Creepy History: 10 Haunted Places To Visit In The U.S.

Do you have ghostly activity in your house? I think I do. I’ve heard from more than one source that there’s something going on in my apartment, and occasionally I feel a presence in the room with me or a blast of cold air out of nowhere. My apartment may be inhabited by a ghost, but it’s by no means as haunted as these places.

1. LaLaurie House

You probably know the story of Delphine LaLaurie from “American Horror Story: Coven,” and therefore understand why the house is one of the United States’ most haunted spots. Madame LaLaurie tortured and killed many of her slaves and used their blood as anti-aging skincare. Her atrocities weren’t discovered until one of the slaves set a fire on purpose and the police were called. When the people of New Orleans found out what LaLaurie had done, they destroyed her mansion and she fled. The house is open for tours now, and guests often hear ghostly screams and moans.

2. Bailey Mansion

Speaking of “American Horror Story,” the Bailey Mansion in Connecticut inspired Season One’s “Murder House.” It’s probably not haunted, but it looks like it!

3. Chelsea Hotel

The Chelsea’s most famous death belongs to Nancy Spungeon, murdered girlfriend of Sid Vicious, but it’s writer and poet Dylan Thomas whose ghost haunts the halls. If you’re staying near Room 206, you might see him too.

4. Haught Mansion

In the ‘40s, this Michigan mansion was a hopping, fancy brothel. The men who frequented it probably didn’t know about the bodies in the basement, each with a circle carved into their chests. No one ever found out what those bodies were doing there, how they got there or who did it.

5. The Amityville House

We can’t have a list of famous haunted houses without mentioning the most infamous, the Amityville house. Whether or not the Lutz family’s story of terror was true, a tragedy did occur in the house when Ronnie deFeo killed his sleeping family. When the Lutzes moved in, they claimed to smell a terrible odor and feel a strange coldness. Their children began to sleep like the murdered deFeo children, and the youngest daughter made friends with a demonic spirit. This was eventually revealed to be a hoax created by the Lutzes. Since then, the Amityville house has been renovated to change its appearance and keep curious tourists and horror fans away.

6. White House

Abe Lincoln’s ghost is totally walking the halls of the White House. Apparently, old Abe walked into an apparition of his own wake while still alive. Eleanor Roosevelt said she often felt his presence while she was working at her desk, and others have seen him tying his shoes or lying in bed. Dolly Madison is also known to wander the White House.

7. The “Sallie” house

A little girl named Sallie died in this Kansas residence; it was a doctor’s house and her appendectomy went wrong. Her spirit stuck around and when a family moved in many years later, Sallie’s ghost would play with the toys and move things around. However, it wasn’t all fun and games, as the spirit started to get violent with the man of the house. It was later revealed that it wasn’t Sallie’s ghost causing harm, but rather an angry older woman’s spirit. That family was clearly driven from the house in fear.

8. Winchester House

I’ve always said my dream honeymoon would be a night at the Winchester House. Sarah Winchester, heiress to the gun fortune, was told that she needed to build a giant house to ward off the spirits of those killed by Winchester guns. So she started building, and kept on for almost 40 years. The California house is crazy, with dead-end doors, stairways to nowhere and closed-off rooms, all to keep the spirits away from Sarah. It must have worked!

9. The Roosevelt Hotel

Marilyn Monroe’s ghost is occasionally spotted hanging out at the Roosevelt, and so is her “The Misfits” costar Montgomery Clift, who you may see running over a scene in a room.

10. The Haunted Mansion

Wait, this is meta. Apparently Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion is actually haunted by several real-life ghosts, including a little boy whose ashes were scattered there. Yikes!