Boston is a city rich with history, and with history often comes hauntings. After all, nearby Salem is where the famed Salem Witch Trials took place in 1693. Even before that, Captain John Smith sailed into Massachusetts bay, bringing disease that killed nearly half of the area’s local people. The city’s sordid past — and it’s trapped souls — are still alive, giving locals and tourists alike some of the most frightening experiences of their lives. Don’t miss these top five most haunted places in Boston.
1. The Omni Parker House
This haunted hotel is perhaps the most acclaimed and frightening in Boston. Guests too timid to stay in one of the rooms can have dinner at the Parker House restaurant, but we highly recommend you make a reservation. The hotel has an elevator that stops on its own at the third floor, where an actress died in 1876. Guests have reported seeing Charles Dickens in a mirror in the mezzanine, and the ghost of the hotel’s owner Harvey Parker haunting the halls. Multiple guests have also reported seeing apparitions on the 9th and 10th floors.
2. The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River
Lizzie Borden, the singular suspect of the horrific double murder of her parents in 1892, lived in what is now a bed and breakfast museum. Although the house is about an hour outside the heart of Boston, it’s worth the trip. You can stay in the John Morse room where Abby Borden was found murdered, or in one of the other seven historic rooms. Take the house tour and visit the living room where Andrew Borden’s body was found and the couple’s grave sites. Many guests leave the inn, unable to stay through the night. Creaking floors, doors opening and closing on their own, and shadows walking up the staircase are regular happenings at the Lizzie Borden house. They offer 90-minute guided House Tours daily as well as outdoor walking Ghost Tours nightly.
3. Granary Burying Ground
More than a typical burial site, the Granary Burying Ground serves as the…