Top 6 Most Haunted Places in the World

1) Eastern State Penitentiary, Pennsylvania, United States

Built in 1829, Eastern State Penitentiary is a former prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It’s known for being the very first prison of its kind to introduce solitary confinement, or what they used to call, the Pennsylvania System. Prisoners were sent to solitary during this time as a form of rehabilitation. They would be completely isolated, living alone, eating alone, and even exercising alone in their own individual yards. Whenever an inmate left his cell, a black hood would be placed over his head to assure he remained in confinement.

Due to Eastern States’ harsh approach, many prisoners were driven to insanity, and as a result, the Pennsylvania System was scrapped in 1913. From then until 1970 it was used as a regular prison and held the likes of Al Capone and the bank robber, Willie Sutton.

Reports of the paranormal have been going on since the 1940’s, but ever since the stone prison was abandoned in 1971, paranormal experiences have seemingly increased.

Reports include:
Shadowy figures that seem to quickly turn away when approached
a dark figure that is occasionally seen in the guard tower
an evil cackling is heard coming from cell block 12
shadowy figures have been seen sliding down walls in cellblock 6
ghostly faces have been witnessed in cellblock 4
and strange sounds such as disembodied footsteps, distant talking, and banging of cell doors have also been heard.
Considered to be one of the most haunted locations in the world, Eastern State Penitentiary first opened its doors in 1829. The prison was designed to hold 253 prisoners, each occupying a solitary confinement cell for their entire sentence. The harshest punishment, solitary confinement was meant to help criminals find penance, remorse and salvation. In reality, it drove many prisoners insane.

Before the opening of Eastern State, prisons were nothing more than holding pens for the unwanted and corrupt; men, women and children were housed alongside petty criminals and violent killers. In the late 18th century, The Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, led by founding father Benjamin Franklin, worked to transform these wasted prisons into facilities that fostered reform.

Their ideas became tangible in 1822 when construction began on Eastern State. It was an expensive undertaking to bring the groundbreaking design to fruition. It featured vaulted ceilings and skylights to let in "God's light" and each cell was equipped with a toilet, running water, heat and a Bible. After its completion, more than 300 prisons all over the world copied its designs, systems and practices.

Isolation was impressed upon prisoners even when they left their cells for work detail. Each inmate wore heavy masks that prohibited communication with one another. The loneliness and isolation was oppressing; too much for some prisoners to bear, many took their own lives at Eastern State Penitentiary.

Soiled History
Eastern State's most famous inmate was undoubtedly Chicago gangster, Al Capone. From 1929 to 1930, Capone served 8 months for carrying a concealed, deadly weapon. Though his cell was the nicest at Eastern State -- furnishings included a desk, lamp, paintings and a cabinet radio -- he complained during his incarceration that he was haunted by the ghost of James Clark, one of the victims of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago. The massacre was the result of gang rivalry, and Capone led one side of it. Solitary confinement even plays with the minds of history's most notorious criminals.

The prison's most famous figure was Warden Herbert "Hardboiled" Smith who ruled the prison with an iron first during the 1920s and '30s. During his reign, the state only sentenced prisoners to Eastern State who needed Warden Smith's fierce reform tactics. At this point the state had abandoned strict solitary confinement and two to three prisoners shared cells. However, with the loss of one form of punishment came a bevy of others that included: the water bath, when inmates were dunked in a bath of ice cold water and then hung from a wall for the night -- this was especially popular during the winter months; the mad chair, where inmates were strapped tightly to a chair, restricting any and all movement for days on end; and periods of induced starvation.

Although executions were not carried out at Eastern State, the prison was home to its fair share of murders. At least two guards were murdered over the years as were many inmates. Hundreds of others died from disease and old age. The grounds are haunted with the spirits who met their end at

Eastern State Penitentiary. Eastern State Penitentiary is open year-round and offers many different tours. During the summer, Twilight Tours allow visitors to experience Eastern State during early night hours. It even offers Winter Adventure Tours during the colder months.



Prisoners at Eastern State had a toilet, table, bunk and Bible in their cells, in which they were locked all but one hour a day. When the prisoners did leave their cells, a black hood would be placed over their head so they could not see any other prisoners as they were guided through the halls of the prison. Interaction and any form of communication between inmates was forbidden.

Inmates lived a life in mundane solitude and would only get a glimpse of sunlight, known as "The Eye of God" which came through a slit in the prison ceiling. In desperate need of human interaction, prisoners would tap on pipes or whisper through vents to each other. If caught, the penalty was brutal.

Harsh Punishments
The Water BathThe inmates who broke the rules risked being dunked in a bath of ice-cold water then hung from a wall for the night. During the winter months, when this punishment was most popular, the water on the inmates's skin would form into a layer of ice before morning.

The Mad ChairThe Mad Chair was named such because it was not uncommon for an inmate to go mad before his punishment ended. Inmates would be strapped into the chair with leather strips, so tightly that it was impossible for them to make the smallest of movements. They would sit for days, without food, until the circulation in their body almost stopped from the tightness of the straps and the lack of movement.

Iron GagThe most deadly punishment was known as the Iron Gag and specifically designed for those inmates who refused to obey the no communication policies. An iron collar was clamped onto the tongue of the inmate, and then chained to his wrists which were strapped high behind their back. Any movement resulted in a tearing of the tongue and severe bleeding. Many inmates who suffered this torture died from loss of blood before their torment ended.
The HoleDug under Block #14, the hole was nothing but a pit in the ground where incorrigible inmates would stay locked, sometimes for weeks. There was no light, little air, and those thrown into its tortuous grip would receive water and a slice of bread, if they got to it before the rats and roaches.

It has been reported that the Quakers were not responsible for the punishments the inmates were forced to endure. The extreme penitence was something the hired staff in the prison designed and enforced.

Charles Dickens visited the prison in the 1840s and found the conditions appalling. He described the inmates at Eastern Penn as being "buried alive..." and wrote about the psychological torture the inmates suffered at the hands of their captors.

Prior to its reform in 1913, the prison which was designed to house 250 inmates had over 1700 prisoners jammed into tiny makeshift cells where there was little light and even less ventilation.

Finding the conditions of the prison unacceptable, the prison was taken over and reformed and the Pennsylvania System was abolished. Finally, in 1971, the sprawling monstrous prison was closed.

Ghost Stories of Eastern State Penitentiary

Since its closure visitors, employees and those researching paranormal activity have reportedly heard unexplained eerie sounds throughout the prison.
The Locksmith
One major paranormal episode reported occurred to a locksmith doing restoration work in Cell Block #4. According to the tale, he was working to remove a 140-year-old lock from the cell door when a massive force overcame him so powerfully he was unable to move.

Some believe when he removed the key it opened a gateway to the horrific past and offered the spirits caught behind its bars a pathway out. The man spoke of experiencing an out-of-body state as he was drawn toward the negative energy which burst through the cell.

Anguished faces appeared on the cell wall, hundreds of distorted forms swirled around the cellblock and one dominating form seemed to beckon the locksmith to him. The man's experience was so vivid, years after he would shudder in fear when he talked about it.

Today the penitentiary is opened to the public. In a typical year, maybe two dozen paranormal investigations take place in the cell blocks, and according to Assistant Program Director Brett Bertolino, they almost always find evidence of activity.

Tourists and employees have reported hearing weeping, giggling and whispering coming from inside the prison walls.

2) Waverly Hills Sanitorium - Kentucky, United States

Waverly Hills was originally a two-story wooden building that was opened in 1910, however, the building you see today was constructed in 1926. It served as a tuberculosis hospital throughout the early to mid 20th Century, a time when the disease was at its worst. It is believed that as many as 63,000 patients died there. The death toll as well as the supposed mistreatment and questionable experimental procedures on patients are all recipes that may be behind one of the most haunted buildings in the whole of the US.

The Waverly Hills Sanatorium has built quite the reputation over the years as more and more people are allowed to investigate the premises. This has thrown up some incredible evidence over the years. It has featured on shows such as Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters (TAPS), and our very own Most Haunted. TAPS captured a figure on their thermal imaging camera that seemed to be walking across the hall. The figure was about 3ft tall, they later found out that the ghost of a young boy named Tim has been spotted there before.

There are vast amounts of varying reports, including full bodied apparitions, fleeting shadows, screams from empty rooms, footsteps, sudden cold spots, and disembodied voices among many others.

The Waverly Hills Sanitarium in Louisville Kentucky has it all– cold spots, disembodied voices, and ghosts roaming the halls. It sits on a hill overlooking the city and seems like a reigning fortress of gloom in its eerie, decaying state. The atmosphere is further darkened by a chilling history of mass death and of patient abuse during the years it was used as a geriatric hospital.

In 1910, a wooden two-story hospital was built on the site, which was the highest elevated hill in southern Jefferson County. But with tuberculosis rampant in the area, the building wasn’t big enough to house all of the patients. And so a new building was constructed in 1924, and the new Waverly Hospital opened in 1926.



Treatment for the dreaded disease was primitive at the time. Without antibiotics, natural cures provided the only available defense. Health care providers believed that rest and plenty of fresh air and sunshine was the answer; thus patients spent the majority of their time in the solarium-like porch ways. You can see in the picture above that the patients are just outside their rooms on an enclosed porch. The large windows had no glass and were screened. Even in the winter, patients would be placed outdoors with heating blankets (such tuberculosis treatments were the reason why heating blankets were invented.).


WAVERLY HILLS HOSPITAL PATIENTS

Besides such natural remedies, doctors tried many dangerous experimental treatments, including pneumothorax, surgically collapsing or deflating a portion of the lung to allow healing, and thoracoplasty, which involved opening the chest and removing up to two to three ribs at a time so that the lung would have more room to expand and heal. Other dire experimental methods reigned as well.

None of these treatments were effective. In fact, fewer than five percent of patients survived the pneumothorax method.



Thousands of people died at Waverly before streptomycin was discovered in 1943–some estimates are as high as 64,000. Ten thousand died during Waverly’s first three years alone. But by the 1950’s, tuberculosis was nearly eradicated thanks to the antibiotic. As a result, the need for such a huge facility to handle tuberculosis patients was no longer needed, and the hospital closed in 1961.

It reopened a year later as the Woodhaven Geriatrics Sanitarium, where tales of patient mistreatment and unusual experiments were rife.

The state of Kentucky closed it in 1982, because of the claims of patient abuse.

The buildings, contents, and land were auctioned off and the doors were locked for good.
Over the next 18 years, the ownership of the building changed many times. The second owner wanted to tear it down but was stopped at the last minute, because the property was on the National Historic Register’s “endangered” list. He decided that if he couldn’t legally tear it down then he would do everything in his power to get it condemned.

He encouraged vandalism and people broke windows, porcelain sinks, toilets and doors. They sprayed the walls with graffiti and defaced stone and wood. The owner then dug around the foundation, in some places as deep as 30 feet, in hopes that the foundation would crack. If this happened, he believed, he could get the building condemned and would be able to legally tear it down. But his efforts failed, and he finally gave up and sold the property in 2001.

Efforts are now being made to renovate the hospital, and in recent years, interest has grown in the building’s history. It was even featured in a segment of Fox Television’s, World’s Scariest Places, and on MTV’s, Fear. A documentary is now in the works called, Spooked, and the feature film Death Tunnel should hit theaters around Halloween.

There are rumors that satanic rituals took place within Waverly’s walls, of a little girl moving about the third floor solarium playing hide and seek with trespassers, of a little boy named “Bobby” playing with his leather ball, of rooms lighting up when the building was without power, of doors slamming, disembodied voices, a hearse driving up and dropping off coffins, and an old woman running from the front door with her wrists bleeding. Supposedly she screams: “Help me. Somebody save me!”

Ghosts have been seen in the form of shadow people and ectoplasm clouds, and even in full apparition form. Cries and screams are frequently heard in the lonely, moldering halls.

Here are some of the most well-known supernatural occurrences in the building:


WAVERLY HILLS SANITARIUM GRIM STAIRWAY

Main Entrance
Here the ghost of an old woman has often been seen. Sometimes she runs out the front door. Her hands and legs are in chains and spectral blood drips from her wrists and ankles. She cries for help before she dissipates into thin air.

The Third Floor
Many have seen a little girl on the third floor who is known as “Mary.” Some say that she plays with a ball. Others have only heard the ball bouncing on the floor or down the stairs. This ball bouncing has also been attributed to a little boy, but the little girl seems the spookiest. One witness said that he encountered a little girl who “wasn’t normal.” She kept saying that she has no eyes. He was so terrified that he refused to enter the building again. Some have seen the child peering out the third floor windows.

Room 502
The Nurse’s Station is, perhaps, the most notorious and frightening room of all. Supposedly people have jumped to their deaths from this room. Others have seen spectral images floating in the windows and heard disembodied voices say: “Get out!”

The story goes that in 1928, the head nurse was found dead in the room. She had hanged herself from the light fixture. No one knows why the 29-year-old woman would take her own life, but it’s believed that she was unmarried and pregnant. It is unknown how long her body hung before she was finally discovered. The county coroner’s office attributed her death to suicide.

In 1932, another nurse who worked in room 502 supposedly committed suicide when she jumped from the balcony of the roof. No one knows why.

In addition to hearing voices on this floor, witnesses have seen the full body apparition of a female nurse in white and have reported that room 502 gives them an “unsettling” feeling of great despair.

Roof
Some have heard children chanting verses on the roof such as, “Ring around the Rosy.”

But why would the spirits of children occupy the roof? When the hospital was a tuberculosis facility, children were taken to the rooftop for heliotherapy, a treatment of exposure to the supposed healing rays of the sun.

The Body Chute or Death Tunnel

What is now called the “body chute” is actually a 500 foot long tunnel that leads from the hospital to the railroad tracks at the bottom of the hill. Deceased patients were sent down the tunnel via gurneys to a waiting hearse. This was done so that patients wouldn’t see the hearses or the bodies–in order to keep patient morale high.

Concrete steps line one side of the tunnel while the other side consists of a motorized rail and cable system. Voices are often heard along the long eerie passage.

Cafeteria and Kitchen
A spectral man in a white coat and pants supposedly roams this area. No one knows who he is but some think he’s an old employee of Waverly who contracted tuberculosis and died. The smell of food often wafts from the kitchen though no meals have been served since 1982 when the mental hospital was closed.

Fourth Floor
Some regard the fourth floor as the most scary and “active” area of the hospital. There have been many reports of ghostly shadow-like people treading the halls. In addition, doors frequently slam for no apparent reason on this floor.

Other Oddities
A guard saw a floating head in one of the rooms late at night. He screamed and rushed downstairs where he passed out. He was so terrified that he never returned to the sanitarium.

Many people have also reported that they’ve seen lights in the building at night though there has been no electricity in the building for many years and no glass to reflect light. A security guard once reported that while he was outside, he’d seen what appeared to be the distinct flicker of a television screen on the third floor. He went upstairs to investigate but found nothing out of the ordinary.

Troy Taylor of the Louisville Ghost Hunter’s Society investigated the building in 2001 and captured a strange photo of a light burning in a stairwell though there were no lights in the building at the time and no light hanging in that spot. See that photo and many others here. In addition, he got several very odd readings from his EMF meter–a piece of equipment that detects disruptions in electro-magnetic fields, which are often associated with hauntings.
CONCLUSION:

So is the hospital haunted? It certainly appears to be. Hopefully, in the near future, I’ll be able to travel there and get some first-hand experience. It would be even more exciting if Marie St. Claire could accompany me. I’ve asked Marie St. Claire to try to connect to the hospital to see what she picks up from afar. Here are her impressions.
MARIE’S ST. CLAIRE’S PSYCHIC INVESTIGATION

I can’t tell you how much this building bothered me during the course of my investigation.

I spent a whole day studying photos of Waverly in order to connect. And I made a very strong psychic connection. At first I was fascinated with the place, but as I started to connect on a deeper level, feelings of despair and anger surfaced and quickly began to overwhelm me. Suddenly, I found Waverly repulsive. It caused a definite–though temporary–mental change in me.

I can’t say that there’s necessarily something evil there, but I did pick up on a lot of bad feelings and mental anguish, which were so strong that they made me physically ill–nauseous. I feel that much of this pain came not from the tuberculosis era but from the geriatric era of the hospital. Though certainly the TB deaths have left their mark as well.

I doubt that I could go there in the flesh. I don’t know if I could bear the overwhelming emotions that pour from this building.

There is an old woman in the building with blood and metal cuffs on her arms. She most often inhabits the lower levels of the hospital near the entry. Someone she loved took her to the hospital, a son or daughter perhaps, long before her death, and, for whatever reason, abandoned her. She’s still waiting for that person to come and rescue her, to take her home, but, of course, that will never happen.

She’s thin with long, gray, scraggly hair and large expressive eyes. She is a patient of the geriatric hospital–not the TB hospital. She was treated badly and felt like a prisoner. The chains and blood are symbolic, however, the staff often restrained her to the point where her arms became raw and bloody.

In addition, she was often cold, not fed well, and allowed to lay in her urine for long periods of time. I’m not sure what was wrong with her other than old age and possibly dementia. Her soul is in pain and not at rest. She does not grasp that, in death, she is free. She is still living the nightmare of her confinement in the hospital and is seeking help. You can help her by praying for her.

There is the spirit of an eight-year old girl there. Like the old woman, she can’t accept or understand that she’s dead. She was in bad shape when she arrived at the hospital, and she died quite suddenly. She feels lost and so alone. She wonders where he parents are.

Many are fascinated with room 502 and the stories of two nurses that supposedly killed themselves. I only saw one nurse, very attractive, dark haired, shapely, and young, associated with that room. It doesn’t mean that there isn’t another–only that I didn’t pick her up during this brief investigation.

The nurse went about her duties but was burdened with feelings of great despair and hopelessness that she hid from everyone, feeling that no one would understand her plight. Some of the negative energy affecting her came from the environment and from the isolation in working there. I don’t know if she was pregnant. Nothing I saw suggested it.

Is she one of the nurses who reportedly killed herself? I think so. I believe that someone jumped from the roof when the building was used as a sanitarium. I never saw a hanging in my vision. And I never actually saw this nurse kill herself; nor did she reveal that to me, but it’s likely from the feelings of gloom and despair that I picked up from her that she’s the one who jumped from the roof. The anguish she carried was just too heavy to bear. She felt cornered with no way out.

3) Monte Cristo Homestead - New South Wales, Australia

The historic Monte Cristo Homestead in Junee, New South Wales is regarded as the most haunted location in Australia. Its reputation is believed to stem from a number of tragic events that have occurred there since it was built in 1885. From the time of its construction up to 1948, the Crawley family owned and resided in the property. During this time the family laid witness to many deaths, including the tragic death of a young child who was dropped down the stairs. A maid to the family is believed to have fallen from the balcony, and a stable boy apparently burned to death on the property.

There was also a mentally ill man named Harold (the son of a caretaker) who was chained up in the caretaker’s cottage for 40 years. He was found curled up next to the body of his dead mother and sent to a mental institute where he died shortly after.

The tragedy doesn’t end with the Crawley’s. After the house was left in 1948, it was taken over by a group of caretakers, one of whom was murdered in the caretaker’s cottage.

Australia’s most haunted homestead sits in Junee, New South Wales and has had a series of tragic events unfold throughout i’s history, earning it its much-deserved title.

The property was built in 1885, and in its time of existence it has had a pregnant caretaker pushed over a balcony, a baby thrown down the stairs and a stable boy tragically burn to death while he slept.

Olive Ryan and her late husband purchased the Victorian manor in 1963 and believes it is still haunted by the previous owners — Christopher and Elizabeth Crawley — who died between 1910 and 1933.

When Mrs. Ryan first purchased the property, she calmed the house lit up despite not having any power. Olive Ryan has lived in the home for 50 years and has collected a series of photos of the property in which ghosts appear. The Ryan’s son, Lawrence, grew up on the property and knew from an early age that something was off about Monte Cristo. “It always felt like someone was watching me,” he told The Project.
“I’ve had a hand on my shoulder,” Ms. Ryan told The Project. “I’ve had my name called when I’ve been here by myself. It’s nothing to hear footsteps on the balcony and you go out and there’s no one there.”
Olive Ryan and her late husband Reg purchased the property in 1963. One of their first experiences with the home was when the entire house was lit despite not having electricity.
Lawrence Ryan, their son, grew up in the mansion. His wife Sophia has lived in the home for four years and claims, she has a deeper connection with the haunted house. “I’ve had a past life here,” she told The Project. “I’ve learnt that I was one of the maids here.”

The stories do not end here. There are also reports of a caretaker who was shot dead on the property in 1961 and rumors that a housekeeper tied his mentally ill son to an outhouse for more than 30 years. Other reports said that he was found curled up next to the body of his dead mother and sent to a mental institute where he died shortly thereafter. The property is currently operating as a bed and breakfast and runs ghost tours.

4) Ancient Ram Inn, Gloucestershire, England

Built in 1145, the Ancient Ram Inn is believed to be the most haunted house in the entire British Isles, and perhaps the most haunted house in the world. The tales of child sacrifices, devil worship, and evil spirits are believed to be behind the terrifying happenings in this building. The Inn was built on the intersection of 2 ley lines, what many people believe is a conductor for spiritual activity. In addition, an ancient Pagan burial ground is said to have resided in the property over 5,000 years ago.

During its time as a bed and breakfast, people would often flee in the middle of the night, often seeing full bodied apparitions in their rooms, the feeling of being touched/pulled, disembodied voices, and the just the general feeling of evil.

John, the current owner, and resident of the Ram Inn, has reported that on his first night in the house in 1968, he felt a presence grab his arm, before being dragged out of bed and across the room! John has since found evidence of devil worship and ritual sacrifice. He found two child skeletons underneath the staircase, as well as broken daggers. He continues to experience the hauntings and the attacks to this day.

The Ancient Ram Inn can be found within the village of Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire. Many people believe that it is one of the most haunted buildings in the country, if not the world! The inn is owned by John Humphries. Mr. Humphries also lives in the inn. The inn was once owned by the St. Mary’s Church when it was first built. Because of the reported spectres seen in the inn, it has been investigated by various paranormal researchers. It has been featured in various television shows, such as Most Haunted and the US series ‘Ghost Adventures’.


Brief History

The inn was built in 1145. Priests used the inn years ago as a keeping house for slaves and workers who helped construct the St. Mary Church. In 1930, the inn was bought by Maurice de Bathe. Since then the inn has become a private property and it has changed hands several times.

The land where the inn is built is on the intersection of 2 Ley Lines. These are places which people believe to have high spiritual energy. When you use a map, you can trace the lines all the way through the centre of Stonehenge. According to legend, Stonehenge has energy which travels through the Ley Lines to feed the paranormal power found in the Ancient Ram Inn. Furthermore, an ancient Pagan burial ground is reported to have resided in the location over 5,000 years ago.

John Humphries bought the building in 1968 from brewers for £2,600. He saved the building from demolition and he has made it his life’s mission to save the structure from falling apart. He is now over 80 years old and he is the sole occupant of the house and from what people say, a right character too.


Ghosts of Ancient Ram Inn

One popular legend surrounding the Ancient Ram Inn is that of the witch burned at the stake. She was burned at the stake in the 1500s. It was the prosecution of people who did not believe and practice Christianity as sanctioned by the government. A lot of people believe that the woman’s spirit still haunts one of the rooms of the house to this day. It is believed that the woman took refuge in one of the rooms of the house before she was captured and killed. Today, that room is called “The Witch’s Room”.

It is widely believed that the redirecting of water on the Ancient Ram property caused a portal for dark energy to open up. The owner himself, John Humphries, can attest to the spectres which have made the house their home. During John’s first night, he claims to have been grabbed by the arm by a demonic force and dragged from the bed across the room.

John Humphries has found evidence of Devil worship and ritual sacrifice too. He discovered the skeletal remains of children just under the staircase. Broken daggers were also found within the skeletons. Until this day, he claims to be haunted and attacked by various entities in the house on a regular basis. There have been many sightings of previous owners of the inn seen residing and sitting together with the patron’s of today’s time.

One of the most haunted rooms in the entire inn is called “The Bishop’s Inn”. The room is found on the first floor of the house. When the inn was still a bed and breakfast, a lot of guests would not want to sleep in the room. Some who did sleep ended up fleeing in the middle of the night. It is said that the ghost of a monk haunts the room on a regular basis.

The ghost of a centurion on horseback has also been spotted. It is said that the plumber who saw the apparition was startled out of his wits when the apparition went straight through the wall. There is also talk of a succubus which creeps into the beds of sleeping visitors.

5) Fort George, The Citadel, Nova Scotia, Canada

Labelled as Canada’s most haunted historic site, the Halifax Citadel has received hundreds of reports of ghost sightings over the years. Situated at the summit of Citadel Hill in the town of Halifax, Nova Scotia, this star shaped fort is almost 300 years old, with the original foundations being built in 1749, and reconstructed in 1856.

Staff and visitors have reported several apparitions walking the grounds here, with one particular visitor witnessing a soldier in uniform walk into one of the rooms in the old prison area and simply vanish. This is a common theme with many reports centered around apparitions. Other ghostly figures that have been witnessed include an old man, a woman, a man in a red cloak, and an older lady who has been known to show herself in mirrors.

A little girl is said to follow the groups taking part in the ghost tours, with group members often experiencing her holding their hands. Other reports include disembodied voices, unexplained bangs, and knocks, mists captured on film and with the naked eye. The feeling of being watched is a common complaint, as is the sudden feeling of nausea, sudden gusts of wind in closed off rooms, furniture moving, doors banging, and on occasion, people have been pushed by an unseen force.

It’s not an exaggeration to say Halifax, a city on the sea, owes its existence to the Citadel. It was the large hill overlooking the easily defended harbour below that led the British military to found the town there in 1749. Among the first buildings constructed was a wooden guardhouse on top of what would eventually be called Citadel Hill, with Halifax’s first settlers building their homes at the base of the hill, closer to the water. Over the years, as the fort grew, so too did the town, with much of Halifax dedicated to supplying the soldiers with both essential supplies and off-duty entertainment.


Citadel Hill Today
Today, the Halifax Citadel continues to watch over the city’s downtown core, although now its role is as a reminder of Halifax’s past and not as a military fortification. The present Citadel, completed in 1856, is officially called Fort George, named after Britain’s King George II, and is actually the fourth in a series of forts to sit atop what is now known as Citadel Hill. Its distinctive star shape is typical of many 19th century forts built by the British military and gave the garrison sweeping arcs of fire. From its deep defensive ditch, soldiers pointed muskets from every angle of its stout walls and large cannons lined its ramparts. It’s easy to see why no enemy force ever dared to attack the Halifax Citadel.


Things to do Around the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site
The Halifax Citadel National Historic Site gives visitors the opportunity to explore the history of the fortress and the soldiers who were stationed there, walk within its walls – both inside and out –, and literally touch a piece of Halifax’s military history.


Tour Halifax Citadel Army Museum, which showcases Canadian military history, starting with the First World War and its "Road to Vimy and Beyond" exhibit through to modern-day conflict.

Sentry Change - Every hour the Citadel is open, watch the sentry guarding the front gate be changed.

Ghost Tours - Learn about the ghost stories and bizarre legends of the Halifax Citadel - run mid-July until late October, 8:30pm.


Halifax Citadel Living History

The Halifax Citadel is anything but a simple museum. Every day, the Citadel comes to life with the sounds and colour of its re-enactment interpreters, the 78th Highlanders and the Royal Artillery. Dressed in the same uniforms that their respective regiments wore in the mid-1800s, the 78th Highlanders guard the Citadel’s entrance and conduct marching and band drills on the parade grounds, while the Royal Artillery fires the Noon Gun every day at 12 pm – a Halifax tradition that is one of the oldest in the world.

Become a Soldier for a Day
For those who are even more serious about experiencing a soldier’s life in the mid-19th century Citadel, the three-hour Soldier for a Day program gives you the chance to step back in time and assume the role of a Highlander. Get fitted for an authentic uniform, including a cotton shirt, wool kilt, sporran, red wool Highland “doublet,” wool socks, boots, spats, and a Glengarry bonnet bearing the brass badge of the 78th Highlanders. Learn to drill, fire a rifle (or, for those under 16, play the British Army’s field drum) and learn the ins and outs of a soldier’s life in Her Majesty’s army! Pre-booking required; program fee and details available online.

Citadel Admission and Hours of Operation
The Halifax Citadel National Historic site is open year-round, from 9 am to 5 pm (6 pm in July & August), and admission varies with the season. Guided tours are available May through October, with special events taking place on special days such as Canada Day. For more information, visit the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site website.


Programs for Families and Youth

The Xplorer Program is a fun way for kids ages 6–11 to explore the historic British fort. Complete at least 5 activities in the booklet and become an official Halifax Citadel Xplorer with a certificate and a special limited edition Parks Canada souvenir! The Citadel Adventure, geared toward kids ages 9–15, provides a special comic and spy kit to solve clues in order to help save the Citadel.

6) Babenhausen Barracks - Hesse, Germany

Now a museum, the ghost of World War II German soldiers have been seen in uniform. Lights are known to turn on and off by themselves and voices are heard in the basement. German commands are often heard being shouted out in the middle of the night, and disembodied footsteps are a common experience.

Soldiers who have visited the museum and picked up a telephone have reported hearing a woman talking backward, it’s not clear whether it’s in English or German.
In the town of Babenhausen, a with was allegedly burned at the stake sometime in the 19th century. Her ghost is said to have seduced and killed several German soldiers.

Babenhausen was a medium-sized Jewish displaced persons (DP) camp in the Frankfurt district of the American zone of occupation. During the war it had been a camp for Soviet prisoners of war. After the war, the still meager barracks created inhospitable housing for the DPs. The dismal conditions of the camp were reported in a December 13, 1946, issue of the Eschwege camp newspaper, Undzer Hofenung [Our Hope]:

Housing conditions here [in Babenhausen] are horrible. They used to be stalls for the horses of the Third Reich; now they are homes for the surviving Jews. Jews did not want to leave the trains so as to have to move in here.

The US Army used the camp immediately after the war to hold prisoners of war. Thus, the camp did not open to Jews until September 29, 1946, when a train bearing 1,000 Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union arrived. When 1,200 more arrived two days later, the new residents lobbied the Army's Office on Jewish Affairs to protest the camp's conditions. Nevertheless, the camp remained open, and quickly reached a population of 3,026. It became a substantial community that earned a visit from Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion in late 1946. The residents of Babenhausen DP camp founded a Talmud Torah (religious elementary school) as well as a secular school.

Babenhausen DP camp closed on September 6, 1949.