10 Haunted Places To Visit For Real Scare

Even if you don’t believe in the paranormal, you’ve got to believe in creepy locations. Some locations are so scary, and give you such incredible eerie feelings, that you can’t deny the presence of something you can’t see. They make you second guess your every belief. They make you question the afterlife. Do we go somewhere when we die? Do our spirits stay where we died? Do they go somewhere else?

If you’re looking for a good scare, or if you’re trying to find somewhere to take friends who are on the fence, you’ve come to the right place. Here are 10 of the most haunted locations in America. (Including one this writer has personally been to!)

I’ll list an associated episode of Ghost Adventures if there is one, simply so you can see the locations.

Moundsville Penitentiary

Moundsville, West Virginia

Moundsville is an imposing stone structure fashioned in the castellated Gothic architectural style (adorned with turrets and battlements, like a castle).

No architectural drawings of the West Virginia Penitentiary have been discovered, so an understanding of the plan developed by the Board of Directors must be obtained through their 1867 report, which details the procurement of a title for ten acres of land and a proposal to enclose about seven acres.

Moundsville was known as one of the most violent prisons in America. Nearly 1,000 inmates were killed there. It closed in 1995. Many believe that the tortured spirits of the killed and murdered men reside there.

Moundsville is considered one of the most dangerous haunted places to visit.

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

Like Moundsview, the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum is located in West Virginia. Weston, West Virginia to be specific.

Constructed from 1858-1881, this National Historic Landmark served as a sanctuary for the mentally ill beginning in the mid-1800s. It was operated from 1864 until 1994 by the government of the U.S. state of West Virginia.

Originally intended to house 250 patients comfortably, the asylum ended up housing nearly 500 MORE patients then it thought. 4 or 5 patients were crammed into a room meant for 1. The farm on the property couldn’t keep up and patients began to suffer from malnutrition.

By 1938, the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum was six times overcapacity. The patients inside were running wild, and orderlies, outnumbered, struggled to regain control.

At its peak in the 1950s, the hospital was holding 2,600 patients, more than ten times the number it was intended to house.

The Charleston Gazette ran an expose on the asylum and ultimately, their story resulted in it being shut down.

Many patients died due to the malnutrition and horrific experiments done on them by doctors. Because of this, it is believed that they wander the halls seeking out the humane treatment they didn’t get in life.

Villisca Axe Murder House

Villisca, Iowa

Eight people were murdered in this house sometime during the night of June 9, 1912, including 6 children. The murderer was never found. It is thought that the spirits of all 8 remain in the home, hoping one day their murders will be solved.

Jerome Grand Hotel

Jerome, Arizona

The Jerome Grand Hotel used to be an insane asylum. Patient rooms are now hotel rooms. There is a restaurant in the building. There is now a front desk where there used to be a nurses station, and there are ghosts. Lots, and lots, of ghosts.

This would be the personal experience I had…

It. Is. Creepy. As. Fuck.

Pardon my language, but oh man. I’ve never had such an eerie feeling of being watched, being followed and having someone near me when there was nobody there. We rode up the elevator that was responsible for a death when it came down on someone’s head. We were shown the boiler room where someone was murdered and allowed to tour the first few floors only because weren’t guests. The hotel has books by the front desk where guests can share the stories of their stay. It was both a blast and frightening as hell to read some of them. They were truly mind-blowing. It was a blast to walk through the hotel. We just happened to catch the owner’s son, told him I was on vacation from Minnesota and he offered to show us around himself.

We visit every time I see my best friend in Arizona.

Once I realized Ghost Adventures had been there, it became a must-see…again.

Jerome is truly one of the most haunted places to visit.

Cuban Club

Tampa, Florida

The Cuban Club was host to murder, suicide and untimely death, including the drowning of a 9-year-old boy. The Cuban Club hosts some of the saddest stories in our list of haunted places to visit.

Fort Mifflin

Philidelphia, Pennsylvania

Built in 1771, Fort Mifflin is the country’s only Revolutionary War battlefield that is still intact. Among the ghosts said to haunt the fort is a screaming woman whose cries are so loud that the Philadelphia police have been called to investigate, only to find no one there. Other characters in the local ghost stories include a faceless man wandering around the fort, a tour guide dressed in revolutionary garb and numerous children and dogs.

Moon River Brewery

Savannah, Georgia

In its original incarnation, it was the City Hotel, a high-end hotel with a history of violence during the Civil War. Men were killed in the hotel during heated skirmishes, including a Yankee who was beaten to death by locals in 1860.

Many claim to see beer bottles move and a resident apparition that wanders. His name is Toby.

Sultan’s Palace

New Orlean’s, Louisiana

In the 1800s, this residence was a house of horrors for the Sultan, a wealthy man with a depraved lifestyle, multiple wives and children, and a harem of women and young boys held against their will.

The Sultan was buried alive in the courtyard after his family and harem were hacked to pieces in a bloodbath. The murderer was never found. Today, his angry spirit is thought to be responsible for the unusual noises, loud music and strong incense smells that waft from the home, as well as unwelcome advances on past female residents who swear the Sultan is still up to his old tricks of groping female visitors.

Probably one of the most disturbing haunted places to visit.

Calcasieu Courthouse

Lake Charles, Louisiana

Toni Jo Henry was a former prostitute who charmed a gentleman in a pickup truck to give her a ride while she was walking the highway with a friend in the early-1940’s. In 1942, this murderous beauty known as Tiger Girl was the first woman in the state to die in the electric chair.

Courthouse workers swear her presence is still felt, that they can hear her scream and that they can smell her burning hair. Some swear she messes with office equipment, locks the doors and meddles with everyday office life.

Eastern State Penitentiary

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Moundsville and Eastern State were eerily similar. They ran by the same set of standards. Both prisons were well known for isolation and punishment.

Opened in 1829, thousands of prisoners passed through its halls, including Al Capone.

Eastern State finally closed in January of 1970 and has been used for misc uses ever since.