The Spookiest Cities in America
Hey everyone! So, it’s officially spooky season, and I’m your go-to girl for destinations and travel ideas. I’m here to tell you now about 5 of the spookiest towns in America.
Salem, Massachusetts
Photo: Pinterest
Up first is Salem, Massachusetts, home of the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch Trials were when a group of convicted “witches” were put to death by people who lived in Salem, Massachusetts. The first execution happened at Gallows Hill, an area of Salem. People have spotted many ghosts around the field at Gallows Hill. This is not the only reason Salem is spooky, however. Salem is known to have numerous accounts of paranormal activity and a lot of eerie presences. Numerous houses are pinned to be haunted, like House of the Seven Gables and Ropes Mansion. People say spirits still live in these houses and you can feel cold spots and see flickering lights every so often. The Salem Jail is an abandoned jail where people passing by claim to hear screams and rattling of chains.
Sleepy Hollow, New York
Photo: Shermans Travel
Next up is Sleepy Hollow, New York. Thanks to the story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving, Sleepy Hollow has developed a reputation for giving people the chills. Rumors of sightings of a headless horseman come about around Halloween and there is an eerie feel in the air. Paranormal investigators visit the town frequently due to the several hauntings that surround the town. There’s a home called Sunnyside in Sleepy Hollow, where Irving took ownership in 1835. It has been said that ghosts appear here, doing various tasks like tidying up the home and floating around. People have claimed to see Irving himself as well. By the Old Dutch Church in town, the burial grounds located there are among the oldest in the US. People claim to see the “headless horseman” roaming around these grounds.
Charleston, South Carolina
Photo: CharlestonCVB.com
Third is Charleston, South Carolina. If you’ve read my other articles, you might know that I love Charleston and think it’s perfect—and don’t get me wrong, it is perfect – but it is also definitely haunted. There is so much history in this town: surviving fires, earthquakes, flooding, two wars, and a few hurricanes, Charleston still stands. Poogan’s Porch is a restaurant on Queen Street where a school teacher died in 1954. Witnesses see ghosts floating across the porch of the restaurant, and also in the ladies’ bathroom, where she shows herself behind them in the mirror. I visited the Old City Jail, which is said to be haunted by more than 13,000 prisoners who were executed on site. Murderers, robbers, pirates, and more were known to go through psychosis while being in this jail. When I was there, I undoubtedly felt an eerie presence, and could not wait to get out. I did the tour late at night, and in the pitch black. I felt as if I could never again willingly put myself in a haunted place like this. I still get the chills thinking about it.
New Orleans, Louisiana
Photo: LePavillon.com
New Orleans, Louisiana is another super spooky city. Churches haunt the spirits of deceased priests, homes are full of ghosts of residents who never passed on, and there are so many vampire stories as well. It has the nickname “Boo Orleans” because of all of the paranormal activity that takes place. Le Pavillon Hotel is a hotel on the national registry of historic places. Le Pavillon is the home of the ghost of a girl named Ada, a teenager who was killed by a carriage before she went on a ship with her family. She’s seen regularly in the hotel lobby. There’s also the Museum of Death, which hosts a large spread of taxidermy, a variety of Manson family portraits, a real shrunken head, and more eerie things. A total must-visit if you want to give yourself a good fright.
Chicago, Illinois
Photo: Getty
Last on my list is Chicago. While the windy city is a city to be admired for its fun spirit, gigantic festivals, nice people and the iconic silver bean, it also has a haunted history. Chicago’s past includes violent mob-related murders, bone-chilling cold cases, and fatal natural disasters… which leaves plenty of room for angsty spirits. People say ghosts haunt the Oriental Theatre, where a fire once broke out and swept more than 500 lives. The spirits of the dead remained, and ghosts can be spotted on the street behind the theater, nicknamed “Death Alley”. The bodies were supposedly stacked here after the disaster and it became an infamous spot for paranormal experts.
That’s all for the spookiest cities in America!
Happy Haunting.
X,
Jolie Zindman