If you like bone-chilling, shriek-producing, history-inspired horrors, there are plenty of (allegedly) haunted places across the US that could provide the fright you seek on Halloween night.
National Geographic, Travel Channel, and others have documented haunted happenings with just the right mix of awe and terror, convincing even disbelievers that ghosts just might be real.
If you’re looking for a scare that goes a little deeper than your local haunted house, there are dozens of spots from coast to coast you can visit. Think you’re brave enough?
Pack up your RV and head for one of these super-spooky destinations:
- Salem, Massachusetts, where the notorious Salem Witch Trials took place
- The Dark Cell, Yuma Territorial Prison, Yuma, Arizona
- The Shanghai Tunnels in Portland, Oregon, a series of underground passages originally used to move people and goods between storage areas
- The Stanley Hotel in Estes, Colorado, which inspired the hotel in The Shining
- The R.M.S. Queen Mary, docked in Long Beach, California
- Galveston Island’s ghostly history makes it a top destination for spooky travel, from a haunted historic hotel to the island’s storied harbor, cemeteries, and Victorian mansions
- Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana, an antebellum plantation that’s allegedly one of America’s most haunted places
- The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, West Virginia
Bring back the tradition of ghost stories
You don’t have to go anywhere special in your RV to revel in some good old-fashioned horror. Turn up the terror around your next campfire with some scary storytelling this Halloween. Head for a campsite near or far, and get ready for a night to remember.
The dark of night and a crackling fire create the classic setting to weave a tale of Halloween fright. Tell your favorite spooky story from childhood. Get a group together and challenge your friends to see who can tell the spookiest story of all. And don’t be too scared—you can always retreat to the safety of your RV after the last tale is told.
Decorate your RV with Halloween décor
Enhance your ghost stories and get into the spirit with some Halloween-inspired decorations in your motorhome or trailer. Running into some fake spider webs in the middle of nowhere in the dead of night might be just what your family needs to feel the spirit of Halloween.
Dressing up in costumes also adds to the atmosphere—you can even get your pets in on the action. And don’t forget the jack-o-lanterns.
Pro tip: carving your pumpkins outside means less mess to clean up. Arguably the most important part of the perfect Halloween setup is the food.
Trick-or-treat, camping style
Campgrounds across the country offer festivities throughout the month of October, adding a traditional twist to the holiday for those on the road. If you’re far away from the traditions you love about Halloween at home, seek out one of these campgrounds.
With activities for young and old alike, you can celebrate Halloween the way you always have with trick-or-treating, costume contests for kids and pets, Halloween parades, and hayrides.
Whether you celebrate with paranormal encounters, costumes, pumpkin carving, or ghost stories, we want to wish you a happy Halloween—wherever your RV travels take you.
Worth Pondering…
I’m just a ghost in this house
I’m shadow upon these walls,
As quietly as a mouse
I haunt these halls.
—Allison Krauss, Ghost in This House