In honor of Halloween this month, I found an article on scenicstates.com detailing the most haunted places in America. Today is Part 2.

4. Lizzie Borden House, (Fall River, Massachusetts)

What is now known as the Lizzie Borden House was owned by Andrew Borden from 1874 to 1892, when he and his second wife Abby Borden were found hacked to death. Andrew’s daughter from his first marriage Lizzie Borden was accused of committing the bloody crime but was eventually acquitted of this crime. As with the Villisca Ax Murders, this case remains unsolved to this day. Lizzie’s sister Emma never returned to the house, and neither did Lizzie (who bought a house nearby and named it Maplecroft). Today, the old Borden house is a museum and B&B in one; the most requested room to stay in is the room where Abby Borden was found. Through the years, guests and employees have witnessed strange activity in the house, such as sounds of footsteps, weeping, opening/closing doors, and whispers heard from vacant rooms. Be warned, they don’t do refunds if you can’t stay throughout the night, so buckle up!

5. Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (Weston, West Virginia)

The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, subsequently named Weston State Hospital in 1913, this asylum had been the home to thousands of mentally-ill patients from 1864 until its closure in 1994. At its peak in the 1950s, the facility housed over 2,400 patients (even if the place was only designed to accommodate 250). This overcrowding led to inhumane conditions, such as insufficient heat, lighting, and poor sanitation, leading to hundreds of deaths. Those who were “treated” didn’t fare much better; they were subjected to arcane methods of managing mental illness, such as hydrotherapy, lobotomies, electric shock, and for patients who can’t be “controlled,” locked up in cages. All this death, pain, and suffering perhaps contribute to the oppressive energy and paranormal activity reported by workers, guests, and the many paranormal experts and ghost hunters who have come to this building. Today, you can join a historical tour, which focuses on the history of the building, medical treatments, and the Kirkbride theory, and has no paranormal information. Or if you’re all about the paranormal, go on a guided paranormal tour or on an 8-hour overnight Ghost Hunt. Guests on Ghost Hunts are encouraged to bring their infrared video cameras, digital recorders, EMF meters, and the works.

6. RMS Queen Mary (Long Beach, California)

The Queen Mary started out as a grand ocean liner in 1936, carrying civilian passengers between Southampton, England, and New York City, New York. When World War II broke out, it was transformed into a troopship, transporting more than 810,000 military personnel across the Atlantic. Post-war, the Queen Mary resumed its passenger service that went on until 1967, when it was docked permanently in Long Beach, California, where it remains to this day. It is now a floating hotel and events venue. Guests can appreciate the Art Deco interior, the luxurious wood paneling and carvings, and unique art work and murals. Beneath this glamorous façade, though, lurks a shadowy supernatural presence, cementing its place as one of the most haunted places in America.

Haunted places in the ship include the drained first-class swimming pool, Hatch Door #13 (where a crewman was accidentally crushed to death), and the infamous Stateroom B340, whose mysterious occurrences began even before the Queen Mary became a hotel. Legend says that it was the site of an unsolved murder of a passenger in 1948. The strange happenings started after, including lights turning on and off, water running without anyone turning them on, and bed covers being pulled off. It was so bad they had to close it for decades but is now open for booking for the brave. In fact, when you go to their booking page, you can specifically book Stateroom B340. They also offer various themed daily and nightly tours, but schedule your visit around Halloween, when the ship transforms into Dark Harbor.

SOURCE: SCENICSTATES.COM

In honor of Halloween this month, I found an article on scenicstates.com detailing the most haunted places in America.

1. Eastern State Penitentiary (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

First opened in 1829, the Eastern State Penitentiary was the largest, most expensive public structure in the US.

It was designed to encourage separate confinement as a form of penitence, with the idea that time alone would inspire criminals toward spiritual reflection and eventually change.

The idea was that inmates would be alone in their cells but visited from time to time by prison guards and counselors.

In reality, the prison guards designed a variety of physical and psychological torture, such as dousing inmates outside with freezing water or placing them in “The Hole,” a pit dug below a cell block where they stay alone with no light, no human contact, and very little food.

The penitentiary ceased to be a prison in 1969 but reopened as a museum holding daytime and night tours, as well as a venue for a seven-week Halloween Festival.

Visitors have reported hearing footsteps, echoes, and laughter; seeing shadows on the walls just in one’s peripheral vision; feeling such dark, negative energy that it’s almost a blow.

Because of these reports over the decades, this penitentiary has been a favorite of paranormal experts.

2. Moon River Brewing Company (Savannah, Georgia)

The building where the Moon River Brewing Company is now located started out as the City Hotel in 1821. It was the first hotel in Savannah and the first branch of the USPS.

During the yellow fever outbreak in the 1870s, the building was used as a makeshift hospital, and people who died back then were said to be the source of many of the ghosts.

Known ghosts that haunt the building include the “Lady in White,” James Stark (a gambler who was killed in the building), “Mrs. Johnson,” and “Toby.”

Thus, this is known as one of the most haunted restaurants in America.

3. Villisca Ax Murder House (Villisca, Iowa)

The Villisca Ax Murder House was the site of an infamous massacre.

On the morning of June 10, 1912, the bodies of six members of the Moore family (four of them children aged under 12) and two Stillinger sisters (both of them aged under 12) were found bludgeoned to death.

Over the years, many possible suspects were investigated, with one of them, Rev. George Kelly being tried twice; the first trial ended with a hung jury while the second one ended with an acquittal.

The crime remains officially unsolved.

Perhaps because this case is unresolved, the spirits are said to still haunt the house, even after its renovation in the 1990s and its inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.

It remains one of the most haunted places in America.

Disembodied screams and giggles, a strange fog moving from room to room, and unexplained movements of things in the house are just some of the reported happenings in the house.

Experience them yourself by booking a daytime tour or an overnight stay, depending on your tolerance for possible encounters with the spirits.

SOURCE: SCENICSTATES.COM