Road Tripping Through the Haunted Southeast

Posted: 07.25.2024 | Updated: 07.25.2024

Before teens and college daredevils made it a municipal ordinance for hotels to have balconies that were either inaccessible, the south attracted all manner of unique individuals. Capone, Ma Baker, Jimmy Buffet, Jim Morrison, Truman Capote, and Hemingway are just a few. In the lower latitudes, the party never stops, and no one is brave enough to tell the ghosts that it’s closing time.Here are the most haunted places in the Southeast. To see some of these locations in person, book a ghost tour with US Ghost Adventures!

The Pirates’ House in Savannah, GA

 If you wandered into this Savannah bar in the 1750s, you’d likely wake up on a ship hundreds of miles offshore. The Pirates’ House was a popular watering hole for sailors, criminals, and men looking for money. Legend says they would drag drunken patrons through underground tunnels and sell them into slavery on the sea (a century later, the same heinous acts occurred in Portland).The building is a highly-rated restaurant now, with a much cleaner reputation. However, it hasn’t completely shed its past. Staff have seen ghostly sailors and heard boot steps on the wood floors. There’s also a general feeling of being watched as if someone is waiting to grab and haul you away. The haunted bar inspired the book, “Treasure Island,” in which the main character is said to have died in Savannah after drinking too much rum. 

LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans, LA

 The history of this 10,000-square-foot mansion in the French Quarter is not for the faint of heart. Its infamous owner — Madame Delphine LaLaurie — beat, tortured, and killed slaves in a room upstairs (later named “the torture room”). The gruesome acts have made the property New Orleans’ “most haunted house” and even inspired a season of the FX show “American Horror Story.”No one is entirely sure who the spirits are. Some believe the tortured slaves still linger there, as many guests hear pained moans coming from the old torture room late at night. Others believe LaLaurie herself haunts the property. Phantom footsteps echo through the house, accompanied by strong, negative energy. LaLaurie fled after an angry mob stormed the house. Perhaps karma brought her right back.

Sweetwater Mansion in Florence, AL

 Sweetwater Mansion is also known as the Governor Robert Patton House. It is a plantation house designed by General John Brahan, a member of the Alabama Militia and veteran of the 1812 War. The mansion was first occupied by Brahan's son-in-law, Robert Patton, a Civil War soldier who later became Governor of Alabama. The mansion was a hospital during the Civil War and later a county jail.Many ghost stories and otherworldly activities have occurred for many years in and out of the mansion. However, the most frightening apparition involves a caretaker who reported seeing an open casket down in the basement with the corpse of a Confederate soldier inside. She later learned that the body belonged to Governor Patton's son, Billy Patton, whose funeral was held in the house after being killed in the Civil War. It is believed that Billy's mom, distraught about his passing, never buried his body and held in secret his decomposing corpse in the downstairs room. Her specter has been seen wearing 19th-century attire lurking around the basement, and her cries are heard late at night in her old bedroom.Female visitors who have entered her room have gotten inexplicably locked inside even when there is no locking mechanism. There is also a "secret room" where disembodied voices are heard, which can only be accessed through a small interior window. Some say that they belong to old Civil War soldiers buried inside. Numerous shadowy figures are seen outdoors, and children's laughter is heard around the house. There is also furniture that moves on its own and lights that flickered on and off occasionally. 

Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, AR

 Crescent Hotel was built in 1886 near natural hot springs. Since its construction, the hotel has passed through several hands. In 1937, an inexperienced doctor named Norman G. Baker bought the Crescent and turned it into a cancer hospital. He assured patients that he could cure cancer without surgery or painful techniques. Lots of his patients died from his horrendous treatments, such as drilled holes in their skulls. The hospital closed, and the building stayed unused until 1997 when Marty and Elise Roegnik purchased and restored the Crescent to what it is today.Over the years, guests and staff have reported ghost sightings and unexplained activities around the hotel. There is an Irish carpenter ghost who appears in Room 218. It is said to have fallen from the roof during the original hotel's construction. The spirit turns the lights on and off and the TV set on and off. Other guests have witnessed hands coming out of the bathroom mirror and heard screams as if someone is falling from the ceiling. Another spirit of a young woman believed to have attended former Crescent College wanders the halls. She died after being pushed or jumped from the school balcony. Her screams are heard every night.Former cancer patients' specters are seen throughout the third floor. Gurneys rattling across the floor, washers, and dryers turning on by themselves, and phone calls with disembodied whispers at the other end are some of the other ghostly activities going on at the hotel. Dr. Baker also appears in the hotel lobby dressed in his white coat. When addressed by guests, he vanishes. 

Old Talbott Tavern in Bardstown, KY

 Old Talbott dates back to 1770 as an inn and tavern for locals and travelers such as Daniel Boone, Abraham Lincoln, Jesse James, and French King Louis Philippe. In 1998, the Tavern suffered from a devastating fire that damaged most of its structure. Consequently, the building had to be restored. The Tavern reopened in 1999.The Old Talbott Tavern holds numerous ghostly stories. One of the most famous stories involves a former employee and the spirit of a man wearing a long coat standing at the top of the stairs. Since it was late at night, no one was supposed to be wandering around the inn. The apparition started to walk, and the staff followed it. Suddenly, the figure went through the fire escape door. When the employee opened the door, the ghost turned around, looked back, and laughed hideously before disappearing. The next day, the employee learned the spirit belonged to Jesse James.Since then, several guests have seen his ghost lurking around his former room. Another ghost is the lady in white who appears to guests in the middle of the night. As guests tried to flee the room, they felt a strong force pinning them to the bed. The spirit also turns the TV on and off and increases the heater to a point where it is too hot to breathe. Other stories involved moving furniture, pots and pans thrown across the kitchen, disappearing keys, and shadowy figures walking through walls. During the day, guests hear footsteps when no one is around, doors that close unexpectedly, and an old piano playing by itself. 

Chapel of the Cross in Madison, MS

 This brick Gothic-style chapel dates back to the 1850s. It was built by Mrs. Margaret Johnstone in memory of her husband, Henry Vick., and was finished five years later. It has a pointed arch doorway, an altar and communion rail, a baptismal font, French stained glass windows, and a pipe organ. Everything about the chapel is a masterpiece. However, the chapel and its graveyard share some ghostly stories.One of the ghosts that haunt the grounds is Margaret Johnstone. She was happily engaged to be married to Henry on May 21, 1859, when he died in a duel two days before the ceremony. Even though years later, she married a minister, Margaret never recovered from her loss, and her spirit still moans uncontrollably on top of her unforgettable love's grave. Whenever she is approached by the living, she simply vanishes.Child spirits are also seen walking through a locked iron gate and climbing at the nearby tree. Some say the specters belong to children buried at the graveyard with their parents. Additionally, there is the ghost of a former caretaker who is believed to have murdered his wife inside the chapel. People say he went crazy and chopped off his wife's head and then hung himself from the chapel plank. Nightly keepers say hearing a strong, ghostly, manic laughter late at night and bloodstains appearing on the chapel's floor the next day. The organ can also be heard late at night when the chapel is known to be empty. 

The Tennessee State Prison in Nashville, TN

 This prison was built by Enoch Guy Elliot and is known as one of the most haunted places in Tennessee. Enoch became the prison's warden when it opened its doors in 1831. However, the prison became overcrowded, and a new one had to be constructed. The old prison was demolished, and a new one was constructed in 1898, mostly with prison labor. The new structure had 800 micro-cells, made to hold only one inmate and administrative buildings.The inmates' conditions inside the prison were inhuman. They were forced with dead-silence guidelines, perpetual solitary confinement, and up to 16 daily hours of hard work. Prisoners were excluded from the outside world as they were prohibited from receiving letters from their loved ones. The state prison was known for the use of the electric chair. With the reopening of the Riverbend Security Institution, the penitentiary closed in 1992 and has stayed abandoned since then. Movies like "Walking the Line" and "The Green Mile" were filmed inside this prison's walls. Also notorious criminal, James Earl Ray, the man accused of killing Martin Luther King, was a prisoner in the Tennessee State Prison.Since its closing, there have been hundreds of spine-chilling ghost stories surrounding the grimy building. Even though the property is not open to the public, people have trespassed the land, looking for the thrill of experiencing otherworldly phenomena. Those who dared to enter the old structure have reported seeing unsettling occurrences. Some have reported the strange noises of cell bars clunking, disembodied voices coming from the old cells, and chilling screams believed to be of those who died in the electric chair. 

The Biltmore Hotel in Miami, FL

 In 1925, Florida became the hotel's land boom. Most hotels were spreading toward Miami's coastal area. In 1926, George E. Merrick and John McEntee Bowman built The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. The hotel was known for its luxury and being the center of glamorous galas, sports, and fashion events. Guests such as The Duke and the Duchess of Windsor, Judy Garland, Al Capone, The Vanderbilts, and most Presidents from the turn of the 20th century stayed at the Biltmore regularly.During World War II, the hotel became a military hospital and was named the Pratt General Hospital. After the war ended, it continued as a veteran's hospital. Then, it closed until 1952, when the University of Miami began operations on the property. When UM moved to a newer spot, the land remained unused until 1983, when renovations began, and the Biltmore reopened in 1987.The ghost stories around this landmark began when the hospital closed after WWII. Trespassers reported seeing full-body apparitions floating along the hallways or being touched on the back by spirits dressed in military uniforms. Over the years, other stories, such as mobster Thomas "Fatty" Walsh's apparition, started to haunt the hotel. On March 4th, 1929, he was shot and killed by another gangster in his hotel 13th-floor room over a gambling dispute.Guests have reported seeing Fatty's spirits in his old room. Lights often go on and off in the hallway, and inexplicable gunshot sounds are heard among the walls. Known as a ladies' man, women say that when getting into the elevator, it suddenly stops at the 13th floor, and the doors cannot close. Also, babies' cries, nurses and army men lurking in the hotel, party noises where there are none, and guests vanishing into thin air are other unexplained activities in the Biltmore Hotel. 

Delve Deeper into America’s Most Haunted Places

 America’s haunted history is as vast and complex as the country itself, and this list only scratches the surface.In the meantime, you can visit our blog to find in-depth information about hauntings in the U.S. and around the world. You can also follow US Ghost Adventures on Facebook and Instagram for daily content that’s both bone-chilling and fascinating.If reading isn’t enough, join us for a live ghost tour in your city!Visit our webpage to see the list of locations and start your ghost hunting journey.