Many of us look for a good haunting all year round, but October is the month everyone is looking for a good scare. Whether you’re an armchair ghost hunter of a hardcore paranormal investigator, there’s no better time that October and Halloween season for planning a stay to any of these seven creepy locations. These are the seven of the most haunted locations in the United States.
Moundsville Penitentiary, West Virginia – This famous haunted build was in use for over 100 years and held some of the country’s move violent people. There were lots of deaths from hangings to the electric chair and even murder by other prisoners. Now during the tours many people have heard and even seen things.
Lemp Mansion, St. Louis, Missouri – While this building is currently a great Inn and Restaurant it’s past isn’t so pretty. Many members of the Lemp family committed suicide ore died here. Since then the guest have seen people or heard things in rooms that should have been empty. The Inn has embraced this and offers weekly ghost tours.
The Lalaurie Mansion, New Orleans, Louisiana – This building has an interesting but gruesome story. Madame Marie Lalaurie loved having guests who would came and dine and party all night with her, but upstairs she had a dark secret that was revealed one night after local authorities responded to a house fire. The local police found the bodies of several horribly mutilated slaves in her attic. When the locals found out they stormed her house causing her to flee the country. To this day people swear they hear the screams of the slaves from the attic.
Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – This is a gothic-style prison that was opened in 1829. The cells are made of stone and encouraged no human contact. Al Capone spent a year here. The prison was closed on 1971 and since then it’s rumored the spirits of past prisoners have taken over the building. They offer daily tours and even turn the building into the country scariest haunted house in the fall!
RMS Queen Mary, Long Beach, California – While this ocean liner is currently retired it did sail the seas from 1936 to 1967 and carried every from Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn to Dwight D Eisenhower. In 1939 the ship was stripped of any luxury items and given a second life as a war ship during WWII. At the end of the war the luxury was added back for many more years of luxury sailing. This ship has since been open for tours and many have seen the ghosts of a sailor who was crushed to death by a ship door and a crewmate who was murdered on board. Want to read more? Ghosts of the Queen Mary (Haunted America)
Winchester House, San Jose, California – Otherwise known as the Winchester Mystery House, this house was built by Sarah Winchester after losing both her husband and daughter and inheriting the Winchester Rifle fortune. She started building this Rambling Victorian Mansion when some demanding spirits told her too. Supposedly the spirits directed the building of the house, every nook and cranny, every hidden passage, each of the 160 rooms, and 47 fireplaces. You can now tour the 24,000-square foot home the spirits built.
Lizzy Borden Bed and Breakfast, Falls River, Massachusetts – This is the house Lizzy Borden’s parents were found bludgeoned to death in. The prime suspect in the case was their youngest daughter Elizabeth Borden and this case became one of the first to unfold in the media. While she was acquitted due to lack of physical evidence, no one believed her to be innocent. This house is now believed to be haunted by her parent’s spirits. You can now visit the museum and bed and breakfast and even stay in one of the haunted rooms. Read more: The History and Haunting of Lizzie Borden
The Myrtle Plantation, Baton Rouge, Louisiana – The legend of Chloe the slave girl is famous and has made this house one of America’s most haunted buildings. You can read the accounts of the slave girl who haunts the place and even see picture on their website!
The New York State Capital, Albany, New York – This building is rumored to be haunted by the night watchman who died in a fire in 1911. There is also the ghost of an artist that has been seen and several others.
Carnton Mansion, Franklin, Tennessee – This building was used as a hospital during the Civil War and many soldiers died here. They were then buried in a mass grave. Since then many have seen ghost of civil war soldier walking around the building.
Have you visited any of these locations? Did you see or hear any of the spirits believed to haunted the buildings?Save
One of my greatest guilty pleasures is Ghost Adventures, which I call the “best unintentional comedy on TV,” and I even wrote about the paranormal drama queens of Friday night some time ago. But I have to confess I’ve become totally addicted to the show, mostly for the wrong reasons, as I had been watching new episodes on my TV and DVR where they just get over the top silly. But Netflix has all of Season 2, so I went retro to see if the boys had always been so ridiculous in their ghost and demon hunting.
I have to say, after 25 episodes of the sophomore season I’m seeing Zak, Aaron and Nick in a different light. Yes, they are still drama queens (and it’s a TV show, so they have to be) but my cynical side has diminished a bit, and watching these episodes, I can’t see at least some of the humor is intentional.
I can also see there has been a serious side, too, when the adventurers did an episode that featured one of their gadget designers whose daughter had died in a car accident. Call me naïve, but at the very least I am convinced that emotional episode was genuine. I was also pretty impressed with the Tor House episode, and the ghost light in the Chicago graveyard.
And yes, there are some hilarious moments in Season 2, but intentionally funny. Zak’s trying to take the hatchet from the curator at the Lizzie Borden house was hilarious, as well as that creepy dude in the top hat with a cow in the Ashmore Estates episode. What is that dude on, anyway?
Speaking of cows, the S11E06 episode where they are driving along with the night vision camera on the top of the car because they’re afraid to get out, and they freak out over a large object by the road but it turns out to be a cow? Comedy gold… I nearly soiled myself. And right before that, they had seen a warm object by the side of the road but were too chicken shit to get out of the car and investigate. This goes along with big buffed Zak freaking out over snakes, cockroaches and dolls, for chrissakes.
Now that’s some fucking entertainment, y’all.
And that’s the bottom line in Ghost Adventures. Yes, it can be cheesy. Yes, much of the “evidence” is feelings or things not captured on camera. Yes, Zak can be sort of be a douchey drama queen at times and really needs to lose that One Direction haircut. But the bottom line is they always entertain us. (I mean how can you not love Aaron and his reactions when they send that poor dude into the worst places?)
I love those guys… so sue me. Just take it all with a healthy grain of salt and enjoy the ride.Save
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the Halloween is one of our favorite times of the year here, so here are a few suggestions for some cool, spooky things to do on Halloween… Or any time of the year. Creepy fun is not just for October!
1) Go on a haunted hayride or to a haunted attraction: Check for local haunted houses, ghostly hayrides and haunted corn mazes in your area for some scream-out-loud fun. This is one activity where the bigger the group, the better. To find 100 hapless close to you, check out our resource page to see what attractions are in your state.
2) Visit a real haunted house: If you want to mix a little romance with your scares, try checking into a haunted bed-and-breakfast. If you have a significant other, this is your chance to listen for things that go bump in the night, and if no ghosts arrive, I’m sure you can find a way to make things go bump in the night in your own way. If you know what I mean. (If not, then you need to find another significant other.)
3) Take a ghost tour: If you’re one of those people who don’t like things jumping out at you… what’s wrong with you? But seriously, check your area to see if there are any ghost tours of real haunted places. Bear in mind these are busy during the Halloween season and make reservations early.
4) Do a real paranormal investigation: If you want to take it seriously and do a real paranormal investigation, find a group event investigating a haunted site. Check with local paranormal research groups who sometimes have public events, especially around Halloween. You might get lucky and get a few lessons in ghost hunting or lectures about ghost lore or demonology.
5) Go to a local masquerade party or host your own: They can be sexy, like “Eyes Wide Shut,” or scary, like “Masque of the Red Death.” Be sure to watch the latter before going, so you can wonder just a little bit who might be lurking behind that mask, and if you see a man all in red, run for the hills.
6) Get your palm read: If you’ve ever seen a creepy carnival movie, then you know how scary fortunetellers can be. At least in movies. Try your local version to see what fate lies ahead for you.
7) Have a horror movie night: Either go to the theater, or, if you’re more the stay-at-home type, there are a few things you can do to create a scary movie marathon. Make sure you have plenty of cool treats on hand, lots of liquid refreshment of your choosing (preferably of the alcoholic variety), and a big stack of horror movies. Turn on some Halloween lights in the house and turn out the rest the lights for a spooky glow. Maybe light a few candles to add to the atmosphere.
8) Build a bonfire and tell ghost stories: If you live out in the country, invite friends over to toast marshmallows and tell ghost stories. If you’re super ambitious, can even set up an outdoor screen projector system or a TV to watch movies outside and have an outdoor theater. But if you know any good storytellers, or know how to weave a tale yourself, sitting around the fire and telling ghost stories is far more effective than any movie you’ll ever see.
9) Have a séance: Contemporary paranormal investigators like there gadgets and video cameras, but if you want a rocket old school, do a traditional séance. Sit around a table, light some candles, and call on dead spirits speak or make things move. breakout a Ouija board and see if any spirits want to chat.
10) Read a scary book: Now, we hope your going out and doing something fun or meeting up with friends, but worst-case if your plans fall through or if you just sort of the antisocial type, you can always curl up with a good book… A good scary book.
Lizzy Borden Bed and Breakfast, Falls River, Massachusetts – This is the house Lizzy Borden’s parents were found bludgeoned to death in. The prime suspect in the case was their youngest daughter Elizabeth Borden and this case became one of the first to unfold in the media. While she was acquitted due to lack of physical evidence, no one believed her to be innocent. This house is now believed to be haunted by her parent’s spirits. You can now visit the museum and bed and breakfast and even stay in one of the haunted rooms. Read more: The History and Haunting of Lizzie Borden
