Spooky Destination Guide
Boston
Step back in time and join one of Boston’s ghost tours to visit all the haunted places in Boston, including Boston haunted bars. Alternatively, sign up for one of the city’s many ghost walks or take a haunted trolley tour through Boston’s spooky streets.
Spookiest Time to Visit
Haunted Attractions & Spooky Things to Do in Boston
Warren Anatomical Museum
This museum is famously home to the skull of Phineas Gage, a railroad construction foreman who survived a large iron going right through his head and brain. Here you’ll find historical medical tools, several anatomical specimens and some fascinating artifacts, including the skeletons of conjoined fetal twins.
Website: Warren Anatomical Museum
Ether Dome
This surgical amphitheatre made history as the first medical hospital to publicly use anesthetic on a patient. Inside the surgical room, there’s a human skeleton, old surgical tools, and an Egyptian mummy to keep you company.
Website: Ether Dome
Boston Athenaeum
One of the oldest libraries in the United States, the Boston Athenaeum (Boston Athenæum) contains a memoir written by criminal James Allen. The gruesome secret behind the book is that it’s bound with Allen’s genuine skin.
Website: Boston Athenaeum
Old North Church Basement Crypt
Sitting below the Old North Church is an ancient crypt containing 37 brick vaulted tombs. These tombs guard the bodies of up to 1100 former parish members who were crammed in there in 1700-1800.
Website: Old North Church Basement Crypt
Edgar Allan Poe Square
Boston-born author of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe was raised close to the square that now pays homage to his memory. Just up the street at the corner of Boylston Street and Charles Street is an incredibly intricate statue of Edgar Allan Poe. Be sure to stop by for a visit to look at the statue of the gothic writer and see if you can notice all the details and references to his work.
Ghosts and Gravestones Ghost Tours
Take a guided tour on the spooky Trolley of Terror to some of the creepiest and most haunted areas of Boston. The tour takes you through underground tunnels and graveyards, detailing every aspect of Boston’s gruesome history.
Book here: Ghosts and Gravestones Ghost Tour
Lizzie Borden House
Located an hour outside Boston in Fall River, Lizzie Borden’s house is a must-see for lovers of everything grim and grisly. You can visit the house and attempt to figure out the unsolved Borden murders yourself or sign up for a night of ghost hunting on one of their paranormal nights’ tours. Space is limited, so be sure to book in advance.
Website: Lizzie Borden House
Fort Warren
Located on Georges Island, Fort Warren has a creepy side beyond the role it played in the Civil War. The story of the Lady in Black is a ghostly tale about a Confederate soldier’s wife who snuck onto the island to free her imprisoned husband. Sadly, she was caught and hanged for her crime. Will you spot her spirit roaming Fort Warren?
Book here: Boston Historical New England Harbor Cruise
Ghost Ship Harbor
Hop aboard the USS Salem with the immersive and frightening Paranormal Ghost Ship experience. Here you can wander the haunted ship, listening to tales of terrifying hauntings and supernatural goings-on. You’ll even get to play with some paranormal equipment to contact the spirits that torment the spooky ship.
Website: Ghost Ship Harbor
Spooky Haunted & Historical Cemeteries in Boston
Forest Hills Cemetery
A Victorian garden cemetery with incredibly beautiful greenery home to graves, tombs and mausoleums, Forest Hills Cemetery is a one-of-a-kind graveyard containing a miniature village with tiny replicas of the houses of those buried there.
Granary Burying Ground
“He’s here! He’s here! Come visit Paul Revere!” Granary Burying Ground comprises hundreds of tombs of Puritans who settled in the Boston area in the 1600s. One of the most famous historical figures buried there is Paul Revere, known for alerting American soldiers that the British were coming. As if that wasn’t reason enough to visit, the Granary is decorated with some of the more macabre imagery associated with gravestone art, including several skull and crossbones designs. For a greater insight into Paul Revere, you can visit his home: Paul Revere Home Website
Book here: Boston Freedom Trail Tour
King’s Chapel Burying Ground
Located along the Freedom Trail, just a 3-minute walk away from the Granary Burying Ground, King’s Chapel Burying Ground is the oldest graveyard in Boston. This cemetery features a wooden chapel above a crypt containing the bodies of those unable to afford a proper burial. They’re all buried in the “Strangers Tomb”.
Book here: Boston Freedom Trail Tour
Copp’s Hill Burying Ground
This historical 300-year-old cemetery along Boston’s Freedom Trail has some of the most beautiful and unique tombstones I‘ve ever seen. Visit the tomb of Cotton Mather, an author who wrote several books on the supernatural and witchcraft, including what it was like being a supporter of the Salem witch trials.
Central Burying Ground
Located across from the statue of Edgar Allan Poe sits Bostons historic Central Burying Ground. One of the oldest cemeteries, the graveyard is home to several British soldiers who perished from disease during the American Revolution. The best thing about this cemetery is the abundance of fat squirrels hanging around all of the tombstones - waiting for passersby to give them a treat.
Haunted Hotels in Boston
Omni Parker House Hotel
Boston’s most haunted hotel, the Omni Parker House Hotel, should be on every paranormal lover’s list of places to stay. The hotel is haunted by several ghosts that favour the mezzanine, as well as floors three and ten. Room 303, where a man committed suicide in 1949, is said to be the room with the highest level of ghostly activity.
Book here: Boston Omni Parker House Hotel
Boston Hotel Buckminster
Cursed and haunted? The hotel across from Fenway Park is said to be haunted by a dark figure often seen in staff-only areas. Hotel employees have reported seeing a floating black figure lurking in various areas around the hotel. The Buckminster is also cursed — the Red Sox have been in an eternal drought ever since the sale Babe Ruth in the 1920s. Although perhaps the curse has now been lifted since the Sox won the world series in 2013.
Book here: Boston Hotel Buckminster
Fairmont Copley Plaza
One of Boston’s oldest luxury hotels, Fairmont Copley Plaza’s sixth floor is said to be haunted. Guests on this floor have recounted tales of weird noises heard throughout their stay.
Book here: Fairmont Copley Plaza
Liberty Hotel: Luxury Hotel & Suites in Boston
Formally operating as Charles Street Jail, the Liberty Hotel had several famous inmates, such as the Boston Strangler. Past guests have reported hearing strange voices, feeling watched and seeing shadows in their rooms.
Book here: The Liberty, a Luxury Collection Hotel
The Lenox Hotel
This historic Boston hotel is said to be haunted by a former cigar-smoking guest named Red. Several guests who stayed in room 300 claim to have smelled cigar smoke during their stay.
Book here: The Lenox Hotel
Haunted Bars & Restaurants in Boston
The Gallows
This popular Boston eatery, which serves poutine (a Canadian delicacy not found in many places outside Canada), stands on the grounds where witch trials took place in the 17th century.
Website: The Gallows
Union Oyster House
Boston’s oldest restaurant located on the Freedom Trail, the Union Oyster House is rumored to be haunted by John F Kennedy Jr. The former President’s spirit has been spotted in the dining room and bathroom. Strange.
Website: Union Oyster House
The Ginger Man
Popular for its craft beer, the Ginger Man is also a hot spot for paranormal activity, where staff members have noticed bottles moving on their own.
Website: The Ginger Man
The Brahmin
This historical restaurant serves delicious cocktails with a side of ghostly goings-on. Owners and staff have reported icy cold spots, eerie dark shadows, and apparitions of a man in a vintage suit.
Website: The Brahmin
Parker’s Restaurant
Located in the most haunted hotel in Boston, the Omni Parker House Hotel, this restaurant is no stranger to haunted happenings.
Website: Parker's Restaurant
Spooky Tips
Take a Ghost Tour
Spend some time in Beacon Hill
Book your tours early
Bring ghost hunting equipment
Ghost Hunting Equipment
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