Haunted Places in Pennsylvania: 25 of the Most Haunted to Visit
Abandoned asylums, a prison built for solitude, a burning ghost town, the most famous battlefield in America and old inns where you can sleep with the stories. These are Pennsylvania’s best-known haunted places, with what is true, what is legend and how you can visit.
Pennsylvania has more famous haunted places than almost any other state, and many of them are real institutions with hard histories: Eastern State Penitentiary, Pennhurst, Hill View Manor, the Allegheny County Jail and the old county jail at Jim Thorpe. Add Gettysburg, two Revolutionary War sites and a string of colonial inns and you have a list that is as much history as ghost story. We have checked every place below against current sources, so you know which are open, which run tours or allow ghost hunting, which take overnight guests and which you can only see from the road. Haunted Rooms runs its own ghost hunts at five of them: Fort Mifflin, Cresson Sanatorium, the Grand Midway Hotel, the Cashtown Inn and the Gettysburg Academy, and has also run them at the Columns Museum and the Jennie Wade House.
Open to the publicGhost toursHaunted Rooms ghost hunts
Address 6400 Hog Island Rd, Philadelphia, PA 19153
Where to look Casemate 5, Casemate 11 and the Officers' Quarters
Reported ghosts The Faceless Man, the Screaming Woman, the Lamplighter
Visiting Museum open to the public; check the official site for days
Tours Daytime visits, events and the fort’s own paranormal programs
Hours and season Seasonal; check the official site
Tickets Haunted Rooms ghost hunts from $129 (8 PM to 2 AM)
Ghost hunting Yes: Haunted Rooms ghost hunts and the fort’s paranormal programs
Begun in 1771 on Mud Island in the Delaware River, Fort Mifflin held off the British for weeks in the autumn of 1777 before its garrison evacuated on November 15; about 250 of its 400 or so defenders were killed or wounded. In the Civil War it held Confederate prisoners and Union deserters, and Union private William Howe was hanged here in August 1864.
Its best-known ghosts are the Faceless Man, often said to be Howe, the Screaming Woman of the Officers’ Quarters, said to be Elizabeth Pratt, and a lamplighter in the barracks. Even the fort’s own paranormal host is not sure the Faceless Man is Howe, and the records of Howe’s trial say nothing about a ghost. Haunted Rooms runs its own ghost hunts here.
What our team has found
Our teams get the most responses with dowsing rods in the officers’ housing, and the blacksmith shop is consistently active: one voice there said a team leader’s name. Casemate 1 has given EVPs and moving noises, and the spirit box has given intelligent answers in the mess hall.
From Haunted Rooms event reports
Haunted Rooms tip: Book a Haunted Rooms night to get into the casemates and Officers’ Quarters after dark, when the stories are told.
Open to the publicGhost toursParanormal investigations allowed
Address 401 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA 17325
Where to look The Garret, the cellar, the Sara Black Room and Jeremy's Room
Reported ghosts Jeremy, Mary the midwife, the Garret sharpshooter
Visiting A working inn; restaurants, tavern and tours open to the public
Tours Ghost walks, cellar and attic tours run by the inn
Ghost hunting The inn runs its own paranormal programs
The Farnsworth House on Baltimore Street is Gettysburg’s best-known haunted building. Its brick wall still carries more than 100 bullet holes from the battle, when Confederate sharpshooters used the house, and tradition holds that a shot from its attic killed Jennie Wade down the street. It is now a family-run inn with restaurants, a tavern and its own ghost tours.
The inn says as many as 16 spirits have been counted here. The best known are Jeremy, a playful boy linked to the cellar and to the room named after him; Mary, a midwife said to tuck guests in at night in the Sara Black Room; and a young sharpshooter whose footsteps are heard in the Garret. The inn’s evening tours of the attic and cellar are the easiest way inside if you are not staying.
What investigators report
Guests in the Jeremy Room report that toys left out are found scattered across the floor by morning and coins are moved or stacked. Ghost hunters say touches are most often reported in the basement, where Confederate bodies were once stored.
Visit on a tourParanormal investigations allowedOvernight investigations
Address 601 N Church St, Spring City, PA 19475
Where to look The administration building, Mayflower Hall and the tunnels
Reported ghosts Former residents and staff, reported by investigators
Visiting Private campus, open only for ticketed events
Tours Seasonal haunted attraction (late September to early November), daytime history tours and paranormal investigations
Hours and season Haunted attraction Fridays and Saturdays from late September, plus October Sundays
Tickets Haunted attraction combos from about $55; the 2026 self-guided Paranormal Experience is $45
Ghost hunting Yes: public and Mayflower Hall investigations, including late-night sessions (18+)
Pennhurst opened in 1908 as a state institution for people with intellectual and physical disabilities. By the 1960s it was badly overcrowded, and in 1968 WCAU-TV reporter Bill Baldini exposed its conditions in a five-part report, Suffer the Little Children. A federal lawsuit, Halderman v. Pennhurst, followed in 1974, and the institution closed in 1987.
The campus is now privately owned. Its former buildings host the seasonal Pennhurst Asylum haunted attraction, daytime history tours partly guided by former employees, and paranormal investigations, which have drawn Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters. The attraction is controversial with some former staff and local people, so remember that real residents lived and suffered here.
What investigators report
Investigators report flashlight sessions in a third-floor bathroom where a spirit they called Maryann answered yes or no questions, plus tapping on request. Others report knocks on demand in the basement and REM-Pod activity in Devon Hall.
Visit on a tourGhost toursParanormal investigations allowedOvernight investigations
Address 2801 Ellwood Road, New Castle, PA 16101
Where to look Mary Virginia's room, the boiler room and the third floor of the north wing
Reported ghosts Mary Virginia, George in the boiler room, the boy called Jeffrey
Visiting Open for booked tours and events
Tours Day tours of 1.5 or 3 hours, public investigations (2 to 6 hours) and private investigations
Hours and season Most of the year; book through the calendar on the official site
Tickets Prices on the official booking calendar
Ghost hunting Yes: public and private investigations, including late-night events
Hill View Manor opened in October 1926 as the Lawrence County Home for the Aged, a poor farm and county home for elderly, poor and mentally ill residents with no family to care for them. It was renamed Hill View Manor in 1977, became a skilled nursing home, and closed in 2004. Triko Enterprises of Allegheny County bought the building and 13.8 acres at auction in 2005 for $190,000.
Plans to turn it into condos never happened. Instead the building opened for tours and investigations, and it is now one of the best-known haunted locations in western Pennsylvania. Staff keep shrine-like rooms for the spirits they believe stay here, including Mary Virginia and a Steelers fan called George, and the legend of a boy named Jeffrey is told on most tours.
What investigators report
Investigators have used toys in Room 208 to draw out a child spirit, reporting strong K2 hits, and a flashlight left outside Room 129 reportedly flickered on request. Visitors also report spirit box replies to knock-knock jokes and cat ball activity on the third floor.
Address Museum and Visitor Center, 1195 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg, PA 17325
Where to look Devil's Den, Little Round Top, the Triangular Field and the Slaughter Pen
Reported ghosts Soldiers, phantom gunfire, a barefoot man at Devil's Den
Visiting National park, open to all
Tours Ranger programs and licensed battlefield guides by day; private ghost walks run in town at night
Hours and season Park roads open daily 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset
Tickets Battlefield free; museum tickets at the visitor center
Ghost hunting No: the park closes after dark and has a policy against organized paranormal investigations
More than 160,000 soldiers fought around Gettysburg over three days in July 1863, and some 51,000 were killed, wounded, captured or missing. The national military park protects about 6,000 acres of the field and drew about 730,000 visitors in 2025. It is the place most people mean when they call Gettysburg one of the most haunted towns in America.
The stories cluster where the fighting was worst. At Devil’s Den visitors describe a barefoot, long-haired man in a floppy hat who points and vanishes; at the Triangular Field cameras are said to fail; and re-enactors filming Gettysburg told of a Union soldier handing out old musket rounds on Little Round Top. Our Gettysburg guide covers each one.
What investigators report
Visitors who try to photograph the barefoot soldier at Devil’s Den often report drained batteries and failing cameras. One investigation team reported a spirit box reply of “You see him?” when asking “Is General Slocum here?” at Stevens Knoll.
Open to the publicOvernight investigationsHaunted Rooms ghost hunts
Address 1325 Old Route 30, Orrtanna, PA 17353 (Cashtown village, 8 miles west of Gettysburg)
Where to look The A.P. Hill Room, the Heth Room, the cellar and the front porch
Reported ghosts A young Confederate soldier, a woman in old-fashioned dress, phantom horses
Visiting A working inn with a tavern and restaurant
Ghost hunting Yes, on Haunted Rooms ghost hunt sleepovers
The Cashtown Inn has stood on the old Chambersburg Pike, eight miles west of Gettysburg, since 1797. In late June 1863 it was headquarters for Confederate generals A.P. Hill, Henry Heth and John D. Imboden, and its cellar was used as a field hospital once the fighting began. Today it is a small country inn with a tavern and restaurant.
Guests describe heavy footsteps in empty halls, knocking on doors with nobody outside, lights switching themselves on and the smell of pipe tobacco. The A.P. Hill Room has the strongest reputation, with a rocking chair said to move on its own. Ghost Hunters investigated in 2008, and Haunted Rooms runs ghost hunt sleepovers here with the whole inn booked for the night.
What investigators report
Investigators report recording a voice answering “yes” to “Do you miss your family?” and feeling a couch cushion press down beside them in the Robert E. Lee Room. The strongest EMF readings were reported in the basement.
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.
Visit on a tourGhost toursHaunted Rooms ghost hunts
Address 548 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA 17325
Where to look The kitchen and parlor doors, the cellar and the upstairs rooms
Reported ghosts Jennie Wade, footsteps, the smell of baking bread
Visiting A museum open on guided tours; several sets of stairs and not wheelchair accessible
Tours Guided daytime tours by guides in period dress; evening ghost tours and private investigations through Ghostly Images of Gettysburg
Hours and season Hours vary by season; check before you go
Tickets Sold at the house and through Gettysburg Battlefield Tours
Ghost hunting Yes, on Haunted Rooms ghost hunts and private investigations with Ghostly Images
Mary Virginia “Jennie” Wade was 20 when she came to her sister Georgia McClellan’s house on Baltimore Street to help with Georgia’s newborn baby. At about 8 a.m. on July 3, 1863, while she was kneading dough, a bullet passed through the kitchen door and the parlor door and killed her. She is the only civilian known to have been killed directly by the fighting. The house is now a museum furnished as it was, with the doors and a shell hole in the roof still on show.
Visitors and guides describe a young woman in a long dress in the rooms, quiet footsteps, whispers and the smell of fresh bread, and a local paranormal group has hung a sign certifying the house as haunted. There is also a sweeter legend: a single woman who puts her finger through the bullet hole in the door will soon get a marriage proposal. Evening ghost tours go inside, and Haunted Rooms has run ghost hunts here.
Haunted Rooms tip: Take the daytime tour for the history, then come back after dark on a ghost tour, when the house feels very different.
Address 2027 Fairmount Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19130
Where to look Cellblocks 4, 6 and 12 and the guard towers
Reported ghosts Shadow figures, faces on the walls, cackling voices
Visiting Museum open daily
Tours Self-guided audio tour, 45-minute guide-led tours, Halloween Nights in season
Hours and season Daily 10 AM to 5 PM
Tickets Adults $21 online, $23 at the door; not recommended for under-7s
Ghost hunting Not allowed: the site bans paranormal investigations and EVP recorders
Eastern State opened on October 25, 1829, built to John Haviland’s radial design so that every prisoner could be held alone to reflect and repent. Its plan was copied by more than 300 prisons worldwide. Solitary confinement broke down under overcrowding and was officially abandoned in 1913; Al Capone spent eight months here in 1929 and 1930, and the state closed the prison in 1970. Saved from sale, it opened for hard-hat tours in 1994.
Visitors, guards and inmates have told consistent stories since the 1940s: cackling in Cellblock 12, shadow figures in Cellblock 6, faces in Cellblock 4, and the silhouette of a guard in a tower. The site itself does not claim to be haunted and does not allow investigations, but it runs daily tours and Halloween Nights each autumn.
Haunted Rooms tip: Go on a weekday morning when the cellblocks are quiet, and use the guide-led tour for the history behind the ghost stories.
Where to look The Children's House, the tunnels, the cell blocks and Grace Chapel
Reported ghosts Former patients, staff and prisoners, reported by investigators
Visiting Private; open only for booked events
Tours Haunted Rooms ghost hunts
Hours and season Event nights 8 PM to 2 AM
Tickets Haunted Rooms ghost hunts from $149
Ghost hunting Yes: Haunted Rooms ghost hunts (18+, or 16+ with an adult)
On a mountaintop west of Altoona, the state’s first tuberculosis sanatorium took its first patients in the winter of 1912, on land linked to Andrew Carnegie. It later became a state hospital, run as Lawrence F. Flick State Hospital from 1956 to 1982, before the state spent $20.6 million turning it into SCI Cresson, a men’s prison, which opened in 1987 and closed in 2013.
The buildings have stood largely empty since. Investigators report child-like voices in the Children’s House, said to have held the morgue, knocks in the tunnels under the campus, and footsteps and voices in the cell blocks. It is one of the newest places where Haunted Rooms runs its own ghost hunts.
What investigators report
Visitors report a spirit in the Children’s Ward that copies their sounds and voices, and EVPs have reportedly been captured there. Female visitors in blocks E, F and J report having their hair touched or pulled.
Where to look The second-floor hallway, the basement and the attic stairs
Reported ghosts Juliette Peirce, a woman in a dark dress, a small woman in the basement
Visiting Museum open on set afternoons
Hours and season Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 4 PM; Thursday and Friday by appointment
Ghost hunting Yes: Haunted Rooms ghost hunts, 8 PM to 2 AM
This 22-room neoclassical mansion was built in 1904 for businessman Dennis McLaughlin and is now home to the Pike County Historical Society. Its most famous treasure is the bloodstained flag said to have cradled Abraham Lincoln’s head at Ford’s Theatre in 1865. The museum also keeps belongings of the philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce and his wife Juliette, who lived on at their Milford home, Arisbe, after his death.
The Pike County Courier has reported the long-told claim that Juliette Peirce walks the second-floor hallway near her things, and visitors describe a woman in a dark dress at the top of the stairs, a small woman in the basement, whispers, and footsteps and heel clicks after closing. The Sullivan Paranormal Society investigated several times. Haunted Rooms runs its own after-dark ghost hunts here.
What our team has found
Activity here comes in waves. Estes sessions in Juliette’s room get the most replies, EMF meters respond in the military room and EVP sessions in the genealogy records room have brought intelligent answers. Teams have also heard knocks downstairs, shuffling footsteps in the boiler room and a music box going off in the basement.
From Haunted Rooms event reports
Haunted Rooms tip: See the Lincoln flag on a Wednesday, Saturday or Sunday afternoon, then come back after dark on one of our ghost hunts.
Visit on a tourOvernight investigationsHaunted Rooms ghost hunts
Address 66 West High Street, Gettysburg, PA 17325
Where to look The old school rooms, the front portico and the side yard
Reported ghosts Wounded soldiers from the 1863 field hospital, reported by investigators
Visiting A private bed and breakfast; inside on Haunted Rooms events or as an overnight guest
Ghost hunting Yes, on Haunted Rooms ghost hunts and Overnight VIP nights
Built around 1810 at West High and South Washington Streets, the Gettysburg Academy was the first home of both Gettysburg College and the Lutheran Seminary. In July 1863 it became an emergency field hospital, and a Confederate artillery shell is still lodged in the brickwork above the entrance. Tillie Pierce watched Union cavalry ride past its portico on July 1. After 140 years as a private home it now takes guests as a bed and breakfast.
With a field hospital in its past, the Academy has drawn paranormal investigators for years, and it is one of the Gettysburg buildings where Haunted Rooms runs its own ghost hunts. You investigate the building after dark and can then sleep in one of its historic bedrooms. We have not found a well-documented named ghost here, so come to investigate, not for famous stories.
What our team has found
Our best results come from dowsing rods and EVP sessions in the basement, Estes sessions in the living room and the Ovilus in the front room, where a candy trigger object has turned EMF meters red on request. A music box in an upstairs bedroom has also been active, and the spirits here often seem keenest to talk to the men in the group.
From Haunted Rooms event reports
Haunted Rooms tip: Look for the shell in the brickwork over the front door before you go in, then join our Overnight VIP night and sleep in the building.
Visit on a tourOvernight investigationsHaunted Rooms ghost hunts
Address 1303 Midway Avenue, Windber, PA 15963
Where to look The Canopy Room, the second-floor hallway, the third floor and the bar
Reported ghosts Martha Selinsky, a soot-covered miner, the Professor, a little girl
Visiting A privately run hotel, open for weekend stays and booked events
Tours Haunted Rooms ghost hunts and sleepovers
Ghost hunting Yes, on Haunted Rooms ghost hunts, with an Overnight VIP option
The Grand Midway began in the late 1880s as a hotel for the coal miners and migrant workers who poured into Windber, south of Johnstown. Over the next century it is said to have been a brothel, a funeral parlor, a reception hall and a bar before it stood empty. Filmmaker Blair Murphy bought it after spotting it for sale online, restored it, and painted a Ouija board on the flat roof that Guinness World Records has listed as the world’s largest since 2017.
The building leans into its reputation, with occult-themed rooms such as the Vampire and Frankenstein Suites. Its best-known story is Martha Selinsky, an 18-year-old said to have been killed by a firework pipe while watching from the second-floor porch on July 4, 1911; guests describe a curly-haired young woman in the halls. Others report a soot-covered miner in overalls, a scholarly man known as the Professor, and a playful little girl. Haunted Rooms runs ghost hunt sleepovers here.
What our team has found
Estes sessions in the main room, the old funeral home viewing area, get the most responses, with EMF meters lighting up on request and cat balls going off around the room. Spirit boxes in the bar have answered each other, and the SLS camera has picked up movement around the large doll in the Canopy Room. When the spirit box says “he is in the hallway”, activity usually stops.
From Haunted Rooms event reports
Haunted Rooms tip: Take an Overnight VIP place on our ghost hunt to sleep in one of the eight themed rooms and investigate as late as you like.
Reported ghosts The handprint on the wall of Cell 17
Visiting Guided tours only
Tours Guided tours only, about 30 to 35 minutes: the 27 original cells, the handprint in Cell 17 and the dungeon
Hours and season Seasonal to late November or early December; closed Wednesdays. Weekday tours by reservation; weekend tours 12 to 4 PM, first come first served
Tickets Adults $13, ages 13 to 17 $10, ages 5 to 12 $7; buy in person
Ghost hunting Not allowed: the museum prohibits paranormal investigation and equipment
The Carbon County Jail was built in 1869 and 1870 and held prisoners until 1995. On June 21, 1877, four men accused of being Molly Maguires were hanged here on the same day, part of the crackdown on Irish coal miners in the anthracite region. The building is now a museum with original cells and a lower-level dungeon.
Its famous story is the handprint in Cell 17. A condemned man is said to have pressed his hand on the wall and sworn the print would stay as proof of his innocence, and the museum says it has survived washing, painting and rebuilding. The museum names Thomas Fisher as the likely man; others credit Alexander Campbell, hanged that June day.
Haunted Rooms tip: The museum bans ghost hunting equipment, so come for the guided tour and the handprint, not an investigation. Stay at the Inn at Jim Thorpe up the street.
Where to look Rooms 211 and 310, the second-floor hallway
Reported ghosts Madeline of room 211, a nurse in room 310, a little boy in suspenders
Visiting A working hotel; lobby and restaurant open to the public
Ghost hunting No organized ghost hunts; stay the night or take the GhostWalk that starts here
The Inn at Jim Thorpe is the grand hotel of the old coal town once called Mauch Chunk, with two stories of lacy cast-iron balconies across its Broadway front. It began as the White Swan Hotel in 1833 and was rebuilt as the New American Hotel after the great fire of 1849. It is also where the Jim Thorpe Rotary Club’s lantern-lit GhostWalks have started each fall for about two decades.
Ghost walk guides tell of a love affair that carried on past death, with sightings in room 211 or 311, and the hotel’s own lore adds a nurse in room 310 and a little boy in suspenders. Guests report wake-up calls the front desk never made, chairs that move and children laughing in empty rooms. You can book a room and judge for yourself; our hotel guide has the full story.
What investigators report
Staff say the nurse said to haunt Room 310 gets annoyed when a guest lies on the side of the bed where her patient is lying, and guests have reported an icy grip.
Where to look The Canal Bar and Hans's corner, the old morgue room off the bar, the upstairs halls and guest suites
Reported ghosts Hans, the innkeeper stabbed in the early 1800s, grieving canal workers and a Woman in White with a pearl-handled revolver
Visiting A working hotel; book a room to stay
Ghost hunting No ghost hunts; the hotel shares its stories with guests
The Black Bass has stood on River Road in Lumberville, beside the Delaware River and the Delaware Canal, since about 1745, and the hotel says its Revolutionary-era innkeeper was a Tory who would not give George Washington a bed. It has been Wall’s Tavern, the Lumberville Hotel and the Temple Bar, and since a 2008 restoration it has nine river-view suites above its restaurant and Canal Bar.
The hotel tells its own ghost stories. Hans, an innkeeper said to have been stabbed in a fight with a canal worker, is still seen in the corner of the Canal Bar where his barstool survives. Guests also tell of sobbing in a room once used as a makeshift morgue for canal workers and of a Woman in White holding a pearl-handled revolver. Our hotel guide covers the stories and the suites.
Haunted Rooms tip: Have a drink in the Canal Bar before bed, then ask for a suite in the original 1740s building.
Where to look Room 6 (Emily's room), the bathroom mirrors, the cellar, the stairs and the original hallways
Reported ghosts Emily, a man in the mirror, two crying children, Revolutionary War soldiers and a little girl
Visiting A working hotel; book a room to stay
Ghost hunting No ghost hunts; stay the night instead
The Logan Inn has stood at the corner of Main and Ferry Streets in New Hope, Bucks County, since the 1720s. John Wells built it as the Ferry Tavern beside his river crossing, it was taking guests by 1727, and it was renamed in 1828 for the Lenape leader known as Chief Logan. Landmark Hospitality restored and expanded it and reopened it in 2021.
The stories center on Room 6, known as Emily’s room. Guests describe a man appearing behind them in the bathroom mirror, pillows tugged from under their heads and crying children, often with a smell of lavender, and the general manager told 6abc in 2022 that Emily’s bed and portrait are still in the building. Our hotel guide has the full story and how to ask for Room 6.
What investigators report
Guests in Room 6 report items being shuffled around on the dresser. One guest who asked a ghostly family why they were there reported the reply “we’re just travelers; we’re just passing through.”
Where to look Murderer's Row and the Bridge of Sighs
Reported ghosts William A. Culp, who died in his cell in 1907
Visiting Inside the Family Court building; enter on Ross Street through security
Tours Free drop-in visits with Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation docents
Hours and season First and third Mondays of the month, 11:30 AM to 1 PM, except court holidays
Tickets Free
Ghost hunting No: it is a working courthouse and cameras are not permitted
H. H. Richardson’s granite jail was completed in 1886 and linked to his courthouse by a stone Bridge of Sighs, which prisoners crossed to their cells. It held inmates until July 27, 1995, then was rebuilt as the Family Division of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. A section of one cell block survives as the Old Allegheny County Jail Museum, opened in 2005.
Its best-known ghost story is William A. Culp, an accused killer who took his own life in his cell on Murderer’s Row in 1907 while awaiting trial. Pittsburgh Magazine retells the story that his ghost was seen so often that prisoners in nearby cells demanded to be moved. The museum is free and staffed by docents on set Mondays. Visits are drop-in between 11:30 AM and 1 PM.
Haunted Rooms tip: You go through court security to reach the museum and cameras are not allowed, so leave the ghost hunting kit at home.
Where to look Room 932, the lobby and the Mezzanine
Reported ghosts May Yohe, Francis 'Daddy' Thomas, the Brongs
Visiting A working hotel; lobby and restaurants open to the public
Ghost hunting No organised ghost hunts; stay the night instead
Hotel Bethlehem stands on Main Street on the site of the first house built in Bethlehem, and it is one of the best-known haunted hotels in Pennsylvania. Guests and staff tell of singer May Yohe, said to have been born on this site, of a tour guide called Francis ‘Daddy’ Thomas, and of the Brong family who ran an earlier hotel here.
Room 932 has the strongest reputation, with stories of lights switching on and off, faces in the mirror and a man asking guests why they are in his room. You can book a room and stay, which is the only way to try for yourself. Our hotel guide has the full story and booking details.
What investigators report
Room 932 is the hotel’s most requested room, and the hotel says a paranormal investigator recorded voices there in 2007 saying “It’s Mary” and “Look out the window!”
Where to look The basement and the upstairs bedroom
Reported ghosts A weeping woman said to be Betsy Ross
Visiting Museum open daily
Tours Tours with historic interpreters, and a character portraying Betsy Ross
Hours and season Daily; check the official site for times
Tickets House tour tickets sold online and at the door
Ghost hunting No public investigations
The front of this small brick house dates to about 1740, and it is visited as the place where Betsy Ross ran her upholstery business and, by family tradition, sewed the first American flag. Historians dispute both the flag story and whether she lived in this exact house; the best evidence puts her home next door. Her remains were moved to the courtyard for the Bicentennial.
Visitors and staff have long reported a weeping woman near a bed and in the basement, usually explained as Betsy grieving the husbands and children she lost. A 2009 Ghost Hunters episode recorded voices here, though the findings are disputed. Older stories about a director escaping out of a window could not be traced to any record, so we have dropped them.
What investigators report
Investigators report strong K2 meter reactions in the house basement and a recorded man’s voice in the room next to the director’s office. One visitor who touched the reproduction of Betsy’s work table reported warmth in her hands and the words “keep sewing”.
Address 12241 Lake Street, Conneaut Lake, PA 16316
Where to look The third floor and Room 323
Reported ghosts Elizabeth, the bride of the 1943 fire
Visiting A working hotel; call to ask for Room 323 or the third floor
Ghost hunting No organised ghost hunts; stay the night instead
If you want to sleep somewhere haunted near Erie, this is the closest choice in our guides, about 35 miles south on the shore of Conneaut Lake. Hotel Conneaut is the last of the grand resort hotels of Conneaut Lake Park, which opened in 1892 as Exposition Park, and a fire in 1943 destroyed much of the building. The rooms you book today are in the part that survived.
That fire is the root of its ghost story. Local legend says a young bride named Elizabeth was on her honeymoon in 1943 and died in the blaze, and that she still walks the third floor. A desk clerk told Erie News Now she saw a figure in the mirror of Room 323. Records do not confirm that anyone died in the fire, but the hotel happily tells Elizabeth’s story.
What investigators report
Reports centre on the third floor, where a desk clerk said he saw Elizabeth’s ghost in a room mirror. Investigators have filmed the third-floor hallway where she has been seen walking.
Where to look The Thompson house and the interpretive trail
Reported ghosts Soldiers and battle sounds, reported in the motel era
Visiting Grounds and trail open to all; the house opens only on special occasions
Hours and season Daily, sunrise to sunset
Tickets Free
Ghost hunting No; this is preserved battlefield land
Older lists of haunted Gettysburg name the Quality Inn at General Lee’s Headquarters, a motel and museum built around the stone house of widow Mary Thompson on Seminary Ridge. That motel is gone. The Civil War Trust (now the American Battlefield Trust) bought the 4-acre property in 2014, demolished the modern buildings and restored the land to its July 1863 appearance, opening an interpretive trail in October 2016.
Older ghost guides say guests at the old 48-room motel heard drums, gunfire and footsteps in empty rooms; none of the preservation reports mention it. Today the grounds and an interpretive trail are open daily from sunrise to sunset, and the Thompson house, where Robert E. Lee made his headquarters, opens only on special occasions. It is one of the most atmospheric corners of the battlefield at dusk.
Haunted Rooms tip: Walk the short trail as the light goes, then cross the road to the Seminary Ridge Museum.
Where to look The steam vents south of the old town and St. Ignatius hill
Reported ghosts Shadow figures, and a priest's curse in local legend
Visiting Public roads only; most land is private or state owned, and the remaining homes are private
Hours and season No set hours; visit in daylight
Tickets Free
Ghost hunting No organised investigations; do not enter fenced or posted land
A fire lit in an old strip-mine pit in May 1962 spread into the abandoned coal mines under Centralia and has never gone out. After a 12-year-old boy fell into a sinkhole in 1981, the state condemned the borough, its ZIP code was withdrawn in 2002, and the 2020 census counted five residents. The old Route 61 stretch known as the Graffiti Highway was buried under dirt mounds in 2020.
Centralia is best known as an inspiration for the Silent Hill film. The ghost stories are thinner than the reputation: visitors talk of shadow figures among the empty lots, and local legend says a priest cursed the town in 1869, predicting only his church would survive. The Ukrainian Catholic church on the hill does still stand.
What investigators report
One investigation team reported spirit box replies such as “I’m Bill” after introducing themselves on the abandoned stretch of Route 61, with further responses near the cemeteries.
Haunted Rooms tip: Stay on public roads and paths. Ground over the fire can collapse, and steam from the vents has tested at dangerous carbon monoxide levels.
Hours and season Any day by appointment; overnight bookings run 7 PM to noon
Tickets Daytime tours $10 per adult; overnight investigations from $250 for up to 6 guests (8 maximum)
Ghost hunting Yes: the whole house is rented privately to groups of 1 to 8
The Doss House stands on St. Mary Street in Loretto, the Catholic settlement founded in 1799 by the prince turned priest Demetrius Gallitzin, close to the basilica that holds his tomb. Its owners date the house to 1810 and describe it as the first home built in the town, though we have not found records that confirm either claim. Over two centuries it is said to have served as the home and office of the town’s dentist, doctor and undertaker, and later as its barber shop. The name is believed to come from Adolf “Doss” Stich, the barber who worked here in the twentieth century.
Shawnna Rigsby and her wife Danielle, who run the team Unique Paranormal 1.5, opened the house to investigators as a tribute to Shawnna’s late mother, Holley. The stories they tell are of a little girl in a green dress, shadowy figures and a growl heard in the basement, and a visitor who was reportedly pushed on the upstairs stairs.
What investigators report
The owners told Generation X Paranormal that security cameras have reset themselves to December 31, 1969, that phones have dropped into SOS mode as guests leave, and that a phone turned on its own during a blindfolded session before equipment began to respond. Investigators also report voices in empty rooms and shadow figures moving through doorways.
Haunted Rooms tip: Loretto is a short drive from Cresson Sanatorium, so the two fit into one weekend: join our ghost hunt at Cresson one night and book the Doss House for your own group the next.
Address Cameron St and Arsenal Blvd, Harrisburg, PA
Where to look The old hospital buildings, basement and tunnels (not open to the public)
Reported ghosts Footsteps, voices and shadow figures, reported by investigators
Visiting State offices; no public tours. Exterior only
Ghost hunting No
The Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital, designed by John Haviland, admitted its first patient on October 6, 1851, after lobbying by Dorothea Dix. At its peak it held more than 2,400 patients, and as Harrisburg State Hospital it treated patients until January 27, 2006. The campus was listed on the National Register in 1986. Its buildings now hold state agency offices and storage, and the campus has been offered to developers, with many buildings slated for demolition; a fire destroyed one building in December 2024.
Discovery’s Ghost Lab filmed here in 2010 and Ghost Nation made two episodes there in February 2021, which is where most of its haunted reputation comes from. The buildings are state property and are not open for tours or ghost hunting, so this is one to read about and see from the road.
Haunted Rooms tip: Do not try to get into the buildings or tunnels: they are working state property.
Address 1491 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, PA 19317
Where to look The fieldstone Ring House and Gilpin House, and the open fields between them
Reported ghosts Soldiers and horses, in regional ghost lore
Visiting Visitor center and grounds open to visitors
Tours Audio tour, group and school tours
Hours and season Thursday to Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM, Sunday noon to 4 PM
Tickets Check the official site
Ghost hunting No public investigations
The Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, put more troops in the field than any other battle of the Revolutionary War and raged for about 11 hours. General Howe’s flanking march beat Washington’s army, Lafayette was wounded, and the British took Philadelphia two weeks later. The state park protects about 52 acres of a battlefield that once covered more than 35,000, including the Benjamin Ring House, Washington’s headquarters (rebuilt after a 1931 fire), and the stone Gideon Gilpin House, where Lafayette quartered.
Ghost stories here are loose. Chester County’s County Lines magazine ties tales of a wounded soldier, phantom horses and a crying child to the 1709 farmhouse at Thornbury Farm, a private working farm on the battle’s final ground a few miles north, which is said to hold soldiers’ graves. We found no documented haunting at the park itself, so treat Brandywine as a place to walk a major battlefield at dusk rather than a famous haunt. The state owns the park and the Brandywine Battlefield Park Associates run it.
Haunted Rooms tip: Pair it with Fort Mifflin, about 30 miles east, which the same British campaign besieged two months later.
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.
The Seven Gates of Hell, Hellam Township (York County)
The legend says an asylum in the woods off Trout Run Road burned, and that anyone who passes all seven gates goes straight to Hell. There is no record of any asylum there, and the land is private: residents have called police on trespassers and visitors can be arrested. Read the legend, but do not go looking for the gates. See our York guide for haunted places you can visit.
The Quality Inn at General Lee's Headquarters, Gettysburg
Older lists name this motel. It was demolished after 2014 and the site restored; see General Lee’s Headquarters above.
Changed from our older guide: the Gettysburg Quality Inn is gone (now General Lee’s Headquarters); the Seven Gates of Hell moved to the off-limits list because it is private land; Cresson Sanatorium is new; and we removed stories we could not trace, such as a Betsy Ross House director escaping down a flagpole. New in this update: haunted hotels count as haunted places, so the Farnsworth House, Cashtown Inn, Gettysburg Academy, Inn at Jim Thorpe, Logan Inn, Black Bass Hotel and Hotel Conneaut now have cards; we added our event venues at the Grand Midway Hotel and the Columns Museum, the Jennie Wade House and the Old Allegheny County Jail; and the by-city list now covers Harrisburg, the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos.
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.
Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia is the one most often named, with reports going back to the 1940s. Pennhurst, Hill View Manor and the Gettysburg battlefield are its closest rivals. Of those, Hill View Manor and Pennhurst allow paranormal investigations; Eastern State does not.
The Farnsworth House Inn in Gettysburg has the strongest reputation, with bullet holes in its walls and its own ghost tours. The Hotel Bethlehem, the Inn at Jim Thorpe, the Logan Inn in New Hope and the Black Bass Hotel are close behind, and all take guests. See our guide to haunted hotels in Pennsylvania.
Is Pennhurst open to the public?
Only for ticketed events. The private campus runs the Pennhurst Asylum haunted attraction in the fall, plus history tours and paranormal investigations. You cannot wander the grounds on your own.
Can you visit Centralia, PA?
You can drive the public roads, but most of the land is condemned and private, the old Graffiti Highway was buried in 2020, and the ground over the mine fire can collapse or vent carbon monoxide. Stay on roads and paths and do not climb fences.
Does Eastern State Penitentiary allow ghost hunting?
No. The site does not claim to be haunted and bans paranormal investigations and EVP recorders, but you can tour it daily and visit Halloween Nights in the autumn.
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.
