The most haunted places in all of America

The Unit­ed States is an enor­mous coun­try with a deep and lengthy his­to­ry that goes back cen­turies and spans entire eras. With­in its bor­ders lie count­less dark secrets and haunt­ing reminders of a trou­bled past that sur­pass those found any­where else in the world.

Far from being an entire­ly peace­ful, per­son­able land, the his­to­ry of Amer­i­ca is instead also full of wars, mur­der­ers, unnerv­ing­ly emp­ty coun­try roads, and unthink­able encoun­ters

Brace your­self for a jour­ney through the most haunt­ed places in the coun­try, where ghost­ly fig­ures of the past still linger, like a thin veil sep­a­rat­ing our world from theirs. From aban­doned insane asy­lums to his­toric hotels, misty forests to even an aban­doned light­house, these sites are shroud­ed in mys­tery and bear host to claims of the super­nat­ur­al.

Even if you label your­self a skep­tic and don’t believe in ghosts or the super­nat­ur­al, the haunt­ing sto­ries of these loca­tions and their inex­plic­a­ble phe­nom­e­na will sure­ly send a chill down your spine.

1. Eastern State Penitentiary

Nes­tled in the heart of Philadel­phia, the East­ern State Pen­i­ten­tiary is a haunt­ing rel­ic of the past. Built in 1829, this once for­mi­da­ble prison housed some of America’s most noto­ri­ous crim­i­nals, includ­ing Al Capone and Willie Sut­ton.

How­ev­er, behind its impos­ing facade lies a dark his­to­ry. The penitentiary’s sys­tem of soli­tary con­fine­ment and strict dis­ci­pline drove many inmates to the brink of insan­i­ty

The yells and pleas that once engulfed the cell blocks are now replaced by the hushed whis­pers of tourists and vis­i­tors that flock there each year. 

Many vis­i­tors to East­ern State Pen­i­ten­tiary report chill­ing encoun­ters while inside these walls. Some report hear­ing dis­em­bod­ied voic­es echo­ing through the cor­ri­dors. Oth­ers claim to have seen shad­owy fig­ures lurk­ing in dark cor­ners.

The prison’s crum­bling walls seem to hold the spir­its of the count­less inmates who suf­fered with­in its con­fines.

As the sun sets, East­ern State Pen­i­ten­tiary takes on an even more sin­is­ter atmos­phere, with flick­er­ing lights cast­ing eerie shad­ows, height­en­ing the sense of unease. Ghost­ly appari­tions are said to wan­der the cell blocks, their pres­ence leav­ing a chill in the air.

 The Whaley House

The Wha­ley House was built in 1857 in San Diego, Cal­i­for­nia. It is not only an archi­tec­tur­al gem but also a hotbed of para­nor­mal activ­i­ty. This his­toric house has wit­nessed a myr­i­ad of events, both joy­ous and trag­ic, giv­ing it its haunt­ed rep­u­ta­tion today.

Then, in the ear­ly 1900s, some Wha­ley mem­bers moved back into the res­i­dence after it was restored. But more of them would die in it, includ­ing Anna, Fran­cis, George, and Corinne Lil­lian Wha­ley.

A range of para­nor­mal encoun­ters have since been report­ed at the house. Exam­ples include hear­ing dis­em­bod­ied foot­steps and wit­ness­ing full-bod­ied appari­tions. Some claim to have encoun­tered the spir­its of the Wha­ley fam­i­ly them­selves. Peo­ple have seen their shad­owy fig­ures drift­ing through the rooms.

The Amityville Horror House

Few loca­tions in Amer­i­ca are as infa­mous as the Ami­tyville Hor­ror House in Ami­tyville, New York. This sub­ur­ban home was for­ev­er changed in 1974 when the DeFeo fam­i­ly was bru­tal­ly mur­dered by their eldest son, Ronald DeFeo Jr.

The Ami­tyville Hor­ror House has since become a sym­bol of para­nor­mal ter­ror. Vis­i­tors report strange voic­es, unex­plained phe­nom­e­na, and a sense of malev­o­lence that per­me­ates its very foun­da­tion

It served as the inspi­ra­tion for the famous book of the same name. This also then became the basis for a string of suc­cess­ful films.

The Ami­tyville Hor­ror House has sparked count­less debates and inves­ti­ga­tions. It still cap­ti­vates the imag­i­na­tions of para­nor­mal enthu­si­asts and skep­tics alike. The mere men­tion of its name evokes a sense of unease and fas­ci­na­tion.

While some dis­miss the events as elab­o­rate hoax­es or the prod­uct of over­ac­tive imag­i­na­tions, oth­ers main­tain that the house is haunt­ed by the six mem­bers of the DeFeo fam­i­ly. Whether the tales sur­round­ing the Ami­tyville Hor­ror House are truth or fic­tion, there is no deny­ing the impact they’ve had on pop­u­lar cul­ture and the allure of the super­nat­ur­al.

The Villisca Axe-Murder House

The peace­ful town of Vil­lis­ca, Iowa, hides a house stained with a grue­some tragedy. In 1912, the Moore fam­i­ly, along with two young overnight guests, were bru­tal­ly mur­dered with an axe while they slept.

The Vil­lis­ca Axe-Mur­der House, now a muse­um, stands frozen in time. The eerie atmos­phere of that fate­ful night has been pre­served.

Moon River Brewing

The myr­i­ad of haunt­ed loca­tions across Amer­i­ca spans pris­ons, asy­lums, and forests. Sur­pris­ing­ly, restau­rants as well.

Locat­ed in Savan­nah, Georgia’s his­toric down­town dis­trict, Moon Riv­er Brew­ing is noto­ri­ous for being both a beau­ti­ful and haunt­ed estab­lish­ment. It is housed with­in a build­ing that dates back to the 19th cen­tu­ry. 

This brew­ery has gained a rep­u­ta­tion, like the afore­men­tioned places, as one of the most haunt­ed sites in Amer­i­ca. The old-world charm of its archi­tec­ture is com­ple­ment­ed by the lin­ger­ing pres­ence of para­nor­mal enti­ties that seem to inhab­it its halls.

Patrons and staff have long report­ed a wide range of such expe­ri­ences. They expe­ri­ence the feel­ing of being watched, as well as encoun­ters with appari­tions and unex­plained nois­es. Bot­tles have been known to fly off shelves and shat­ter with­out any vis­i­ble cause, leav­ing behind an air of mys­tery and the super­nat­ur­al

Hotel Monte Vista

In the town of Flagstaff, Ari­zona, there is a hotel named Hotel Monte Vista. At first glance, it exudes plen­ty of charm.

Since its first open­ing in 1927, the hotel has played host to count­less famous guests. Celebri­ties and noto­ri­ous out­laws both have roamed the halls.

Along­side its glam­orous rep­u­ta­tion, Hotel Monte Vista also has a his­to­ry of being a hotspot of para­nor­mal activ­i­ty. As guests arrive, they are trans­port­ed to a bygone era. But it doesn’t take long for them to real­ize that they may not be alone

Reports of ghost­ly encoun­ters abound. Vis­i­tors claimed to see appari­tions wan­der­ing the hall­ways. Some feel mys­te­ri­ous touch­es or hear unex­plained whis­pers in their rooms.