Top 10 Haunted Cities

A haunted Savannah tour guide.

1. Savannah, Ga., was named “America’s Most Haunted City” in 2002 by the American Institute of Parapsychology. The city was home to a Revolutionary War battleground and was the site of the Civil War capture of General Sherman. Many tourists choose to take haunted ghost tours while they’re in town, and are excited to learn about the city made famous by the bestselling book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

2. Gettysburg’s Civil War battle resulted in 51,000 American casualties and as a result, it is believed that nearly all 40 miles of the Gettysburg battlefields have paranormal activity. The city is home to many ghosts that show up in photos, including the ghost of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

3. Salem, Mass., makes the list as the site of the infamous Salem Witch Trials in the 1600s. Gallows Hill is believed to be haunted by the spirits of the 19 “witches” hanged there and the town is known as “Witch City, USA.” Regardless of whether you believe in ghosts, Salem has one of the largest Halloween celebrations in the country for people of all ages…and beliefs.

4. New Orleans has both voodoo and slavery in its past, with famous voodoo priestess Marie Laveau, “The Voodoo Queen of New Orleans,” as its most famous ghost! In addition to all of the voodoo magic, the city’s St. Louis Cemetery is considered one of America’s most haunted cemeteries.

5. San Antonio is regarded as the most haunted city in the state of Texas, with dozens of ghostly sightings throughout its quarters. The city is also the historic site of the Battle of the Alamo, and the fort is said to be haunted by those who died during it.

6. St. Augustine, Fla., is the nation’s oldest city and the first permanently occupied European settlement. Castillo de San Marcos, an amazing star-shaped fort, is rumored to be one of the most haunted places, and the St. Augustine Lighthouse has appeared on the popular TV show Ghost Hunters.

7. Charleston, SC’s downtown area known as The Battery was a protective artillery installation during the Civil War. The area is known for its ghost stories that originated with the Gullah, a West African culture that populates parts of South Carolina and Georgia. The Battery Carriage House Inn is the city’s famous haunted hotel, where visitors often see strange happenings.

8. Chicago is rumored to be one of the Prohibition-era gangsters’ favorite places to dump bodies, and its Bachelor’s Grove cemetery is said to be haunted. There are also over 6,000 Confederate soldiers and sailors buried at Oak Woods Cemetery during the Civil War, and it is believed that strange figures often appear in photos taken at this location!

9. San Francisco’s Chinatown is home to countless ghost tours and creepy folklore. The Queen Anne Hotel, which was originally a school for girls in the 1890s, is said to be haunted by the ghost of its former headmistress, Mary Lake. If the Queen Anne Hotel isn’t enough to scare you from this city, visitors to Alcatraz often claim to see ghosts walking the cellblocks and hear voices in the cafeteria!

10. Portland, Ore., has developed a reputation as being the most haunted city of the Pacific Northwest due to the Shanghai Tunnels. These haunted tunnels were used to kidnap people in the 1800s and shuttle them to the harbor to be shipped off as slaves and prostitutes in the Far East. The White Eagle Café, a former brothel, hotel and boarding house, is also said to be haunted.