Haunted places in Pennsylvania
11 documented places
Pennsylvania's ghost stories lean on its wars. At Cliveden in Germantown, British troops held off Washington's army in 1777, and legend says some of the dead stayed. The General Wayne Inn, a tavern founded in 1704 and a synagogue since 2005, is known for a Hessian ghost named Wilhelm. In Gettysburg stands the bullet-scarred Farnsworth House Inn, whose owners say that as many as 16 spirits once occupied the house.
Institutions supply the rest. Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, opened in 1829 and built around solitary confinement, is now a ruined museum whose cellblocks are tied to faces, shadows and voices. Harrisburg State Hospital, the state's first public asylum, ran from 1851 to 2006.
Two entries work against the formula. Centralia, emptied by a mine fire burning since 1962, has a priest's curse legend but no ghosts. The Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona was promoted as haunted for its Halloween tours in 2003, yet Ghost Hunters found nothing there in 2004.
Every place, most famous first
Eastern State Penitentiary
Pennsylvania, United States
Philadelphia's 1829 solitary-confinement prison, once home to Al Capone, now a ruined museum whose cellblocks are tied to faces, shadows and voices.
The Farnsworth House Inn
Pennsylvania, United States
The Farnsworth House Inn in Gettysburg: a house the inn dates to 1810, scarred by Civil War bullets; its owners say up to 16 spirits roam its rooms and cellar.
Railroaders Memorial Museum
Pennsylvania, United States
Altoona, Pennsylvania's railroad museum in an 1882 Pennsylvania Railroad building, marketed as haunted since 2003; Ghost Hunters found nothing in 2004.
Jean Bonnet Tavern
Pennsylvania, United States
1760s stone tavern near Bedford, Pennsylvania, a Whiskey Rebellion meeting place where a hanged horse thief and Jean Bonnet himself are said to linger.
Pennhurst State School and Hospital
Chester, Pennsylvania, United States
Former Pennsylvania institution for disabled people near Spring City, closed 1987. Its documented history outweighs its ghost lore, tied to a Halloween show.
Harrisburg State Hospital
Pennsylvania, United States
Pennsylvania's first public asylum (1851-2006) in Harrisburg, known for tales of a haunted morgue and tunnels and visits by Ghost Lab and Ghost Nation.
General Wayne Inn
Pennsylvania, United States
The General Wayne Inn in Merion Station, Pennsylvania: a tavern founded in 1704, famous for a Hessian ghost named Wilhelm, and a synagogue since 2005.
Cliveden
Pennsylvania, United States
Georgian mansion in Philadelphia's Germantown where British troops held off Washington's army in 1777; legend says slain soldiers and a headless woman remain.
The Smurl Haunting
Pennsylvania, United States
A 1986 media case in West Pittston, Pennsylvania: a family said a demon lived in their duplex. We found no independent witness; skeptics called it a hoax.
Powel House
Pennsylvania, United States
A 1765 Georgian townhouse in Philadelphia's Society Hill, home of the Patriot Mayor, now a museum, rumored in recent books to host Peggy Shippen's ghost.
Centralia (Pennsylvania, USA)
Columbia, Pennsylvania, United States
A Pennsylvania coal town emptied by a mine fire burning under it since 1962. No ghosts, but a priest's curse legend and the real-life model for Silent Hill.
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