Real Haunted Places

Alcatraz, once the home of a federal prison that locked up some of America's most notorious criminals, was only open for three decades before shutting its doors, but that didn't stop the inmates from sticking around...

If you worked at Sloss Furnace, there was a fairly good chance that you might die every day. If it wasn't the noxious gasses, it was the equipment... there's a reason that Sloss is one of the most haunted places in America.

When the Sanatorium opened its doors it was so massive it had its own zip code. Tuberculosis was busy terrifying everyone and because it was so contagious, nice, safe hospitals like Waverly Hills were built to combat the problem. Unfortunately, it didn't work, and instead helped spread TB by allowing patients visitation from friends and family, before they knew TB was an airborne disease. Read more here!

The basement tunnels were an underground network used by some not-so-nice kidnappers known as "shanghaiiers". Often times people will report hearing the sounds of screaming or moaning coming from the darkness, and even children crying. Tours of the tunnels are sure to terrify!

According to America's Most Haunted, Whaley House is the most haunted house in the country. I don't know about that, but I will say that it sure is scary. Yankee Jim is the most famous ghosts at Whaley House, his large, loud boot stomps are constantly heard banging up and down the stairs on pretty much a daily basis.

Ghost Ranch is said to be haunted by an evil spirit, and though the area is amazingly beautiful, they say the land is cursed by witches.

West Virginia Pen does daily ghost tours of the building... it's that haunted. The jail, which was only built to hold 200 inmates, was holding upwards of 2.5 thousand at one point. To put it lightly, things went bad often at WVP. It's not uncommon for people to experience loud bangs, screams, footsteps, weird shadows, and feelings of dread.

You can pretty much guarantee you'll get at least one weird picture when you visit St. Augustine Lighthouse. The lighthouse in America's oldest city is so haunted that tour attendees often leave in tears, or (at the very least) with a case of the major wiggins.

The mystery house has been weirding people out for well over 100 years. The house, which was built for the insanely rich Sarah Winchester, is said to not only still have hidden rooms yet to be discovered, but is also haunted by the guilt-ridden ghost of Sarah herself.

The house was built by the Lemp family, who once ran the largest brewery empire in St. Louis. In 1901, the eldest son and heir to the dynasty, Fredrick Lemp, died mysteriously. His tragic demise marked the beginning of a string of deaths, suicides, and tragedies that spanned generations. Many of those deaths took place inside the Lemp Mansion.

According to many, Myrtles is home to over 12 different ghosts, each with its own fantastic yarn, though none quite as recognizable as the slave Chloe, who made herself famous in one of the most memorable ghost photos of all time.

Many paranormal investigators have since visited the Goldfield Hotel to search for evidence of the afterlife. In 2004 Ghost Adventures, Zak Bagans captured what appeared to be a brick levitating before being launched across the basement violently. Others have seen strange shadows, heard unexplainable sounds, and have experienced temperature drops, especially inside room 109. It's considered by many to be one of the most haunted buildings in the world.

Built in 1886, OSR opened its doors on September 15, 1896 and took in 150 inmates who arrived at their new home by train. During its 94 years as a working jail, the reformatory also took in nearly 155,000 inmates, and according to the legends, many of their spirits are hanging around. Today, the Ohio State Reformatory is prisoner free and open to the public for tours, paranormal investigations, and events.

If you like staying in offbeat hotels, you're not going to get much more terrifying than this infamous little B&B in the heart of Fall River, Massachusetts. It's not every day that you get to spend the night at the site of a massively famous murder site turned hotel… heck, they even offer tours of the crime scene.

Bobby Mackey's is considered by many to be one America's only "portals to hell." If you're visiting the bar, make sure to take the paranormal tour that brings guests downstairs to see the infamous "portal."

There's only 82 plots at Bachelors Grove Cemetery, but that certainly hasn't stopped it from becoming one of the most notorious graveyards in the country.

One of America's most infamous axe murders occurred on the night of June 9, 1912, when eight people were bludgeoned to death inside the Moore residence in the small Iowa town of Villisca. To date, the crime has never been solved. Read more here!