Conjure Chilling Tales in Boston, Massachusetts

Where revolutionary ghosts still haunt the streets

A cartoon zombie dressed in minuteman attire and waiting to haunt the Boston, Ma streets

Boston is a haunted treasure trove. As one of America’s oldest cities, its alleyways and academic halls carry centuries of trauma, resistance, and ritual. And if you hear splashing in the harbor late at night, don’t worry, it’s probably just another ghost taking their tea with tax evasion. 

Walking the Freedom Trail may lead you through the founding history. However, many visitors swear it also leads them past shadowy figures in tricorn hats or phantom soldiers who still stand watch at old burial grounds, ready to haunt at a minutemen’s notice.

5 of Boston’s Most Spectral Footnotes

  • The Omni Parker House has hosted everyone from Charles Dickens to JFK, but its most loyal guest may be its founder, Harvey Parker, who still strolls the halls checking on the staff. Guests report whispers outside their doors, elevators that ride empty, and strange activity on the notoriously haunted 10th floor.

  • Deep within the stacks of the Boston Athenaeum, one of the oldest independent libraries in the U.S., a certain book is said to carry more than just words. Bound in the skin of a 19th-century criminal, the volume has allegedly caused cold spots, flickering lights, and, according to one staff member, an overwhelming sense of dread while shelving nearby.

  • Not all audience members are alive or ticketed at the opulent Cutler Majestic Theatre. Reports include a former mayor who died during a show, a well-dressed couple whispering on the balcony, and a little girl who wanders the hallways giggling when no children are present.

  • On Georges Island, the crumbling remains of Fort Warren echo with the legend of the Lady in Black, a woman who disguised herself as a man to free her husband from a Civil War prison, only to be caught and executed. Visitors still claim to see her pacing the grounds in mourning, black veil blowing in the wind.

  • Peter Rugg may have started as fiction, but many New Englanders believe they’ve seen his spectral carriage careening through Boston’s foggy streets. Cursed to forever search for a city he can no longer reach, he’s become a cautionary tale of stubbornness and traffic violations.

a photograph drawing inspiration from the Boston Athenaeum, where ghost stories are told

The Cursed Corners of Boston

Write your next horror story nightmare with help from hot spots known for their ghostly spirit misadventures.

Boston Horror Writing Prompts

Unearth the Haunted Secrets of Boston

  • Yes. Guests report sightings of founder Harvey Parker and unexplained elevator activity on the third floor, where Charles Dickens once stayed.

  • A spiteful brother allegedly built this narrow home to block his sibling’s sunlight. Though debated, the tale endures.

  • The Cutler Majestic Theatre is known for ghostly apparitions of former actors and unexplained phenomena during performances.

  • Absolutely! Tours like Ghosts & Gravestones offer nightly walks through Boston's haunted history, including tales of murder and mayhem.

  • Body, Stone & Soul in Jamaica Plain offers crystals, sage, and spiritual tools. Open Doors in Braintree provides a wide range of metaphysical items.

  • Established in 1630, it's Boston’s oldest cemetery. Tales include a woman buried alive and restless spirits due to disturbed graves.

  • Yes. The Omni Parker House is reputedly haunted by its founder, Harvey Parker, and other spirits.

  • Yes. Once a site for public executions, it's believed to be haunted by those who met their end there.

  • The Brahmin Restaurant is said to be haunted, with reports of unexplained noises and apparitions.

  • Yes. Granary Burying Ground is known for ghostly sightings, including that of Paul Revere.

Find Where There Are Old Bones & Older Secrets

Trace the cobblestone chills of Boston and explore more haunted places or step into The Horror Hub for spectral templates, eerie generators, and more.

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