If you love spooky cities, add these haunted places to your travel bucket list. There are city guides and destinations with lots of ghost lore.
For more, check out all of our haunted content.
I — very often and very accidentally — find myself in haunted places. Like the time someone booked me a stay at a hotel in South Carolina without telling me it was haunted.
When the front desk staff told me at checkin, I think all the color drained from my face so I, too, looked like a ghost about to haunt the hotel.
I love the stories and the lore that come with old buildings and hauntings, but I just don’t need to be a participant in the ghost visits. Fun fact, though, my mom actually got haunted by the ghost at that hotel.
If you want that experience, or just want to plan your vacation days around self-guided ghost tours, this post will help. We’ve put together all of our posts about ghosts and spooky stories.
Haunted City Guides
As the title implies, these are all posts dedicated to a specific city.
Wilmington, North Carolina
Coastal Carolina is filled with a variety of spirits, from those left behind during the only successful coup d’etat in the United States to Civil War soldiers, pirates because Wilmington is a Port City, and the ghost of an alligator named Charlie who haunts the USS Battleship.
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is filled with bars and ghosts who haunt them, a phantom who rings a bell tower at Duke University, shops haunted by workers who never left, and a haunted theater because, honestly, any theater in a town is most likely haunted.
Nashville, Tennessee
Music City is known for its honky-tonks and country music, but there are so many ghosts that haunt the city from Broadway to Printer’s Alley to the outskirts, including two former presidents (James K. Polk and Andrew Jackson).
Abbeville, South Carolina
The small town of Abbeville has more ghosts than any small town should, from a haunted hotel to a haunted opera house (haunted by a guest stayed at the hotel) to the town’s welcome center (which, honestly, makes sense that ghosts would welcome you to a ghost-filled town).
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is known for native Dale Chihuly, the famous glass artist, and for Stadium High School, which is where Heath Ledger’s famous scene from 10 Things I Hate About You was filmed. But it should be known for ghosts, since the city boasts over 50 haunted locations — including a bar that’s haunted by the ghost of a bear. Yes. The animal.
Las Vegas, Nevada
Sin City was once run by the mafia, which led to lots of … swimming with the fishes, if you catch my drift. So, that leads to ghosts. As does gambling nights where the house wins.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan is home to the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista, which is the final resting place (or unresting place, if you believe the stories) of Juan Ponce de León. He might be the most famous ghost in the city, but he’s surely not the only one.
More Haunted Places
If you don’t want a full vacation of ghost hunting, just a little taste, these places are for you.
Haunted Hotels In South Carolina
If you’re visiting the Palmetto State and want to sleep among the spirits, you can find a ton of haunted hotels, especially in Charleston, which has a sordid history of slaves and pirates, and buildings built atop of the bodies of them.
The Belmont Inn in Abbeville, SC
The Belmont Inn is where my mom and I stayed when she got haunted by the ghost of Abraham, the hotel’s bellhop who never left. When we stayed, the entire hotel lost power too. Maybe a faulty power grid. Maybe Abraham.
The Capitol Theatre in Yakima, WA
Like I said, if there’s a theater in town, it’s probably haunted. And The Capitol Theatre in Yakima, which is haunted by a stagehand named Shorty, is no exception.
Which of these haunted places do you want to visit? Let us know in the comments.