Not for the Faint of Heart: 5 of the Most Haunted Places in the United States

You don’t have to believe in ghosts to get enthralled with a ghost story. The ghost stories that have been passed on over the years about haunted places can become an object of fascination among people, and it can influence our experiences of these locations. A spooky place, a stroke of imagination, and a power of stories is all it takes to scare you out.

Lucky are you if you’re living in the United States because you don’t need to go to foreign lands to seek out the thrill and scare of the supernatural. If you have a heart for it, here are five of the most haunted places in America that you can visit.

Fort Mifflin (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Fort Mifflin was built in 1771 as a Philadelphia’s fortified area during the American Revolutionary War. Right now, it’s considered as the only battlefield from the Revolutionary War that’s still intact.

Locals say that the ghosts of those who were killed during the war haunt the grounds of the fort. These include the spirit of a screaming woman and a faceless man roaming around the area.

Waverly Hills Sanatorium (Louisville, Kentucky)

Just by the architectural design of the Waverly Hills Sanatorium, you’ll immediately think that it’s a haunted building. It was the first hospital on southwestern Louisville to accommodate and treat victims of tuberculosis, which was at the time plaguing the country.

Since there’s still no cure for the fatal disease during the time, doctors tried experimental methods to alleviate the symptoms. Such experiments were proven to be ineffective and deadly.

According to reports, the patients who died in the sanatorium reach around 8,000, and their spirits still disturb the now-closed facility.

St. Augustine Lighthouse (Anastasia Island, Florida)

Around 230,000 people visit the St. Augustine Lighthouse annually for its rich history as well as for its reputation as a haunted place. Locals say that the ghosts of a lighthouse keeper who died after falling from the tower roam around the grounds of the building. There are also strange voices believed to be the spirits of the three young girls who drowned in the nearby ocean.

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (Weston, West Virginia)

The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum first accommodated people with mental health conditions in 1894. The facility was designed to house only 250 patients, but in the 1950s, its residents reached around 2,400. The overcrowding population led to inhumane conditions, which, in turn, resulted in the violent behaviors and deaths of the patients.

The mental facility is one of the most haunted places in the United States. According to reports, the poor souls of those who died in the asylum still linger within its halls.

Whaley House (San Diego, California)

In 1857, Thomas Whaley built this family house near the site of San Diego’s first public gallows. He said that he heard strange noises and the heavy footsteps he believed to be that of Jim “Yankee” Robinson, a thief who was hanged four years before the house was constructed.

Since then, several tragic deaths and suicides happened to the members of the Whaley family, many of which occurred within the cursed house itself. According to neighbors, the ghosts of the Whaley family still haunt the place.

Takeaway

If you want to experience the feeling of being in a haunted place, you can visit America’s most haunted places mentioned on this list. But you should keep in mind that this kind of activity is not for the faint of heart. So, think a lot of time before you decide to set foot on these spooky places.