The most haunted site on Earth is in the US: survey

They’re everyone’s favorite haunts.

This Halloween, scream-seeking globe-trotters are traveling the world in search of the scariest hotspots. To expedite their pilgrimages, online casino Spinblitz surveyed travel sites to narrow down the most bone-chilling meccas worldwide, finding that Salem, Massachusetts, came in at number one when it came to haunted hubs.

There’s never been a better time to visit spooky locales. According to the gambling platform, Ghost tours, eerie overnights, and “haunted experience” packages now generate up to 20% of local tourism revenue in some destinations.

And many of the Halloween pilgrims likely aren’t just seeking surface-level screams — a staggering 41% of adults believe in ghosts, and one in five (20%) say they’ve experienced something paranormal, per the gambling site.

To narrow down the spookiest spots around the globe, Spinblitz initially created a seed list of the most frightening destinations using multiple travel sources, including Lonely Planet, Trip.com, and Condé Nast Traveller. 

They then rated them according to their TripAdvisor ratings, including only those with 1,000 or more reviews in the final ranking

Spinblitz then made sure all the places were Halloween-appropriate by ensuring they had a “paranormal reputation, factoring in folklore, historical legends, and documented ghost reports alongside visitor reviews.”

“This approach allowed us to highlight destinations that combine both high traveller satisfaction and authentic spooky appeal,” they wrote.

Salem, Massachusetts

Number one on the countdown was Salem, Massachusetts, with a score of 4.9 out of 5. According to the site, the city’s haunting legacy from the 1692 Witch Trials scares up over 1 million visitors each October, with 87,500 people crowding its streets on Halloween night in 2024– a record breaking 37% increase from the previous year (2023).

“Despite its small population of about 44,000 residents, Salem braces for up to 100,000 tourists per weekend, as ghost tours, psychic fairs, and costumed parades flood its narrow colonial streets,” the site writes. “Sites like the Witch House and the Salem Witch Trials Memorial buzz with eerie energy, while flickering lanterns and fog rolling off the harbor create a movie-perfect backdrop.”

Corvin Castle, Romania

Also known as Hyundai Castle, the eerily Gothic Corvin Castle (4.9/5) in Hunedoara, Romania is where they imprisoned Vlad the Impaler, the real-life inspiration for Dracula who was known for shishkebabing his victims on wooden stakes.

Each year, the stronghold is visited by 275,000 visitors annually, with a “noticeable spike every October as Dracula fans and paranormal seekers descend on its dungeons,” Spinblitz writes. Ghost hunters have reportedly documented “temperature drops of 5°C in sealed chambers and recorded unexplained whispers in the dungeon of the tower.”

Lizzie Borden House, Massachusetts, USA

Clocking a score of 4.85 of 5, the Lizzie Borden House in Fall River Massachusetts is known as “America’s Most Haunted House.” It is reportedly best known for being the site of one of America’s most notorious unsolved murders: On August 4th, 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were found murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home after reportedly being hacked to death by an axe.

As their daughter Lizzie was never found guilty, rumors have swirled regarding the real culprit. Today, ghost-hunting groups “claim over 70% of overnight EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) sessions capture unexplained noises.” 

“Each October, the Borden House’s grim authenticity and chilling silence make it an unnerving overnight, especially for those brave enough to sleep in the ‘murder room,’” they wrote.

Hill of Crosses, Lithuania (4.7/5)

More than 200,000 crosses, crucifixes, and rosaries adorn this hill in Šiauliai, the culmination of mementos left by pilgrims since the 19th century. 

A haunting monument to faith, defiance, and mystery, the hillock draws around 100,000 visitors a year with “many arriving in autumn to witness the eerie beauty in October.” 

“Locals report ghostly figures and glowing lights among the crosses at night, a reminder that this sacred site also carries centuries of resistance, death, and devotion,” Spinblitz writes.

Tower of London, England (4.6/5)

It’s no secret that number five on the countdown is the Tower Of London, best known as the site where over 125 people were executed and countless others tortured in various barbaric ways over the course of a millennium.

The site draws 3 million people annuall,y while “October tours sell out weeks in advance, as guests hope to glimpse Anne Boleyn’s spectral figure or the “White Lady” seen waving from the tower windows.”

“Paranormal logs from UK ghost societies note over 200 separate ghost sightings on record since the 19th century, making it statistically one of the most haunted places in Europe,” Spinblitz writes.

The top ten most haunted sites on Earth are

1. Salem, Massachusetts (4.9/5)
2. Corvin Castle, Romania (4.9/5)
3. Lizzie Borden House, Massachusetts (4.8/5)
4. Hill of Crosses, Lithuania (4.7/5)
5. Tower of London, London (4.6/5)
6. Eastern State Penitentiary, Pennsylvania, USA (4.6/5)
7. Edinburgh Castle, Scotland (4.4/5)
8. Charleville Castle, Ireland (4.4/5)
9. Banff Springs Hotel, Canada (4.4/5)
10. Aiokigahara Forest, Japan (4.3/5)