These 13 Places Are Said To Be The Most Haunted in America
These infamous locations continue to attract visitors with tales that refuse to fade.
Across the United States, there are places that seem to carry their past a little louder than others. From famous hotels known for strange late-night encounters to entire towns shut down and left behind, stories of the unexplained are woven into American history.
Some locations are linked to real-life tragedies, while others survive through local legends passed down for generations. Either way, they continue to attract people who want to see these places for themselves.
This list takes a closer look at 13 locations often described as some of the most haunted in the country. You’ll find grand old mansions where former residents are said to linger, long-abandoned hospitals filled with uneasy silence, and towns that feel frozen in time.
There are also well-known landmarks whose reputations go far beyond standard tourist brochures. What makes these places so fascinating is the mix of fact and folklore.
Historical records, eyewitness accounts, and unexplained experiences all collide, leaving visitors to decide what they believe. Some arrive hoping for a scare, others out of curiosity, and a few simply to better understand the past.
Whether you believe in ghosts or not, these locations have one thing in common: they leave an impression. Their stories refuse to fade, and for many visitors, the atmosphere alone is enough to raise a few goosebumps.
Dock Street Theater (Charleston, South Carolina)
Dock Street Theater occupies a unique place in American theater history. It first opened in 1736 as a venue for performances, later served as the Planters Hotel, and eventually returned to its original role as a theater.
According to Charleston Stage, the building has survived fires, major renovations, and centuries of change, while remaining an active part of Charleston’s historic district.
A look at the interior today appears in a TikTok video shared by @the_traveling_drifter. In the clip, the creator mentions accounts from actors who claim they often feel someone standing behind them onstage or in the wings, only to turn around and find no one there. The theater’s reputation as haunted is closely tied to its long and layered history.
Ghost City Tours documents reports of disembodied voices, unexplained shifts in lighting, and sightings of figures dressed in historical clothing. Tales connected to former performers and residents continue to be a lasting part of the theater’s story.
TikTok video shared by @the_traveling_drifter
Myrtles Plantation (St. Francisville, Louisiana)
The Myrtles Plantation sits where tragedy, memory, and legend meet, giving it a long-standing reputation as one of the most haunted properties in the American South.
A TikTok video posted by @witchvoid moves through the house’s dark corridors, presenting a place shaped by a heavy past. Today, the mansion operates as a bed-and-breakfast and hosts mystery tours that attract visitors seeking something unusual.
According to the plantation’s official website, the estate was established in 1796 and later functioned as a working plantation supported by enslaved people. Over the years, it witnessed numerous deaths and disease outbreaks, and even served as a hospital during the Civil War, forming the bleak foundation for many of its ghost stories.
As reported by National Geographic, the site’s haunted image does not come from one single event, but from generations marked by slavery, violence, and grief. One of the most persistent legends involves an enslaved girl named Chloe, whose story continues to surface in accounts shared by visitors.
A TikTok video posted by @witchvoid
Winchester Mystery House (San Jose, California)
A recent post on the official @winchestermysteryhouse Instagram page shows employees draping mirrors and styling rooms in accordance with Victorian mourning practices. These customs point to the lasting influence of Sarah Winchester, the home’s original owner and the driving force behind its unusual design. The clip also shows how the mansion is now carefully preserved as a tourist attraction while still respecting its unsettling history.
As noted on the property’s official website, Sarah Winchester began enlarging the house in the late 1800s, overseeing constant construction that resulted in staircases leading nowhere, doors opening into solid walls, and oddly shaped rooms with no obvious purpose.
These strange design decisions strengthened the idea that the building work was meant to satisfy or mislead spirits.
San Francisco travel notes that the house’s legend has inspired multiple film and television projects, including the 2018 horror movie Winchester.
Today, themed tours and immersive events continue to protect its legacy, combining its eerie layout with a rich sense of historical mystery.
A post on the official @winchestermysteryhouse Instagram page.
The Stanley Hotel (Estes Park, Colorado)
Overlooking Estes Park and offering wide views of the Rocky Mountains, the Stanley Hotel is famous for far more than its location. completed in 1909 by f.o. Stanley, the refined building was first designed as an upscale mountain getaway.
According to Visit Estes Park, author Stephen King stayed there during a harsh winter storm, an experience that later influenced The Shining and turned the hotel into a lasting pop-culture symbol tied to fear.
That unsettling reputation lives on online. In a TikTok video, @honeybunches.of.oat posts nighttime clips featuring unusual static and faint noises. Moments like these keep attracting visitors interested in the hotel’s paranormal image. Stories from guests deepen the intrigue, with many describing unexplained sounds, flickering lights, or an oppressive feeling in certain rooms.
The Stanley Hotel’s official website explains that guided night tours allow guests to explore these stories through interactive investigations and historical narration.
TikTok video, @honeybunches.of.oat
Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (Weston, West Virginia)
Towering above Weston with its imposing Kirkbride-style architecture, the trans-allegheny lunatic asylum stands as a powerful reminder of America’s psychiatric history.
According to CNN Travel, the asylum was in use from the mid-1800s until the late 20th century, gaining a reputation for severe overcrowding, deteriorating conditions, and isolating treatment methods that continue to define its reputation today.
Now open year-round, the asylum’s official website notes that visitors can take part in guided daytime tours as well as overnight investigative experiences.
Guests, employees, and paranormal researchers have reported seeing dark silhouettes, hearing unexplained sounds, and feeling sudden drops in temperature, experiences that have shaped the site’s focus on the supernatural.
One frequently mentioned tale involves Lilly, believed to be the spirit of a nine-year-old girl. In a TikTok video shared by @doshialeann, the creator captures a moment where a ball seems to shift direction and roll back toward her after she asks Lilly to move it.
TikTok video shared by @doshialeann
Waverly Hills Sanatorium (Louisville, Kentucky)
Before paranormal television made it a pop-culture name, Waverly Hills Sanatorium was already known for reports of strange, unexplained activity.
Across the years, employees, volunteers, and investigators have shared accounts of disembodied voices, echoing footsteps, and sudden screams heard in corridors that were otherwise empty.
Speaking to Kentucky Edition, eyewitnesses recalled unsettling feelings and unusual encounters that still attract ghost hunters from all over the country.
According to the sanatorium’s official website, decades of neglect played a major role in building its haunted reputation. Sightings of shadowy figures, doors slamming on their own, and repeated appearances of a spirit called “the man in white” became part of its story, along with a mischievous ghost child known as Timmy.
Even those helping restore the building have described experiences they cannot explain.
Today, the site is open to visitors, offering guided tours, late-night investigations, and special seasonal events.
Its presence also lives on online, where a recent Instagram post from @the_waverly_hills_sanatorium shows distant screams breaking the silence and sparking renewed interest.
Instagram post from @the_waverly_hills_sanatorium
Villisca Axe Murder House (Villisca, Iowa)
This modest white house in Iowa is linked to one of the nation’s most disturbing unsolved crimes. In 1912, eight people, six of them children, were brutally killed with an axe in their sleep. More than a hundred years later, the person responsible has never been found.
The case is often described as one of America’s most unsettling mysteries, still fueling fear and endless theories.
Today, the house operates as a dark-tourism attraction, allowing visitors to walk through the crime scene and even stay overnight. That level of access has earned it a place on lists of the world’s scariest locations.
According to the house’s official website, since opening to the public in the 1990s, guests have reported intense feelings of fear, unexplained noises, drifting fog, and recorded electronic voice phenomena during investigations.
Its eerie image has spread online as well. In a TikTok video, @hollywillig recounts spending the night despite having no prior paranormal experiences, saying the house felt “deeply evil.” The Villisca Axe Murder House remains a place where fear feels uncomfortably real.
TikTok video, @hollywillig
LaLaurie Mansion (New Orleans, Louisiana)
A TikTok video shared by creator @ghoulplease_ captures the calm, unassuming facade of the LaLaurie Mansion on Royal Street in the French Quarter. At first glance, it looks ordinary, yet that simplicity clashes sharply with the dark history linked to the address, a reputation shaped by brutality rather than architecture.
According to historical accounts referenced by New Orleans Historical and later outlined by Business Insider, a fire in 1834 exposed the horrific mistreatment of enslaved people carried out by prominent socialite Delphine Lalaurie.
The discovery sparked public fury, leading an angry crowd to severely damage the property as Lalaurie escaped the city. Although the building was eventually restored and used for different purposes, its violent past has never faded from public memory.
Now valued at $10.25 million, the mansion is privately owned and not open for interior visits. Even so, it remains a frequent stop on French Quarter ghost tours. Many visitors describe an uneasy feeling nearby, and continued attention from pop culture and real estate discussions keeps its chilling reputation very much alive.
A TikTok video shared by creator @ghoulplease_
RMS Queen Mary (Long Beach, California)
Once a British ocean liner, the RMS Queen Mary now functions as a floating hotel and museum, and is widely known as one of California’s most notorious haunted locations.
In a TikTok video, @moniqueyy11 recounts a guide’s story about visitors who felt suddenly sick or emotionally overwhelmed in one particular area, believed to be linked to fatal incidents on the ship’s lower levels. World of Cruising has reported accounts of unexplained voices, sudden cold patches, and shadowy figures appearing in deserted hallways. These experiences are most often connected to the engine room, the swimming pool areas, and several former staterooms.
Instead of distancing itself from these stories, Queen Mary’s official website openly highlights them, inviting guests to take part in ghost tours and evening events like the Haunted Encounters Tour, which focuses on the ship’s most unsettling tales.
Eastern State Penitentiary (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Opened in 1829, Eastern State Penitentiary was originally celebrated as a bold step forward in prison reform. As the years passed, however, strict solitary confinement and a decaying building gave the site a far more troubling reputation.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, its radial design and isolation-based system influenced prisons around the world, while opponents warned that the conditions caused serious mental harm and crossed ethical lines.
The prison shut down in 1971 and slowly fell into disrepair. Today, it functions as a museum during the day and a paranormal attraction after dark. Its official tour program offers everything from educational evening walks to hands-on ghost investigations. Many visitors describe sudden cold areas, quiet voices, and cell doors moving on their own.
Eastern State’s eerie reputation continues online as well. In a TikTok video posted by @theparanormalfiles, the team records soft voices and unexplained knocking during their visit, footage that keeps this location near the top of every ghost hunter’s list.
North Brother Island (New York City, New York)
A TikTok video shared by urban explorer @shadesofbiack shows the off-limits ruins of North Brother Island. The clip follows the creator as he paddles to shore in a canoe and records abandoned hospital buildings slowly being swallowed by nature, while explaining that he spent the night on an island barred to visitors.
According to NYC Parks, public access is restricted due to unstable structures and the island’s status as a protected wildlife nesting site. North Brother Island was once home to Riverside Hospital, which operated from the 1800s through World War II and treated patients with smallpox, tuberculosis, and other contagious illnesses.
The island is also known for imprisoning Mary Mallon, infamously called “Typhoid Mary,” who remained in mandatory isolation there until her death.
As reported by Secret NYC, decades of neglect combined with its connection to tragic events like the 1904 General Slocum disaster have fueled its eerie reputation.
Its isolation only adds to the unease, cementing North Brother Island as one of the most disturbing forbidden places in the United States.
Dudleytown (Cornwall, Connecticut)
People often label the area as one of the most unsettling abandoned towns in the United States, while online explorers frequently call it Connecticut’s most cursed location.
In a recent TikTok video, @lakersadventures pays little attention to sightseeing and instead highlights what is missing: no cell reception, no permitted access, and strict private property rules that have made the site one of the most off-limits places linked to paranormal stories.
According to US Ghost Adventures, Dudleytown was established in 1747 and eventually deserted after a long run of misfortune, including suicides, mysterious deaths, mental illness, and repeated reports of dark shapes and strange presences connected to the surrounding Dark Entry Forest.
These stories form the core of Dudleytown’s haunted reputation and continue to support claims that the land itself is cursed.
Meanwhile, the Cornwall Historical Society rejects all supernatural explanations. Their findings suggest that many of the so-called curse stories are overstated or invented, rooted instead in the harsh realities faced by early settlers.
This clash between legend and recorded history, along with the site’s restricted access today, is what keeps Dudleytown alive in modern folklore.
TikTok video, @lakersadventures
The Conjuring House (Harrisville, Rhode Island)
The 1736 farmhouse gained notoriety after the Perron family claimed they experienced a string of unsettling and unexplained events during the 1970s.
As reported by the New York Post, Andrea Perron spoke about incidents involving furniture lifting on its own, aggressive episodes, and situations so severe that paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren were called in to examine the home.
In recent years, the property has continued to attract attention, existing somewhere between documented accounts and lingering legend.
A widely circulated TikTok video posted by @madison.heinzen207 revealed that the Conjuring House was scheduled to be auctioned on October 31, describing the moment as emotional rather than dramatic. She shared the heartbreak and uncertainty tied to seeing the home pass to new owners after her family sold it in 2022, saying the house left a lasting mark on who she became.
People reported that the home was set for a Halloween foreclosure auction after local officials refused to renew the owner’s entertainment license, following disputes and rising tension with nearby residents.
Now shut to visitors, the home’s unclear fate has only strengthened its mystique. Even without public access, it remains the most haunted place in America.
TikTok video posted by @madison.heinzen207
<blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@madison.heinzen207/video/7550842089525759245" data-video-id="7550842089525759245" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;" > <section> <a target="_blank" title="@madison.heinzen207" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@madison.heinzen207?refer=embed">@madison.heinzen207</a> The Conjuring House will officially be going to auction on October 31st 🏚️ I know this update is a bit delayed as I needed some time to process the news. When I first found out, I was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions: sadness, confusion and fear. Since my parents sold the house in 2022, it’s a been a long journey, and watching the house change has been emotional 😢 This house holds such a deep place in my heart and in my family’s story. It’s more than just a property… it’s a part of who we are and has forever left its mark on us. The past year alone has seen so many changes, including the closing of the house, and now, the chance for someone new to care for it and, hopefully, bring new life into it 🙏 While the future of the home is still uncertain, my hope is whoever steps in next treats it with the love and respect it truly deserves. To the future owner, please take this one word of advice: The energy you bring into the house is the energy you’ll receive in return. Our time there was nothing short of extraordinary. I’ll forever be grateful for the memories, connections, and the magic that house brought into our lives. So many of us have fallen in love with it, for the curiosity it inspires, the stories it holds, and the community it’s built. It deserves to be cherished. Here’s to a hopeful future ahead 🕊️ <a title="theconjuringhouse" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/theconjuringhouse?refer=embed">#theconjuringhouse</a> <a title="news" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/news?refer=embed">#news</a> <a title="conjuringhorror" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/conjuringhorror?refer=embed">#conjuringhorror</a> <a target="_blank" title="♬ som original - !sa Grace✧" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/som-original-7542556327562758968?refer=embed">♬ som original - !sa Grace✧</a> </section> </blockquote> <script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script>
Whether driven by curiosity or a love for history, these places continue to pull people in. Old hotels, empty hospitals, and forgotten towns all carry stories that refuse to disappear.
Real events and local legends blend together, creating an atmosphere visitors can feel the moment they arrive. Belief isn’t required - the lasting impression and uneasy silence are often enough to stay with you long after you leave.
