Haunted Places in America

As Halloween approaches, it seemed a perfectly good time to look at Haunted Houses. I myself prefer those that are actually haunted, or at least reported that way instead of those built simply for Halloween. Some sites are worse than others, but all are equally interesting.

WAVERYLY HILLS SANITORIUM, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY

Back in 1924 when tuberculosis was running wild, a newly constructed Waverly Hospital was built. Back then, treatment for the disease was everything from natural cures such as fresh air and sunshine to cutting two or three ribs out of a patients chest so the lungs had more room to expand. Other torture methods were used as well, including chaining a patient to the floors to keep them immobile. Over ten thousand people died during the first three years alone. Visitors here report seeing a hanging nurse, a child playing with a bouncing ball, and an old lady screaming for help.

THE MOORE HOME, VILLISCA, IOWA

The site of one of most grizzly unsolved murders of all time was acted out in this peaceful time back in 1912. The Moore family, along with two overnight house guests, after a night at the local church, were found murdered in their beds. All eight victims were found in bed brutally murdered with their heads crushed by an ax, the youngest age 5. After all efforts to solve the case failed, it still remains unsolved to this day. In 1994 the house was renovated to be an almost exact replica of the Moore home as it was in 1912. A night spent in this home is often filled with the sound of children playing, moving objects, falling lamps and banging sounds.

CONGELIER HOUSE, PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA

This home began its ghostly tale in 1871 when Charles Wright began his affair with a young servant girl. It is told that his young wife Lyda was so angry, she stabbed her husband, and chopped off the servants head. The hauntings continue when the home was purchased by Dr. Adolph Brunrichter in the early 1900's. He was said to be a quiet man, kept to himself. Until August 12, 1901 when a neighbor heard a loud scream from next door. When she ran outside to investigate, there was an explosion that shook the home and blew out every window. When officials entered, they found a decomposing female body on the bed, and five headless girls in the basement. Apparently the doctor had been experimenting with severed heads. Several years later, two workers in the home were found dead in the basement, one with a board through his chest, the other hanging from the rafters. The house stood empty until 1927 when a gas storage tank exploded and destroyed most of the city. Some say Congelier House was the only home completely destroyed, others say it was simply damaged and not torn down until years later. Either way, visitors here often tell the tale of a house that vanishes and reappears.

FRANKLIN CASTLE, CLEVELAND, OHIO

Built in 1865 by Hannes Tiedemann, the Franklin Castle has been a site of tragedy for years. From the death of their eldest daughter Emma, then his mother, followed by three more children. At that time, Hannes began building hidden rooms and passages which also hid their own legends. It is said in one hidden room, dozens of human baby skeletons were found. Over the years, ownership changed hands, and each new owner was plagued with hauntings, including the find of a skeleton behind a panel in the tower room. Visitors report swinging chandeliers, babies crying, and one woman even felt she was being choked in the tower room. The latest reports I could find state that Franklin Castle is still undergoing a renovation to become a members only club, a renovation that has been going on since 2003.

BOBBY MACKEY'S MUSIC WORLD, WILDER, KENTUCKY

This dance hall was once a slaughterhouse back in the 1850's. Also known as "Hell's Gate", it was the site of satanic rituals, including the murder of a pregnant young woman named Pearl Bryan. She was lured to her death after failed attempts at an abortion, where her boyfriend and a roommate severed her head while still alive, dumping her body miles from the slaughterhouse. Her head was never discovered, although legend has it, the head was used in a satanic ritual and then dumped in the well used for collecting animal blood. Visitors claim to hear shootings, see ghosts wearing cowboy-style clothing, and one customer who claims to have been assaulted in the bathroom by a ghostly figure.

THE BIRDCAGE THEATER, TOMBSTONE, ARIZONA

In the 1880s this building was called the wildest, roughest, wickedest honky tonk between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast. Now a museum, the theater was at one time a saloon, gambling hall, and brothel. It was the scene of twenty-six deaths in eight years, with 140 bullet holes in the walls and ceilings as proof of the many gunfights. Home of the famous Bird Cages, were ladies of the night used to sell their wares, visitors claim to still hear laughter, gun fights, and even smell fresh cigar smoke and whiskey. A man in black wearing a visor has also been sighted walking across the theater stage.

THE CRESCENT HOTEL AND SPA, EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS

Leased in 1937 by a self proclaimed doctor named Norman Baker, the hotel became infamous for the horrific experiments on patients there. Baker claimed to have a cure for cancer, and gave his patients a mix of crushed watermelon seed, corn silk, alcohol, and carbolic acid injected directly into their skulls. After going insane many were housed on the fourth floor mental ward where they were left to die and then their bodies were burned in the hotel's incinerator. A night spent here may have you seeing a nurse pushing a gurney, the moans of the insane on the fourth floor, or even the good "doctor" himself playing a prank or two.

FORSYTH PARK INN, SAVANNAH, GEORGIA

While not as grizzly as some, this haunting has a tragic twist to it, making it a must have on my list. Back in the late 1890s a couple owned this bright yellow inn that many consider still the most beautiful one in town. With no children of their own, Aaron and Lois Churchill suddenly had a young girl named Lottie, who they raised as their own. During her teens, Lois' sister Anna came to stay during an illness, and Lottie and her became close. Unfortunately, Lottie caught Aaron and Anna having an affair, and decided to poison Anna and make the family back the way it was. As Anna was dying, the secret came out that Lottie was truly her daughter, and the young girl, realizing she had murdered her own mother, was driven insane. Many visitors have seen the spirit of Lottie wandering down the staircase, or out in the garden near the fountain where the poisoning took place.

While this list could go on for quite some time, I hope you enjoyed the ones I have put. All across America, there are back roads, cemeteries, hotels and houses that have their own story to tell. Maybe you will find your own haunted site to share sometime soon.