4 Spooky Destinations to Add to Your Paranormal Bucket List

10/7/2022 3:42:25 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment

Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery, Chicago Illinois
Article from the Compass

During “Spooky Season” and beyond, any curious traveler can appreciate the intrigue of a good ghost story. From mysterious landmarks to tragic sites, it seems that in some places things truly do go bump in the night. Do you want to believe? Take a journey into the unknown when you visit these four creepy destinations.

Hair-Raising Hawaii

It’s true, when one imagines paradise high strangeness isn’t exactly top of mind. But between bloody bouts in ancient Hawaiian history, the attack on Pearl Harbor, freak accidents and native lore (hello, Night Marchers and shapeshifters), The Islands of Aloha are teeming with ghosts.

Manoa Falls
On the island of Oahu, the popular hiking spot Manoa Falls is famous for its frightening inhabitants. By day, travelers flock to the short hiking trail eager to embrace the region’s incredible views and peaceful scenery. But by night, locals warn of something far more sinister reporting sightings of ghosts, monsters and the fabled Night Marchers — spirits of ancient Hawaiian warriors doomed to roam the earth for eternity.

Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum
While the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor took countless lives and left much of the region severely damaged, two hangars — Hanger 37 and Hanger 79 — miraculously survived. Today, the buildings serve a new purpose acting as home to the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, a fantastic homage to those who fought in World War II and the magnificent machines that they piloted. There’s just one catch, the place is crawling with ghosts — and with more than 30 authentic artifacts and exhibits we can’t say we’re surprised.

Visitors hear unexplained voices and footsteps; things move on their own and some people have even reported seeing a phantom light that bobs from room to room. In fact, the apparent haunting of the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum is so intriguing that it appeared on a 2011 episode of A&E Network’s Ghost Hunters.

Creepy California

While present-day Los Angeles conjures thoughts of influencers snapping poolside selfies from the comfort of perfectly curated multimillion-dollar homes, just like on social media, things are not always as they appear. From its seemingly endless string of infamous and violent crimes — the Black Dahlia murder, the Manson murders, the Hillside Stranglers, Richard Ramirez — to its well-known reputation as the Boulevard of Broken Dreams, the City of Angels’ dark underbelly is always brimming just beneath the surface.

The Cecil Hotel
Despite various attempted rebrands, the Cecil Hotel just can’t seem to shake its unsightly past. And for good reason. With a history of murder, suicides and mysterious deaths such as that of Elisa Lam, the notorious establishment is well known as one of Los Angeles’ most dreadful spots.

While the property is currently undergoing renovations and is closed to the public, many travelers have had the pleasure — or perhaps displeasure — of spending the night in search of things that go bump in the night. The results were just as spooky as one might expect with visitors reporting an unexplainable feeling of being watched, sightings of a little boy outside a fourth-floor window, and, an extreme case where one man claimed he was choked by an angry apparition while he attempted to fall asleep.

The Hollywood Sign
Undoubtedly one of the most recognizable landmarks in the state, if not the entire U.S., the Hollywood sign is rumored to radiate some seriously bad vibes. Many believe the eerie happenings can be attributed to Hollywood starlet Peg Entwistle, who, in 1932, climbed 45 feet up until she reached the top of the “H”. Then, she jumped to her death.

While Entwistle left this life, it seems she may have never left L.A. as several people have reported seeing a blond woman dressed in 1930s clothing suddenly appear and vanish before their eyes. These sightings are apparently increased on foggy nights, and some even claim to catch a whiff of the starlet’s perfume, heavy with notes of gardenia.

Eerie Illinois

One of America’s most beloved Midwestern states, Illinois is home to famous cities such as Chicago and Springfield — aka the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln — and plenty of opportunities for adventure by both water and by land. There’s no arguing that The Prairie State has a lot of good things going for it, including plenty of spooky adventures which is great news for paranormal enthusiasts.

The Chicago River
Known for its trendy bars and restaurants, world-class architecture and brightly colored green water come St. Patrick’s Day, the Chicago River is a must-see for travelers visiting the Windy City. And for as long as the Chicago River has acted as an iconic sightseeing spot, it's been the ideal place to catch a river tour.
Unfortunately, in the year 1915, what was supposed to be a festive celebration took a shocking turn when the S.S. Eastland, too top-heavy to bear, rolled on its side taking the ship and its 2,500+ passengers and crew members down with it.

That day, 844 people — including 22 entire families — lost their lives. The sudden and massive death toll left city officials scrambling and local businesses were asked to act as makeshift morgues, desperate to find a temporary home for those who perished. And it seems that the souls aboard the S.S. Eastland may still be present as witnesses report sightings of ghostly apparitions from within those very same buildings and from beneath the icy depths of the Chicago River.

Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery (picture at top of article)

Visiting Bachelor’s Grove isn’t akin to the usual, boneyard. Instead, family members and curious folk alike must walk a long, overgrown path until they stumble upon the now-abandoned place riddled with toppled headstones, vandalism and a chain-link fence that’s seen better days. Inside, visitors shouldn’t be surprised to encounter something strange. The space is home to the usual bizarre phenomena — footsteps, strange lights, a general feeling of unease — in addition to a photobombing woman in white and a disappearing farmhouse.

Freaky Florida

While it might seem that the scariest thing Florida has to offer is the infamous “Florida Man” stories that are always circulating on the news, the Sunshine State has plenty of creepy stories to pique any curious traveler’s interest.

St. Augustine Lighthouse
As the oldest brick structure in the city, the St. Augustine Lighthouse has witnessed many tragedies. The impressive structure stands 164 feet tall and dates back to the mid-1500s when it was erected to stand watch above the ruthless waters of the Atlantic Ocean. During its prime, the lighthouse housed various keepers who came and went over the years. However, it’s now clear that while many called this place home, some souls never truly left.

Despite a strict no-smoking rule, travelers may detect the smell of cigars as they ascend the structure’s foreboding iron staircase. As they continue their climb, they might feel that someone, and not a nice someone, is watching, the shadow of a too-tall dark figure fluttering past just outside of view. This ghoulish being is referred to as “The Man” and is known to walk the spiral staircase adorned in a blue jacket and a mariner’s cap, none too fond of the lighthouse’s many visitors. In the distance, the ominous sound of children’s laughter echoes throughout the grounds, a reminder of a young girl who passed on the property in the 1870s. But the scares don’t end there, Maria Mestre de los Dolores, the first woman to serve in the U.S. Coast Guard and the first Hispanic American woman to command a federal shore installation, is also said to haunt this place, peering over the railing looking down at the very same place her husband met his fateful end.

The Biltmore Hotel
Glamour and war make for an unlikely duo, but so is the history of Miami’s historic Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. Constructed in 1926, this massive hotel began its life as an epicenter for some of the U.S.’ most glamorous fashion shows, golf tournaments, galas and impressive water shows that took place in what was once the largest pool in the world. The Biltmore was a place to see and be seen attracting big names over the years including infamous gangsters such as Thomas “Fatty” Walsh who met his gruesome end when he was shot and killed on the hotel’s 13th floor. Then, in the 1940s, usage of the grounds took an unexpected twist when the federal government transformed the hotel into a military hospital. The grounds served several additional uses — a medical school, a veteran’s hospital, an abandoned building — before finally assuming its final, current form in the late 1980s.

Today, the Biltmore Hotel is on the National Registry of Historic Places, and it has plenty of historic ghouls to match. Doors open on their own, mysterious messages appear on mirrors and bizarre items like lampshades go missing. The elevator is a particular oddity, sending guests to the wrong floors and acting out of sorts despite a clean bill of (elevator) health. A woman in white roams the property and a phantom couple is said to waltz in the ballroom, a never-ending ode to their devotion to each other.