Witches, Asylums & New Jersey...Oh My: 9 of the Most Haunted Places in the US

Ghost stories, haunted places, Joan Rivers' face - you know...things that scare you. You start hearing about the local lore and legends growing up. I will certainly never forget hearing about Satansville in Southeastern PA near the Delaware border where a supposed satanic cult worships and all the trees grow at a 90degree angle away from the satanic church near the road. Aaaand I may have been skeptical until I saw it myself - and screamed and did other appropriate scared sh*tless things. Good times. So keeping those fond memories in mind, I've done some research into some of the most notorious and talked-about haunted places in the US - well...generally the Eastern US. Have a look at the videos and read up below. Want to create your own top 10 video mashup? You can do so here.

Disclaimer: a vast amount of this information comes from Wikipedia - where all things are surely validated and true.



1. Mount Hope Cemetary - Rochester, NY. Built in the early 1800s, Mt. Hope Cemetary was the first municipal cemetary in the United States with graves older than the official graveyard itself. Pre-American Revolution Rochester residents reported strange lights and sounds coming from the hills well before it was a cemetary.

Such famous persons as Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglas are among those buried there in everything from lawn crypts and columbariums to family mausoleums. The victims of various tragic accidents and wars are buried here as well - most notably the mass grave of the 1901 orphanage fire. This place has had haunted action for centuries now - it's all certainly enough to give me the Heebeejeebees (sp?).

2. Waverly Hills Sanatorium - Louisville, KY. Aside from the fact that "Waverly Hills" just soounds like a haunted name and abandoned sanatoriums are creepy as all get out, this facility was closed in 1981 allegedly due to patient abuse. Awesome. Local stories abound of doors slamming, disembodied voices, lights coming on when there was no power to the building, and some even witnessed a hearse drive up and drop off coffins.

Even more disturbing is the "death tunnel" which transported dead bodies from the main building down to the railroad tracks at the bottom of the hill to ship them away - to god knows where. The shots in this video are from daylight....thankfully.

3. Valley Creek Road - Downingtown, PA. You'll notice a mid-Atlantic US regional bias in this list. Why? a) There's more recorded history in the original 13 colonies. b) I'm from there. Oh snap. I had heard of this place growing up. Old train tracks, creek, tunnels, a hanging suicide, another terrifying crime scene...hard times in America, huh. The guy's voice is kind of cheesy in this video but this place...it does not look pleasant.

4. The Bell Witch - Adams, TN. The Bell Witch actually served as a historical (or legendary) basis for the otherwise fabricated Blair Witch legend of Maryland and low-budget Hollywood (does one capitalize hollywood?) fame. The legend of the Bell Witch revolves around the Bell Family of early-19th century Adams, Tennessee - first manifested in an encounter with a strange animal on the property and leading to other fun things such as an invisible force assaulting the youngest daughter and strange afflictions suffered by patriarch John Bell before his death in 1820. The Witch supposedly returned to the property in 1935 when reports of strange activity again started to surface in the area. Wait, the Blair Witch wasn't real? WTF

5. The Jersey Devil - The Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey. Yeah, new Jersey. Now the nation's armpit, originally one of the first-settled areas of the new colonies with one of the oldest legends. This one dates back to the 18th century when a certain Mrs. Leeds cursed her 13th-born child that it "may be a devil." Maybe it's this guy (note: NSFW). Anywho, let the Weird NJ folks take you through their investigation.

6. Lakeland Mental Asylum - Lakeland, KY. Kentucky and their asylums. This one has actually since been demolished and this video is a series of photos taken by thrill-seekers from before it was destroyed. I can't really track down any solid stories of hauntings but basically there's no way in hell from the messed up pictures of this abandoned place that some weird and hmmm...'not right' business went down. Too bad it's torn down - would've made a pretty mean stop on a haunted hayride.

7. The Lemp Mansion - St. Louis, MO. This mansion is famous for being one of the nation's most haunted buildings. Doors are said to open, shut, lock and unlock on their own. Apparitions of the Lemp family - four of which actually committed suicide within the walls of the mansion - have reportedly been seen. Cheery cheery story. Creepy, creepy mansion.

8. Funks Mill Road - Somewheresville, PA. Rather tragic story - happened at some point during the 1980s even. The house that is supposedly haunted burned down and the entire family died. What's creepier is that the father, having heard that his house was on fire and rushing home, lost control of his car on Funks Mill Road and also died. People who drive past it sometimes see a light coming from the remains of the house and a phantom car has been seen going out of control during winter months.

9. Eastern State Penitentiary - Philadelphia, PA. Quick note - Al Capone was held here. (read: badass) Built in 1829 and only officially closed in 1971, this prison was ran under the Pennsylvania system of constant solitary confinement and labor - criticized as cruel and inhumane. Reports of paranormal experiences began to trickle out from the inmates and guards in the 1940s. One of the first coming from Al Capone who believed himself haunted by James "Jimmy" Clark, one of the men murdered in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. All your other typical signs of haunting are there as well - disembodied screams, footsteps, talking, whispers, laughter, crying. Good stuff. Can't imagine constant solitary confinement was too great for the mental well-being of the prisoners.

So there you have it. Places that scare the crap out of me. Send us a mashup of videos you can find that scare the crap out of you. Particularly good ones of Satansville, PA - not fully-referenced here because it actually scares the crap out of me that much.