Hunting for ghosts is a great American pastime no matter what the season, but during Halloween the ghosts are easy to find. The ghosts of Halloween can range from ill-fitting sheets with holes for eyes draped around a child bearing bags of scary sweets. Or they can be strange monsters that pop out of corners of movie-set like mazes. Or they can be things that go bump in the night, mess with your things and make your curtains rustle where there are no breezes … for real.
This Halloween, those who are hunting for ghosts may find them in these earie options for Halloween thrills. Some are haunted hotels where the night is full of surprises. Others are skillfully manufactured fun. But take warning, those hunting for ghosts you may actually find them. Here are some places to go for Halloween whether hunting for ghosts or just some sweet and scary entertainment.
Hunting for Ghosts: The Lizzie Borden House
“Lizzie Borden took an axe/ She gave her mother forty whacks/ When she saw what she had done/ She gave her father forty-one.”
Lizzie Borden was born in 1860 in Fall River, Massachusetts. From an early age, she was at odds with her stepmother, Abby, who she and her older sister, Emily, believed married her father for his wealth. Their father, Andrew, was a prominent developer in Fall River. Still, Lizzie grew up an upstanding member of her community, being heavily involved in the church and performing services for the poor. As Lizzie grew older, the tension between the parents and the daughters grew.
Then, Lizzie and Emily remained unmarried, bringing negative attention to the family from their peers. Andrew Borden had been killing Lizzie’s pigeons and began gifting generous land and monetary grants to Abby and her family, inciting outrage in Lizzie.
As the ghost story goes, Lizzie, blind with rage, hacked her father and stepmother to death in the house and the ensuing trial that followed became one of the most sensationalized courtroom cases in American history. Lizzie, being the daughter of a man with influence, was acquitted. The contradicting statements forced the judge to rule in favor of Lizzie. She lived the rest of her life in relative anonymity, but her legacy still lives on to this day. The house is said to be haunted. However, the axing event’s anniversary of August 4 (1892) is a favorite for serious ghost hunters.
Hunting for Ghosts at the Welty House
The Welty House was the site of gruesome fighting during the Battle of Gettysburg and was used as a sharpshooter position for Confederate forces. It still bears scars from the battle, which one can see and touch. The home sheltered the Welty Family in its basement where a spring ran through as a water source.
Following the battle, the Welty House property became the temporary burial ground for 36 Union and confederate soldiers, and it later witnessed President Abraham Lincoln and his procession down Baltimore Street to deliver the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. In 2006, the Welty House became part of the Brickhouse Inn, which US Ghost Adventures purchased in 2022. In its restored identity, the Welty House and offers guests a chance to tour or book a night at the historic, haunted house.
Hunting for Ghosts in Excelsior Springs, Missouri
Given the long history of The Elms Hotel & Spa since its opening in 1888, it’s not surprising that the property has earned a reputation as one of Missouri’s most haunted places. However, what most people don’t know is the backstory of how it became haunted in the first place…
As the story goes, the Elms was struck by two tragic fires in both 1898 and 1910, and even though no fatalities were reported, rumors have circulated that a spirit currently living in the Elms was involved in one of the fires.
The spirits that remain at The Elms vary from the ghost of a woman running around looking for her child, to the housekeeping staff’s ghostly concierge in a 1920s hospitality uniform. The Elms’ lap pool is also said the home of a ghostly gambler who is still taking bets. The Elms’ spirits are widely recognized, especially after the hotel was featured in an episode of SyFy’s Ghost Hunters.
The property hosts paranormal tours all year which allow guests to learn from a ghost-tour guide and Elm’s historian about frequent sightings and the spirits’ backstories.
Beyond Ghosts: Places to Go this Halloween for Chills and Thrills
Halloween may be the ideal time to hunt for ghosts, but it is also the ideal season to take advantage of a variety of haunted houses, monster mansions, wooly warehouses, horrifying hay rides and a plethora of places steeped in unsolved mysteries. Here is a short list from America Haunts, the national association for the most proven and prestigious commercial haunts. There aren’t many open nights for the undead to get their fright-fill fun within the season. Most autumn haunts tun four to nine weekends around Halloween, although some are open on weekdays, including Halloween night, Tuesday, October 31.
Beast, Kansas City – Renowned for its time travel in an open format through a medieval abandoned castle to its infamous swamp town and Werewolf Forest, this haunt’s epic experience brings screams and laughter.
Bennett’s Curse, Baltimore area – This haunted domain comes with much fanfare as souls travel far and wide to be spooked above and beyond, even to haunt experts’ expectations.
Cutting Edge, Fort Worth — No bones about it, they push the boundaries of scaring with cutting-edge special effects and the nationally acclaimed zombie drum line with apparition-like feats and beats.
Erebus, Detroit/Pontiac — Subjects become part of the mad scientists’ experiments into a terror-filled time warp that not only is a transformative bucket list experience but one that warrants return visits as a tradition.
The Haunted Trail of Balboa Park, San Diego — The renowned makers of the Haunted Hotel decided to shift gears and only open their mile-long trail and maze in 2023, given the massive scares accomplished outside.
Headless Horseman and Hayrides, New York/Ulster Park — The trek to Ulster Park is a no-brainer to experience the legend while screaming for life in the enormous and famously scary haunt, hayrides, and corn maze.
NETHERWORLD, Atlanta — Terror is on another dimension at this original, with indescribable beings, from phantoms to the primordial, that make a fright experience for the ages.
Spooky Woods, Greensboro/High Point — Scary meets adventures for the best of times with its bona fide buffet of choices from Club Spooky and corn mazes to a haunted trail where haunting goes all out.
Spooky World, Boston/Litchfield — This scare-filled oasis of nightmares has many unexplained forces in the darkness, plus lively options for enjoying Zombie Paintball, a beer garden, games, and fire pits.
The 13th Gate, Baton Rouge — When the gothic gate opens, it beckons visitors into an immersive, haunted world with secrets for scaring that make it undeniably fun.
The Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride, Philadelphia — Hitch a hayride inside this favorite haunt where three generations put their blood and sweat into the best of scaring souls for impressive realism and fright.
The Dent Schoolhouse, Cincinnati — Reliving the terror committed in this place bends the mind and amps the adrenalin. This horror isn’t a drill as visitors go from cafeteria to classroom to be schooled in scary fun.
Thrillvania, Dallas — It is an attraction so revered for scaring that haunt-goers make a date to not miss this immersive terror experience with gigantic thrills that send chills from head to toe.
Nightmare on 13th, Salt Lake City — Relentless scaring starts within seconds of entering – testing the wits and the grit running the gauntlet of monsters as things intensify from screams to terror for an adrenalin win.
Talon Falls Screampark, Paducah/Melber — Things get real in Kentucky as this behemoth scare park puts it all out there to be among the most menacing to earn every scream, jump scare, and chest-pounding heart.
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