Top 10 Most Haunted Places in the World

The place that inspired horror writer Stephen King to write “The Shining”? Yeah, that’s definitely on the list. King stayed in Room 217 of the Stanley Hotel, and reportedly heard ghost children playing in the hallway. The ballroom is where the real action is, however, with accounts of kitchen staff thinking a party was going on in the room, but ultimately finding it unoccupied upon entering. Guests have also reported hearing the ballroom’s piano, despite no one playing it. The show “Ghost Hunters” found reasonable explanations for certain sounds, but they could not decode occurrences in the ballroom.

Medieval castles in Europe are always a popular tourist attraction thanks to their long and interesting history. Edinburgh Castle, however, is also one of the most haunted spots in Scotland – reportedly, of course. Visitors have claimed to have seen the spirits of colonial prisoners from the American Revolutionary War and French prisoners from the Seven Years War. The most famous spirit, though, is the ghost of a piper who was sent to explore the underground tunnels and never returned. Legend says the faint sound of music can still be heard from within the castle.

If you wanted to find a ghost, looking in the place where Parisians placed the bones of their dead for decades would be a great place to start. The Catacombs of Paris hold the remains of nearly six million people, and so the site is essentially a mass grave. If that’s not creepy enough, the ossuaries are a small part of Paris’ vast network of underground tunnels and caverns. In 1871, French revolutionists massacred of group of monarchists in one of the underground chambers. With that much death and that much history, how can they not be haunted?!

The RMS Queen Mary, once a prominent ocean liner in the North Atlantic Ocean, has been the subject of haunting rumors ever since it was permanently docked in California. The most haunted area of the ship is the engine room, where a 17-year-old sailor died while trying to escape a fire. Cabin B340 is also said to be haunted, this time by the spirit of a murder victim, while the ghost of a young girl allegedly haunts the pool area after a drowning accident. Yikes.

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary has been cited as one of the most haunted places in the United States. There are numerous reports of ghostly encounters in the Utility Corridor, where three inmates were killed in a failed escape attempt. Cell 14D is another supposedly haunted area of the prison, due to a legend that says an inmate once spent a night calling out that he was being murdered by a creature with glowing eyes. Lo and behold, he was found throttled to death the next day. Al Capone’s ghost also allegedly haunts the prison, so enter at your own risk.

The village of Borley is not the sort of place you would associate with ghosts, but it is home to the infamous Borley Rectory, considered to be the most haunted house in all of England. Once the site of an ancient monastery, legend has it that a monk and nun were killed in the area after their affair was discovered. The nun allegedly haunts the grounds of the rectory, while multiple tenants have reported paranormal activity like the ringing of bells, the breaking of windows and the appearance of writing on the walls.

The Myrtles Plantation is rumored to be located on an ancient Indian burial ground and is said to be home to 12 ghosts, including Chloe, a former slave. Legend has it that Chloe was caught spying on her owner, had her ear cut off and hid it with a turban. She tried to get revenge by poisoning a birthday cake, but the plan backfired when only the owner’s wife and children ate the cake, and all died. Chloe was hanged and thrown into the Mississippi River, and her spirit supposedly haunts the plantation to this day.

One of the most haunted hospitals in America; the Waverly Hills Sanatorium was built to help handle the outbreak of tuberculosis in Jefferson County in the early 1900s. Urban legend claims that over 60,000 people died at the Sanatorium, many of whom were sent down the “death tunnel,” a chute used to lower the dead bodies in a secretive manner to prevent patients from seeing how many people were being killed by the disease. Room 502 is also rumored to be haunted by a nurse who committed suicide with a light bulb wire.

Eastern State Penitentiary was home to some of the harshest punishments in the United States, including the Water Bath, the Mad Chair, and the Iron Gag. The first prison to use solitary confinement, many Eastern State Penitentiary prisoners went insane because of its extreme conditions and isolation. Numerous people have reported hearing cackling from cellblock 12, while mysterious, ghostly faces are said to appear in cellblock 4. Even Al Capone was allegedly haunted by the ghost of James Clark, one of the men he had murdered, during his incarceration.

Before we unveil our number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- Xochimilco Canals
Mexico City, Mexico
- The White House
Washington, D.C., USA
- Gettysburg
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA
- The Winchester Mystery House
San Jose, California, USA
- Amityville Horror House
Long Island, New York, USA

The place where multiple executions, murders, and tortures have taken place over the last 1,000 years? If there is a haunted place in the world, this is surely it. Our top pick is allegedly home to hundreds of ghosts, including Lady Jane Grey, Henry VI, Sir Walter Raleigh and Thomas Becket. However, perhaps the most famous resident is the spirit of Anne Boleyn. Her ghost has been seen on many occasions, usually in the Tower Chapel Royal or on Tower Green, and she is often carrying her head in her arms.

Do you agree with our list? What is your favorite haunted place? For more spooky Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.