World map
Haunted places around the world
Every culture has its ghosts. Pick a continent or country to see its haunted castles, prisons and legends, the history behind them and the latest news.
164North AmericaFrom Gold Rush ghost towns and Southern plantations to Quebec’s old city and Mexico’s weeping woman.
5Central America & the CaribbeanColonial forts, island duppies and the haunted plazas of the Caribbean and Central America.
6South AmericaColonial mansions, mining towns and the restless spirits of the Andes and the Amazon.
58EuropeCastles, abbeys, plague pits and the most haunted corners of the Old World.
24Asia & the Middle EastAbandoned forts of Rajasthan, Japan’s yūrei, and the vengeful spirits of Southeast Asia.
7AfricaCape Town’s castles, colonial ruins and the spirits of African folklore.
17OceaniaConvict prisons, gold-rush towns and the haunted asylums of Australia and New Zealand.
North America
Central America & the Caribbean
South America
Europe
England20 hauntingsIreland7 hauntingsFrance7 hauntingsScotland6 hauntingsGermany5 hauntingsWales4 hauntingsNorthern Ireland3 hauntingsItaly3 hauntingsSweden3 hauntingsNetherlands2 hauntingsSpain2 hauntingsCzech Republic2 hauntingsRomania2 hauntingsRussia2 hauntingsIsle of Man2 hauntingsNorway1 hauntingFinland1 hauntingDenmark1 hauntingIceland1 hauntingPoland1 hauntingSlovakia1 hauntingLatvia1 haunting
Asia & the Middle East
Africa
Oceania
Famous hauntings beyond the USA
Apparition · 1810s
Tower of London
Nine centuries of royal prisoners, executions and murders have left the Tower of London with England’s most famous crowd of ghosts, Anne Boleyn first. Widely reported
Poltergeist · 1977
The Enfield Poltergeist
Knocks, flying toys and a gruff “voice” around two sisters in a London council house, 1977–79: Britain’s most famous and most disputed poltergeist. Widely reported
Apparition · 1900
Borley Rectory
Harry Price called this Victorian rectory “the most haunted house in England.” The Society for Psychical Research later concluded the evidence melted away. Widely reported
Apparition · 1990s
Edinburgh Vaults
Dark chambers sealed inside the arches of Edinburgh’s South Bridge — once workshops, then a slum — now one of Europe’s most famous ghost-tour stops. Widely reported
Apparition · 1835
The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall
A lady in brown brocade said to walk a Norfolk stately home — and the subject of the world’s most famous ghost photograph, taken on its stairs in 1936. Widely reported
Apparition · 1829
Hampton Court Palace
Henry VIII’s Thameside palace, where Catherine Howard is said to scream down the Haunted Gallery and a cloaked figure was caught on CCTV in 2003. Widely reported
Folklore spirit · 2000s
Poveglia
A small Venetian lagoon island with a real quarantine and nursing-home past – and a ‘plague island’ ghost legend largely invented for TV and the web. Hoax / debunked
Folklore spirit · 20th century
Bhangarh Fort
A ruined Rajput fort town in Rajasthan’s Aravalli hills, billed as India’s most haunted place – and closed by law between sunset and sunrise. Widely reportedFrom other news sites
World paranormal news
- The best Halloween events in London for 2026 – from Kew to the Tower of London
- Tower of London hosts Halloween from 24 October
- Lancashire's eerie Pendle Hill named one of UK's most searched haunted spots
- The Welsh pub named alongside Tower of London and Edinburgh Castle as most haunted places in Britain
- Lancaster Castle play depicts Pendle Witch trials through the eyes of a child
- Lancashire ghost hunters invited to follow in the footsteps of the Pendle Witches: here's how to book
- Flying Fish Dares Quebecers to Party at Dracula’s Castle for the Ultimate Halloween Experience
- Halloween at the Tower of London: Ghostly – but not too scary – seasonal fun at the Tower