October is a time of the year where everything gets a bit more spooky.
Readers discover fascinating stories about the most haunted places in the country, others seek out man-made haunted houses to quench their thirst for fear and avid ghost hunters seek genuine encounters with the afterlife.
While there are many popular attractions for ghosts and ghouls, such as Summerwind in Wisconsin or the House of Death in New York City, what about the lesser-known haunted locations around the country?
Sundance Vacations dares you to explore the stories of hauntings across some more obscure towns in the United States to decide for yourself if the area is lurking with actual spirits or just the ghosts of old rumors.
Haunted Hotels near South Lake Tahoe, California
Georgetown
According to many guests who have spent the night at the Georgetown Hotel, this location is known for its lurking apparitions. This 1800s saloon style hotel can be found between Auburn and Placerville California on Highway 49 and is roughly two hours away from South Lake Tahoe.
The hotel was founded in 1849 by a man named George Phipps, whom the town itself was said to be named after. There are numerous claims about deaths in the old hotel, which burned down and was rebuilt three times throughout the mid to late 1800s.
Some claim the hotel is haunted by its former owner, but activity from more than one ghost creeps through this building.
There are accounts of a three year old child that passed away in his sleep at the hotel. Since the time that the child allegedly did, guests report hearing the faint sound of a bouncing ball down the stairs, baby’s laughter and there have even been reports of sightings.
Tanya Fox, a bartender at the Georgetown Hotel, defends these claims.
One day she stopped by the bar and left her son outside to play with his ball. When she came back outside her son told her he was bouncing his ball with another boy, but as Tanya looked around, she quickly realized they were alone.
In addition to this phantom child, another spirit is said to haunt the halls. Merna, known as the “lady of the night”, was a young woman who stayed in room number five with her boyfriend. In a heavy argument, her boyfriend threw Merna off the second-floor balcony, breaking her neck in the process. Guests of room number five claim the faucets in the bathroom will turn on and off and temperatures will drastically fluctuate from time to time.
Aside from those spirits, it seems as though there resides another spirit, one that protects the hotel. Staff confirmed that a previous caretaker, known by others as Big Dave, died of an apparent heart attack in one of the bathrooms. It is said that perhaps one of the ghosts could have caused this to happen.
Despite his untimely demise, Big Dave is known to playfully touch guests and move around the hands on the clocks to incorrect times.
Ghostwriter, Paul Dale Roberts, has more information about the Georgetown Ghost Story here. For additional information about visiting the hotel, check out their Facebook page.
Jamestown
The Historic National Hotel of Jamestown likes to think of their “special” guest as playful, however, some guests might not be too sure. Instead, they believe she’s a sad, tormented spirit.
As the story goes, back in the 1800s a pretty young 19-year old named Flora, often referred to as Flo, met a handsome lawyer named Henry on a train trip to visit her relatives. The two immediately fell head-over-heels for each other and by the time the two reached their train’s destination in California, he had proposed.
After a short stay with her family she had come to visit, Flo and Henry met at the National Hotel a few days before Christmas and stayed in separate rooms to plan their wedding. The couple was seen embracing and smiling, with excitement bubbling for their big day.
Although accounts are inconsistent, many claim a drunken man stumbled into the hotel the day after Christmas and fired a shot. Flo rushed out of her room to find her dearly beloved collapsed on the floor at the base of the stairs and was struck with inconsolable grief at his sudden death. Hotel staff heard sobs throughout the day from her room until it suddenly fell silent in the evening. Concerned, staff entered and found her neatly seated in a chair, dressed fully in her gorgeous wedding dress, ominously still. They say that she died of heart failure, but many say it was due to a broken heart.
Even up to this very day, guests and staff report mischievous mayhem in the hotel: doors slamming, wild sobs as well as pots and pans flying off of shelves in the kitchen.
Flo roams the second floor often, so if you’re brave enough to seek her presence, you may find her there.
The hotel is located less than three hours away from our Sundance Vacations destination in Lake Tahoe. For more about the National Hotel, visit their website.
Placerville
What better place to see ghosts than an old mining town! During the gold rush, dozens of camps sprang up around the area in hopes of striking it big, however some miners took it too far. In their extreme thirst for gold, miners turned to robberies to secure the money that they did not discover in the ground.
Placerville was previously known as “Hangtown” because of the numerous hangings that occurred there in reaction to the crime.
One of the most notable haunted places in Placerville is at the Cary House Hotel where guests encounter its friendly deceased employee, Stan. Stan worked as a lobby clerk at the hotel in the 1800s and was known as a jokerster. Quite the drinker, Stan was known to sneak out during his shift to go down the street for some whiskey. Not only did he love the taste, but he said it helped ease his unpredictable coughing fits. To this day, guests report hearing disembodied coughing echoing down the halls.
Stan was also known to flirt with guests in the hotel, yet often times was rejected. He was a short, stocky man that was balding, and often tried flirting with both men and women. His playfulness ultimately led to his demise after he made a pass at a man who did not take lightly to his seducing and stabbed Stan several times, causing him to tumble down the stairs to his death.
Luckily, he did not lose his sense of humor in the afterlife. According to celebrity psychic Nancy Bradley, Stan has been known to poke guests or step on their toes. Others at the hotel claim to hear footsteps or keys fiddling in their room’s lock.
Only an hour and a half away from our Sundance Vacations property in California, this is a must-stop for travelers interested in light-hearted paranormal activity!
Interested in exploring California? Sundance Vacations has properties in South Lake Tahoe.
Haunted Places near Wisconsin Dells
Appleton
Set aside from other gravestones in the Riverside Cemetery in Wisconsin is an ominous legend. Down a separate path lies one large stone with smaller graves around it. Resting further back among the trees and riverside is the gravestone of a young woman named Kate Blood. Blood? What a peculiar last name.
Stories are unclear about the life of Mrs. Blood. Many claim she was a witch who practiced magic and slaughtered animals or even children for her spells. Some tales tell of a murderous woman who killed her husband and three children (hence the other gravestones) and proceeded to commit suicide. However, this seems far-fetched because her gravestone clearly states her husband outlived her. Others say that Kate was murdered by her husband.
The reality is that her family records were never discovered, so no one quite knows if she was a blood-thirsty witch or how her and her family passed.
Whatever the story, reports have been made of strange happenings around her headstone at the cemetery. Witnesses have claimed to see a black hooded figure lingering among the brush who would disappear when approached. Others swear to have seen the grave excrete a red substance, much like blood, and visitors report icy chills.
There must be some reason why this woman’s grave was secluded from the others. Visit the grave for yourself, but be weary, the cemetery closes after sunset.
The Riverside Cemetery is located right between two of our Sundance Vacations properties in Wisconsin.
Washington Island
A playful spirit lingers at Nelson’s Hall Bitters Pub and Restaurant. This infamous bar is known as the oldest legally operated tavern! This is largely due to the fact that it was able to stay open even during Prohibition.
Tom Nelson, a Danish immigrant who built the hall into 1899, was able to keep his business alive during the 1920-1933 alcohol ban by turning the bar into a pharmacy. Nelson applied for and received his pharmaceutical license and gave shots of “bitters” to customers. This 90 proof drink works as a stomach tonic and was used medically to cure stomach aches. Originally concocted by a German physician to help cure sailor’s seasickness, thirsty patrons in the 1920s pinched their noses to throw back this rancid shot for the buzz they craved during Prohibition.
Old Nelsen drank 16 shots of bitters a day and lived till the ripe age of 90, according to Sally Slattery from the Peninsula Pulse, who spoke with the bar’s new owner. Even after he passed, employees said Nelson just never wanted to leave. He is known to shut doors, walk up the steps and do other mischievous things around the bar.
Stop by the historic landmark to have a drink from the largest purveyor for bitters in the world. This destination is about an hour away from one of our Sundance Vacations destinations.
Stevens Point
The Bloody Bride Bridge, as it is known by locals, is the site of a tragic death.
Forget the hazy night drives aimlessly searching for the “Lady in White” and visit Stevens Point.
Story has it that a young woman and her husband were killed in a car accident on the bridge on their wedding night in the 1950s. The Stevens Point Police Department denies a bride ever died on this road, however, witnesses defend evidence of a haunting.
People claim to have spotted the lingering bride standing alongside of the road with her blood-soaked wedding dress blowing in the wind. Others claim that if you park your car on the side of the bridge after midnight, you will witness the eerie couple. They are said to appear in the backseat of idle vehicles; in fact, this sighting has been said to have even happened to a Stevens Point police officer. An officer supposedly hit a woman who appeared of out nowhere in the middle of the road. When he frantically got out of his car to help her, he turned to find her bloodstained form sitting in his back seat.
Odd rock stackings appear near the water under the bridge as well, boasting stones that balance at impossible angles. Could it be that young adults from this local college town meticulously rigged the structures or is there a ghoulish phenomenon causing the objects suspend midair?
This bridge in Wisconsin is just a short distance from our Sundance Vacations destinations near Lake Delton and Wisconsin Dells. This stretch can be found on highway 66 for any travelers interested in visiting.
Interested in exploring the Midwest? Sundance Vacations offers destinations in Wisconsin Dells.
Haunted Places near Virgil, New York
Cortland
The 1890 House located in Cortland, New York was once inhabited by 19th century industrialist, Chester Franklin Wickwire. Chester had the grand mansion constructed in inspiration of another beautiful caste owned by James A. Bailey of Barnum and Bailey Circus. After Chester and his wife passed away (in 1910 and 1915), the castle sat vacant for seven years until their son and his wife moved in. After their passing, the house was purchased and made into a museum in 1975 and became known as the 1890 House Museum and Center for Victorian Arts.
Today staff of the museum see floating orbs and claim to have captured ghostly pictures inside the house. Visitors of the museum also have claimed to have seen the shadows of former residents passing through. What happened in this house that caused this family to linger?
The current property caretaker claims that paranormal occurrences in the house include knocking, doors opening and closing, billiards being played and voices. One voice even yelled quite clearly at her, “Get out of here!”
There was so much activity in the house that she opted to feature it on Ghost Hunters, the Syfy network show where paranormal investigators experience first-hand hauntings. The Ghost Hunters crew attempted to talk to Mr. Wickwire in the mansion and experienced fluctuations in temperature, loud banging on other floors and crazy readings and signals on their Electro-Magnetic Field readers. The investigators swear they even heard someone pick up a pool stick and hit a ball on the billiards table! Watch the episode sneak peek on Syfy’s Youtube channel.
The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) team determined that the spirits seem to be content remaining in the house and that visitors need not worry about being harmed. This museum is less than 15 minutes away from our Sundance Vacations destination in New York.
For more information on taking a tour of the 1890 House Museum and Center for Victorian Arts, visit their website.
Dryden
Dryden, New York has been called the “Village of the Damned” because of all the tragic deaths that occurred in the town in the late 90s. The town experienced nine deaths in only three months, seven of which were murders.
Dryden High senior and football star Scott Pace lost his life in a car accident a year after his brother Billy’s deadly crash. Two junior-year cheerleaders were kidnapped, murdered and dismembered by their next door neighbor. The town’s high school lost three football players, three cheerleaders and their football coach one after another to morbid events. Some say the school is haunted by the team players who never moved on.
Also less than 15 minutes from our property, Dryden is a place to visit to learn more about the deadly legacy of the town.
Candor
The Edge of Thyme Bed & Breakfast is a fun spooky stop. This elegant Victorian style home was built in New York in 1860 by Thomas Gridley and became the summer home of John D. Rockefeller’s secretary Rosa Murphey Canfield and her husband Amos in 1908.
The house belonged to the Canfields until Rosa’s passing in 1953, when it was purchased by another couple until 1984. It was then that current owner Eva Mae Musgrave and her husband Frank turned the home into a bed & breakfast.
Eva exclusively told Sundance Vacations about the mysterious ghostly encounters that occur at the inn.
Soon after she bought the inn, Eva distinctly heard what sounded like a tea party going on as she ascended the stairs. Women were laughing and talking while gently clanging silverware. Eva approached the door to the room and as she pressed her ear against the door in confusion, the sounds stopped and fell to silence. When she opened the door, the room was vacant.
Another night as Eva slept in the Canfield Room, she awoke to a figure looming over the foot of her bed. There stood a beautiful young woman in a white dress with long blonde hair. The woman smiled at her very genuinely, and Eva felt so comfortable around her that she simply said out loud, “Oh, you must be the ghost I’ve heard about,” and went back to sleep unharmed.
Guests have also reported seeing the same figure in their rooms. The ghost will often appear at the foot of their bed or be found seated and swaying back and forth slowly in their rocking chair smiling at them.
Others have told Eva that their bottles of perfume went missing and there is a particular window in the house that seems to always open itself in an unoccupied room. Perhaps the woman simply likes listening to the sounds outside her window on her rocking chair and the beauty of remembering her youth after her passing.
But who is this woman? Eva tells Sundance Vacations that she does not know, however, she knows where she is.
As Eva and her husband Frank played a board game in the room late one night, they were startled by the distinct clanging of boots walking along wooden floor boards, even though the inn is lined with rugs. The footsteps stormed through the length of the whole building, passing through three locked doors until finally reaching their back door and leaving with a slam!
A psychic who visited the B&B claimed there is a Civil War solider who refuses to leave the house until his wife’s body is exhumed from the basement. Was it the solider who stomped through?
Eva speculates that the “solider” might actually be Thomas Gridley, the architect who built the house!
We may never know who either of the visitors are, but their spirits may have already moved on. Eva tells us that after the passing of her husband two and half years ago, all has been quiet around the inn.
“I think Frank might have taken them with him,” Eva told Sundance Vacations, “that or he helped them move on.”
Just recently Eva had another physic come to see if the spirits were still present. The physic, who had no previous knowledge of Frank’s passing, told Eva that the only presence she felt was a man named Frank.
Stop by Edge of Thyme to see for yourself if all is clear. Eva serves an excellent High Tea.
In 2010 the B&B was recognized as the Best Rural Bed and Breakfast in the World by Pamela Lanier of Lanier B&B Travel Guide. The inn is less than an hour from our Sundance Vacations property.
So what do you think? Are any of these places actually haunted? Tell us what you think by commenting below!
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