Ranking The Most Haunted Places In America—According To Paranormal Experts

Ranking The Most Haunted Places In America—According To Paranormal Experts


July 30, 2025 | Jesse Singer

Ranking The Most Haunted Places In America—According To Paranormal Experts


Boo’s Clues: America's Scariest Spots Ranked

Paranormal experts have investigated hundreds of creepy locales across the U.S.—from crumbling asylums to historic mansions with tragic pasts. But which haunted spots are truly the most terrifying? 

To find out, we analyzed expert opinions, number of reported sightings, historical deaths or traumatic events, and frequency of paranormal investigations to rank the 25 most haunted places in the country. 

Enter if you dare...

25. Stull Cemetery (Stull, Kansas)

This small cemetery’s hellish reputation earns it a chilling spot on our haunted list.

Type of Haunting: Gateway-to-hell legend

Historical Background: Legends claim the cemetery is one of seven gateways to hell

Reported Activity: Time slips, dark figures, demonic presence

Paranormal Significance: So feared, even Pope John Paul II allegedly avoided flying over it

File:Stull Cemetery 2014.jpgAyleen Gaspar, Wikimedia Commons

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24. Riddle House (West Palm Beach, Florida)

The Riddle House’s violent paranormal activity makes it Florida’s creepiest hotspot.

Type of Haunting: Poltergeist, aggressive male spirit

Historical Background: Former funeral parlor and private residence moved to a history park

Reported Activity: Apparitions, items flying across rooms, male entity dislikes men

Paranormal Significance: Featured on Ghost Adventures and other paranormal series

File:Riddlehouse1920.jpgPalm Beach Post, Wikimedia Commons

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23. Moon River Brewing Company (Savannah, Georgia)

Booze and boos go hand in hand at this famously haunted Georgia brewery.

Type of Haunting: Bar brawls from beyond

Historical Background: Built in 1821; used as hospital during Civil War and yellow fever epidemics

Reported Activity: Bottles thrown by unseen forces, shadowy men, temperature drops

Paranormal Significance: Ghost hunters regularly investigate the basement and upper floors

File:Moon River Brewing Company - Savannah, Georgia, USA.jpgTjbliss, Wikimedia Commons

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22. Pine Barrens & The Jersey Devil (Southern New Jersey)

This sprawling forest harbors one of the most terrifying legends in U.S. folklore.

Type of Haunting: Cryptid/paranormal hybrid

Historical Background: Legend dates back to 1700s; creature allegedly born to Mother Leeds

Reported Activity: Screeches, hoofprints, flying creature sightings

Paranormal Significance: One of America’s most enduring supernatural legends

File:2014-08-29 11 51 25 View north-northeast from the fire tower on Apple Pie Hill in Wharton State Forest, Tabernacle Township, New Jersey.JPGFamartin, Wikimedia Commons

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21. Hotel Monte Vista (Flagstaff, Arizona)

Paranormal reports from this vintage hotel just won’t check out.

Type of Haunting: Ghostly guests, phantom bellboys

Historical Background: Opened in 1927; famous guests included John Wayne and Humphrey Bogart

Reported Activity: Room 305 has ghostly rocking chair, disembodied voices, phantom knockers

Paranormal Significance: Frequently appears on haunted hotel lists in the Southwest

File:Hotel Monte Vista.jpgPaul Lowry, Wikimedia Commons

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20. Dock Street Theatre (Charleston, South Carolina)

Curtain calls aren’t the only echoes that haunt this historic playhouse.

Type of Haunting: Actor spirits, jilted lovers

Historical Background: Built in 1809, burned down and rebuilt

Reported Activity: Apparitions in balcony, ghost named “Nettie”

Paranormal Significance: Active site for both performances and paranormal sightings

File:Dock Street Theater Charleston South Carolina.jpgEllen Stipo, Wikimedia Commons

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19. The Pfister Hotel (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)

The Pfister proves luxury and the paranormal are not mutually exclusive.

Type of Haunting: Intelligent hauntings, trickster ghost

Historical Background: Luxurious hotel dating to 1893

Reported Activity: TVs turning on, furniture moving, whispering voices

Paranormal Significance: Pro athletes have even fled mid-stay due to eerie experiences

File:Milwaukee August 2022 068 (Pfister Hotel).jpgMichael Barera, Wikimedia Commons

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18. Lemp Mansion (St. Louis, Missouri)

Tragedy has soaked into every haunted brick of this once-prominent home.

Type of Haunting: Family tragedy spirits

Historical Background: Four family members died by suicide

Reported Activity: Phantom voices, moving objects, ghost dog

Paranormal Significance: Considered one of the Midwest’s most haunted homes

File:Lemp-mansion.jpgMattHucke, Wikimedia Commons

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17. Fort Mifflin (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

America's fight for independence left behind more than cannonballs at this fort.

Type of Haunting: Revolutionary War spirits

Historical Background: Oldest active military fort; saw battle in 1777

Reported Activity: Screaming woman, ghost soldiers, flickering lanterns

Paranormal Significance: Offers candlelight ghost tours and reenactments

File:Fort mifflin from airplane arriving at PHL.jpgSurfsupusa, Wikimedia Commons

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16. Jerome Grand Hotel (Jerome, Arizona)

A haunted hospital high above Arizona with ghosts that never left.

Type of Haunting: Former patients and miners

Historical Background: Former hospital in a copper mining town

Reported Activity: Gurney sounds, ghost cat, whispers in halls

Paranormal Significance: Hotspot for ghost hunters in the Southwest

File:Jerome Grand Hotel Jerome Az.jpgNoel Stanley, Wikimedia Commons

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15. Winchester Mystery House (San Jose, California)

This place was literally built to confuse (and placate) the dead.

Type of Haunting: Residual hauntings and architectural anomalies

Historical Background: Built by Sarah Winchester to appease spirits

Reported Activity: Phantom footsteps, cold drafts, ghostly sightings

Paranormal Significance: Has an odd layout with doors that open to walls and stairs leading nowhere.

File:Winchester House Front.jpgBen Franske, Wikimedia Commons

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14. Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery (Midlothian, Illinois)

This overgrown cemetery is the final resting place for peace of mind.

Type of Haunting: Phantom monks, ghost cars

Historical Background: Abandoned cemetery dating back to the 1800s

Reported Activity: Floating orbs, disappearing buildings, ghost dog

Paranormal Significance: One of America’s most actively haunted graveyards

File:Bachelors Grove taken on IR.jpgCobra97, Wikimedia Commons

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13. Lizzie Borden House (Fall River, Massachusetts)

The ghostly echoes of an unsolved axe murder still haunt every room.

Type of Haunting: Residual and intelligent hauntings

Historical Background: 1892 double homicide site; Borden was acquitted

Reported Activity: Apparitions, giggles, shadowy figures

Paranormal Significance: Popular B&B for paranormal tourism

File:Lizzie Borden House (Bed Breakfast) (3535957840).jpgdbking from Washington, DC, Wikimedia Commons

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12. Crescent Hotel (Eureka Springs, Arkansas)

What was once a health resort is now a haunted house of horrors.

Type of Haunting: Medical malpractice victims

Historical Background: Former hospital run by fraudulent doctor Norman Baker

Reported Activity: Ghost nurse sightings, strange lights, room 218 activity

Paranormal Significance: Declares itself “America’s Most Haunted Hotel”

File:Crescent Hotel, Eureka Springs, Arkansas - circa 1890s.jpgUnknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons

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11. St. Augustine Lighthouse (St. Augustine, Florida)

This coastal landmark still guides spirits as well as ships.

Type of Haunting: Intelligent and residual spirits

Historical Background: Several deaths during construction in 1800s

Reported Activity: Apparitions of young girls, footsteps, shadowy figures

Paranormal Significance: Regularly featured on ghost-hunting TV shows

File:St. Augustine Lighthouse located in Florida.jpgJRetherfordHunter, Wikimedia Commons

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10. Villisca Axe Murder House (Villisca, Iowa)

This modest home hides one of the most horrifying crimes in U.S. history.

Type of Haunting: Residual energy, child spirits

Historical Background: Site of 1912 axe murder of eight people

Reported Activity: Children laughing, doors opening, feelings of dread

Paranormal Significance: Offers overnight stays for brave visitors

File:Josiah B. and Sara Moore House - NRHP97001471 - Villisca - Montgomery County - Iowa -10-23-2016.jpgJason McLaren, Wikimedia Commons

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9. Bell Witch Cave (Adams, Tennessee)

The Bell Witch legend is so intense, it allegedly scared Andrew Jackson.

Type of Haunting: Poltergeist, demonic presence

Historical Background: Home of the infamous Bell Witch legend from the 1800s

Reported Activity: Disembodied voices, touching, violent scratching

Paranormal Significance: Subject of books, films, and ongoing research

File:Bell Witch Cave.JPGWww78, Wikimedia Commons

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8. The Whaley House (San Diego, California)

A house built on death remains one of America’s most chilling destinations.

Type of Haunting: Family spirits, hanging victims

Historical Background: Built on former gallows site; multiple family tragedies

Reported Activity: Ghosts of Thomas Whaley and daughter Violet, footsteps

Paranormal Significance: Named “most haunted house in the U.S.” by the Travel Channel

File:San Diego - Whaley House 01.jpgJoe Mabel, Wikimedia Commons

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7. Gettysburg Battlefield (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania)

The dead still march at this Civil War site soaked in tragedy.

Type of Haunting: Residual wartime hauntings

Historical Background: Site of over 50,000 Civil War casualties

Reported Activity: Phantom soldiers, cannon fire, ghostly moans

Paranormal Significance: Frequently cited by historians and ghost hunters alike

File:Gettysburg Battlefield, Pennsylvania, US (98).jpgBubba73, Wikimedia Commons

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6. The Queen Mary (Long Beach, California)

Ghosts have taken permanent residence on this haunted luxury liner.

Type of Haunting: Maritime spirits, playful and aggressive

Historical Background: Ocean liner turned hotel; many onboard deaths during WWII

Reported Activity: Ghosts of sailors and children, footsteps, knocking sounds

Paranormal Significance: Offers ghost tours and is a popular filming location for paranormal shows

File:RMS Queen Mary (29409386016).jpgAnthony Kernich from Adelaide, Australia, Wikimedia Commons

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5. Waverly Hills Sanatorium (Louisville, Kentucky)

Death and disease have made this former hospital a ghost magnet.

Type of Haunting: Shadow people, disembodied voices

Historical Background: Former tuberculosis hospital with thousands of deaths

Reported Activity: “Creeper” shadow entity, cold spots, room 502 sightings

Paranormal Significance: Consistently ranked as one of the scariest places in the world

File:Waverly Hills Sanatorium 2018.jpgRoyasfoto73, Wikimedia Commons

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4. The Stanley Hotel (Estes Park, Colorado)

This iconic hotel made fear famous—and continues to live up to its legacy.

Type of Haunting: Poltergeist activity, ghostly figures

Historical Background: Built in 1909; inspired Stephen King’s *The Shining*

Reported Activity: Piano playing itself, ghost children laughing, shadow figures

Paranormal Significance: Popular destination for ghost tours and paranormal conventions

File:The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, a town on the eastern edge of Rocky Mountain National Park in north-central Colorado LCCN2015633407.jpgCarol M. Highsmith, Wikimedia Commons

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3. Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (Weston, West Virginia)

This sprawling asylum is packed with history—and restless souls.

Type of Haunting: Intelligent and residual hauntings

Historical Background: Operated from 1864 to 1994; site of numerous lobotomies and deaths

Reported Activity: Apparitions, screams, objects moving on their own

Paranormal Significance: Hosts regular ghost hunts and overnight investigations

File:Weston State Hospital.jpgTim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant), Wikimedia Commons

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2. The Myrtles Plantation (St. Francisville, Louisiana)

One of America’s oldest plantations also happens to be one of its most cursed.

Type of Haunting: Residual hauntings, spirit sightings

Historical Background: Built in 1796; allegedly built on Native American burial ground

Reported Activity: Ghost of slave girl Chloe, handprints on mirrors, phantom piano music

Paranormal Significance: Called one of the “most haunted homes in America” by experts

File:Myrtles Plantation Louisiana.jpgBnet504~commonswiki, Wikimedia Commons

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1. Eastern State Penitentiary (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

With torture, isolation, and thousands of broken souls—this place tops our haunted list.

Type of Haunting: Prison ghosts, shadowy figures

Historical Background: Opened in 1829, known for solitary confinement and harsh punishments

Reported Activity: Disembodied laughter, footsteps, cell doors slamming

Paranormal Significance: Featured in nearly every major ghost-hunting show and documentary

File:Eastern State Penitentiary - Philadelphia - Pennsylvania - 11.jpgAdam Jones, Ph.D., Wikimedia Commons

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