Cemeteries are much more than areas mapped out for the eternal rests granted to those who shuffled off the mortal coil either too early or too late. Over time, these sacred grounds have come to both paranormally and supernaturally reveal to the world that they are anything but restful dwellings. Ghostly figures, shadow men, mysterious laughter, burning headstones, and unexplained phenomena of all types are to be found in cemeteries and graveyards all across the United States.
Here are the top seventeen most haunted cemeteries in the country.
Smith Anderson Cemetery
Windham, Maine
Twelve miles outside of Portland, Maine is what many consider to be the most haunted cemetery in the entire state of Maine. Set at the end of a long dirt road, this cemetery may be on the small side with 528 graves, but it is definitely big on the haunts. Namesake to the cemetery, the Anderson family’s personal crypt on the property has elicited many mysterious bangs coming from inside the walls to visitors passing by. Most peculiar to this location is the activity involved with people’s cars. Many have gone to visit the grave of a loved one only to find their car has mysteriously moved ten feet in another direction without any assistance. Some have found engines running and all four car doors open…..with no keys in the ignition at all.
Concordia Cemetery
El Paso, Texas
A formidable cemetery with over 53 acres and an estimated 60,000 graves, the Concordia definitely has the space for a few supernatural events. In serial killer lore, “The Nightstalker” Richard Ramirez made this the central location for many of his dead of night Satanic rituals. Ironically the most haunted area of the cemetery is the infant section. A melancholy area for anyone, some women who have visited this particular area of the cemetery have spoken that passing over the infant graves they inexplicably feel their c-section wounds actually tingling. Special tours are held here during the Halloween/Dia de Los Muertos holiday.
Stull Cemetery
Stull, Kansas
One of the most frightening to make the list, the Stull Cemetery in Douglas County, Kansas had been rumored to cause His Holiness Pope John Paul II to actually give Vatican pilots instructions to fly around it when he visited the United States in 1993. There is the broken down Stull Cemetery Church, which is said to have been the site of many late-night Satanic rituals that not only made the Prince of Darkness appear but also created a portal to Hell on the very property. The ruins of the church left a bizarre staircase that was buried into the ground where many paranormal enthusiasts felt was a stairwell straight to Hell.
Lubbock Cemetery
Lubbock, Texas
Conservatively estimated to hold a minimum of sixty thousand graves, the Lubbock Cemetery is a very chilling place to be. Standing to the background of the cemetery is a towering, an abandoned railway trestle. Unexplained sounds have emanated from there so often it has been coined to be “The Gate of Hell”. Late rock and roll icon Buddy Holly is buried here, and many visitors claim that not only is the angel statue near his grave possessed and threatens your escape from there, but also that you can hear his music softly being played from somewhere down in the ground.
Resurrection Cemetery
Chicago, Illinois
This is the only cemetery known to have the ghost actually haunting it, hitchhike and ask for a ride miles before you get there. Resurrection Cemetery is the home to Resurrection Mary, a seemingly lovelorn spirit and urban legend icon that desires nothing more than a ride to her final destination of the evening, which just so happens to be the local cemetery. Many terrified drivers have seen her escape from their cars and run off amongst the tombstones in the dead of night. Other times drivers have reported that she simply disappears in front of their very eyes. In fact, the burned handprints on the front cemetery gate are said to belong to none other than Resurrection Mary herself.
Old Gray Cemetery
Knoxville, Tennessee
Near to the downtown heart of Knoxville, the Old Gray Cemetery is actually one of distinction holding many fine Southern dignitaries, politicians, and even celebrities among its 5,700 plus graves. During the daytime, it’s quite a sedate, and dignified environment. However when night falls, sometimes total hell breaks loose. The chief entity haunting the Old Gray is locally referred to as “Dark Aggie.” A shadow man that appears in the form of a black mist, he’s been known to not only sneak up on late-night visitors but also mysteriously be able to whisper their name to them without any provocation whatsoever.
Manoa Chinese Cemetery
Oahu, Hawaii
The oldest and largest Chinese cemetery in all the Hawaiian islands, the Manoa is one creepy place to be. Aesthetically designed to employ the use of feng shui to keep certain energies at bay, however, this particular subset of geomancy is proving to only go so far. The frequent laughter of children at all hours in all locations of the cemetery is an especially perplexing and paranormally troubling activity. Nighttime plays hosts to many orange flying orbs which many of the locals say leads to a deadly curse. Stories of vanishing bodies and manifestations even have some hardened police officers on the island slightly afraid to go and check out the cemetery alone.
Pere Cheney Cemetery
Pere Cheney, Michigan
The cemetery in this location also serves as having the double distinction of not only being haunted but also being located inside a modern-day ghost town. Central among the eerie atmosphere in this antiquated graveyard is that of the Pere Cheney Witch. Local lore has many believing the witch was having a child born out of wedlock and cursed the town before being hung there in the cemetery. Glimmering, soft glowing orbs have reportedly been a supernatural mainstay at the cemetery over the years. Also, brave visitors have reported hearing the sounds of what is said to be children laughing and some visitors have even dashed to their parked car in fright only to find children’s handprints mysteriously covering their cars.
Stepney Cemetery
Stepney, Connecticut
The Stepney Cemetery is currently going down in paranormal enthusiast lore thanks in part to its now most famous dwellers, international paranormal investigator power couple, Ed and Lorraine Warren. Think the Warrens would finally be getting any rest after a long life of investigating American’s most violently haunted homes? Think again! The cemetery has a penchant for both Civil and Revolutionary War spirits. In fact, the first and oldest known grave belongs to a soldier named Nathaniel Knapp who still is said to be seen today. Lately, visitors also report if you say a prayer at Ed Warren’s grave and then touch the tombstone, the cross is extremely warm to the touch even in the middle of winter.
Lafayette Pioneer Cemetery
Lafayette, Oregon
The sleepy town of Lafayette lies half an hour southwest of Portland and is home to the haunted and wholly eerie Lafayette Pioneer Cemetery. The top spirit in the cemetery is said to belong to that of a witch who was brutally murdered there on the property sometime in the 1850s. One of the most bizarre and incredible reports of activity associated with the witch at the cemetery is a change in the weather. Not just rain to sun or hail to snow. It’s almost as if the entire season changes. A hot summer day suddenly has a mid-winter gust to it. Winter winds suddenly give way to a spike in temperatures. Feelings of being watched along with some choice EVPs have this cemetery being high on the scare factor scale for sure.
Grandview Cemetery
Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Graves inside the Grandview Cemetery date all the way back to the 1700s, making it one of the oldest cemeteries in the entire state of Kentucky. However, it has been known to some locals and visitors, not as the Grandview, but instead “The Gates of Hell.” Spirits here are said to be the supernatural manifestation of Satanic occult practices carried out in the cemetery and woods surrounding it over the course of two hundred years. The atmosphere they create is one of invisible fear as few people have reported feeling quite an unease stepping foot onto the cemetery property. Animal sacrifices here have happened on the property so often over the years that some locals have referred to it as “the Killing Field.” Such sacrifices are said to call upon a witch that lives in the wooded area. People have reported hearing blood-curdling screams in the middle of the day as well as at night with nobody around at all.
Cedar Grove Cemetery
New Bern, North Carolina
A picturesque and sleepy coastal North Carolina is one of the most unlikely places to have a haunted cemetery, but it no doubt does. The single most disturbing fact about this location is the staggered coquina shell triple arch that stands at the front of the cemetery. It is called the “Weeping Arch” by many locals and certainly for good and quite deadly reasons. Mysteriously enough, when a funeral party is said to pass underneath, red-rust colored like tears have been known to drop down from the arch as if it were weeping for the dearly departed. Worse yet there is an urban legend attached to it saying that anyone passing under who gets hit with a droplet will be marked for death next!
Union Cemetery
Easton, Connecticut
This is the cemetery that had hardened demonologist Ed Warren running for his life in the middle of the night. Situated in Easton, Connecticut, the Union Cemetery is home to the famous “White Lady” spirit. She has been described as having a long face with cascading black hair on either side of her head and wearing a long flowing, period piece white dress. The White Lady has been known to walk along Highway 59 and many times drivers have encountered her ghostly visage up close and personal when some have even said to have driven their cars straight through her. Not only have drivers driven through her, but some report that they have felt her very “ghostforce” as her spirit passes through the car. Ed Warren did come close and discovered a rather bizarre connection between her spirit and those of floating orbs in the graveyard, however, he could never truly investigate it because a black phantom ghost dog would prevent it!
Westminster Burial Ground
Baltimore, Maryland
The Westminster Hall and Burial Ground is a very antiquated cemetery located in the heart of the city of Baltimore and the most frequented grave in the entire cemetery is of melancholic poet and author, Edgar Allen Poe. One of the more terrifying entities in the cemetery is the “Screaming Skull of Cambridge.” According to various oral legends, the skull belonged to that of a minister in the area who was brutally murdered and shrieked his head off as it occurred. Today people have reported hearing an incredibly high-pitched, piercing scream that comes from the area where the screaming skull is said to be buried.
Bodie Cemetery
Bodie, California
The Bodie Cemetery itself lies inside of a real-life ghost town from the mid-1800s and is supremely haunted. The most remarkable thing about the Bodie Cemetery is that there is a particular supernatural activity that involves children and dwelling within the cemetery is the spirit of the “Bodie Angel”, a young girl tragically killed by her own father. Men who have toured the cemetery have also reported that they have heard a young female voice speaking out and saying the word, “daddy.” Lost spirits of Asian railroad workers who were buried without the customs of their religious faiths are said to pace endlessly here, awaiting an eternal rest that never seems to come for them. There is also the Bodie Curse that is associated with the cemetery and that any visitor who takes even the tiniest souvenir from the ghost town will be subjected to incredibly and even supposedly fatal bad luck.
Forest Park Cemetery
Troy, New York
Largely abandoned with well over an estimated one thousand graves, the Forest Park Cemetery in Troy, New York has become a chilling memorial to the dead. Right away the atmosphere is moody and dark, and backdropped against the granite tombstones and aged mausoleums is an angel statue that has been decapitated. Today, some visitors claim that this blood from the statue still drips from the neck where it lost its head, but this has never been confirmed. For those brave enough to make it past the headless angel, people have reported being scratched by an unseen force in the cemetery across the back of the neck and down their arms. Flurrying red orbs and spectral lights are sometimes spotted floating and streaking past some of the caved-in graves. Whether or not the Forest Park Cemetery is haunted by a possibly demonic spirit given the signs, the paranormal speculation on this chilling graveyard continues.
Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery
Bremen Township, Illinois
Located just minutes from downtown Chicago in the outlying area Bremen Township is the Rubio Woods Forest Preserve. However, deep within the heart of this heavily wooded preserve is an isolated, one-acre cemetery that many locals say is the most haunted location in the entire Chicago area. Burials in Bachelor’s Grove are said to go back as far as 1834 when a portion of German immigrants settling to the area were buried here as well as workers who perished on the nearby Illinois and Michigan Canal. A local rumor is that Chicago mobsters from the 1920s and 1930s used to come here and bury bodies of those they killed. This may be a paranormal first, but an actual phantom ghost house has been physically known to manifest and then disappear. Today the Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery is still accessible through the Rubio Woods Forest Preserve. Many who visit here claim that anyone who enters here must not come with bad intentions as it is a respected graveyard and doing anything sinister is likely to cause a most unwanted manifestation. Guarded by Cook County Forest Officers, Bachelor’s Grove is only accessible during daylight hours.
