Like the Heebie-Jeebies? Move to One of These Creepy Cities
If you fancy yourself a ghost hunter and love the thrill of uncovering a supernatural mystery, you should consider making one of these cities your next hometown. We’ve picked the 10 spookiest cities across the country to help you fulfill your fantasies of coming face-to-face with an apparition sure to give you nightmares.
1. New Orleans, Louisiana
Photo by Corey Balazowich/Flickr The veil seems thin indeed in New Orleans. A history of Voodoo casts a supernatural pall over this city where the living and dead are said to walk together. hogan scarpes shop When you make New Orleans your home you’ll have your pick of notorious Southern ghosts and wandering Civil War spirits. The haunted places in NOLA are numerous enough to keep you ghost hunting for years to come.
2. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Photo by Sandy Horvath-Dori/Flickr From the oldest intact Revolutionary War battlefield to 11 acres of an old state penitentiary, Philadelphia is rife with restless spirits and haunted locales. You’ll never run out of supernatural spooks in this town — from Edgar Allen Poe at the General Wayne Inn to Thomas Jefferson at Baleroy Mansion and Benedict Arnold at Powel House.
3. Savannah, Georgia
Photo by Melissa Johnson/Flickr Branches draped in Spanish moss set the otherworldly tone of this haunted city. Built over a Native American burial ground and home to bloody battles and devastating epidemics like yellow fever, Savannah has long been considered a city where spirits tend to settle. Even modern hot spots like Moon River Brewing Company have resident ghosts that belly up to the bar and rub elbows with the locals.
4. Salem, Massachusetts
Photo by eyeliam/Flickr Known as “Witch City, USA,” Salem is the perfect place to call home if you’re drawn to spells, curses, and the vengeful spirits of innocent women who’ve crossed over to the dark side. Gallow’s Hill is the center of the supernatural action in this city, as it marks the place where 20 “witches” were hanged during the infamous Salem Witch Trials.
5. Santa Fe, New Mexico
Photo by Neil Kremer/Flickr As the second-oldest European settlement in the country, it’s no surprise that Santa Fe has ghosts to spare. Die-hard folklore fans won’t be able to pass up the chance to live in a town with its very own headless horseman. The haunted rider, who was stabbed to death and cursed by Spanish witches in the 1600s, is said to be found galloping up and down Alto Street, haunting the spot where he met his violent end.
6. sac a dos fjallraven Portland, Oregon
Photo by Kabayanmark Images/Flickr Beneath everything that “keeps Portland weird” is an underground network of tunnels that, according to legend, were used to kidnap men and women and ship them off to serve as slaves and prostitutes. This scandalous practice left behind a slew of tormented souls that continue to wander the city’s Shanghai Tunnels looking for a way out.
7. Chicago, Illinois
Photo by Richie Diesterheft/Flickr The third-largest city in the country has plenty of room for the tortured souls who fell victim to gangsters like Al Capone. Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery offers spectral sightings of Civil War soldiers and victims of Prohibition-era gang warfare. Visitors also report encounters with a phantom farmhouse that slowly disappears as they approach.
8. Beaufort, North Carolina
Photo by Ken Ratcliff/Flickr Before it became a popular vacation destination, this coastal town was home to one of the most dangerous swashbucklers to sail the high seas: Blackbeard. His former home, Hammock House, reminds visitors of the pirate’s treachery with a bloodstain from one of his kills that re-appears no matter how often it is scrubbed clean. You’ll find plenty of chills at the 300-year-old cemetery that became the final resting place for hundreds of souls left to the watery grave of an unforgiving sea.
9. San Francisco, California
Photo by Wayne Hsieh/Flickr Forget the bridge and the wharf. If you’re looking for a fright, there’s no better place to go in the City by the Bay than Chinatown. Haunted by the souls of disappointed Chinese immigrants who went bust in the Gold Rush, Chinatown’s bustling streets are sure to give you a chill after the sun goes down. San Francisco’s spooks don’t stop there. The Queen Anne Hotel, a former home for girls, and the walls of Alcatraz also lay claim to lots of ghostly sightings. Now that you know where to find the scariest spots in the U.S., it’s time to settle on a destination, screw up your courage, find a willing travel companion (if you can), and schedule the moving van.
