Looking for a real scare on Halloween? Check out these haunted places in the U.S.

Halloween is a time when the portals between our world and Otherworld open allowing spirits of the dead to walk among us for a night and let those who have died over the previous year to crossover according to Irish mythology. However, it is believed that there some souls that choose to stick around all year.

All across the United States there are places that have long and storied histories and where the presence of some who were part of them are said to still linger. These haunted places have become sites of pilgrimages for fans of the paranormal and the curious.

Legendary haunted places in the US

The National Archive holds onto the National Register of Historic Places which includes a number of places that are famous for ghostly apparitions. The institution provided a list of the four of America’s most haunted.

Eastern State Penitentiary: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Top of the list is Eastern State Penitentiary which was the originator of solitary confinement. It is considered one of the most haunted places in the United States. Built in 1836, it operated until 1971 and saw over 85,000 souls pass through its front gate to become temporary residents.

Well at least some were temporary residents. People who visit Eastern State Penitentiary have reported otherworldly experiences throughout the vast complex. Even Al Capone while he was a tenet in the facility reported that one of his victims from the Valentine’s Day Massacre would pay him nightly visits.

Dock Street Theater (Plantar’s Hotel): Charleston, South Carolina

The last surviving antebellum hotel in Charleston, which is now a theater, has a pair of specters that haunt the building.

One is Nettie Dickerson, who although she came from a humble background tried but failed to enter the city’s upper society by frequenting the hotel in a stunning red dress that she scraped her meager savings to buy. She was struck and killed by a bold of lightning on the second-floor balcony, but even to this day she can be seen walking around in her red dress.

The other spook is said to be Junius Brutus Booth, who was part of a theater group that frequented the hotel. His last name may sound familiar as his son was John Wilkes Booth, the man who killed Abraham Lincoln.

RMS Queen Mary: Long Beach, California

The RMS Queen Mary is the last of her siblings; the Titanic, Olympic, and the Queen Elizabeth. She hasn’t seen the high seas since the second world war, converted into a luxury hotel docked in Long Beach, California. However, during her numerous journeys crossing the oceans 49 people lost their lives onboard.

Guests aboard have reported experiencing several strange occurrences such as beds being made and unmade, even the covers being pulled off of them in the middle of the night, lights turning on and off, and taps opening on their own. Not to mention seeing figures that fade away, feeling cold spots and brushing against someone even though they are alone.

Perhaps the most famous is a crew member that was crushed by Hatch Door #13. People have reported hearing him whistling and asking for a wrench.

Stanley Hotel: Estes Park, Colorado

The Stanley Hotel has garnered much fame as a building infested with poltergeists, thanks in no small part to Stephen King. He wrote ‘The Shining’ while staying there with his wife in room 217, when nightmares wouldn’t let him sleep.

It is said that the fourth floor has a particularly high volume of paranormal activity. In different parts of the hotel, you may run into some of the former staff that have long departed this world but are still carrying out their duties in the afterlife.

If you go to the bar area, you may encounter F. O. Stanley, the founder of the hotel and deceased since 1940, either cozied up at the bar or at the billiard table and his late-wife Flora fancies sitting at the piano.

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