America’s Most Haunted Cities
This week I’m doing something different and leaning into spooky season, hauntings and horror in some of America’s most haunted cities. It's a five-stop tour, featuring: St. Augustine, Florida; Charleston, South Carolina; Salem, Massachusetts; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Don’t be fooled by these picturesque locations.
When you visit a haunted place there’s often a quietness that seems to settle in the air. You can’t escape it. It’s not silence exactly. It’s something even eerier. Something you can’t quite put you’re your finger on, but instinctively you know you might not be alone.
Photo Credit: Unsplash, Maddie Difilippo
Fort Castillo de San Marcos located in St. Augustine, Florida sits along the shores of the Mantanzas River, which translates to “slaughters” or “killings” in Spanish. The fort was home to many murders and allegedly a colonel who sealed his wife and her lover in a hidden chamber while they were both still alive. Their ghosts supposedly still haunt the fort.
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“After 329 Years, a Woman Accused of Being a Witch in Salem Has Been Exonerated.” KUNC, NPR, 26 May 2022, www.kunc.org/npr-news/2022-05-26/after-329-years-a-woman-accused-of-being-a-witch-in-salem-has-been-exonerated
American Battlefield Trust. “Mary Virginia ‘Jennie’ Wade.” American Battlefield Trust, www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/mary-virginia-jennie-wade
Andrew, Scottie. “The Spookiest Cities in the US — and Why They Still Scare Us.” CNN, 16 Oct. 2022, www.cnn.com/travel/spooky-cities-america-haunted-cec.
“Delphine Lalaurie.” 64 Parishes, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, 64parishes.org/entry/delphine-lalaurie
“Florida: Castillo de San Marcos National Monument.” National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/articles/sanmarcos.htm
History.com Editors. “Arson Uncovers Torture Chamber in Mansion of New Orleans Enslaver.” HISTORY, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/a-torture-chamber-is-uncovered-by-arson
“History.” Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon,https://www.oldexchange.org/highlights
“Jennie Wade.” Gettysburg National Military Park, National Park Service, 14 Sept. 2017, www.nps.gov/people/jennie-wade.htm
Lloyd, Kelcie. “Ghost Stories: The Pittee Girls.” St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, 2 Mar. 2020, www.staugustinelighthouse.org/2020/03/02/ghost-stories-the-pittee-girls/
“The Massacre of the French.” Fort Matanzas National Monument, National Park Service, www.nps.gov/foma/learn/historyculture/the_massacre.htm
“Mistress of the Haunted House.” 64 Parishes, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, 18 Oct. 2016, 64parishes.org/mistress-haunted-house
“New Orleans’ Haunted History.” FrenchQuarter.com, https://www.frenchquarter.com/new-orleans-haunted-history/
“Old Jail.” Charleston Magazine, charlestonmag.com/features/old_jail
“Old Jail.” National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/places/old-jail.htm
“Pittee Descendants Visit the Museum.” St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, 19 Mar. 2023, www.staugustinelighthouse.org/2023/03/19/pittee-descendants-visit-the-museum/
“Proctor’s Ledge Memorial.” Salem Witch Museum ,https://salemwitchmuseum.com/locations/proctors-ledge-memorial/
“The Salem Witch Trials.” Salem Witch Museum, https://salemwitchmuseum.com/my-account/history-education/
“Spooky Cities in America.” CNN Travel,https://www.cnn.com/travel/spooky-cities-america-haunted-cec
“The Witch House.” Witch House Salem, https://www.thewitchhouse.org/history

