Haunted Places and Halloween History
Oct 07
The 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa rises above Eureka Springs, Arkansas, like something created for a ghost story. Its massive limestone walls, long corridors, Victorian architecture, and mountaintop setting have made it one of the most recognizable historic hotels in the Ozarks. Its history is remarkable even without the supernatural stories. Since opening in 1886, …
Aug 26
New Orleans is a city where history and ghost stories often seem to occupy the same narrow streets. Centuries-old buildings stand beside candlelit courtyards, wrought-iron balconies overlook the French Quarter, and hotels that have welcomed generations of travelers have accumulated plenty of stories along the way. Some involve documented historical events. Others tell of phantom …
Aug 20
Some hotel guests leave behind a toothbrush, a forgotten charger, or a pair of socks. According to American ghost lore, a few guests never leave at all. Across the United States, historic hotels have accumulated stories of apparitions, unexplained footsteps, mysterious voices, doors opening by themselves, and long-dead residents who supposedly continue to wander familiar …
Oct 18
Pennsylvania has more than three centuries of colonial history, battlefields, prisons, old hotels, historic mansions and institutions—so perhaps it is not surprising that the Keystone State has accumulated an extraordinary collection of ghost stories. Some of Pennsylvania’s supernatural legends are connected to documented tragedies. Others have developed through generations of local folklore, visitor experiences, paranormal …
Oct 18
New Jersey may be famous for boardwalks, beaches, diners and busy highways, but the Garden State also has a remarkably rich collection of ghost stories. Centuries-old mansions, Revolutionary War battlefields, a historic prison, mysterious roads and the shadowy Pine Barrens have all accumulated legends of apparitions, strange noises and unexplained encounters. Some stories are rooted …
Oct 16
Halloween is a season made for poetry. Long before horror movies and haunted-house attractions, writers were filling pages with ghosts, witches, mysterious travelers, moonlit forests, ravens, supernatural visitors, and things that move quietly in the night. Some Halloween poems are genuinely frightening. Others are melancholy, mysterious, playful, or simply filled with the colors and atmosphere …
Oct 12
From medieval castles and abandoned prisons to Victorian mansions and historic hotels, some buildings have accumulated ghost stories for centuries. Their reputations are often rooted in a mixture of documented history, tragedy, folklore, eyewitness accounts, tourism, and stories retold from one generation to the next. But what does it actually mean to call a building …
Oct 12
The Salem witch trials lasted little more than a year, yet their influence on American literature has endured for more than three centuries. The events of 1692 have been recorded by ministers, criticized by contemporaries, reconstructed by historians, dramatized by playwrights, and reimagined by novelists. That literary history is especially fascinating because Salem has never …
Oct 10
America is filled with historic places where the past feels unusually close. Abandoned prison cells, Civil War battlefields, Victorian mansions, isolated islands, and century-old hotels have all inspired stories of footsteps in empty corridors, unexplained voices, shadowy figures, and visitors who seem to have never left. But the most fascinating haunted places are often compelling …
Oct 08
Standing at the top of Regent Street in the heart of London, The Langham looks every inch the grand Victorian hotel. Its imposing façade, elegant rooms, famous Palm Court, and long list of distinguished guests have made it one of the capital’s best-known luxury hotels. But The Langham has another reputation. For decades, stories have …
