to haunt the home is Violet, Whaley’s daughter, who committed suicide there. Her apparition has been seen in a long dress in the back bedroom upstairs.
Find more haunted places in San Diego
5. GETTYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA
No. 5 on the list of the most haunted places in the USA, is the town of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. If you ask any paranormal enthusiast “what is the most haunted town in America,” then the likely response would be Gettysburg.
The site of the bloodiest battle of the Civil War where over 50,000 soldiers died, Gettysburg has stood the test of time as one of the most haunted locations in the country.
The battlefield itself is the core of the hauntings with the cries of men in pain, cannons firing, and the sound of gunfire being heard.
A lot of the experiences are reported near Devil’s Den, a rock formation where a large number of limbs and bodies were found after the war.
The reports don’t just center around the battlefield – hotels, homes, and various businesses are also haunted by the ghosts of this fateful battle.
The amount of activity in such a small area makes this the most concentrated location for ghostly activity in North America.
Learn about more haunted locations in Gettysburg
4. WAVERLY HILLS SANATORIUM, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
A list of the most haunted places in the country isn’t complete without mentioning the notorious Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky. Built as a tuberculosis hospital in 1910, it is believed the hospital has seen over 63,000 patients die within its walls.
Due to the lack of medical advances at the time, a large number of people died because of the TB infection. However, a lot of the deaths in the hospital were due to the supposed mistreatment and the questionable experimental procedures that were performed on the patients.
Due to the high number of deaths and mistreatment of patients, the number of reports of the paranormal is high. Its reputation as a haunted location was cemented after it featured on such shows as Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures.
Incredible footage of a small boy known as Tim was caught on film, walking across the hall. There have also been numerous reports of full-bodied apparitions, fleeting shadows, disembodied screams, footsteps, and voices.
Without a doubt, Waverly Hills is near the top of the ultimate scary places to visit in the US.
Learn more about the haunted Waverly Hills Sanatorium
3. EMILY MORGAN HOTEL, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
The Emily Morgan Hotel is located overlooking the Alamo plaza in San Antonio (regarded by many as one of the most haunted cities in America) – the famous site in which the Battle of the Alamo took place in 1836.
It was built in 1924 for use as a medical center and is highly regarded as one of the most haunted locations in Texas. Poltergeist activity, as well as full-bodied apparitions, are common occurrences.
Paranormal enthusiasts and skeptics flock to the Emily Morgan every year, the majority of them leaving with either a newfound belief in ghosts or with their beliefs stronger than before!
If people want to be in with the best chance of witnessing a spirit, then floors 3, 7, 9, 11, and 12 are known to be the most active. Some of these floors were used to treat mentally ill patients during its time as a medical facility.
The apparition of an elderly woman in a hospital gown has been seen walking down the corridors, dark shadowy figures have been seen in rooms, as well as the apparition of a young girl sitting on the edge of the bed.
Be sure to read about some of the other locations we have listed around San Antonio and you decide whether it’s the most haunted city in America!
Learn more about the ghosts of the Emily Morgan Hotel
2. VILLISCA AX MURDER HOUSE, IOWA
No. 2 on our list of the most haunted places in the US is Villisca Axe Murder House in Iowa. Widely regarded by many paranormal experts as the most haunted house in America.
One night in June 1912, the Moore’s, their four children, and two of their children’s friends were brutally murdered one by one with an ax.
The children were aged between five and 12. It’s a case that has haunted the town of Villisca for over one hundred years, a case that has never been solved.
The ghosts of the victims are believed to haunt the house to this day, with reports such as children crying, footsteps, disembodied whispering, doors opening and closing, and lamps mysteriously falling to the ground.
The house has recently been restored to its original state, with no electricity or heating, and with furnishings from the time the Moore’s lived there. Today you can take a day tour or lamplight tour of the house, as well as stay over in rooms where the family lost their lives.
Read more on the haunted Villisca Ax Murder House
1. EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
Eastern State Penitentiary brings a close to our list of the scariest places in America. Built in 1829, this former prison was a place you really didn’t want to be locked up in if you were a criminal.
Originally built to house up to 250 inmates, the numbers eventually swelled to over 1,700. Prisoners were brutally mistreated, often sprayed with freezing cold water and sent outside in the middle of winter.
Eastern State was the first prison of its kind – with prisoners held in solitary confinement, with their own yards, so there was no contact with any other inmate whatsoever (Pennsylvania System). This treatment drove many inmates to insanity and was therefore scrapped in 1913.
Reports have been on the increase and various investigations have resulted in some extreme evidence being captured. Experiences such as shadowy figures, evil laughing, ghostly faces, voices, footsteps, and banging sounds have all been witnessed regularly.