Looking for somewhere new to explore this Halloween season? Pennsylvania’s rich history provides a wealth of places to visit with dark pasts and haunted histories. Take a trip through CLP’s Pennsylvania Postcard Collection with postcards from haunted places in Pennsylvania!

Content Warning: Some of the legends and folktales referenced in this post contain stories of death and suicide. Please read with care.

 

Hotel Bethlehem: Bethlehem, PA

In 1741, the original building was erected where the Hotel Bethlehem now stands in Bethlehem, PA. Since then, two hotels have stood in that spot, each with their historic guests….and ghosts.

Bethlehem was once a booming steel town, much like Pittsburgh. The Eagle Hotel ran for almost 100 years, hosting famous guests like Thomas Edison, Amelia Earhart and more. Once the Eagle Hotel was demolished in 1920, Charles Schwab and Bethlehem Steel helped fund a new hotel in the same spot called Hotel Bethlehem. That hotel still stands today and is a fully operational hotel in the heart of Bethlehem. There are several ghostly guests that the Historic Hotels of America advertises on their website. The most famous is Mary Yohe, a singer and actress who lived in the Eagle Hotel as the granddaughter of the owner Caleb Yohe. She’d grow up to be a celebrity singer, even travelling to England to perform. She met and married Lord Francis Clinton Hope, who owned the Hope Diamond. They sadly got divorced and Mary’s life took a downward spiral before her death in 1938. Guests and staff have reported the player piano turning on mysteriously on its own. They’ve also seen her ghost dancing in the lobby and on the 3rd floor.

Check out more ghost stories from Hotel Bethlehem and how you can stay there on Historic Hotels of America’s website.

 

The Betsy Ross House: Philadelphia, PA

Between 1773 and 1779, a seamstress named Betsy Ross and her husband rented this house in Philadelphia. She made history when she designed the first flag of the United States for George Washington. Since her death in 1836, her body has been moved several times, finally resting in the cemetery on the house’s lot with her late husband.

The legend goes, she haunts the house due to the heartbreak she endured during her life. She has been seen crying at the foot of the bed in the now museum, according to Katharine Sarro in Philadelphia Haunts.

There are even more recent ghosts that haunt her old house. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on November 4, 1980, that two men working in the house got into a quarrel, leaving one man shot and left in the basement of the house. Decades later, Ghost Hunters filmed in the basement to try to contact the ghost of the man shot there. However, this haunting seems to just be a just an interesting story since the man was sent to the hospital before he could die on the property according to The Inquirer. Investigators did sense paranormal activity at the house, though, so you’ll just have to see for yourself the next time you visit Philadelphia.

Learn about the creepy history and terrifying medical practices from the 18th century at the museum’s Bloodletting & Burials at the Betsy Ross House program on Saturdays in October.

 

Van Sant Covered Bridge: New Hope, PA

The legend around this bridge is a common one with covered bridges around the country, but that doesn’t make it any less creepy. Nicknamed the Cry Baby Bridge, the Van Sant Bridge goes over Pidcock Creek in Bucks County and was built in 1875. It’s not known when the legend started, but it’s believed a young mother was shunned by family and friends when she gave birth to her baby. Distraught, she threw her baby off the bridge into the creek. Once she realized what she had done, she committed suicide on the bridge, but her spirit never left the bridge.

Bucks County’s tourism website states people driving over the bridge at night can sometimes hear the baby’s cries and the sound of the woman’s feet dragging on the top of the car with her ghost hanging from the roof.

There are several crybaby bridges throughout the country. They include covered bridges over rural creeks and rivers usually built in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many of the legends associated with these bridges include women who had children out of wedlock. When these bridges were built and probably when these legends began, women were shunned for having children outside of marriage. These ghost stories are a spooky reminder of that sad reality.

You can learn more about the Van Sant Bridge and other haunted spots in Bucks County on this haunted driving tour.

 

Devil’s Den: Gettysburg, PA

Ghosts and paranormal activity are as intwined with Gettysburg’s history as its role in the Civil War. Thousands of people died in Gettysburg during the Battle of Gettysburg, and many believe their spirits have stuck around since. One of the most active places is Devil’s Den, a rock formation on the battlefield.

On July 2, 1863, Confederate soldiers and the Union Army clashed at this rock-riddled stretch of land, resulting in one of the most gruesome moments of the battle. Garry Adelman writes about the more than 1,800 men killed, injured, captured, or missing from this one spot for American Battlefield Trust. He claims an injured soldier in a hospital outside of Gettysburg spoke of the “awful, awful rocks” while recovering there.

Visitors have problems taking photos around Devil’s Den today, thanks to possible supernatural interference. Famous photographs of dead soldiers upon Devil’s Den are preserved by the Library of Congress. Photographer Alexander Gardner posed a man’s body in different spots of the battlefield to capture more of the carnage. Now, people experience problems with their cameras at the same spot. Phones and cameras have been reported to malfunction and photos ruined. The legend of the “Moved Body” is to blame, according to Laurie Hull in Haunted Gettysburg. She even doubted the tale, until her camera flew out of her hand at Devil’s Den. The dead Confederate Soldier is said to have been upset Gardner’s use of his body and now hates when photos are taken in the spot he died.

There are plenty of ghost tours in Gettysburg throughout the year to experience the town’s haunted history. You can find a list of some available this year at Trip Advisor.

 

Nemacolin Castle: Brownsville, PA

The third oldest castle in the United States is right here in Pennsylvania with a long history of haunting. Built in the 1790s by Jacob Bowman, the castle stands on an old trading post near the Nemacolin Trail. Bowman continued to expand the house as his family grew throughout the years. He had nine children, and the ownership of the castle was carried through generations until 1959. His last descendent, Leila Bowman, wanted the castle to be a museum after she died. Now, the Brownsville Historical Society maintains the historic site. Despite the family no longer owning the house, some of the members may not have left after they died.

Cold spots and orbs are throughout the house, experienced by visitors and staff alike. A young girl has been seen to haunt the house, and staff members told the Trib Live that she could be one of Nelson and Elizabeth Bowman’s four children that died young in the house. You can hear more ghost stories of the Nemacolin Castle during their yearly ghost tours in September and October.

 

Grandview Cemetery: Johnstown, PA

The Grandview Cemetery in Johnstown has a huge portion dedicated to the 777 unidentified victims of the Great Flood of 1889. The Lake Conemaugh swept through the town during the historic flood, killing over 2000 and devastating the whole town. Once the damage was done, many of the dead were never identified by friends or family. They were buried on the hill of the town’s cemetery.

With such massive loss of life in the flood, it’s not hard to imagine why there may be ghosts haunting the cemetery. Apparitions and orbs have been spotted in the cemetery near the site. “Crying and whimpering” children have also been heard there, according to Ed Kelemen in The Haunting of Pennsylvania’s Churches and Cemeteries. Whole families were killed, including many young children. They may be the ghosts behind the phantom cries people hear in the cemetery.

You can visit the Plot of the Unknown Dead at Grandview Cemetery for free. Follow the self-guided tour map on the cemetery’s website to find the haunted plot.

 

Horseshoe Curve and Railroaders Memorial Museum: Altoona, PA

If you’ve ever taken the Amtrak train across the state of Pennsylvania, you’ve probably ridden the train along the famous Horseshoe Curve in Altoona, PA. Dug into the Allegheny Mountains in the 1850s, this curved stretch of railroad was considered “an engineering marvel” when it was built.

This portion of the railroad was particularly dangerous to build, causing traumatic deaths throughout the four-year construction. “Sliding hillsides and black powder explosions” were just a few causes of death for the mostly Irish immigrants who built the curve, according to The Altoona Mirror. It’s dangerous beginnings and 169 years of travel have certainly contributed to the haunted history of this railroad town.

The popular legend about the Horseshoe Curve and the roadway tunnel by the Curve tells the tale of the woman seen haunting the tracks and cars that pass through the tunnel. As told in Pennsylvania’s Haunted Railroads, it’s believed that a railroad worker went to a local bar after work one day. He died after getting in a scuffle and the wife he had waiting at home, roamed the railroad, tunnels, and local town went looking for him day and night. Even in death, she still looks for him in the tunnel and along the stone wall by the tracks.

You can ride the Horseshoe Curve on an Amtrak train and visit the haunted Altoona Railroaders Museum to hear even more ghost stories.

 

 

To read more about the Pennsylvania Postcard Collection, other collections in CLP’s Archives, and how you can access them, visit the Archives LibGuide.