Matador Network's Blog, page 5
October 3, 2025
13 Rome Airbnbs With a Gorgeous View of the Colosseum
Rome, the Eternal City, is a magnet for history enthusiasts and the epicurious. But there are a lot of sights – and trattorias – to get around in Italy’s largest and capital city. If you’re only planning a flying visit, you’ll need to get strategic with your travel itinerary. Avoid the long lines and choose accommodations in Rome where you can see the city’s emblematic attraction from the couch (and have easy access to The Vatican, as well). When in Rome, book one of these epic Airbnbs near the Colosseum with views you’ll never forget.
Top-rated Airbnbs near the ColosseumTrastevere Airbnbs within walking distance to everythingAirbnbs with Colosseum views from the terraceAirbnbs near the Colosseum with hot tubsWe hope you love the Airbnbs Rome vacation rentals we recommend! Just so you know, Matador may collect a small commission from the links on this page if you decide to book a stay. Listed prices are accurate as of the time of publication.
Taking a trip to Italy? Check out Matador’s Italy accommodations guides:The 11 dreamiest Airbnbs in ItalyThese dreamy Amalfi Coast Airbnbs are the perfect seaside escapeThis Rome Airbnb’s windows open up to Trevi FountainThe Best Airbnbs Near Lake Como To Live Out Your Italian DreamThese Florence, Italy, Airbnbs put you close to the Duomo and the best of the cityThe Best Airbnbs in Venice, From a Rialto Flat To a San Marco StudioTop-rated Airbnbs near the Colosseum
Roman luxury is unmatched. These top-rated Rome Airbnbs put you right by the Colosseum with an added dose of class — so bring your crispest outfit.
47 Luxury Suites ColosseoPhoto: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: AirbnbThis tasteful apartment fuses contemporary comforts with period elegance. Three double bedrooms are fitted with king-size beds and sliding doors cordon off a private fourth sleeping space. The covered terrace with a dining table overlooks the Colosseum while the Turkish-style bath adds a touch of luxury. Booking includes one complimentary transfer from the airport or train station upon arrival and the pantry is stocked with breakfast items that you can prepare yourself.
Eight guests, four bedrooms
Price: $1,350 per night
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: AirbnbLocated in an ancient building, this loft has been beautifully renovated into a modern vacation apartment in the heart of Rome’s historic Monti neighborhood. The bedroom occupies the mezzanine, floating above a well-stocked library and sitting room. An authentic 19th-century piano is the focal spot and guests are more than welcome to play. This 5-star Airbnb near the Colosseum is a dream for history and culture-loving couples.
Three guests, one bedroom
Price: $175 per night
Trastevere is a popular area in Rome that offers beautiful Airbnb rentals. Located on the west bank of the Tiber river, it is one of the oldest parts of the city and is renowned for its winding cobbled streets and picturesque piazzas. It boasts many attractions such as Campo de’ Fiori market and the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere. This is an ideal location for those looking to soak up local culture as you can walk everywhere, or even rent a bicycle if you want to explore further afield.
Historic Airbnb in charming Trastavere
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: AirbnbConvenience and cuteness have never come together so well. This Trastavere Airbnb puts you right in the heart of the neighborhood, but we suspect half your photos will be of the inside of the unit. It’s cozy and welcoming, in a historic building and with a grand loft. Getting everywhere in the area from here is a but a short stroll.
Four guests, one bedroom
Price: $104 per night
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: AirbnbThis Airbnb rental in Rome is perfect for a romantic getaway. Located in the heart of Trastevere, just minutes from some of Rome’s most famous attractions and landmarks, the apartment includes a cozy living room with modern amenities, one bedroom, and an outdoor terrace that offers incredible views of historic Rome. This airbnb is perfect for two people and is available at a competitive rate of just $80 per night, making it an excellent option for couples looking to explore the Eternal City on a budget.
Two guests, one bedroom
Price: $80 per night
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: AirbnbThis beautifully designed Airbnb rental in Trastevere is the perfect home away from home. Located just minutes away from some of Rome’s most famous attractions, like the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain, this loft boasts modern amenities and a large open terrace with views of the city. It includes a fully equipped kitchen and an authentic vibe of this historic city that is tough to come by at this price point.
Two guests, one bedroom
Price: $88 per night
Nowhere in the world better represents terrace culture than Rome. From these epic Roman Airbnbs, you can gaze at the Colosseum over sunset (or sunrise, if you’re an early riser) and score the best photos of anyone in your group.
Stay in the attic with terrace
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: AirbnbOne of the most Airbnbs near the Colosseum, this penthouse with a private roof terrace is moments away from the Roman Forum and the Monti attractions. Awesome for balmy evenings, the terrace is the star of the property but the interiors are seriously lavish. Featuring marble columns and ornate paneling, the salon is the perfect place for a pre-dinner tipple.
Six guests, three bedrooms
Price: $1,360 per night
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: AirbnbFabulously equipped, this minimalist-chic apartment is ideal for short and long-term stays. A wood-burning fireplace will appease winter vacationers while summer travelers can cool down on the spacious terrace that overlooks the rooftops of Monti and the Colosseum. Ask the hosts if you want assistance arranging bicycle rental, a private chef, or tour tickets.
Six guests, two bedrooms
Price: $950 per night
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: AirbnbPop open a bottle of Prosecco and make yourself at home on your private balcony with a view of the Roman Forum and the amphitheater. The main living area is topped with oak beams while bedrooms are decked out with glamorous furnishings and silky linens. A master bathroom complete with a large soaking tub is fit for an emperor.
Eight guests, two bedrooms
Price: $360 per night
The only thing that makes an epic view of the Roman Colosseum better is taking it in from the warm confines of a pool or hot tub. These Rome Airbnbs provide that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Because when you’re in Rome, you might as well go all out.
Private Colosseo rooftop – Roma d’Amore
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: AirbnbUnwind in your own outdoor jacuzzi at one of the swankiest Airbnb with Colosseum views. Besides the sunbathing deck, the rooftop comes with a meditation den while the indoor living space follows a tropical theme. An oriental-style bed rests below an aquarium complete with Roman ruins. Fresh breakfast pastries and fruit are provided daily to ease you into the day. There’s no kitchen so you have an excuse to indulge in a nightly bowl of gnocchi.
Two guests, one bedroom
Price: $420 per night
No road trip is complete without the entire crew. These Rome Airbnbs are pet-friendly, meaning the pupper doesn’t need to be left at home. Your walks through the city just got much more interesting!
Casa Ricci Marchetti
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: AirbnbVelvet couches, upholstered beds, and classic decor adorn this deluxe Airbnb near the Colosseum. Every item in the home was crafted in Italy and the host has paid full attention to the quality of the fittings. A bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub and a state-of-the-art kitchen pull the property into the 21st century. Best of all, the amphitheater views are priceless.
Four guests, two bedrooms
Price: $520 per night
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: AirbnbThis funkily decorated four-bedroom apartment lets you drink up views of the Colosseum from bed. Interior spaces are made homely with the addition of paintings, plants, and cozy rugs. The host of this pet-friendly Rome Airbnb is highly commended for his attentiveness so don’t be afraid to drop him a line with any questions about maximizing your time in the Eternal City.
Eight guests, four bedrooms
Price: $810 per night
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: AirbnbAs one of the best pet-friendly Airbnbs near the Colosseum, this hideaway comes with a soothing patio complete with flower beds and plant life. A spiral staircase deposits you at an elevated writing nook while the main bedroom is located on a second mezzanine. Although the property lacks a view, it’s a mere 30 meters from the ancient Monti attractions and perfect for travelers seeking tranquility far from Italy’s tranquil lakes.
Two guests, two bedrooms
Price: $240 per night
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: Airbnb
Photo: AirbnbPiazza del Popolo is among Rome’s most underrated attractions. This home is an epic way to experience it and the rest of the city — and it has a refreshing pool to soak in after a day of exploring. The apartment itself is quintessential Rome — its decor, its vibe, and the private garden out back all are certain to make you feel welcome and excited to explore the city. The surrounding neighborhood is lined with excellent cafes and is very walkable, so you’ll have no issue getting around. 
Four guests, two bedrooms
Price: $245 per night
October 2, 2025
The Town Where Ghosts Never Check Out — and Tourists Are Checking In
A loud creak emanated from the stairs, prompting an uncontrolled, cartoon-style gasp as my hand became a claw around my boyfriend’s arm. “What was that?” I panic-asked as a head popped up from the staircase. “It’s just Carla!” our guide, Rosemary Rombado, said with a laugh. “She’s one of our staff.” Okay, so it wasn’t the ghost of the five-year-old girl she had just told us tended to linger on the staircase.
I was seriously on edge, gingerly avoiding the elegant mirror next to me, as I’d been told mirrors are excellent portals for ghosts. We’re halfway through a private version of Cape May’s “Voices From Beyond Tour” in what’s said to be the most haunted building in one of America’s most haunted towns. I’d already heard several eerie EVP (electronic voice phenomena) recordings of the nine resident spirits believed to inhabit the Emlen Physick Estate, including women, men, a young child, and even a few dogs. According to Ranker.com, the estate, dating to 1879, is New Jersey’s most haunted building. And my pit stains would agree.
Photo: Lauren Breedlove
I’ve always been a bit of a scaredy-cat when it comes to the idea of paranormal activity. I was the kid who turned the lights off in my room, then ran and leaped into the bed immediately afterward. (You know, to avoid whatever was hiding under there.) So, to find myself in a place where dark shadows lurked in the hallway, phantom dogs barked, faces appeared in the windows, and the chills of ghostly presences were common, was a surprise to me.
I know Cape May well. It served as our family vacation destination throughout my childhood, where my sisters and I spent our days jumping over waves at the beach or creating laughable synchronized swimming routines in the pool. On this trip, I wanted to try something a little different during a shoulder-season jaunt to America’s oldest seashore resort. Most people go to Cape May for the beach — but I had gone for the ghosts.
Cape May is exceedingly charming, with its well-preserved Victorian architecture, pedestrian-only outdoor mall lined with cute shops, and historic trolley tours. But it’s also notorious for haunted happenings. “Cape May is steeped in history. In all of those layers of history, there are more than a few ghosts tucked in. Some of these ghost stories really are part of the lore and history of the town,” psychic medium and five-time author Craig McManus shared with me. He’s the premier ghost hunter in Cape May, often leading tours in partnership with Cape May MAC (Museums, Arts, and Culture), the local non-profit heritage tourism organization.
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While peak summer season lures diehard beach-goers, fall brings travelers looking for other cozy-season offerings. When your town is one of the most haunted in the country, it’s only natural to lean into it in the autumn months. But it wasn’t always seen that way. McManus went on to explain that ghost tourism was initially seen as taboo by town business owners. That all changed in the 1990s, though.
“Television shows like Sightings made people suddenly take an interest in the paranormal. People realized ghosts were good for business. Many people staying at B &Bs, inns, or hotels were interested in hearing the ghost stories, and a good number of those people also wanted to stay in the haunted rooms,” McManus explained. “While many love the old Victorian architecture and history of Cape May, the ghost stories also helped pull in tourism.”
Supernatural and ghost-themed travel has helped keep other destinations afloat during slower tourism seasons as well, such as Salem, Massachusetts, and Savannah, Georgia. Cape May MAC has been running ghost tours since 2004; in fact, it’s the reason the Emlen Physick Estate is still standing today. The organization was formed in the 1970s to save the 1879 estate from demolition and is now “the city’s leading non-profit organization dedicated to tourism in the nation’s only National Historic Landmark City,” shared Cape May MAC’s Director of Media Relations Susan Krysiak.
The Physick Estate, circa 1960. Photo: Cape May MAC
Saving the estate was the catalyst for this designation, and also set the stage for the idea that historical draws could drive tourism. “Our ghost offerings have been the economic lifeblood of our fall programming for many years, helping bring visitors to Cape May after summer’s end,” says Krysiak. “They drive our tour schedule through the fall, but in fact, we offer ghost tours all year. They just make a bigger splash during our Halloween season,” says Krysiak.
McManus seconds this, saying that the estate is a perfect example of a home that managed to “retain its original cast of ghostly inhabitants. If you want to keep a family of ghosts happy,” he says, “do like MAC did: restore their home and maintain it beautifully just as it was in the ghosts’ day.” This means the spirits inside have no humans in their space, which still looks how it did while they were living. “The ghosts at the Physick Estate have no reason to leave,” he added.
“The old Victorian homes and buildings, along with the dark, gaslit streets, create a wonderful, eerie atmosphere on fall evenings,” he says. That may be part of the reason his October ghost walks, he says, draw an average of 100 people per weekend in the fall just for tours.
Photo: Lauren Breedlove
Over the past few decades, local inn and hotel owners have jumped on the ghost-driven lodging bandwagon, too, hosting paranormal-centric events. I stopped in for brunch and a chat with Ron Long, one of the owners of Elaine’s of Cape May, a bed and breakfast known for its stellar food and live music – and haunted happenings, of course. He regaled me with tales from past guests, ranging from those who heard loud partying in the then-non-existent rooms above them to a woman who was scratched by a ghost cat (named “Streak,” supposedly). While some guests request to stay in the most haunted rooms, he acknowledges they’re not for everyone. “We had one couple booked in Room 2 during a ghost-hunting weekend. At the end of the first night, they decided not to sleep here,” he shares with a chuckle.
For those who want to explore the city’s haunted side but are wary of listening to EVPs in a haunted mansion, there’s a trolley ghost tour that fulfills the paranormal craving while keeping it a little less frightening. Other offerings are also available to fill a spooky weekend, including a three-course “Channeling Dinner” led by McManus and an interactive murder mystery evening at the Emlen Physick Estate.
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I left Cape May this time with a deeper understanding of the paranormal world, more confusion about my own beliefs regarding ghosts, and – as I would find out weeks after my visit — a little surprise waiting in my interview recordings. As I listened to it while sitting on my blue sectional in Upstate New York, minute 26:58 gave me chills. Out of nowhere, I can hear an emphatic, drawn-out whisper that didn’t come from me or my interview subject. Immediately after I say “okay,” it’s easy to hear a phantom female voice repeating my words: “okay.”
I know I didn’t repeat myself, especially not in a whisper, and the whisper sounds much closer than my voice, almost as if someone spoke it directly into the microphone.
It begs a question: was I mocked by a ghost in Cape May? I suppose we’ll never know for sure – but the pursuit of finding out is enough to get me to go back.
Photo: Lauren Breedlove
If you’re feeling brave, there are a slew of old hotels, inns, and bed and breakfasts said to be haunted throughout Cape May. Start with the sprawling Congress Hall, Hotel Macomber, and the Inn of Cape May, just to name a few. There’s also the new-to-the-scene Lokal Hotel Cape May, just a block from the beach, and the supposedly haunted Fisherman’s Cottage Airbnb, near Cape May’s wharf.
If you end up doing your own paranormal investigation on an Emlen Physick Estate ghost tour, consider making a reservation afterward for Vintage BYOB., a convenient upscale restaurant on the estate grounds.
How to Experience the Best of London’s West End in One Trip
A crossroads of arts, culture, and nightlife, the West End has long been the nucleus of London’s entertainment. Mayfair, Marylebone, and Piccadilly jostle with galleries and boutiques, Covent Garden’s chic bistros swell with pre-theater diners, and every hour feels like happy hour in Soho. As interest in London’s East End piqued, the West End held its own, maintaining tradition while adapting to modern travel tastes. Experiential tourism, storytelling-backed shopping, greener transport and hotels, and nightlife beyond the clubs have all contributed to what the West End has to offer. Here’s where to find art, eccentric afternoon tea, gifts with a conscience, and cold pints in the heart of London’s West End.
Art and culture in London’s West End
Photo: bemissu /Shutterstock
Storied museums rub shoulders with independent galleries in the West End. The Royal Academy of Arts, the cornerstone of Mayfair’s art scene since 1768, is an artist-led institution free from the constraints of government-funded museums. Kerry James Marshall makes his British debut this fall with his powerful chronicles about the everyday life of Black Americans. Rose Wylie, considered Britain’s most rebellious artist, is coming up in early 2026. But of course, the open-submission Summer Exhibition is the crown jewel of this autonomous gallery’s calendar, where works by prominent artists hang beside future household names.
The RA event’s programme curates intermittent evening experiences, usually tied to the current exhibition, such as workshops and curator talks. Free drop-in-and-draw sessions are held on the first Friday night of the month. I’d recommend “bookending” the RA with an idle around Hatchards, London’s oldest bookstore, which hosts author events and signings on evenings throughout the week.
Smaller but equally mighty in its approach, the 67 York Street Gallery in Marylebone Village champions emerging artists through revolving exhibitions. The curators work directly with fine artists, illustrators, photographers, and ceramists, with recent shows exploring pop art, connections with strangers, and travel-inspired illustration. It’s open daily and free to visit, with the exhibited artist sometimes in situ for a casual chat.
For a snapshot of the biggest modern artists, swing by Moco Museum London, the brand’s third venture after Amsterdam and Barcelona. Modern contemporary art and innovation are the themes at this Marble Arch gallery, with works from Banksy, Yayoi Kusama, KAWS, and even Robbie Williams on show. The basement is dedicated to digital art, including an infinity mirror room. For time-strapped travelers, Moco London feels more manageable than the Tate Modern, that hefty Bankside landmark.
As for a street art fix, the Photographer’s Gallery has branched out from its brick-and-mortar building with the Soho Photography Quarter. Located east of Regent Street, there’s an outdoor exhibition here all year, focused on photographic arts. I passed it by chance while taking a shortcut to Carnaby Street and appreciated finding a shady spot to stop for a coffee away from the Oxford Street hustle.
Last but not least, Outernet London at The Now Building is a ground-breaking digital exhibition space said to be the largest in Europe – it’s also London’s top-visited tourist attraction. This urban gallery partners with artists, musicians, and sound engineers for a carousel of digital displays, many of which are interactive. I spent a good 20 minutes here, engrossed in scenes of Antarctica’s underwater world and contributing my avatar to Cem Hasimi’s Rain Walk.
Immersive shopping in London’s West End
Photo: Elena Rostunova /Shutterstock
Regent Street, one of the world’s first shopping boulevards, is undergoing a renaissance with a slew of stores adding out-of-the-box retail experiences. Hot on the heels of the Rue Duphot flagship, Maison Diptyque stands out as a place to pick up souvenirs while supplementing a London itinerary with something unusual. My 90-minute fragrance consultation took me on a private jaunt around the emporium, imitating a Parisian apartment, learning about the trio of free-spirited artists who founded the French-British brand in the ‘60s. Desmond Knox-Leet’s sketches and Christiane Gautrot’s fabric designs are on show, while the tour itself focuses on how the friends’ shared love for travel and nature inspired each scent.
Besides the Second Life Services Salon which offers refills and recycling, sustainability finds its place in the basement’s artist-led events, with repurposing candle jars running alongside sensory fragrance workshops. Tickets for events and fragrance tours are usually redeemable against any purchases made in the store on the day.
Where to eat in the West End
Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea. Photo courtesy Morgans Originals
High tea, Sunday lunch, pub grub, and Michelin-starred cuisine – London’s West End has the lot. Mayfair’s grand hotels are the natural stage for a traditional afternoon tea – or even something more off the wall. Now approaching its 10th anniversary, the Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea at Sanderson Hotel delighted me with its fantastical cakes and color-shifting spritzes. An assortment of vegan and gluten-free menus inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland ensures that all explorers can take a tumble down the rabbit hole. I particularly liked the “Drink Me” bubble tea and petit fours topped with edible toadstools and chess pieces.
Hanover Bar is the newest addition to the West End’s skyline hangouts. Open to guests and non-residents of the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, this cozy venue is all about casual dining and elevated cocktails with views as far as Hampstead Heath from the terrace. I sat indoors, enjoying the cityscape through floor-to-ceiling walls and sharing a platter of burrata, seared tuna, and dynamite crab cakes with a friend. Cocktails are themed by the season: Natsu (summer), Aki (fall), Fuyu (winter), and Haru (spring). My tastes leaned towards the colder months, and I settled for a gin and mezcal-based potion infused with grapefruit and jasmine. With an occupancy of only 50, it’s wise to reserve a table.
Mercato Mayfair is the place for a quick solo lunch between sights or an evening with friends. Housed in the deconsecrated St. Mark’s Church off Oxford Street, this covered bazaar partners with sustainable eateries and local distilleries and breweries (try Jim & Tonic’s Smokey Negroni). If you’re traveling as a group, you can follow your nose to sushi, bao buns, lobster rolls, and plant-based Mexican before reconvening in the nave or clerestory.
As for a good ‘ole British pub experience, head to Mayfair’s Shepherd Market. Melding traditional comfort grub with global eats, this Georgian-era square springs to life in the early evening as workers clock off for the day. Ye Grapes has a typically broody interior with a dark-panelled bar offers plenty of leaning potential while you check out what’s on tap. Ask the bartenders to suggest an ale and pair it with pie and mash, or go on a weekend for a Sunday roast.
Eco-luxe stays in the London West End
Photo courtesy Treehouse Hotel London
For first-time visitors in particular, the West End prevails as the most convenient base in London. Mayfair has the monopoly (pun intended) on posh hotels and the completion of the Elizabeth Line has streamlined the commute from both Heathrow and London City Airport. Once the bags are unpacked, it’s possible to get around Central London predominantly on foot or with the countless rental bikes stationed throughout the West End. Cycleways C27, C10, and C52 pass through the West End.
Steps from Regent Street on the cusp of Mayfair and Marylebone, The Treehouse served as my basecamp in the West End. This whimsical, Green Key eco-certified hotel peers over All Souls Church and is topped by one of the loveliest rooftop bars in the capital. Besides midday tipples and nightcaps at The Nest, Madera Restaurant serves Mexican-inspired fare using seasonal British ingredients and spicy margaritas.
The recently revamped Haymarket Hotel is another contender for laid-back West End luxury with a twist. Lodged in a townhouse designed by the British architect John Nash, this bouji hotel has eclectic rooms and a subterranean swimming pool. West End theaters, Embankment, and South Bank are all within strollable distance.
Mandarin Oriental is the first hotel to open in Mayfair in over a decade. Set in Hanover Square, this GSTC-certified property is steps from London’s prestigious restaurants and is topped by the aforementioned Hanover Bar. It’s surprisingly petite, with only 50 guest rooms floating above the neighborhood’s largest indoor pool. In the spirit of Mayfair, an integrated art exhibition links the public spaces.
Is Your Favorite National Park at Risk During the Shutdown? It Depends on the State.
The federal government’s shutdown had an immediate impact, that will be increasingly felt for however long the shutdown continues, on the National Park Service. According to the AP, parks remain “generally” open, but services are pared back, facilities may be closed, and most staff are furloughed. This follows what has already been a tumultuous year that has seen deep staffing cuts and high visitation. The agency is leaning on limited fee revenue and skeleton crews to keep access open while protecting life and property — a trade-off that will vary widely by site.
Certain states working to keep parks openUtah officials said the state will support keeping its “Mighty 5” (Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion) accessible during the lapse, though visitors should expect minimal services.
Colorado leaders plan to keep parks operating during peak fall travel, citing the economic importance of Rocky Mountain, Mesa Verde, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and Great Sand Dunes during leaf peeping season. According to Axios, 10 percent of annual visits to Rocky Mountain National Park come in the fall. Services are limited, but access continues.
Montana’s Glacier and the Montana side of Yellowstone are also open to visitors, with visitor centers, some restrooms, and other amenities shuttered as staffing drops. Safety and emergency response remain in place.
Yosemite, Lassen, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon in California are remaining mostly open during this shutdown — trails, roads, restrooms, and campgrounds are accessible, though many visitor centers and services are closed or reduced. In Yosemite, concessionaire services (lodging, shuttles) are running for now, but federal staffing is minimal, and facilities like visitor centers are largely closed.
Not all states are backstopping federal sites. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said the state will not spend taxpayer dollars to prop up Grand Canyon operations, a contrast with past shutdowns. The park remains physically accessible, but most services are curtailed.
“Excepted staffing will be held to the amount needed for the protection of life, property, and public health and safety, and will be based on the assumption that the NPS is conducting no park operations and providing no visitor services,” a National Park Service contingency plan laid out.
Local conservation leaders and former park officials have called for full closures during shutdowns, warning that under‑staffed access invites vandalism, ecological damage, and safety hazards.
What visitors should expectOpen-air areas, roads, and trails are generally accessible; indoor attractions and staffed facilities can be closed, and ranger-led programs are largely paused. The Liberty Bell pavilion in Philadelphia is closed despite the broader “open” posture — a sign of how uneven the experience may be from park to park. Travelers should check individual park alerts before setting out.
During the 2018–19 government shutdown, the longest in US history at 35 days, most national parks remained open but with little or no staffing, leading to significant problems. Overflowing trash, vandalism, and damage to fragile ecosystems were widely reported, including illegal off-road driving in Joshua Tree National Park that destroyed protected desert plants. Afterward, conservation groups and former officials warned that keeping parks accessible without adequate staffing exposes both natural resources and visitors to lasting harm.
October 1, 2025
The Most Mysterious Place in Every State: the Southwest
This list is part of a package on the most mysterious places in every state. See the full list.
The American Southwest is a land of extremes, with vast deserts, jagged mountains, and remote plains where it’s hard for humans to thrive. That mix of open spaces and isolation is fertile ground for plenty of legends to thrive.
Many Indigenous groups have lived throughout the Southwest for thousands of years, and their stories, rooted in spiritual and cultural lessons, add meaning and weight to the region’s unusual geographical features. When European explorers and later settlers arrived in the Southwest, parts of those stories were passed along, creating plenty of mysterious places with hybrid cultural myths and experiences. The intense desert climate, with blinding heat, cold nights, sudden storms, and skies so dark you can see every star, only amplifies the sense of mystery.
From Texas bayous to Arizona spires, the Southwest is one of the most mysterious parts of the United States.
Jump to:Arizona | Oklahoma | New Mexico | TexasTexas: Caddo Lake
Photo: Xiu Yu Photography/Shutterstock
Location: 245 Park Rd 2, Karnack, TX 75661How to visit: Most people visit through Caddo State Park, though there are various airboat tours, kayak rentals, and businesses around the shoreThe tiny town of Marfa usually gets listed as Texas’s most mysterious place, but real experts know that Caddo Lake, a 25,000-acre flooded bayou, holds even more mysteries. The lake has a tragic history, including a steamboat fire in 1896 that claimed 64 lives. Combine that with the lawlessness of the early 1900s, when the area around Old Monterey was rife with outlaw activity, and it’s no wonder there are tales of everything from ghost boats to phantom sounds on the foggy lake. And that’s not even mentioning the mysteries around the lake with more scientific roots. It’s inspired a relatively recent (and not too shabby) film.
Folklore or not, the lake is objectively spooky at dawn and dusk, with black water, heavy mist, and barren cypress trees draped in long, gray-green curtains of Spanish moss. Toss in the native alligators, plus the labyrinth-like channels of canals and sloughs, and even a simple boat ride can easily make you feel like you’re in another world.
Oklahoma: Shaman’s PortalLocation: US-270, Beaver, OK 73932How to visit: Beaver Dunes State Park is free to visit, with campsites open year-round
Shaman’s Portal at Beaver Dunes State Park is often called “Oklahoma’s Bermuda Triangle.” It’s a 300-acre expanse of shifting sand where legends mingle with unexplained science and strange coincidences. While the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City may be the state’s most famous haunted spot, Beaver Dunes draws those fascinated by mysterious vanishings and unexplained flashes in the otherwise dark night.
Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado wrote in his 1540s journals about losing three men who reportedly vanished in the dunes. Supposedly, this was after ignoring warnings from various Wichita and Pawnee Indigenous guides, who saw the area as a sacred place filled with dangerous powers and accessible only to trained shaman. Since then, the park’s dunes have spawned tales of additional mysterious disappearances, odd magnetic readings, strange flashes of light, and sightings of “Men in Black” and military operations. There are frequent tales of UFOs, and rumors of a portal to another dimension. It’s said that archaeologists — including Mark Thatcher, of Oklahoma State University — have conducted research here, only to be run off by government officials.
The rumors about the remote, arid dunes are always swirling. But even if you don’t believe there’s a supernatural connection, there’s one creepy thing about the dunes that is very much fact: the rapidly shifting sand can quickly swallow evidence and remains, making it difficult to find or track anything lost (or purposefully hidden) in the landscape.
Arizona: Weaver’s Needle in Superstition Wilderness
Photo: Christian Perry/Shutterstock
Location: Superstition Mountains (near Apache Junction)How to visit: There are a few possible hiking routes to the base of Weaver’s Needle, ranging from eight-mile scrambles to more established 12-mile hikes. Most start at the Peralta Trailhead in Tonto National Forest.Weavers Needle, a 1,000-foot-high volcanic spire towering in the center of Superstition Wilderness, is tied to Arizona’s most enduring legend: the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine. According to local stories, the Needle’s shadow points to the lost but still rich mine, luring treasure hunters and inspiring tales of sudden disappearances, strange accidents, and people getting lost or dying in the surrounding wilderness canyons.
Hikers and paranormal enthusiasts have reported odd echoes, unexplained chills and voices, and shadowy figures in the area. Though no formal scientific study confirms supernatural activity, the area’s confusing geology, dangerous terrain, and extreme heat may explain many of the missing persons cases and mysterious happenings.
New Mexico: Dawson CemeteryLocation: Dawson, New MexicoHow to visit: What remains of the town is on private property, but the cemetery is open to the public
In 1906, the Phelps Dodge Company bought the five-year-old Dawson coal mine and further developed the town of Dawson. The town thrived for about seven years until a mine explosion killed 261 miners and two rescuers in 1913. Another 123 died in an explosion in 1923. The cemetery for the town of about 9,000 expanded for the bodies, and Phelps Dodge marked the graves with white iron crosses. The company didn’t shut the mine down until 1950, and it took the town with it — literally. Buildings were torn down or relocated, though the cemetery stayed where it was.
Reports from visitors to the cemetery in this ghost town include phantom helmet lights weaving between headstones, ghostly figures in period clothing, and the faint echo of shovels or picks striking rock. The Dawson cemetery really puts the “ghost” in ghost town.
The Most Mysterious Place in Every State: the Midwest
This list is part of a package on the most mysterious places in every state. See the full list.
The Midwest has a reputation for being the land of friendly neighbors, rolling cornfields, and small-town hospitality. Beneath that feel-good canvas is a host of mysterious places with unexplained phenomena, unsolved scientific questions, and ongoing legends. The most mysterious places in the Midwest are the settings for everything from family-friendly tours to scientific and paranormal investigations. Whether you want to browse an antique mall full of eerie objects, a town plagued by mysterious sounds only some can hear, or a beach that inspired Indigenous legends, you’ll find it in the Midwest.
Most sites are fully open to the public, allowing tourists to take a stab at solving the mysteries themselves. Some destinations have ties to historical events, while others are places that science simply can’t explain (yet?).
These are the most mysterious sites in every state in the Midwest, along with how and when to visit — if you dare.
Jump to:Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Ohio | Michigan | Missouri | Minnesota | Nebraska | North Dakota | South Dakota | WisconsinOhio: Greater Columbus Antique Mall
Location: 1045 S High St, Columbus, OH 43206How to visit: Open daily, noon to 6 PM
Housed in a sprawling 19th-century brick building, the Greater Columbus Antique Mall is a labyrinth of antiques packed from floor to ceiling with relics from bygone eras, like faded photographs, creaking furniture, Victorian dolls, and ornate mirrors that seem to hold more than just reflections. It isn’t so much a creepy historical relic that you’re visiting, but a collection of creepy historical relics stored in one place that make the entire setting seem odd. It’s the spot to bring a group of friends with diverse trigger points, because something in here will get them — be it the creaking wooden floors, dim lighting, or the uncanny aura of hundreds of objects with untold histories.
The building itself is rumored to be haunted, too, and is a hotbed for paranormal activity investigations. Many a peruser has reported the feeling of being watched as they stroll the property.
Indiana: Kokomo
Photo: Roberto Galan/Shutterstock
Location: Kokomo, IndianaHow to visit: Kokomo is about an hour north of IndianapolisThe Kokomo Hum is a baffling low-frequency noise first heard in Kokomo, Indiana, in 1999. Those who can hear it describe it as a low, constant rumble, though it’s only audible to a small portion of residents. Those people, called “hearers,” have complained of a host of health complaints ranging from headaches to nausea, sleep disturbances, and nosebleeds.
The city government took the phenomenon seriously enough to commission an investigation in 2003, which found that two industrial fans at nearby factories were causing the noise. The factories made changes, but locals continue to complain about the hum to this day. Interestingly, it’s one of several places around the world where some locals have reported hearing the mysterious sound. While scientists usually posit that it’s caused by tinnitus or some type of mechanical device, no one’s ever figured out a definitive, universally accepted explanation that explains the hum.
Michigan: Bete Grise BeachLocation: Bete Grise Rd, Eagle Harbor, MI 49950How to visit: Bete Grise Beach has no fee and is open year-round, with public parking and easy beach access
Bete Grise Beach on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior hides an eerie marvel: the “Singing Sands of Bete Grise.” It’s a normal-looking stretch of sand, except that the fine, pale granules emit clear, melodic squeaks. When walked on barefoot or swirled with your hands, it almost sounds like a strange, natural song.
According to an ancient Ojibwa (Chippewa) legend, the sounds are the calls of a heartbroken spirit trying to find her lost paramour. But science has also weighed in: researchers think the noise is due to friction and vibrations from the nearly perfectly round and uniform grains of sand. If removed from the beach, however, the sand typically stops “singing,” further feeding the shore’s supernatural reputation.
Illinois: Cave-in-Rock State ParkLocation: 1 New State Park Rd, Cave-In-Rock, IL 62919How to visit: Cave-In-Rock open to the public year-round with no entry fee
One of Illinois’s most mysterious locations is Cave-In-Rock State Park, a natural riverfront cavern with a centuries-old reputation for eerie and unexplained phenomena. The legends haunting Cave-In-Rock are based in fact. It was once a base for local pirates, and later served as a hideout for the Harpe brothers — America’s first serial killers.
In the mid-1800s, visitors regularly reported hearing eerie moans and mysterious cries from inside the cave. These reports have continued into modern times, with amateur ghost hunters reporting everything from unexplained voices to coughs, sobs, and objects moving on their own. While scientists suggest the explanations could be due to the cave’s acoustics or echoing animal sounds, many visitors still consider the cave one of the most mysterious and creepy places in the Midwest.
Wisconsin: Dundee Mountain and Long Lake
Photo: Cavan-Images/Shutterstock
Location: Osceola, WI 53011How to visit: Stare at the skies from the Long Lake Recreation Area or book a site at the Long Lake CampgroundDundee Mountain and Long Lake in Kettle Moraine State Forest have earned a reputation as the UFO capital of the Midwest, following nearly a century of unexplained sightings and sky phenomena. Since the 1940s, residents and visitors have witnessed glowing orbs, objects moving in strange formations, and crop circles, with one local collecting more than 250 reports of UFO and UAP encounters near the town of Dundee.
Notable sightings include two extended sessions of unexplained lights and moving objects in 2004 and 2005, both seen by multiple witnesses. Additionally, a 2001 incident of an object in the sky was reported by more than 10 independent witnesses. UFO reports go back to 1975, with nearly all of it centered around Long Lake. While some experts have theorized the visuals could be caused by atmospheric or optical effects of light reflecting off the lake, the continued sightings do raise questions.
Iowa: Squirrel Cage JailLocation: 226 Pearl St, Council Bluffs, IA 51503How to visit: The jail is open Thursday through Sunday for self-guided tours, with various additional events throughout the year
The Squirrel Cage Jail was a truly bizarre place to be incarcerated. It was a three-story, human-powered rotary jail that spun its inmates like squirrels in a wheel. Unlike Iowa’s most famous haunted spot, the Villisca Axe Murder House, the Squirrel Cage’s eeriness comes from not just ghostly tales, but the truly bizarre mechanics of the place itself.
The jail opened in 1885 and was designed for maximum security with minimum staffing. A single guard used a lever to rotate the pie-slice-shaped cells to change which cell opened to the hallway at any given time. Despite the Victorian appearance of the building, it has an iron core, making prisoners’ lives dark and cold. Visitor accounts and paranormal investigators report unexplained footsteps, cold spots, disembodied voices, and apparitions of figures that look like both jailers and prisoners. It closed in 1969 after 84 years of use, even though it was condemned 22 times before that. At least five prisoners died while incarcerated, and the building still retains the spinning apparatus, cells, doors, and graffiti from people who were locked up here.
Minnesota: Wabasha Street Caves
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Location: 215 Wabasha St S, St Paul, MN 55107How to visit: The caves are open for public tours and events like swing dancing nights, but no unaccompanied exploration is permittedThe man-made Wabasha Street Caves have a fascinating history. They were carved in the 1840s for silica mines, but became the world’s earliest commercial mushroom farms in the early 1900s. During Prohibition in the 1920s and ‘30s, the caves acted as a speakeasy and nightclub called Castle Royal, where infamous gangsters like John Dillinger reportedly hung out. There were multiple shootouts and murders in the caves during this time, and those bullet holes are still in the walls. In the decades after, it was used for everything from general storage to aging cheese.
There have been multiple investigations into the reported paranormal and eerie activities at the caves, and visitors still notice unexplained temperature changes and weird shapes and figures to this day.
North Dakota: Harvey Public LibraryLocation: 119 10th St E, Harvey, ND 58341How to visit: The Harvey Public Library is, well, a library and is open for regular hours
Mysterious places are not often hidden in plain sight. But one of North Dakota’s is, in a building designed to be one of the most public in town: the Harvey Public Library. The building is on the site of a 1931 tragedy, when local woman Sophia Eberlein-Bentz was bludgeoned to death by her husband as she prepared for bed. He then put her body in a car, set it on fire, and sent it into a ditch. In 1990, after their home was long gone, the library was constructed on the site. The librarian’s office was placed directly above Sophia’s old bedroom, and staff soon began reporting inexplicable activity.
Visitors and long-time, respected employees have described flickering lights, books mysteriously disappearing and reappearing, and unexplained pockets of cold. Multiple visitors have claimed to feel the spirit of someone in the building. Fortunately for fans of the mysterious and supernatural, librarians have gone on the record to say anyone is welcome to check out the library and try to connect with its ghosts. As it’s a public library, visitors can “do what they want,” a former librarian told a local Fargo newspaper in 2009.
South Dakota: Sica Hollow State Park
Photo: Brogaty/Shutterstock
Location: 44950 Park Road, Sisseton, SD 57260How to visit: Pay the parking fee at the kiosk and access Sica Hollow year-round. The main attraction is the Trail of Spirits footpath.Seeing South Dakota’s famous Badlands is a surefire way to feel like you’ve left Earth, and the many frontier ghosts of the town of Deadwood loom large. But for a paranormal experience rooted in deep natural and Native American lore, few places rival Sica Hollow State Park. Named from the Dakota Sioux word for “bad” or “evil,” the park’s Trail of Spirits winds through forested ravines where springs rich in iron bubble red. While some of Sica Hollow’s eeriest effects, like the glowing stumps and red water, are scientifically explained by iron minerals and swamp gas, the mix of Sioux stories and unexplained disappearances in the park give it an ongoing aura of mystery.
Legend holds that the red water and red-tinted logs are the blood and flesh of ancestors now protecting the space. Visitors have long reported phantom drumbeats, bubbling red-tinted bogs, and ghostly cries echoing through the trees. Some people even say that Marshall County is home to a Bigfoot-like creature, with the occasional unexplained trail cam video posted online.
Nebraska: The Museum of ShadowsLocation: 1110 Douglas St. Omaha, NE 68102How to visit: The Museum of Shadows is open Wednesday through Sunday, with after-hours paranormal investigations hosted throughout the year
The Museum of Shadows in Omaha is an intentionally created mysterious place, housing a collection of more than 3,000 haunted artifacts. It’s owned and operated by two paranormal experts, and displays explain the history of each object, ranging from haunted dolls to actual murder weapons. The owners claim each object has passed tests to confirm it is indeed embedded with supernatural forces.
The museum is dimly lit and intentionally creepy and unsettling, and visitors navigate the museum with the aid of flashlights on self-guided tours. In one room of the museum, visitors are invited to sit alone with haunted objects, while cameras record the experience to monitor for unexplained activity.
While other places in Nebraska claim to have their own ghosts, or be the home of urban legends, the Museum of Shadows is a rare location where unexplained and mysterious objects have intentionally been gathered. That makes it a hot spot for otherworldly activity and experiences on the fringes of science — if you’re open to believing in that sort of thing.
Kansas: Ellinwood Underground TunnelsLocation: Ellinwood, KansasHow to visit: The tunnels can be seen by reservation through the Wolf Hotel, with 3-6 hour tours or an overnight stay
Located under Main Street, the Ellinwood Underground Tunnels were built in the 1800s as a way to get around town and do legal business away from summer heat and brutal winters. Seedier operations started to pop up over time, particularly during Prohibition, when saloons and gambling dens took over. Most of the passages were sealed and forgotten except for a small stretch under the Dick Building and the Wolf Hotel.
Today, the accessible sections of the tunnels have reopened as a historic attraction, and some visitors insist the past hasn’t entirely left (even if the crime stories haven’t been entirely vetted). Guests on guided tours report uneasy feelings, sudden drops in temperature, and fleeting shadows darting between brick archways. The Wolf Hotel, with a history that goes back to Ellinwood’s frontier days, serves as the entrance point for tours and has its own share of spectral rumors.
Missouri: Zombie RoadLocation: 777 Ridge Rd, Ellisville, MO 63021How to visit: The trail is open until 10 PM, with free parking at nearby Ridge Meadows Elementary School, linked above
Just west of St. Louis lies one of Missouri’s most haunted trails: a two-mile wooded path originally built in the 1860s to access the Meramec River and adjacent railroad lines. It was once called Lawler Ford Road, though now it’s a paved public trail officially called the “Rock Hollow Trail.” Those inclined to more mysterious thinking simply call it Zombie Road, one of the most haunted roads in the country.
Despite its daytime charm, rumors run deep. Zombie Road’s haunted reputation is bolstered by a range of stories. One woman whose husband worked in the area was killed on the tracks in 1876, and rumors of paved-over Native American burial sites abound. It served as a “lovers’ lane” in the 1950s and 1960s, with rumors of “shadow people” living on the road starting soon after. Visitors frequently say they feel the sensation of being watched and have reported seeing faces in the woods and feeling sudden cold spots. Adding to the lore is the legend of the “Zombie Killer,” a towering figure said to have escaped from an unconfirmed mental hospital nearby and stalk couples in the 1950s. Perhaps because of all this, trespassing on the trail at night will often result in a steep fine from local police.
The Most Mysterious Place in Every State: the Western US
This list is part of a package on the most mysterious places in every state. See the full list.
The states that make up the American West are vast, making up roughly half of the land managed by federal agencies that are protected from development, to some degree. These huge swaths of land can be rugged, hard-to-reach, and sparsely populated. They’re the perfect places for legends to develop, especially since modern record-keeping only goes back a few hundred years here. Before that, legends were orally passed from generation to generation, making it impossible to tell what’s a complete rumor and what may have a kernel of truth inside.
The geology in this part of the country is also extremely active, with volcanoes, fault lines, deserts, dramatic cliffs, and mountains. Some of the darkest night skies in the country are in the West, and the boom-and-bust history of mines, railroads, and military test ranges provide plenty of fodder for mysterious stories. Even without tales of the supernatural and unexplained, the abandoned structures, unexpected landscapes, and sheer drama of the Western states are enough to leave most visitors speechless.
Perhaps the most fascinating thing about the most mysterious places in the American West is that so many legends are based in fact. It’s well known that there’s a lost town near the Taft Tunnel in Idaho, and rumors about lost treasure in Oregon can be tied back to actual shipwrecks known to have sunk in the area. If you’re fascinated by UFO rumors, Indigenous stories, 19th-century frontier towns, and exploring quirky places where you’re unlikely to see too many other travelers, a trip through the most mysterious places in the West may be calling your name.
Jump to:Alaska | California | Colorado | Montana | Idaho | Hawaiʻi | Nevada | Oregon | Utah | Washington | WyomingMontana: Little Bighorn Battlefield
Photo: Zack Frank/Shutterstock
Location: Garryowen, MT 59031How to visit: The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Historic Site is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with a $15 entry feeThe Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana was the site of Custer’s Last Stand (also called the Battle of the Greasy Grass). The 1876 battle — fought between the US 7th Cavalry and a coalition of Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors — was one of the most significant and decisive Native American victories against US forces. It occurred at the height of US efforts to force Plains tribes onto reservations and followed growing resistance to the federal government taking traditional homelands. The victory became a powerful symbol of resistance, even as it led to harsher US military campaigns in the months that followed.
Haunting stories about the site trace back to that battle, with notable reports from a park ranger seeing a shadowy figure in 1986, and staff members waking up to unexplained banging in a historic on-site home. Reports of sightings are detailed and oft-repeated, though the origins can be hard to find. Regardless of whether you experience anything unexplained, it’s hard to visit the site and not feel the weight of the violence and death that took place on the site.
Idaho: Taft TunnelLocation: NF-300, Saltese, ID 59867How to visit: The tunnel is part of the 15-mile Route of the Hiawatha rail trail, open to bikers and hikers from May to September, with daily shuttles available to the start
The Taft Tunnel, also known as the St. Paul Pass Tunnel, is a 1.7-mile-long railroad passage beneath the Bitterroot Mountains. It was built by the Milwaukee Road railway line between 1907 and 1909 and was one of the costliest railroad projects of the era. The nearby town of Taft sprang up to support construction and quickly filled with railroad workers, saloons, brothels, and rampant lawlessness. Dozens died during the town’s short existence, which ended when it was burned in the 1910 fires known as the “Big Burn.”
Only recently have researchers and locals identified a likely location for the local cemetery, though the number and identities of those buried remain unknown. TripAdvisor reviews call the tunnel “creepy,” “eerie,” and not for kids, while visitors have described the darkness as “Imagine the darkest night ever. Then turn off the stars.”
Wyoming: Devils Tower
Photo: Anthony Heflin/Shutterstock
Location: WY-110, Devils Tower, Wyoming, 82714How to visit: Devils Tower is a national monument, with many hiking trails around the rock formation. Climbing the tower is possible for experienced rock climbers only.Devils Tower is a massive monolith and a sacred site for many Indigenous tribes, central to numerous traditional stories. It rises 867 feet above the plains, formed from magma that cooled underground millions of years ago. The Lakota, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Crow, Arapaho, and other tribes know the site by many names, including Bear Lodge, Bear’s Tipi, and Tree Rock. In one Lakota legend, the tower’s vertical columns were formed by the scratches of a giant bear. The name “Devils Tower” comes from a , but Native people didn’t associate it with anything evil.
Visitors often describe an otherworldly atmosphere and eerie feelings around Devils Tower — though that could be because it gained international attention as the site of a mysterious UFO encounter in the 1977 sci-fi film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Colorado: The Stanley HotelLocation: 333 E Wonderview Ave, Estes Park, CO 80517How to visit: Ghost tours can be booked online
If you’ve seen or read The Shining, you know the vibes of the property that inspired Stephen King: The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. The hotel itself is an anomaly in an otherwise picture-perfect mountain town adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park. It towers above downtown on a hill — cue the lightning and thunder when you look at it at night — and offers ghost tours and a historic pub where you can grab a drink. It’s a functioning hotel, so you can stay there, though you’ll have to book years in advance if you want to stay over Halloween. The hotel hosts an annual All Hallows Eve party that’s the talk of Colorado’s Front Range. (And yes, there’s a hedge maze.)
New unexplained experiences and photos are constantly reported, and TV shows ranging from the Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures to NBC’s Dateline have investigated the hotel’s many legends.
Utah: Moqui Marbles
Photo: Danita Delimont/Shutterstock
Location: Scattered throughout Utah near Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, near Lake Powell, and near Capitol Reef National Park.How to visit: Base yourself in the southern Utah town of Kanab, pop into a visitor center in town or at one of the parks, and ask for specificsScattered across Utah’s sandstone mesas, the Moqui Marbles are iron-oxide-coated spheres ranging from marble-sized pellets to cannonball-like orbs. Scientists generally agree they were formed by groundwater carrying dissolved iron that cemented around tiny pieces of sandstone. But that still leaves quite a mystery, as the Moqui Marbles are in the desert, and scientists don’t know when groundwater levels would have been high enough to form them. They closely resemble structures on Mars called “blueberries,” found by the NASA Opportunity Rover in 2004, and it raises some questions: is there some unknown microbial processes shared between planets that could have formed both the Utah and Martian marbles?
The Marbles have long fueled stories of spiritual significance. According to Native American lore, the marbles are bead gifts from ancestral spirits left behind to comfort the living, guide them through hardship, and remind them they are not alone. Wandering among them, it’s easy to feel as if you’ve stumbled into a place where science and legend blur into something otherworldly.
Oregon: Neahkahnie MountainLocation: Oswald West State Park, Arch Cape, OR 97102How to visit: Most of the mountain is in Oswald West State Park and has a $10 day use fee
Neahkahnie Mountain’s misty cliffs are more than a postcard-perfect Pacific Northwest scene — they’re the site of one of Oregon’s oldest unsolved mysteries. The mountain is tied to a legend of buried Spanish treasure, with cryptic stone markings that continue to lure treasure hunters. The crew that buried the treasure are sometimes said to come from the Manila galleon Santo Cristo de Burgos, which wrecked in Nehalem Bay in the late 1600s. Native Americans passed those stories to newer Spanish explorers in the 1800s.
No gold has ever been unearthed despite more than a century of searching. Yet the mystery continues, thanks to a cache of stones found near the mountain marked with odd lines, letters, and supposed symbols, that some believe are coded maps left by the crew. While there’s no evidence that the stones have anything to do with the legend, scholars still don’t know who engraved the stones or what the messages mean.
California: Mount Shasta
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Location: Mount Shasta, CaliforniaHow to visit: The town of Mount Shasta is about five hours north of San FranciscoThe mystery of Mount Shasta in Northern California is tied to both natural phenomena and cultural history. For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples including the Shasta, Modoc, and Wintu have regarded the mountain as sacred, associating it with powerful spirits. Today, some believe Mount Shasta sits above an ancient underground city called Telos, said to be inhabited by the Lemurians — ancient people who communicate through light — though they’re also sometimes described as lizard people. Though there’s no scientific data to support the theory, visitors report strange sightings and lights, weird cloud formations, and episodes of disorientation with unexplained losses of time. It’s also considered a vortex and a “doorway between dimensions.”
Alaska: Kennecott MinesLocation: Kennicott, Chitina, AK, 99566How to visit: From the town of McCarthy (inside the national park), it’s a 15-minute drive to the Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark. Anyone can visit the mine town, but to go in the mill, you’ll need to be on a tour with St. Elias Guides.
Alaska has plenty of creepy places to choose from, like the town of Port Chatham (supposedly abandoned due to Bigfoot attacks) and Gold Rush-era hotels in Skagway. But one of the most striking is the Kennecott Mine in the town of Kennicott (with an “I”), deep in the heart of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. It produced more than a billion pounds of copper between 1911 and 1938, but was abandoned basically overnight when the copper ran out and the miners left almost everything behind. Even without the town’s ghost stories, wandering the rickety 14-story mill building is inherently eerie. The town’s Erie Mine Building, on a desolate peak above the nearby mountains, is about as creepy as it gets.
Washington: The Mima Mounds
Photo: Dan Schreiber/Shutterstock
Location: 12315 Waddell Creek Rd SW, Olympia, WA 98512How to visit: The preserve is open 9 AM–5 PM daily, with several interpretive loops to view the moundsThe Mima Mounds are a mystery of the geological sort, inside the eponymous Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve near Olympia. The preserve has hundreds of uniform, rounded mounds, each 3 to 7 feet tall and up to 40 feet wide. They look like tiny hills in an otherwise flat area. Estimates suggest there were about 900,000 mounds before much of the land was cleared for farming.
Despite extensive research, how they formed is unknown, with theories ranging from underground seismic activity to windblown sediments or unsusual freeze-thaw cycles. Scientists do know they were formed around 5,000 years ago, and were protected by Indigenous peoples through controlled burning. In 1841, an explorer theorized that they may be burial mounds, but no human remains have been found. The latest theory is that the mounds were formed by centuries of gophers and other burrowing mammals displacing dirt and pushing soil upward. But thanks to environmental and geological changes over time, it’s unlikely humans will ever know for sure what caused the formations.
Hawaiʻi: Mākua CaveLocation: 86-260 Farrington Hwy, Waianae, HI 96792How to visit: The trail to the cave begins near the Ka’ena Point State Park sign and is open to the public
Mākua Cave, also called Kāneana Cave, is in the cliffs on Oahu’s Wai‘anae coast and is the site of one of Hawaii’s most chilling and mysterious legends: the tale of the Sharkman, Nanaue. According to Hawaiian myth, Nanaue (the son of the shark god Kamohoali‘i), could shift between man and shark, with a hidden shark mouth on his back. He was said to live in the cave and lure unsuspecting travelers there, only to attack and eat them before retreating to the depths.
Local accounts describe the cave as having “psychic energy” and say the spirits of those lost are active within its walls. Reports range from unnerving chills and unexplained noises to sightings of non-human creatures roaming the cave. Though geologists agree the cave has a unique formation, there’s no evidence to support the legend. However, it continues to be considered one of the state’s most mysterious places.
Nevada: The Clown Motel
Photo: Travel Nevada
Location: 521 N Main St, Tonopah, Nevada 89049How to visit: Rooms start at around $85 and can be booked directly through the Clown Motel’s website, and the museum and cemetery are open to visitorsDubbed “America’s Scariest Motel,” the Clown Motel in Tonopah is a 31-room fever dream packed with vintage clown dolls, garish murals, and alleged paranormal activity. It sits right next to the historic Old Tonopah Cemetery, where the town’s earliest residents are buried — several of whom met bizarre ends, like “dynamite mishap” or “ate library paste.”
The motel houses nearly 6,000 clown figurines and paintings, many sent by fans and paranormal enthusiasts from around the world (sometimes with handwritten letters claiming the dolls are haunted or cursed). Guests report flickering lights, cold spots, disembodied voices, and the feeling of being watched. Some say the clowns move on their own. There’s even a two-story clown cutout looming over the building, just in case you weren’t already unsettled.
Owner Vijay Mehar has taken the motel’s creepy reputation and turned it into a full-on attraction. He’s added rooms themed after horror movies like It and The Exorcist, as well as a “Clownvis Presley” room, which delivers exactly what it sounds like: a clown Elvis. For a good overview of the place, watch the Living for the Dead episode “Rainbows and Clowns,” where Roz Hernandez and the crew investigate what turned out to be one of the scariest nights of the entire season.
The Most Mysterious Place in Every State: the East Coast
This list is part of a package on the most mysterious places in every state. See the full list.
The stretch of America’s East Coast from Maryland northward is where you’ll find some of the earliest European settlements in what would become the United States. This region saw some of the first attempts at permanent European colonization that was defined by a mix of exploration, exploitation, and cultural exchange. Many of its towns and sites date back to the 1600s or earlier.
Throughout this landscape are locations marked by abandoned ruins, centuries-old historical tales, and unexplained happenings that resist easy explanation. While much of America’s early history has been lost to time, plenty of it stands in a strange middle ground, where travelers can find early settlements overgrown with forest cover, or government and military buildings that once housed who knows what kind of mysterious research.
Cities like Philadelphia and Washington, DC, tell stories of America’s brightest and most somber moments in history. But to see a side of history you won’t find at the Smithsonian, you’ll need to venture a bit off the beaten path. These are the most mysterious places in each state on the East Coast.
Jump to:Connecticut | Delaware | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New York | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | VermontMaine: Allagash Wilderness Waterway
An abandoned steam train near Eagle Lake in the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, Maine. Photo: E. J. Johnson Photography/Shutterstock
Location: Eagle Lake, MaineHow to visit: The Allagash Wilderness Waterway is in northern Maine’s North Woods. There’s an $18 per day fee and more than 350 available campsites.Allagash Wilderness Waterway in the state’s North Woods is one of Maine’s most intensely mysterious places for its remote wilderness and its history as the site of the infamous “Allagash Abductions.” In August 1976, four men were on a two-week canoe trip along the Allagash Waterway. On their fourth night, they described seeing an enormous “brilliant orb of light” hovering over the trees. It supposedly then emitted a beam that surrounded the boat, after which the group suddenly found themselves back on shore, with their campfire burned to ashes as if hours had passed.
Years later, recurring nightmares led all four men to undergo hypnosis, during which each independently recounted being forced to strip for medical procedures on that night. All four also passed polygraph tests. Beyond the abduction tale, the Allagash Wilderness remains mysterious thanks to dense fog, the vast quiet, and a haunting absence of crowds.
New Hampshire: America’s StonehengeLocation: 105 Haverhill Rd, Salem, NH 03079How to visit: America’s Stonehenge is privately owned and open daily from 9 AM–5 PM with optional guided tours
The New Hampshire site known as “America’s Stonehenge” is a maze of stone walls, chambers, and columns spread across nearly 30 acres. Carbon dating confirms human activity in the area going back 4,000 years ago, but researchers don’t really know who built it or why. Part of the mystery stems from the early 20th century, when a historian rearranged much of the site to suggest it had been built by ancient Irish monks. With no cultural or historical records to consult, the mystery endures.
Explanations for its creation range from Indigenous Americans to pre-Columbian European visitors. Modern theories rule out most of the more convoluted origin tales, but there are still plenty of unanswered questions about what spurred construction of the massive stone undertaking, with some saying it’s tied to lunar and celestial events.
Vermont: The Bennington Triangle
Photo: Ethan Quin/Shutterstock
Location: Southwestern VermontHow to visit: You can access the Bennington Triangle from several trails, including the Appalachian Trail and Long Trail junction (near Woodford State Park), and Somerset ReservoirThe Bennington Triangle looms large in Vermont lore as a stretch of rugged wilderness known for a chilling string of unsolved disappearances and eerie legends. “Emily’s Bridge” in Stowe is often dubbed Vermont’s most famous haunted site, but the Bennington Triangle is perhaps the most mysterious place in Vermont, especially for those who prefer facts and logic.
The three-point triangle of Bennington, Woodford, and Somerset covers Glastenbury Mountain. The area earned its name in the mid-20th century, when several people vanished without a trace between 1945 and 1950. That included a war veteran, an experienced outdoorsman, and young, healthy people. All disappeared with no evidence, even when police used search dogs to find clues.
Reported phenomena include sudden changes in weather, disorientation, odd lights in the forest, phantom hitchhikers, and suspiciously silent woods. Some theories on the disappearances involve natural hazards, harsh terrain, and wildlife, but locals and paranormal researchers point to rumors of energy vortices, UFO activity, and even creatures like Bigfoot. To date, no scientific investigation sufficiently explains the nature of the disappearances, and no leads on any of the missing people have ever been found.
Massachusetts: Dighton RockLocation: 3rd Ave, Berkley, MA 02779How to visit: The rock is in a small seasonally open museum inside Dighton Rock State Park
Dighton Rock, preserved in a state park of the same name, baffles scientists with its archaeological mysteries. The 40-ton glacial boulder is etched with petroglyphs — geometric shapes and human-like figures that have fueled debate for centuries. Scholars have theorized they were left by a 15th-century Portuguese explorer, or may be the remains of a lost Viking message, or could have been carved by Phoenicians (who thrived in modern-day Lebanon from the 10th to 6th centuries BCE).
Today, most scholars think the carvings were made by early Indigenous Americans, perhaps to commemorate noteworthy events or mark territory. However, since the markings don’t match symbols or carvings from known area groups, such as the Algonquian or Wampanoag, its true origin may never be known.
Rhode Island: The Arnold Estate (The Conjuring House)
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Location: 1677 Round Top Rd, Harrisville (Burrillville), RI 02830How to visit: Book directly through The Conjuring House website for day tours or overnight investigationsThe Arnold Estate in Harrisville, better known as “The Conjuring House,” is a Colonial farmhouse built in 1736 that gained infamy in the 1970s when the Perron family moved in. For nearly a decade, they reported beds shaking at dawn, doors opening on their own, and foul smells drifting through the rooms without explanation.
The family’s experiences drew the attention of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. They conducted a seance in the home, during which mother Carolyn Perron reportedly levitated in her chair and spoke in a voice not her own. The Perrons stayed in the house until 1980, and their story became the foundation for “The Conjuring” films.
The farmhouse is now a paranormal attraction with guided daytime tours and overnight investigations. Guests have slept in the same upstairs bedrooms once occupied by the Perron daughters, set up equipment in the cellar where Roger Perron reported an oppressive presence, and often share recordings of unexplained footsteps or voices. The house has been studied extensively by scientists and skeptics, and even though many claim the phenomena were faked, it raises another creepy question: why would the family put themselves through such an ordeal? Or was the family truly suffering some unexplainable activity or shared psychosis? And did the Warrens exploit their misfortune just for financial gain? Even non-believers have to admit the house carries a dark energy.
Connecticut: DudleytownLocation: Unmarked forest area near Dudleytown Hill, ConnecticutHow to visit: It’s on private property not open to the public, but if you source directions from a local, you can peek through the trees at the ruins
Anywhere known colloquially as “The Village of the Damned” has got to be creepy. Dudleytown lives up to its nickname, though its official name sounds more like a perfectly planned community in the film Pleasantville. In Dudleytown, what was once a small colonial settlement has since been reduced to crumbling stone foundations overtaken by tangled roots and moss, with a silence punctuated only by the occasional rustling of leaves (wait, was that just the wind?).
Legend has it that the Dudley family brought a curse from England that doomed the town to generations of misfortune, causing residents to reportedly succumb to madness, mysterious deaths, and unexplained disappearances. In the 1970s, the real-life couple Ed and Lorraine Warren, who inspired the “The Conjuring” franchise, said the land was definitely demonically possessed. Today, Dudleytown is privately owned and closed to visitors, and even though most of the claims have been rebutted, its reputation as one of New England’s most haunted places continues to lure curious travelers to its edges.
While you can see the ruins from afar, you can’t legally explore the property. Trespassing is a problem, and fines for littering and disturbing the peace are frequently issued to protect those living nearby. Plus, trespassing risks more than a fine: you may end up carrying the village’s sinister energy out with you.
New York: Utica State Hospital
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Location: 1213 Court Street (Old Main), Utica, New YorkHow to visit: Old Main is usually off-limits, but the Mohawk Valley Psychiatric Center occasionally hosts guided ghost tours and historical walk-throughsUtica State Hospital opened in 1843 as the first state-run mental health facility in New York. At the time, it was considered progressive. The towering Greek Revival building known as “Old Main” was built with help from local residents, who raised funds alongside the state. Despite its impressive architecture and reputation as a leading institution, life inside was a horror story.
Treatments included electroshock therapy, lobotomies, and the notorious “Utica Crib” — a shallow wooden cage used to restrain or punish patients. Many were institutionalized for reasons as minor as grief, alcohol use, or “religious excitement.” At full capacity, more than 400 patients, overseen by only a few dozen staff, crowded into the facility, often in filthy, overcrowded conditions. The hospital officially closed in the 1970s, but Old Main still stands — and so do the stories.
Visitors on rare tours reported seeing shadowy faces at the windows, and hearing screams from the basement and footsteps in the empty halls. Old Main stores state records instead of patients these days, though the building opens to the public for occasional ghost tours and historical walk-throughs. While many mysterious places on this list have a kernel of truth behind them, Utica state prison has quite a bit, as multiple reports, documentaries, and books have painstakingly detailed the facts and history of the poor care and deaths inside the facility.
Pennsylvania: Hex HollowLocation: 9777 Crest Rd, Glen Rock, PA 17327How to visit: The park is open daily and popular with hikers and fishers, though trails can sometimes close during the muddy/rainy season
Hex Hollow, now called Spring Valley County Park, is a dark and tangled forest with a history that touches on both murder and Pennsylvania Dutch folklore. The woods were the scene of the 1928 “Hex Murder” where a local folk medicine healer was killed by neighbors who thought he’d cursed them. Stories of curses (and the murder) spread fear and suspicion for generations, and the house where the folk healer lived still stands, though it’s on private property.
In the woods, visitors have reported roads that seem to change and trap drivers, as well as apparitions that come and go in a glance. Fishermen walking in the woods have described the experience as “creepy.” While the house is closed to the public, the park and surrounding woods are open. If you have Amazon Prime, you can watch a 2015 documentary on Hex Hollow and its impacts on witchcraft and the occult in the US.
New Jersey: The Pine Barrens
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Location: 31 Batsto Rd, Hammonton, NJ 08037How to visit: There are multiple hikes, towns, and entry points in the Pine Barrens, but Batsto Village, mapped above, is one of the most well-known sitesThe Pine Barrens is a one-million acre forest and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, as well as one of the most mysterious places in New Jersey. The massive forest includes more than a dozen (some say more than 100) abandoned towns and villages. That includes Ongs Hat, said to be the former site of an alien-worship cult and a portal to another dimension, and Brooksbrae, said to be the site of satanic ceremonies in the 1970s.
However, the most famous thing in the Pine Barrens isn’t the ghost towns — it’s the so-called “Jersey Devil,” a bat-like creature allegedly born in the woods in 1735. Reports of sightings continue to this day, and the creature is often blamed when nearby farm animals suffer unexplainable deaths. Legends around the Jersey Devil are such a part of American culture that it’s appeared on everything from The X-Files to multiple History Channel shows. In 2023, a poll found that roughly 16 percent of residents think the Jersey Devil is probably real.
Maryland: Fletchertown Road in BowieLocation: Fletchertown Rd., Bowie, MD 20720How to visit: The FDA facility that created Goatman is closed to the public, but Fletchertown Road is easy to reach from Baltimore and Washington DC
Fletchertown Road in Bowie is the home of the legend of Goatman: a half-man, half-goat creature said to lurk in the woods near an abandoned Department of Agriculture facility. Stories began in the 1970s when residents reported seeing a large, animal-like figure walking on two legs near the research center.
Supposedly, Goatman was born when scientists at the research facility fused goat DNA with human DNA. In 1971, a local newspaper published a report of a murdered dog, with family members blaming Goatman. While the USDA has denied any secret projects to create goat-human hybrids, reports still trickle in occasionally, especially in the vicinity of Bowie and central Maryland.
Delaware: Fort Delaware
Photo: AY-AY/Shutterstock
Location: Pea Patch Island, DEeHow to visit: Take the ferry from Delaware City, which runs every 30 minutes Weds-Sun early June through Labor Day, and on weekends beginning in April. Closed the rest of the year.Part museum, part campfire ghost story come to life, Fort Delaware is an eerie remnant of the Civil War that rises like a mirage from the marshland surrounding the Delaware River. Built in the mid-19th century to guard the ports of Philadelphia and Wilmington, it quickly gained infamy as a Union prison camp where thousands of Confederate soldiers were confined. The massive granite walls and echoing casemates once held men in crowded, miserable conditions, and tales of disease, despair, and death are forever etched into the stone. Today, ferries still carry visitors to Pea Patch Island, where the fort stands isolated and weirdly atmospheric.
Paranormal investigators claim the spirits of former prisoners wander the corridors, while others report shadowy figures pacing the gun decks and the distant sound of boots on stone when no one else is around. The fort leans into its reputation and embraces the spooky stories, hosting official paranormal investigations open to the public throughout the year.
The Most Mysterious Place in Every State: the South
This list is part of a package on the most mysterious places in every state. See the full list.
The American South has long carried a reputation for mystery, thanks to its blend of cultures, geographically isolated communities, and centuries-old stories passed down from parent to child. Nowhere else in the country have rituals and supernatural beliefs — shaped by Creole, West African, and other cultural traditions of the South — played such a key role in everyday life and local lore. In some marginalized communities, stories are a vital form of expression and a way to preserve heritage, especially in the face of conflict.
From New Orleans, where folk spiritual practices continue to attract the curious, to cypress swamps and pine forests still inhabited by off-grid families, the South remains a destination for those drawn to places a bit outside the mainstream. But the South is more than just ghost stories and tales that misread local traditions. Many of its most mysterious places have centuries-deep histories grounded in fact. Some predate statehood and draw inspiration from geographic features, like wetlands and firefly-covered forests. Many of these sites have been examined by academics and paranormal investigators alike, yet plenty remain unexplained.
Whether you chalk it up to local folklore, cultural traditions, or real phenomena just not yet explained by science, the places below are some of the most mysterious in the South.
Jump to:Alabama | Arkansas | Florida | Georgia | Kentucky | Louisiana | Mississippi | North Carolina | South Carolina | Tennessee | Virginia | West VirginiaVirginia: First Landing State Park
Photo: Nature’s Charm/Shutterstock
Location: 2500 Shore Dr, Virginia Beach, VA 23451How to visit: The park is open daily from 7 AM to sunset, with a $5 parking fee and $10 entrance feeFirst Landing State Park in Virginia Beach is known for both its natural beauty and for being the first place English colonists landed in America in 1607. Its legends are based in a mix of fact and myth, with one of the most popular tales relating to Blackbeard the pirate. Supposedly, he saw military ships coming from Virginia, and went on land to quickly bury his remaining treasure before a battle in 1718, in which he was killed. (His ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, still sits off the coast.)
Despite repeated searches, his treasure remains missing, though rumors persist that his ghost lingers in the park. Add to that the fascinating “rainbow lights” that appear each winter and the reports of unexplained footsteps and drums — plus the fact that there’s a confirmed Native American cemetery in the park — and it’s no wonder so many people find First Landing one of the most mysterious and fascinating places in the state.
Mississippi: McRaven HouseLocation: 1445 Harrison St, Vicksburg, MS 39180How to visit: McRaven is open daily for historic tours as well as evening haunted tours on weekends
McRaven was built in 1797 by a career thief. He’d steal from travelers along the highway, then retreat to the home to hide out. It’s seen the best and worst of Mississippi’s history in Vicksburg, a town that was a lynchpin of the Civil War during the fight for control of the Mississippi River. The building served as a Confederate field hospital during the Siege of Vicksburg, and its halls witnessed the passing of residents like Mary Elizabeth Howard, who died giving birth at age 15.
Today, McRaven is known as the most haunted home in Mississippi and has historic artifacts and original fixtures inside. Visitors and staff report apparitions in period dress, doors opening and slamming on their own, unexplained cold spots, and the sensation of being watched. Paranormal investigators have been looking into stories about Confederate ghosts in this area for decades, with some of the most compelling evidence for life after death coming from this exact home.
West Virginia: Lake Shawnee Amusement Park
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Location: 470 Matoaka Rd, Rock, WV 24747How to visit: Lake Shawnee Amusement Park is privately owned, but the owner gives daytime and nighttime tours by appointmentThe dilapidated Lake Shawnee Amusement Park, with its rusting rides, was once a bustling family attraction in the early 20th century. That ended in the 1950s after a series of tragic accidents, including a young boy’s drowning and a girl killed on a swing ride. Those tragedies seeded legends of a curse, and in the late 1980s, archaeologists uncovered an 18th-century Shawnee burial ground that was already notorious as the site where three children were murdered in the 1700s. Lake Shawnee Amusement Park has a deserved place on the West Virginia Paranormal Trail.
Today, it’s open for tours, many of which focus on its history. Visitors describe it as “having a creepy aura,” and it frequently appears on lists of the eeriest abandoned places in America. It doesn’t take a huge leap of faith to think a theme park built on a lost Native American burial ground later stricken by multiple accidental deaths may have a spirit or two bouncing around, but if you want to see it for yourself, private overnight stays are also available.
Kentucky: Carter Caves State ParkLocation: 344 Caveland Dr, Olive Hill, KY 41164How to visit: The park is about 90 minutes from Lexington and offers guided cave tours, hiking trails, campgrounds, and cabins for overnight stays
Cave exploration can be frightening on its own, but in eastern Kentucky’s caverns, you may not be underground alone. At Carter Caves State Park, twisting passages filled with stalactites, flowstone, and natural bridges. For generations, tales have circulated of ghostly figures, eerie echoes, and long-lost lovers reunited in death.
In the X-Cave, legends tell of Native American spirits haunting the passages. One recalls a tragic Romeo-and-Juliet-style story about a Cherokee warrior who discovered his beloved had taken her own life. The bones of two people and silver pieces were reportedly found inside, supporting the tale.
Some believe the caves hide treasure or even portals to other realms. While no evidence supports these paranormal claims, plenty of creepy and unexplained photos have been taken in the caves. Even if you don’t see anything unexplained, the sheer size and shadowy beauty make the caves feel otherworldly. Carter Caves State Park leans into it, with organizers hosting horror movie screenings (including cave-themed horror movies) inside the largest chambers.
Georgia: Lake Lanier
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Location: Northern Georgia, about 50 miles north of AtlantaHow to visit: There are several parks around the lake’s shore, and both Lanier Ghost Tours and North Georgia Excursion offer haunted boat tours that combine ghost stories with sonar searches for the sunken town belowLake Lanier is one of the largest human-made lakes in the US (59 square miles), built in the 1950s by flooding farmland and several towns — including the once-thriving predominantly Black community of Oscarville. The reservoir submerged homes, churches, and cemeteries beneath its waters that reach 160 feet deep once you get in from the 690 miles of shoreline. Since the lake was filled, more than 700 deaths have been recorded there.
The unpredictable depths, where remnants of the submerged towns still lie, create hazardous conditions on this popular recreational lake. Even today, it’s not uncommon for 10 or more people to die on the lake annually. One of the most famous haunting stories revolves around the “Lady of the Lake,” a woman in blue who drifts along the shoreline and near bridges. She’s said to be linked to one of two women killed in a 1958 car crash.
North Carolina: Brown MountainLocation: 8176 NC-181, Newland, NC 28657How to visit: The marked Brown Mountain Overlook is the best viewing location on dark nights (consider bringing binoculars)
The mysterious lights above Brown Mountain have puzzled North Carolinians for nearly two centuries, with the first reports dating back to 1833. They’re most often spotted rising from the mountain’s southeastern side near Morganton in the summer, and are often described as glowing white orbs. Folklore connects the lights to Native American legends, and official agencies from the US government have been investigating them since 1916.
Reports have suggested the lights may be from headlights or trains, though critics to that theory are quick to point out they’ve been seen when no trains or vehicles are in the area. The US Geological Survey issued formal reports on the lights in the 1970s that ruled out marsh gas or radium, nor do they result from communication signaling between local moonshiners. In the end, the report suggested the lights are a mix of causes ranging from refracting automobile lights to electrical discharge, but most people still consider the mountain’s lights more or less unexplained.
Florida: Ocala National Forest
Photo: Matthias Miller/Shutterstock
Location: Ocala National Forest, FloridaHow to visit: The forest is fully accessible, with trails, springs, and campgrounds spread across Marion, Lake, and Putnam countiesThe sprawling Ocala National Forest covers more than 600 square miles. This wild expanse is steeped in history, with evidence of people living on the land since 3000 BCE. It’s been called home by the Indigenous Ocale people, Spanish missionaries, the Seminole people, and US settlers who took the land for a military frontier. That history leaves plenty of time for legends to build.
Paranormal researcher Christopher Balzano has cataloged stories of ghost lights flickering among the pines, shadowy soldiers near Fort King who vanish mid-conversation, and the “Coyote Woman,” a shapeshifter said to punish those who disrespect the land. Another legend is centered on the “Skunk Ape,” a Bigfoot-type figure said to live deep in the swampy surrounds.
If you’re looking for a mysterious Florida location that doesn’t cover such a wide expanse, head to Brooksville’s May-Stringer House, a Victorian mansion-turned-museum often called Florida’s most haunted home. Guests report cold spots, toys moving on their own, and the faint cry of young Jessie Mae, who died here in childhood. Today, the Hernando Heritage Museum offers both historic tours and late-night ghost investigations.
South Carolina: 20 South Battery HotelLocation: 20 S Battery St, Charleston, SC 29401How to visit: Book a room at the 20 South Battery hotel
Charleston’s atmosphere lends itself to spooky stories — there’s a reason why so many paranormal tour operators operate in the city. One of the frequent locations on tours is the Battery Carriage House, operating as the 20 South Battery hotel. This stately residence overlooking White Point Garden was built in 1843, and the house has lived many lives going from the Civil War to the Gilded Age and beyond. With that history comes an enduring reputation for spectral occurences. The hotel embraces the stories, making sure visitors aren’t surprised if an unexpected guest shows up in their room.
In Room 10, guests describe the “Gentleman Ghost,” a well-dressed spirit who appears beside the bed before fading into the night (maybe just a soul looking for a comfy place to lay his head?). Word is, if a living person screams, he’ll see himself out. In Room 8, the energy is darker: reports of a headless torso, cold spots, and an oppressive atmosphere. Theories suggest these figures may be tied to past tragedies. The Room 8 guest is thought to be a Civil War soldier, while the Gentleman Ghost is believed to be a college student who committed suicide by jumping off the inn’s roof.
Arkansas: The Crescent Hotel
Photo: Cameron J Dunaway/Shutterstock
Location: 75 Prospect Ave, Eureka Springs, AR 72632How to visit: The Crescent Hotel remains a popular resort and is open year-round for stays and special eventsWhile it’s easy to confuse haunted with mysterious, “America’s Most Haunted Hotel” near Eureka Springs is both and has a factually creepy history. It was built in 1886 as a wellness resort centered around the nearby mineral springs, and has since served as an elite social club, a women’s college, and, most notoriously, a fraudulent hospital led by the infamous Norman Baker in the 1930s. Baker, a radio personality-turned-medical huckster, promised miraculous cancer cures and ran his hospital without a medical license, causing plenty of suffering and death that fuels the hotel’s reputation today.
Guests regularly report footsteps, apparitions, and cold spots, especially near Room 218. Children visiting at the hotel have been said to tell their parents they made a friend, only to describe Breckie — a child who died in the hotel at age 4 in the late 1910s. There’s even a non-human ghost: a beloved cat called Morris who lived in the hotel lobby for 21 years. The hotel hosts annual paranormal research weekends, inviting both amateur and professional ghost hunters to share findings.
Tennessee: Bell Witch CaveLocation: 430 Keysburg Rd, Adams, TN 37010How to visit: The cave and cabin are about 40 minutes from Nashville and open seasonally for guided tours
The Blair Witch Project, filmed in the 1990s, changed horror flicks as we know them today, popularizing the “found footage” genre. While you might watch it now and laugh or think it’s all fake, the film was inspired by a true story set in a place you can actually visit.
The Bell Witch legend is one of America’s most famous ghost stories. In the early 1800s, the Bell family of Adams, Tennessee, claimed they were tormented by a violent spirit that spoke, struck family members, and poisoned patriarch John Bell. His death in 1820 is said to be the only in US history officially attributed to a supernatural cause. Today, visitors can tour the Bell Witch Cave, where reports of strange voices, icy touches, and shadowy figures, sometimes even John himself, continue. Whether folklore or fact, the story still makes this site one of the most haunted in the country.
Alabama: Moundville Archaeological Park
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Location: 634 Mound State Parkway, Moundville, AL 35474How to visit: Moundville Archaeological Park is about 20 minutes from Tuscaloosa and open for self-guided or ranger-led tours. Each October, the park hosts the Moundville Native American Festival.Moundville was once an 185-acre planned city where about 1,000 people of Mississippian culture lived. Sometime in the 12th century, soon-to-be residents leveled and then filled the ground before building 29 mounds topped with temples, meeting buildings, and houses for the upper class. Satellite farming villages with thousands more people growing maize, beans, and squash supplied the city. Then, in the 15th century, the residents left, and no one knows why.
Moundville quickly became no more than a burial ground, where graves included pottery, carvings, shells, and ceremonial copper axes. Symbols on the artifacts, like skulls and serpents with wings and horns, are thought to represent war and death. Archaeologists have excavated less than 15 percent of the site and continue to work to discover why the city declined. The mounds range from 3 to 57 feet tall. While there are some stories here and there about unexplained sightings, Moundville’s mystery is mostly archaeological, not supernatural.
Louisiana: Honey Island Swamp MonsterLocation: Honey Island Swamp, near Slidell, LouisianaHow to visit: Book a swamp tour through operators like Cajun Encounters or Honey Island Swamp Tours in Slidell. Monster sightings not guaranteed, but mosquito bites are.
For decades, locals near Slidell have whispered about a swamp-dwelling creature with yellow eyes, matted gray hair, and a rotting smell. Known as the Honey Island Swamp Monster, this Bigfoot-like cryptid was first reported in 1963 by a retired air traffic controller, who also found a mauled wild boar and a set of three-toed, webbed footprints nearby.
Some locals link the legend to a train wreck in the early 1900s, where circus animals allegedly escaped into the bayou (that may or may not have happened). The story goes that chimpanzees survived and bred with alligators, creating a hybrid creature that adapted to the swamp. Others believe it’s just a regional cousin of Bigfoot, but with webbed feet and worse hygiene. Reports of sightings, guttural cries, and unsettling movement in the cypress groves still surface today, and boat captains in the area are more than happy to share their own stories.
More like thisThe Most Mysterious Places in Every StateThe Most Mysterious Place You Can Visit in Every US State
The Most Mysterious Place You Can Visit in Every US StateIt’s easy to plan a trip in the United States around places known for being haunted. But anyone can conjure a ghost story or start a rumor by saying they saw a mysterious shape. Haunted places can be fascinating, but also disappointing — especially when these places are treated more as a gimmicky way to make money than as an actual supernatural experience.
However, there’s no shortage of truly mysterious places across the country — places that have been studied, researched, analyzed, and visited for years but still can’t be explained by science.
The US is loaded with eerie and unexplained destinations thanks to a host of factors: its vast and diverse geography, its rich history, and its layers of intersecting cultural influences, to name a few. Some mysteries originated less than a hundred years ago, others millennia. The country’s Indigenous nations all have their own stories about spirits, phenomena, creatures, and dangers tied to the landscape. Mix in fears and urban legends about wild animals and UFOs, plus the fact that the US government has some of the world’s most advanced secret technology, and it’s no wonder each of the 50 states has its own mysterious destination that skeptics and investigators alike can’t get enough of.
From swamps that may host unknown creatures to entire mountains that may hold everything from hidden portals to buried treasure, these are the most mysterious places worth visiting in every US state.
Alabama | Arkansas | Florida | Georgia | Kentucky | Louisiana | Mississippi | North Carolina | South Carolina | Tennessee | Virginia | West Virginia
In the South, legends, natural wonders, and old-school spooky stories mix like nowhere else. Add in plenty of cultural influences from around the world, and you have a hotbed of places with lots of questions and not too many answers.
Connecticut | Delaware | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New York | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | Vermont
The idea of creating the country of the United States was born in the Northeast, where history runs deep. While some of the most mysterious places in this part of the country are rooted in centuries-old stories, some have more modern origins (and involve government secrets).
Alaska | California | Colorado | Montana | Idaho | Hawaiʻi | Nevada | Oregon | Utah | Washington | Wyoming
There’s no end to the mysteries waiting to be solved in the Western US, especially given its extreme geography, seemingly endless horizons, and dramatic landscapes that could conceal everything from buried treasure to proof of unknown scientific phenomena.
Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Ohio | Michigan | Missouri | Minnesota | Nebraska | North Dakota | South Dakota | Wisconsin
Under the Midwest’s welcoming atmosphere of small towns, forested lakes, and friendly people is an intriguing spooky side. Here, you’ll find everything from UFO hotspots to a museum filled only with eerie items.
Arizona | Oklahoma | New Mexico | Texas
The Southwest has mysteries as unrestrained and sweeping as the desert. From a lake so spooky it inspired sci-fi movies to the remains of a long-forgotten company town, these places are the most mysterious in the Southwest.
CREDITSEditorial lead:
Suzie Dundas
Contributors:Katie Gavin, Nickolaus Hines, Tim Wenger, Kelsey Wilking
Art and design:Rulo Luna
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