Haunted Places and Halloween History
Jul 17
Black cats silhouetted against the moon. Bats circling an old house. Ravens perched on gravestones. Spiders spinning webs across forgotten corners. Certain animals have become so closely associated with Halloween that it is difficult to imagine the holiday without them. But real black cats are not agents of witchcraft, ravens do not predict death, and …
Jul 16
Eureka Springs, Arkansas, already looks like the setting for a ghost story. Victorian buildings cling to steep Ozark hillsides, narrow streets wind through the historic district, and grand hotels dating back more than a century overlook the town. It is also one of Arkansas’s best-known destinations for paranormal tourism. At the center of that reputation …
Jul 14
Halloween is one of the most recognizable celebrations of the year. Every October 31, glowing jack-o’-lanterns appear on porches, children dress as ghosts and superheroes, families visit pumpkin patches, haunted attractions open their doors, and trick-or-treaters travel from house to house collecting candy. Yet Halloween did not begin as a night of plastic skeletons, chocolate …
Jul 05
Las Vegas may be famous for neon lights, casinos, elaborate shows, and all-night entertainment, but once Halloween approaches, Sin City reveals a much darker side. Haunted houses appear around the Las Vegas Valley each fall, while the arrival of Universal Horror Unleashed has given horror fans something Vegas never previously had on this scale: four …
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 …
