Haunted House Tour of America
Take, for instance, the Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana. Built in 1794, the house is said to hold dozens of ghosts. Although many say 8 or 10 murders occurred there, most are rumors. The place truly is haunted, say many, and hundreds of people flock to it, trying to catch a glimpse of the afterlife – in ghost form. Visitors say you can see hand prints suddenly appear on mirrors, hear thumping footsteps on the stairs at night or smell strange odors at various times. Even if you spot no ghosts you’ll still view the beautifully restored old plantation house and it’s furnishings.
Dudleytown, Connecticut was once a thriving community but now, empty of businesses and homes, is a mere forest, albeit a haunted one. There are still a few remains – pieces of old stone walls – but for the most part it is devoid of all humanity. Sometimes still traveled by hikers or other brave souls, the forest is said to be haunted by ghosts, demons and entities galore. A curse was put on the Dudley family in 1510 and shortly afterwards bad luck actually did fall upon the family.
Generations of Dudley’s died unusual and horrid deaths in the area. And they weren’t the only ones. Neighbors and friends of the Dudley’s also passed on under strange and eerie circumstances – many of them having gone quite mad first. Many years later, when most people had abandoned the area, a visiting doctor bought a large portion of the land and set up homestead. Having to leave the home for 3 days he came home to find his wife totally mad, as others before her. Was it something in the water? In the air? Visitors now claim to hear and see strange things in the forest and some are overcome with a tremendous dread or fear. Find out more about this haunted forest when you visit Connecticut.
One of the most haunted places in Chicago, Illinois, Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery is located in the suburbs of Midlothian. Glowing balls of light and floating apparitions are some of the eerie sights reported by many visitors. The land became a burial ground in 1844 and was in business until 1965. When business dropped off and the cemetery was all but abandoned it became a popular place for thieves to desecrate and rob. A gravel trail is now the only road to the cemetery. The nearby pond and turnpike are also said to be haunted with people reporting everything from disappearing cars on the road to wispy bodies floating above the pond. The tourist portion of the area is closed after dark.
Not too far away is Hickory Hill, the old slave house, in Equality, Illinois, just outside of Harrisburg. Although the house was closed due to depravity in 1996, the state of Illinois purchased the house in 2000 with plans to restore and reopen. Built in 1842 the house saw its share of misery. Although slaves were illegal in Illinois the law allowed the leasing of slaves to work the salt mines. To add to his workforce the owner, John Hart Crenshaw, kidnaped free slaves and forced them to work in his mines. He also sold off excess workers to those looking for slaves to work. The attic was the torture chamber where he beat, and killed, many a black man. Shortly after Crenshaw’s death the house was opened as a tourist attraction where almost immediately visitors claimed they could hear cries and chains rattling up in the attic. Over 150 people have tried to stay the night in the house, but each eventually ran frightened and screaming.
Lemp mansion, in St. Louis, Missouri, has been a home, a boarding house, and even a restaurant but now it’s home to unearthly spirits – so says many. The Lemp’s were once very successful but after many years the fortune had dwindled. Dozens of tragedies haunted the family, picking them off one-by-one, until no more Lemp’s resided on the property. During remodeling projects in the 1970’s more than one handyman walked off the job, never to return, for fear of the ghosts. The mansion remains a restaurant and inn where many guests check in with the hopes of spotting one of the unfortunate ghosts. Visit the Lemp mansion, one of the most haunted houses in the country.
The location of the former Bell House, in Adams, Tennessee was said to have begun experiencing strange phenomena in the early 1800’s. A neighbor of the Bell Family, Kate Batts, had been involved in a bad business deal with John Bell and hated him. It’s said that her ghost, who supposedly claimed she was a witch, began tormenting the Bell family by kicking, scratching and further attacking members of the family. Even General Andrew Jackson once visited the famous spot to try to determine if it was actually haunted. He decided it was. The nearby Bell Witch Cave is also said to be fraught with evil.
Gettysburg, Alcatraz and many other locations where troubled souls lived and died, also have claims of being haunted. There are many, many haunted locations in America alone. Plan a road trip to visit a few – if you dare – for a unique and thrilling vacation like no other.
