America's 5 Most Haunted Places

Assembling a list of the most haunted places is absolutely subjective, and relies on opinion. There is no reliable, objective criteria to be used-after all, the existence of ghosts and paranormal activity is not something that can be measured or even proven, at least not yet.

So, what we have to go on are anecdotal stories, documentation by investigators, and legend. There are plenty of places in which claims hold to all these things-so how to choose the most haunted places? I've chosen the ones below (in no particular order) for all the things listed above, plus an overall creep-factor based on strangeness, or just consistent, extra-weird happenings.

Gettysburg
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

With the idea that extremely strong emotion is somewhat conducive for paranormal activity, it's no wonder that Gettysburg is steeped in hauntings-it is the place of one of the bloodiest battles in US history. There are all kinds of legends about horrific post-battle events, such as bodies that lay rotting on the battlefield for months.

There are reports of tourists speaking with what were assumed to be Civil War reenactor guides or actors, who come to find out later no such people were present-they had instead interacted with ghosts! Some of the best apparition photographs have been taken on the battlefields of Gettysburg

There are numerous hotels and establishments that report hauntings as well. The idea that the soul can live on, so damaged and confused by violence and loss, wandering a battlefield for centuries in full regalia...well, that's creepy.

The French Quarter
New Orleans, Louisiana

With its "cities of the dead" tomb cemeteries, crumbling ancient ghost-filled mansions, and Voodoo-steeped culture, New Orleans' French Quarter is a shoe-in for a place on this list. If any place were to surely have a healthy ghost population, this is it; and the many stories and legends support this. The French Quarter is perhaps the creepiest place in the whole country, but a good, endearing kind of creepy.

The White House
Washington, DC

The White House is such a loaded cultural symbol, that it would be surprising if there were no reports of ghosts within its walls. Although it is often referred to as one of the most haunted places in the US, the reason I've chosen it as a most haunted site has to do with the reliability and prominence of some of the witnesses, which includes families of various presidents, press secretaries-and even the prominence of some of the ghosts.

According to William Hauck at the Haunted Sites Directory website, there are over ten ghosts that have been seen-and some, notably that of Abraham Lincoln, have been seen by many different witnesses.

The White House has also been somewhat welcoming to the idea of its ghosts, as it has been the place of many séances, from the onset of Spiritualism in the mid 1800s, through (allegedly) the Clinton Administration.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas doesn't seem to get the fair share of attention it probably should-for its ghosts, at least. Vegas is somewhat of an attractor for stars who may not be shining at their brightest. For all its glamour and glitz, there's something very down-and-out, rough and dark about it.

Perhaps it's all the emotion tied up in love triangles, excesses of drugs and alcohol, and the last hurrahs of fleeting fame, but Vegas has an enormous amount of reported ghostly activity-and intriguing high drama along with it. Elvis, Liberace, Bugsy Siegel-the list of famous ghosts reads like a Las Vegas directory of former celebrity residents.

Eastern State Penitentiary
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I've included the Eastern State Penitentiary not only because of its oft-reported paranormal phenomena by tourists and investigators, but also a most intriguing episode of Most Haunted I saw a couple years ago-one of their live Halloween specials.

Although the show is sensational and has been at the center of a few controversies about the authenticity of several of their captured paranormal phenomena (brought to light more than once by their own parapsychologist, Dr. Ciaran O'Keeffe) and I am generally skeptic about ghost hunting shows in general, I have to say the entire thing was...just downright creepy.

Darned if, after that show, I didn't think that place was the most haunted place in America, even despite my skepticism!