7 Spooky Spots to Visit This Halloween Season

According to the famous legend, Sarah Winchester, the grieving heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune, sought guidance from a spiritual medium following the deaths of her husband and infant child. The story goes that the medium told her she was haunted by the spirits of all those killed by Winchester weapons and that to survive and appease the vengeful ghosts, she must move west and continuously build a home for them.

Although there is no historical evidence of this consultation, the legend offers a dramatic explanation for what happened next. Sarah moved to San Jose, California, and began a near-constant construction project that lasted for 36 years until her death in 1922. The result is a sprawling, bizarre mansion with 160 rooms. The home is famous for its architectural oddities, and the legend contends that features like staircases leading to ceilings and doors opening onto solid walls were designed to confuse the spirits she believed were pursuing her.

Today, the estate embraces its haunting folklore and is a popular tourist attraction. Leaning into its mysterious reputation, the Winchester Mystery House is a place where many visitors and staff report paranormal activity, from phantom footsteps to sightings of Sarah's ghost. For a truly eerie experience based on this legend, you can get tickets for the seasonal Festival Fright Nights held after dark from late September through Halloween.

Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary, a 10-acre abandoned prison that has housed criminals like Al Capone and Willie Sutton, is said to be one of the most haunted places in the country.

Since the 1940s, ghost sightings have been (and still are) reported. Tours are offered year-round, but during fall, they take on a sinister turn with Halloween Nights, a huge immersive experience featuring five haunted houses held within the penitentiary walls.

Alcatraz might be best known as the federal penitentiary that once housed hardened criminals like Al Capone, Arthur “Doc” Barker, and George “Machine Gun” Kelly, but its history extends far beyond that. Located just off the coast of San Francisco, Native Americans believed the rocky island was inhabited by evil spirits.

Today, both staff and visitors have reported hearing noises like whistles, metal doors clanging, screams, and sobbing. They’ve also reported sightings of ghosts of old prisoners and soldiers, especially in the D Block, which is reputed to be the most haunted section of Alcatraz.

For a truly spooky experience, book a night tour of Alcatraz, where you can explore the prison after dark… if you dare.

If you really want to feel spooked this Halloween season, head to Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery in Midlothian, Illinois. The cemetery dates back to the 1800s, and multiple claims of ghost sightings began in the 1960s. There have been more than 100 reports of ghosts and glowing balls of light at this small burial ground. People have claimed to witness phantom cars, a farmhouse apparition, a farmer and his horse emerging from a nearby pond, and a lone woman in white haunting the graves.

Opened in 1909, the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, is best known as the inspiration for Stephen King’s The Shining. Stay in room 217, which is apparently the center for paranormal activity.

Sightings have included moving objects, lights flickering on and off, and noises such as children laughing in the hallways. Even the original owners are reportedly spotted here from time to time.

The hotel leans into its spooky reputation with experiences like the Stanley Hotel Spirited Night Tour and 13: A Late Night Séance, featuring resident apparitionist Hannibal.

Businessman Andrew Borden and his wife, Abby, were found dead in their Fall River, Massachusetts home on August 4, 1892. A week after their bodies were discovered, Andrew’s youngest daughter, Lizzie Borden, was arrested on murder charges. She was found innocent and the murder was never solved, but that didn’t stop a nursery rhyme from catching on about Lizzie killing her parents with an axe.

Now, the house has been turned into the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast where you can spend the night. For a truly terrifying experience, you can even book out the whole house, so it’s just you and the ghosts. Not feeling quite that brave? Daily tours of the property are also available.

The Weston State Hospital (also known as the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum) was a West Virginia asylum that cared for the mentally ill in the 1800s. The facility was originally built to hold 250 patients. But by the 1950s, it was overcrowded with 2,400 people. The treatment in the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s included horrifying procedures, including lobotomies, psychotropic drugs, electric shock, and even caging patients. Today, it’s rumored that former patients still haunt the hospital.

Head to the asylum for a ghost tour or, if you’re brave enough, spend the night on the Asylum After Dark tour, during which you can look for spirits by yourself or with a guide.