- Because who just wants a jump scare at Halloween?
It’s almost Halloween but these haunted American landmarks are scary all year around. Do you know of haunted places near you?
The Smithsonian Institution 
Known as “America’s attic” due to the 155 million artifacts within its collections, it turns out it’s haunted, too. In the earlier part of the 20th century, watchman would say they saw unidentifiable figures and heard ghostly footsteps throughout the halls. There are some permanent members at the Smithsonian, like the spirit of Dr. Emil Bessel’s. Bessel and Charles Francis Hall made an unsuccessful expedition to the North Pole in 1871 and was accused of poisoning Hall with arsenic. There are also phantoms like Fielding Meek, a paleontologist, Joseph Henry, a secretary, Spencer Fullerton Baird, the first curator and James Smithson, British founder. The remains of Smithson are kept at the Smithsonian.
Liberty Island
The Statue of Liberty has been on Liberty Island since 1886.The island was known as Bedloe’s Island and it’s said that pirate Captain Kidd buried his stolen treasure there. The pedestal of Lady Liberty was formed by two soldiers, Gibbs and Carpenter. As a way to “get rich quick,” they snuck out of their bunks at Fort Wood military installation to dig for treasure based on the location they were told by a psychic. The plan didn’t work out though and just after midnight, Carpenter began to scream and as guards reached the two they could see that Gibbs was unconscious. Gibbs described a demon with black skin, horns, giant wings and a barbed tail but Carpenter claimed it had red skin, no wings and moved without signs of locomotion. The claim is it’s the spirit of Captain Kidd who breathed in sulfur before being thrown into the bay. Did you know about this as one of the haunted American landmarks?
The Golden Gate Bridge
The scene of the Golden Gate Bridge goes back to 1853, even though the bridge itself wasn’t constructed until 1937. There’s a spot named Tennessee Cove because in 1853 a steamship ran aground at that spot. There were 550 passengers and 14 chests of gold that made it ashore before the strong Pacific tore the ship to pieces. Did you know this was one of many haunted American landmarks?
The Hollywood Sign
An aspiring actress named Peg Entwhistle was an up-and-coming actress in the mid-1920’s when she told her family she was going for a walk. It was the last time anyone ever saw her alive. She walked up the shrubby ridge to the Hollywoodland side, (some say to the top of the H while others say the top of the D,) and jumped to her death some 50 feet to the ground below. Her possessions, body and a suicide not were found two dates later. The “land” was removed from the sign but her spirit still lingers at the sight. John Arbogast, park ranger, says that he’s seen her ghost many times, usually in the middle of a foggy night. Arbogast also says that he smells the scent of gardenias, her favorite scent, and whether the flowers were blooming or not.
Would you visit these haunted American landmarks? Let me know in the comments!