How to plan a haunted road trip? Some places in the world are infamous for being haunted by seemingly supernatural beings or having an eerie atmosphere that produces morbid thoughts among visitors. They attract thrill-seekers and anyone whose idea of going off the beaten track is to go down a rabbit hole of spookiness. If you’re a fan of all things scary or out to bust a myth, a haunted road trip may have special appeal for you.
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What is a haunting?
A haunting is a visitation or inhabitation by spirits of the deceased, most often, the ghosts of former residents. A haunted place usually has a dark past, and is characterized by a weird feeling, unexplained phenomenon, and ghost sightings.
Sounds like fun? To make the most of any unexpected adventures you crave and stay safe just in case the spirits take a liking to you, you’ll want a haunted trip planner to prepare well for your trip.
In this post, we offer some ideas on going on a haunted trip. By the end of it, you’ll have the information and tools to create a memorable trip.
Considerations for going on a haunted trip
Most often, it is the painful memories that linger on and haunt us. So it is for haunted places, whose histories are the basis for understanding their reputation. And those histories, for the most part, are tragic. Knowing the disturbing bits will mentally prepare you for exploration even as you have fun.
Reading up on haunted places gives you an idea of the places that meet your idea of fun and thrills. You can decide where you’re comfortable going and plan accordingly. The Travel-Wise haunted trip planner is just what you need to discover spooky places and plan your itinerary, with expert help from our AI assistant and experienced travel community.
Some people believe they saw or felt the presence of spooky beings on their haunted road trips. It could be due to their perceptions. The enjoyment of experiencing the paranormal is the whole point of a haunted road trip. Try not to kill the fun by trying to interpret what you saw. Be flexible and see the humor in everything. You’ll be helping others in your group immerse in the experience too.
At the end of your haunted tour, sharing your thoughts with people can be therapeutic. Knowing others’ experiences will help you make better sense of any troubling feelings. The simple act of sharing experiences and views is effective in gaining clarity about your experience and getting some things off your chest.
Best places to visit for hauntings
Here are some destinations to consider when planning a haunted road trip:
Los Angeles to Death Valley National Park
Begin your Southern California haunted journey in Los Angeles, the city known not only for its cinematic glitz but also for a spine-chilling past. The haunted locations include:
- Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena: Site of numerous suicides.
- Rosenheim Mansion (aka the “Murder House” from “American Horror Story”).
- The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel: Frequented by Old Hollywood’s spirits.
- The Hollywood sign: It’s reported the spirit of actress Peg Entwistle, who jumped to her death from the ‘H’ in the sign, still looms around the area.
- Take a drive to Bakersfield’s The Padre Hotel for more paranormal experiences, including the ghosts of children who perished in a 1950s fire and a persistently reappearing child-sized handprint in their café.
- Lastly, visit the beautiful yet eerie Amargosa Opera House, located near Death Valley National Park, where strange smells and sounds, including baby cries and a ghost cat, have been reported.
Asheville, North Carolina, to Charleston, South Carolina
North and South Carolinas are home to haunted places and nail-biting urban legends, making them apt for a haunted road trip.
- Start in Asheville, North Carolina, at the Omni Grove Park Inn. Here, a friendly ghost known as the Pink Lady, who died tragically in the 1920s, is often seen by guests, particularly around children.
- Continue to Abbeville, South Carolina, and visit the Abbeville Opera House. A chair on the balcony is left for the ghost of a young actress who died mid-performance and is believed to haunt the place.
- Charleston offers an abundance of haunted locations. Visit the Old City Jail, where criminals from the 1800s supposedly still roam, dine at Poogan’s Porch, where paranormal activities are often reported, and conclude at White Point Gardens. The site, notorious for pirate executions, is known for sightings of ghostly orbs and apparitions of pirates.
- Once-functioning morgue sections in the hotel are now known to exhibit glowing orbs and an unsettling ambiance, earning it the nickname “Spooky Hollow”.
A haunted road trip in Indiana
Indiana is among the best places to visit for hauntings. Take a look at some of its spots shrouded in mystery and unexplained phenomenon:
- Visit the two-story house on North Delaware Street in Meridian Park, Indianapolis, which is home to the infamous Indianapolis poltergeist. From dishes shattering due to some mysterious force and phantom bite marks on inhabitants’ skin, supernatural events have been reported in the home.
- Stop by at the Roads Hotel in Atlanta. The hotel, built in 1893, was a layover stop for the railroad and, according to legend, is haunted by apparitions, voices, doors that open and shut, and flickering lights.
- Make time for Hookman’s Cemetery in Peru. The graveyard is haunted by a former caretaker who had a hook for a hand and plagued promiscuous teens hanging around on Lover’s Lane. People report a feeling of dread when they walk through the cemetery. There have also been reports of people hearing scratches on the roofs of their cars when parked beneath the trees here.
How to have fun on a haunted trip
Going on a haunted trip is an exciting proposition in itself. Some things that you can do to add to your fun include:
- Relax and be flexible: Going with many expectations can leave you disappointed if you don’t have the experience you were hoping for. Prepare to discover something new, gather the perspectives of those joining your tour or camping with you, and be open-minded about what you see, hear, and sense.
- Give wings to your imagination: Making scary noises is rather silly but letting your imagination free on your ghost tour or DIY expedition will make the atmosphere more exciting than it already is. It’s more interesting to wonder ‘what if?’ rather than being a complete non-believer, which would defeat the purpose of having fun on your trip.
- Make the most of the learning opportunities: A haunted trip is a chance to dig deeper into the origin of myths, the lives of the people who once inhabited the haunted place, and why their immaterial essence, aka souls, continue dwelling there. It can be enlightening, poignant, and bizarre all at once!
What should you bring when visiting haunted sites?
A memorable haunted road trip is one where you experience what you came for and in a good way! Objects are unlikely to fly through the air and may not sight an apparition, but the atmosphere may give you enough reason to feel that you’re in an unusual and possibly haunted place. With some luck, you or someone with you may perceive some downright ghostly stuff that’s worth capturing. Here’s a look at the things to bring along on your haunted road trip:
People
A visit to a haunted site is bound to be a tad nerve-racking. Some of the courage and this-ain’t-real-for-sure attitude can dissipate when the eeriness of the place hits you. Exploring a spooky place with people will be more reassuring than if you set out on a ghostly expedition on your own…and end up meeting the resident ghoul.
A torchlight
Haunted tours tend to occur in the wee hours of the night. Haunted roads appear more insidious when darkness cloaks them. Wherever there isn’t enough light, and particularly where hauntings have been recorded, you may want to equip yourself with a torchlight. If the lights go off or you find yourself stranded on the road, you don’t have to go stumbling into the arms of a ghastly figure or an equally petrified member of your group.
Don’t forget to pack batteries. If your torchlight dies in a tense moment, you want the light back ASAP and collect yourself quickly.
A thermal camera
Thermal cameras detect infrared energy outside the visible light spectrum, picking up mysterious hot spots or cold spots that have no explicable explanation. A staple of paranormal investigators, they automatically start recording upon sensing sudden temperature changes or fluctuations in the environment. Evidence captured by a regular camera and a thermal camera can lend credence to the possibility of a paranormal event. Buy a thermal camera if you wish to capture raw footage of mysteries to analyze later.
Night vision goggles
Some bone-chilling activity can be obscured by the elements. Night vision goggles can help you see better in the dark and under inclement weather conditions such as rain, fog, snow, smoke, dust, and even through windows. However, clarity and range depend on the quality of equipment and intensity of fog, the type of window glass, and the ambient light on both sides of the window. Night vision goggles are a worthy add-on if you want to capture suspicious activity over many obscurants.
For more information on ghost-tracking gadgets, check out this NPR article.
A water bottle
May not be a good idea to expect a complimentary drink before your haunted home tour. If you’re parched for any reason, you want a water bottle handy. It’s imperative on a walking tour in the hot weather. A drink of water is refreshing in a situation in which you’re physically or mentally tense or exhausted.
Chocolate
Nothing like popping chocolate in your mouth when you need to recharge mentally or physically during your exploration. The serotonin boost will help your mood and keep you going.
Running shoes
If you need to/want to turn around and run, a good pair of running shoes will allow you to zip and get to safety. Should your group awaken the dead, you want to be among the first to get away. 🙂
Needless to say, ensure your battery is on full charge before you embark on your expedition. For added safety, pack a power bank/portable charger.
How to travel to haunted sites and be safe
A haunted road trip is physically and mentally demanding. You want to make sure that it is the vacation you need. Here are a few things to ponder when using a haunted trip planner.
What is the risk you’re willing to take?
It’s one thing to visit a haunted state park that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors a year and another to camp in the midst of an eerie forest in a desolate part of the country. It’s not the ghosts you need to worry about but the wild animals, nature, or a psychopath driving by in search of unsuspecting adventurers. Decide a suitably safe place that promises thrills without posing a risk to your safety.
How far are you willing to travel?
Ideally, you want a long list of locations that offer multiple ghostly attractions. Then, decide the distance you’re willing to travel to get your fill of spooky adventures.
Who comes along?
A solo trip to a haunted place is sure to ignite the adventurer and horror buff in you. But it’s safer to go with a group or join a ghost tour just the same. You will have someone with you in case things don’t go as planned, and you also have the opportunity to explore and learn about the haunted spots in more detail.
A haunted trip planner is a good option if you want to leave the planning to someone else – an expert who will understand your needs and budget and tailor a custom haunted trip for you. As an alternative, consider Travel-Wise, which will provide guidance and tips on planning your sojourn to spine-chilling locations.
Make sure you’re well-rested
Ensuring that you’re aware of your surroundings and being well-rested is one of the best ways to stay safe on a road trip, haunted or otherwise. Take regular breaks while driving. Have a coffee to recharge and keep your mind on the road. Book accommodation in advance to reduce the stress of your road trip. As much as possible, avoid driving to the destination at night. Begin your ghost tour after having rested or feeling refreshed. You’ll want to be alert to the sights and sounds that await you at haunted spots. You’ll also be at your alert best and absorb all the information your tour guide shares to enrich your understanding of the haunted spot.
Conclusion
Travel-Wise is designed to help you plan the perfect adventure in minutes. There are many ways to go about it:
- Join our community of travelers for insider tips and information.
- Use our AI assistant to generate a trip itinerary.
- Find a community trip itinerary and build your trip from there.
- In doubt about where you really want to go? Discover your travel persona with a quick quiz.
Explore Travel-Wise with a free account and plan a hair-raising haunted trip.