US Creepy Places to Visit
Creepy places to visit in the United States
Halloween is nearly upon us and that turns our thoughts to ghosts and goblins… Do your travel adventures include the creepy and curious?
US Creepy places to visit – Mutter Museum in Philadelphia
The Mutter Museum in Philadelphia has some really creepy exhibits.
Soap Lady
Her body was found in Philadelphia in 1875. She has no teeth and was in her late 20s when she died. Her corpse is uniquely creepy because it is encased in adipocere.
Word of the day: adipocere – a grayish waxy substance formed by the decomposition of a corpse, also known as grave wax.
This soap like substance is created by the decomposition of fat in a body that was laid to rest in a very wet area without air, like the bottom of a lake. (See? You learn something new every day. 😉
Super creepy stories abound of people being boiled into soaps.
Civil War amputation kit
Notice the large SAW!! Remember anesthesia was scarce and not very good in those days. Chloroform was preferred to the second choice of ether because it was less likely to affect the surgeon. Can you imagine – the surgeon passes out while sawing a body part off during a surgery? Scary indeed.
Plaster death cast of the original Siamese Twins.
Chang and Eng Bunker are the world’s original Siamese twins. Interestingly, they would easily be separated today as they shared only a liver. The liver is the only organ in the body that can regenerate. If you cut it, it will not grow a scar. Instead, it will recreate brand new cells. Pretty cool, huh?
But in the early 1800s separation was out of the question. Still, they had a full life.
You can see a piece of Albert Einstein’s brain!
When Albert Einstein died, his body was cremated as he wished and his ashes were scattered. BUT before this happened, a pathologist stole his brain and kept it for study. He sliced the brain into pieces and kept them in mason jars. Every once in a while he would send a piece to a researcher. For 20 years the brain pieces languished in a box until rediscovered and found a resting spot here.
US Creepy places to visit – The Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, CO.
The setting of a famous book!
This hotel was made famous by Stephen King’s book The Shining. King got the idea for this book while staying in room 217.
Roome 217
This Stanley Hotel was one of the first hotels west of the Missippi to have electricity, but in 1911 during a thunderstorm, the lights went out. All guests were invited to the ballroom while the chambermaids, like Elizabeth Wilson, went room to room lighting the backup gas lamps. Room 217 was filled with gas from an earlier leak, but Miss Wilson didn’t realize and stepped into the room with a lit flame.
Why did she enter a room filled with smelly natural gas? Natural gas has no smell and before 1937 there wasn’t a smell added. (See what you can learn on vacation? 🙂 So, she had no way of knowing the danger. Miss Wilson was injured but lived into the 1950s.
Room 418
The most haunted room at the hotel isn’t Miss Wilson’s 200m 217, but room 418. This room and the surrounding hallways are haunted by the ghosts of children. Childrens’ laughter and the thundering of little feet can be heard in and around this room. As parents, we are all used to that noise, but I would seriously be creeped out by this: impressions of bodies have been seen in the bed. I would pass out from fear if I saw that!
Room 217
I have stayed in this hotel but, in the fog of new motherhood – the sleepless nights, etc., I did no research on the area before we arrived. So, it wasn’t until bedtime that hubby told me the story of room 217. It was a sleepless night for me! I heard things, but they could have been from my own sleep-deprived imagination rather than the ghost of Elizabeth Wilson.
Want to make sure to have a creepy experience here? Call ahead and book a Ghost Adventure Package. It includes your own K2 meter so you can measure spikes in the electromagnetic fields which help you find ghosts.
US Creepy places to visit – Old Town Tattoo in Chicago, Illinois
If getting stabbed over and over again with a gazillion needles isn’t scary enough by itself, then what about adding a few poltergeists to the experience?
This tattoo parlor was first a mortuary. (That gets a point for creepiness.) Then, it was taken over by a guy named Richie “Tapeworm” Herrera. Ew….how exactly does a guy get the nickname ‘tapeworm’? Never mind….I’m not sure I want to know!
Lots of spooky things happen here….poltergeists moving objects and a visiting ghost of a man in a suit. Mr. Tapeworm’s spirit visits, too, now that he is no longer tattooing in the land of the living.
US Creepy places to visit – Cliton Road, New Jersey
If you can’t decide which type of scare you are looking for, then Clinton Road is a great choice. LOTS of things happen here!
The Iceman
This was a dumping ground for the mob killer “The Iceman”, or so he says. Only one victim was found here.
Cross Castle
A Satanic cult practiced…whatever it is they practice, at a nearby Cross Castle. It created such a problem, that the town tore the castle down and only the foundation remains.
Druids
Near the reservoir off the road, there is a stone structure that was an iron smelter from the 18th century. Some think Druids used it to practice their rituals. Rumor has it terrible things happen to anyone even looking too closely at it!
Dead Man’s Curve
Place a coin on the yellow line on the bridge at Dead Man’s curve at midnight and you will be visited by the ghost of a boy who drowned while swimming. Beware…the tales speak of the ghost pushing people over the edge of the bridge!
Hellhounds
Weird creatures have been seen at night like hellhounds. What the hell is a hellhound? I had to look it up, too! It is a supernatural dog who can kill you if you stare into his eyes for three seconds. So, if you see him – look fast!
Hmm…..mob, Satanists, druids, ghosts…this spot in New Jersey has it all!
I was surprised at how many haunted, creepy places exist in the US! Do you have a favorite creepy spot?
Happy and Creepy Travels!
Natalie, The Educational Tourist
What a great little round up. I like the tattooist; in a profession where weird nicknames are frequent, tapeworm does seem excessively weird.
LOL! That one really brings up some images. 😉
Very creepy! The Shining was the only movie that scared the crap out of me when I first saw it as a kid. Even now, I get creeped out at the twins (“Come play with us Danny….”).
Classic creepiness!!!
Wow so many haunted places! My favorite that I’ve ever been to is the Borden House in Massachusetts that is the home of Lizzie Borden from the creepy children’s poem. Definitely a weird one but worth seeing!
Another really good one!
Pretty good list of creepy sites. We have been touring the ghost haunts in So Cal but yours definitely hold up. We have been hearing about the Stanley Hotel as a must see destination for the macabre. Also first rule of adipocere, nobody talks about adipocere.
LOL! Love the first rule….a new one for me. 😉
waoh ! I ad no idea those places existed ! And no idea the hotel where Shinning was shot had it shares to creepy stories !! I’m still undecided if I want to go or not ! (I’m easily scared lol) but it’s good to know! Thanks also for the historical explanations ! 😉
I’m easily scared, too! It would be hard to sleep in a place you knew was haunted. I would keep listening for things!
Those sound like interesting places to visit. I did a ghost tour in New Orleans, and were shown quite a few haunted places. Think it would be interesting to visit a haunted hotel, though not sure I would last the night!!
I would love to visit the Stanley Hotel! Your husband should tell you the story in the morning hehe. I also worked in one inn in Niagara Falls where sometimes you could hear the piano playing. Even a documentary was made about it like a hunted place.
NO doubt! I wish he had waited to tell me after we left!! LOL!