Home of the Salem Witch Trials, this storied town in Massachusetts draws ghost hunters from all over the globe. Those looking to gather goosebumps can explore The Witch House (home to Judge Corwin, an investigator from the infamous trials), Gallows Hill (where the wrongfully accused were executed) and Old Burying Point (where the accusers are buried). Perhaps the scariest place of them all? The House of the Seven Gables, the same house that inspired the novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Visitors of the old Salem mansion, which is currently a museum, have reported voices right in their ears despite no one being around—you might want to close your ears for this one.
Thousands of soldiers died at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, but some of their spirits remain. The ghosts of soldiers are often seen in multiple hotels and restaurants in town, and they’re even known to run across the battlefield at night—people also claim to hear cannons and smell gunpowder during their visits. The Gettysburg National Military Park has many infamous sites that have seen paranormal activity, like strange floating orbs spotted around the Gettysburg National Cemetery. There’s also Sachs Covered Bridge, where people previously claimed to see three disembodied heads floating, rumored to be the ghosts of three Confederate soldiers hanged there.
Of all the paranormal activity in Athens, perhaps the most well-known haunting is that of Wilson Hall at Ohio University. Students have experienced voices coming from room 428, allegedly locked after a student suicide driven by a “spiritual experience.” Across the street from the university is The Ridges, formerly known as the Athens Lunatic Asylum, which gained notoriety when a patient went missing during a game of hide and seek. Her body was found a month later. Also in Athens, the West State Street Cemetery is known for an angel statue that is said to become animated. A short drive away, ghost hunters can find the grounds of what was a cabin owned by renowned spiritualists, or stumble upon the Moonville Tunnel, home to a ghost that fell victim to a tragic train accident.
Don’t journey to Bonaventure Cemetery if you’re not ready to see statues in a stone-cold state of bliss—visitors have reported grinning granite, not to mention spooky sounds of crying children and barking dogs. If you do go, stop by the grave of young Gracie Watson and leave a toy at her marker (it might just lure out her oft-seen ghost, as a gift is known to do the trick). If Gracie doesn’t fill your ghost quota, head to Kehoe House, an inn that’s choked with them; if you believe their stories, guests claim they’ve awoken to gentle caresses in the middle of the night, and they’ve also witnessed ghostly mourners (likely from the house’s time as a funeral parlor) standing above them as if they were in a coffin. The Kehoe twins, who died playing in the house’s chimney, also make appearances—try not to stoke these ghosts if you want a peaceful night’s sleep.
In between New York and Philadelphia lay 1.1 million acres of uninhabited woodland and its most famous resident: the Jersey Devil. Depending on who you ask, the Jersey Devil is either a livestock-killing animal with red eyes, a Bigfoot-type phenomenon, or the actual spawn of Satan (a.k.a. the thirteenth child of a New Jersey woman named Jane Leeds, born in 1735). The elusive Jersey Devil is nearly impossible to track down. Still, there are plenty of opportunities to catch other New Jersey legends like The Golden-Haired Girl, a demonic black dog, and the headless ghost of Captain Kidd. Explore the area’s abandoned mining and mill towns and look for spirits on a haunted hike through the woods—but only if you dare. Usually known as a summer vacation destination, Mackinac Island, Michigan, isn’t lacking in the spook department. A curly-haired girl in a sundress, Lucy, infiltrated local lore with sightings all over the island, while a teenage boy, Harvey, is also said to haunt the area. While Harvey’s death was declared a suicide, locals say his spirit remains on the island to tell the truth: he was murdered. Thankfully, all ghosts on the island are said to be harmless—even the spirits of seven women killed at the Drowning Pool after being tried for witchcraft aren’t known to cause much of a stir.
