Most Haunted Places in Oregon

Oregon is a state that is filled with some of America’s most notorious haunted houses, creepy roads and hellish haunts! These are not just those little creaks and groans, but real life, genuine hauntings that will make the hair on the back of you neck stand on end!

Let’s take a few minutes to explore the 13 most haunted places in Oregon:

The town of Independence is said to be very haunted and there are few locals who have not had a personal experience of Lenora!

She was a 15 year old girl who fell in love with a soldier who went off to fight in World War 1 and died within a week.

She was broken hearted and threw herself through a glass skylight into what is now Mangiare Italian Restaurant.

It is said that there is a stain on the floor that simply cannot be removed. Lenora’s ghost has been seen wandering around town on countless occasion.

Oregon Caves Chateau was built in 1932 and it still has the same rustic atmosphere that it did back then.

Guests say they start feeling uneasy as soon as they lay eyes on the building! This continues to build as you climb the narrow staircase to the upper floors.

It is said that a spirit named Elizabeth lingers in the sixth floor hallway during the day before wandering the hotel at night. She is said to be the spirit of a young woman betrayed by her husband on their wedding night.

She apparently jumped to her death from the window of Room 301 after seeing her husband in a compromising position with one of the chambermaids.

Highway 101 is a stunning stretch of highway along Oregon’s coast. However, it may look beautiful, but it has a darker side.

Since the early sixties there have been reports of people seeing a man with a bandaged face appearing at the side of the road.

Some say that he has even been glimpsed sitting in their back seat via the rear view mirror, but when they turn around he is gone!

The Oregon Vortex was originally known to Native Americans as ‘The Forbidden Ground’ largely because of their belief that evils spirits roamed the land. It is said that their horses would shy away and refuse to enter the area.

A house was built on the land, but it has sunk into the ground at a diagonal. However, despite this anyone who stands inside the house finds themselves standing perfectly upright!

It has also been said that people appear to change height inside what is believed to be a vortex!

There are also many ghost stories here, most of them revolving around the apparition of scientist John Lister who originally discovered the unique properties of the area!

Is this really a rift in space and/or time or is there some other explanation?

The Hot Springs in La Grande, Oregon have a long and colorful history. They were initially a place of healing for Native Americans until the settlers came along and built a hotel on the land in the 1840s.

By the 1920s it had been converted into a medical facility and later an insane asylum and a retirement home. It began to fall into disrepair and in 1991 it was closed temporarily. This is when the first reports of paranormal activity began to surface.

There is now a hotel on the land and staff report hearing piano music even although there is no piano in the building.

There are also reports of the ghost of a gardener who hanged himself on the property, a strange mist that appears on the lake and a higher than average number of car crashes outside of the property.

The Oregon Institute of Technology was in use for many years and then was suddenly abandoned with little or no explanation given as to why! Some of the building was demolished and the remains soon fell into disrepair.

However, there have been reports of strange activity around the area. The hill right next to the building is known to be a site where regular satanic ceremonies have been conducted.

There have also been odd rock formations with animal bones in the center found around the ruins of the institute and some explorers have even found blood.

This is creepy enough, but there is also the reports of shadow figures, loud unexplained bangs and a very ominous presence.

In the 1800s a woman was accused of witchcraft and was hanged for her supposed crimes. Immediately prior to her death she cursed the town of Lafayette, saying that it would burn to the ground three times!

Since then, the entire town has burned down on two occasions, so it seems that the curse is not yet broken! Her ghost has also been spotted roaming not only the location in which she was hanged, but also Lafayette Cemetery where she was buried.

It has been said that she lurks in the shadows and will scream at visitors, even going to far as to chase them out of the cemetery. Those who have been chased out often have razor like cuts across their backs, perhaps from her fingernails as she grabs at them?

The attacks got so frequent that the cemetery has now been closed to the public and bears a no trespassing sign for public safety!

This is definitely one of the most haunted locations in Oregon, as well as being a place where you need to quite literally watch your back.

In the early 1900s Multnomah County Poor farm housed the unfortunate, the sick, the poor and the homeless. They could live on the farm in exchange for working on it.

People came and went with some frequency so it is difficult to say how many of them died here, but there were certainly a fair few. The labor was hard and some of the people just were not up to it and ended up dying.

In 1990, a hotel, brewery and venue was built on the property and it is around that time that the paranormal activity was first reported.

Room 215 in particular seems to be a bit of a hotspot and the hotel keeps a log book where guests can note down their paranormal experiences while staying at the hotel!

Even the name of this property is enough to send a shiver up your spine, so it is hardly surprising that The Witch’s Castle in Portland is considered to be one of the most haunted places in Oregon.

It was purchased in 1850 by the Balch family as a sanctuary for the family, but soon it became more like a prisoner. When their daughter fell in love with the hired help Danford Balch ended up killing the man.

He then claimed that he did so because his wife had bewitched him with a spell! However, he was still hanged for his crime. His death holds the distinction of being the first legal hanging in Oregon.

Anna was returned to the house where she had lost both her love and her father and lived out the rest of her life there. Now it is said that she haunts the building along with her father and her lost love.

People have reported seeing ghostly figures fighting around midnight.

Portland’s Shanghai Tunnels are world famous. They run under this infamously haunted city as a reminder that in its early years, this was a dark and dangerous city. Men and women alike were tricked or drugged in the bars and brothels all over town and dragged into the tunnels before being bundled onto boats to serve as slaves.

Many were physically and/or sexually abused and several did not make it out of the tunnels alive. The hidden rooms were also used as opium dens and many people overdosed in the tunnels.

All of this death and torment has made the Shanghai Tunnels the ideal breeding ground for paranormal activity and there are countless reports of strange noises, shadows and disembodied voices as well as a malevolent spirit who takes pleasure in tormenting the tour guides.

Croisan Creek Road is a creepy little spot in Salem which is said to be haunted by the spirit of a little girl who was hit by a speeding car while crossing the street.

It is said that drivers often see a little girl and a boy at the side of the road. Sometimes they see a ball roll into the road and the little girl chasing it. If they stop or slow down she will simply vanish.

Oregon State Hospital originally opened in the 1800s as a general hospital, but over the years it got more and more crowded and eventually it was largely being used for insane and mentally handicapped.

Conditions in the hospital were not good. A combination of questionable medical practices and the constant abuse of vulnerable patients has left  a dark stain on this building and it is no wonder it is considered to be one of the most haunted buildings in Oregon.

There are also tunnels under the hospital that were intended to be used for transporting the more dangerous patients, but which were rumoured to be used to conduct experiments on patients since nobody could hear them scream.

Visitors have said that they can still hear patients calling for help and there have also been reports of footsteps, wailing and other strange noises.

Pittock Mansion is a huge 16,000 square foot building that was built in 1909 by Henry Pittock, the publisher of The Oregonian, and his wife Georgina. The couple died in 1918 and 1919, but the family remained living in the mansion until 1964.

The house was then turned into a museum, but few people are aware that it is one of the most haunted places in Oregon.

The haunted nature of the property is more or less kept on the down low, but that hasn’t stopped tales of the ghosts slipping out! Apparently the Pittocks are still there and they often tidy up or move the furniture around!