The Northeast region of the USA was the first to be inhabited by colonialists. It’s a region marred by war, tragedy, imperialism, and triumph. It’s where the fiercest battles against the British took place and where the most powerful men of the free world resided and led the nation. In this article, we will take a closer look at the spookiest places in the Northeast United States.
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The Jennie Wade House is where Jennie Wade, the only civilian casualty of the Battle of Gettysburg, was shot dead as she was baking bread in her kitchen for the soldiers stationed outside. Her house was unfortunately caught up in the thick of the battle, together with other buildings in the area, such as the Welty House.
As sharpshooters opened fire on the house, the bullets pierced the walls, killing Jennie instantly. Her blood spilled onto the floorboards as she cried out, and they remain soaked with her blood to this day.
Many believe that her ghost still haunts the museum. Some people who have passed by at night have reported hearing the sudden crack of gunfire, followed by a woman’s scream. Other people say they've seen her wandering the house or the surrounding property.
The entire area is reportedly haunted by the ghosts of dead soldiers. Over 50,000 soldiers died in the battles of Gettysburg, and many of them were hastily buried in mass graves in the backyards of the Jennie Wade House, the Brickhouse Inn, and the Welty House. Many people taking Gettysburg ghost tours reported seeing both Confederate and Union soldiers standing outside their windows, walking through the doors, and roaming the grounds at night.
Address: 548 Baltimore St, Gettysburg, PA 17325
The Octagon Museum, also called the Octagon House or Colonel John Tayloe III House, was built in 1799 – and stands on 1799 New York Avenue. Colonel Tayloe III was related to George Washington through marriage, and the house was built for him at Washington’s behest.
Fun fact: It is the only one of three currently standing buildings in the US that served as the presidential residence, along with the White House and the Blair House. And, like the White House, it's infested with ghosts. In fact, much of DC is haunted, including the White House!
The earliest reports of paranormal activity in this house date back to 1888. The circular stairway in the house is one of its creepiest spots. Visitors climbing the stairs often report feeling strange spots with cold air, with quick temperature changes that don’t make much sense scientifically. It is said that one of Tayloe's daughters fell down the staircase and died in a freak accident.
Address: 1799 New York Ave NW, Washington, DC 20006
Also Read: Top Tourist Attractions in Washington D.C.
This brings us to another haunted Octagon House – this one in Sleepy Hollow, New York. Unlike the Octagon House of DC, which actually has six sides (it got its name from the Tayloes, who called it “The Octagon”), the Octagon House of Sleepy Hollow is shaped like an octagon.
In fact, it’s the only fully domed octagonal house in the world! It’s highly unique. It is also called the Armour-Stiner House.
Numerous legends and myths surround this house. Its octagonal shape reminds one of an octagram, which is entrenched in many religious beliefs. For example, the Wiccan Wheel of the Year has eight pointy edges, symbolizing the eight seasonal festivals celebrated by modern-day pagans and various solar events. Eight also has many spiritual connotations in other religions.
From the 1940s to the 1970s, the house was owned by Carl Carmer, a historian who insisted that the house was haunted. One of its hauntings was that of a floral-smelling ghost who gave off a pleasant, flowery smell when it was around.
Carmer published an article titled “Aromas From Another World” in the quarterly journal of the Westchester Historical Society, where he delved deeper into the phenomenon of aromatic ghosts.
Another ghost that haunts the Octagon House is that of a young girl who ran away with her boyfriend to New York City to elope because their parents disapproved of their relationship. Unfortunately, as their ship departed Tarrytown to the city, it was involved in a terrible accident, and she drowned in the Hudson.
Address: 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, NY 10533
The Salem Witch House was featured on the Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures series, a series focused on paranormal investigations of haunted houses across the US.
The Salem Witch House, despite its name, did not house any witches. Instead, it belonged to Judge Johnathan Corwin, a Salem judge who sentenced numerous innocents to their deaths during the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Although he was not the only judge involved in the witch hunts, he signed the arrest warrants for many of them, setting things in motion for their sham trials and executions.
It is the only building still standing that is directly tied to the Witch Trials, which is perhaps why the ghosts of those sentenced to death converged on it.
Judge Corwin had 10 children, but the last five of them died early deaths. Although you may think that they died as retribution for his role in the Witch Trials, the truth is that most of them died before 1692, which is when the Witch Trials began.
The most well-known haunting of the Salem Witch House is that of the disembodied voices that are heard by some visitors, including the disembodied voice of a young girl. Some say it’s the voice of a young girl accused of witchcraft, while others say it is one of Corwin’s children who died young. Whether the ghosts belong to the witches or the dead children – or both, the fact remains that this is one of the most authentically haunted places in Salem.
Address: 310 Essex St, Salem, MA 01970
Also Read: Top Tourist Attractions in Salem
The Middleton Tavern, established in 1750 by Horatio Middleton, is the oldest continually operating bar in Maryland. Located in picturesque Annapolis, it has seen many important politicians walk through its doors, as Annapolis once served as the seat of government.
As such an old bar, it’s no surprise that it has picked up a ghost or two—or more—over the years. The most famous of all is that of a man named Roland Johnstone, whose identity was revealed by a visiting medium in the 1990s.
Johnstone loves kicking around chairs, lanterns, and tables. He also enjoys throwing glasses off shelves and turning the lights on and off. Sometimes, he’ll even place a hand on a visitor’s shoulder. In short, he has a hobby that involves scaring people and being a nuisance to guests. Why? Nobody knows!
To explore all of Annapolis’s haunted glory, take an Annapolis ghost tour.
Address: 2 Market Space, Annapolis, MD 21401
Also Read: 20 Most Haunted Places in the USA
The Lizzie Borden House, in Fall River, Massachusetts, is the home of the still-unsolved 1892 double homicide of Andrew and Abby Borden, Lizzie Borden’s father and stepmother.
On one summer morning in 1892, Andrew and Abby were found brutally murdered, hacked to death with a hatchet. Andrew had 19 blows to his head!
Suspicion immediately fell on Lizzie first. After all, she was the only one in the house when Abby was killed. In addition, Ms. Sullivan, the maid, reported that she heard Lizzie laughing from the second floor when Andrew was trying to return to the house (the door had been jammed). Andrew, who had left at 9 AM, was returning from a walk. Abby was killed on the second floor while he was gone, and if Lizzie were on the second floor, she would have definitely seen that Abby had been murdered.
Lizzie had also been at odds with Abby, her stepmother, whom she believed to have married her father for his wealth. Andrew had given several gifts of real estate to Abby’s family, which had led to family tension in the months leading up to the murders. During her questioning, Lizzie also gave contradictory statements to police; some questioning officers described her as too calm and poised given the situation.
During her trial, though, Lizzie was later acquitted by a jury due to a lack of evidence to convict her beyond a reasonable doubt. Some speculated that if she were a male, she would have been found guilty and that biases came into play in the decision. In either case, she remained a prime suspect in the eyes of many historians, although other suspects were suggested as well.
The house remains haunted to this day. Lizzie’s chilling laugh can often be heard from the top of the stairs. The house offers nightly stays – you can book a room or even the entire house! Daytime tours are also available.
Address: 230 Second St, Fall River, MA 02721
In the heart of Boston is the Boston Common, consisting of five acres of land, bordered by the Central Burying Ground. Nowadays, it’s quite a relaxing and beautiful place, which obscures its haunted history. It is here where several innocents were hanged from trees, and accused of witchcraft. Numerous Native Americans were also hanged here after fighting in King Philip’s War.
Some people report that they can see shadows hanging from the trees and hear the creaking of the branches as the rope swings back and forth. Others have seen a ghostly woman wearing Puritan-era clothes, screaming and weeping in the Common, supposedly belonging to a woman accused and convicted of witchcraft.
There was also a famous case of a rare female pirate hanged in the Common. Rachel Wall, a young female pirate, was hanged in front of crowds, as public hangings were often a form of public entertainment. Many believe that she haunts the grounds as well.
Address: 139 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02111
Also Read: Top Tourist Attractions in Boston
The Hotel Bethlehem lies in the heart of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a city of 75,000 people in the eastern part of the state. Named after the biblical birthplace of Jesus, this city is rich in history – and hauntings.
The hotel opened in 1920 in a building that was first built in 1741. Its creepiest room is Room 932, where numerous transparent apparitions have appeared, both in front of people and in the mirrors, only to disappear when the person looked around or turned on the lights.
Even people who had no prior knowledge of the room’s haunted reputation have reported such disturbances, and mysterious orbs regularly show up in photos taken in that room. It is now well-known as a haunted place, and it is the most in-demand room in the hotel.
Another resident ghost is that of Mrs. Brong, the landlord of the house in the 1830s (when it operated as a hotel under a different name). She was known to greet guests without wearing stockings or socks, which was quite a shocker in that day and age. Some people swear they’ve seen her sitting around in period clothes, once again without any footwear.
Address: 437 Main Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018
The Rolling Hills Asylum, in Bethany, NY, was established in 1826 to provide shelter for the sick, elderly, dementia patients, the poor, the mentally challenged, widows, orphans, and others. It was conceived as a farm, with those being housed there working in the fields, but there was also a holding cell for the criminally insane and others who were deemed unsafe for society.
Many people lived and died here. Some were treated well, but unfortunately, far too many were treated poorly; in those days, such people were considered rejects of society and often treated quite cruelly. When they died, there was often no money to pay for a proper funeral or family to claim them, so they were buried in a mass grave in a potter’s field. Their ghosts still roam the grounds.
One of the ghosts who still reside at the Rolling Hills Asylum is that of Roy, a kindhearted, sweet young boy who was sent to the asylum by his family. Roy suffered from gigantism, a condition that affects children with high levels of growth hormone, causing them to become abnormally tall, often with big hands and feet as well.
Roy’s father, a prominent banker, thought Roy was an embarrassment to the family, so Roy was sent to spend the rest of his life at the asylum. A large, towering shadow is sometimes spotted on the grounds, believed to belong to Roy.
Address: 11001 Bethany Center Rd, East Bethany, NY 14054
The Hoosac Tunnel, which runs through the Hoosac Range of the Berkshire Plateau in the western part of Massachusetts, was built in the 1800s. At its completion, it was the second-largest tunnel in the world, built with the blood, sweat, toil, and deaths of hundreds of miners.
In 1865, a new explosive material, nitroglycerin, was used to blast through the mountains during the construction of the tunnel. Three workers by the names of Ned Brinkman, Billy Nash, and Ringo Kelley set off the explosion, quickly running to safety; unfortunately, only Kelley made it out, while Nash and Brinkman were buried under the rubble.
However, although Kelley made it out, he disappeared soon after. In a weird twist to the story, he was found dead in the same spot as the two others one year later – strangled to death. Many believe that, since the accident was Kelley’s fault (he lit the nitroglycerin too early), the ghosts of the two others came back to kill him as revenge.
There are 135 verified deaths that occurred in the tunnel during construction, and probably many more that have not been verified. Explosions, like the one that killed Nash and Brinkman, weren’t the only accidents; falling rocks, accidents involving ladders, and other incidents caused many deaths as well. The site gained the nickname “Bloody Pit” due to the horrific number of deaths and many more injuries that occurred.
Workers reported hearing a man moaning and growling at night and refused to enter after dark. The manager, Mr. Dunn, assured them that it was the sound of the wind howling – until he stepped inside and heard the sounds for himself. Mr. Dunn agreed that it couldn’t possibly be the wind, speculating that it was Brinkman or Nash.
Address: North Adams, MA 01247