Kentucky is known for its bourbon and bluegrass, but it is also the burial ground for many lost souls.
In Kentucky, hospitals once housed tuberculosis patients, victims from the confederate war died defending their side, and strange disappearances occurred on wealthy estates.
You do not have to travel far to find haunted places in Kentucky. Ghost hunters and paranormal experts throughout the state find haunted Kentucky hotels, bourbon distilleries, and cemeteries. Here are the top 18 most haunted places in Kentucky that will raise the hair on your neck.
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1. Liberty Hall, Frankfort, Kentucky
Address: 202-218 Wilkinson St, Frankfort, KY 40601, United States
Liberty Hall consists of two historic homes built in 1796 by Senator John Brown. This red brick building looks eerie at first glance, with tall shuttered windows and large trees casting shadows over the four-acre lot.
Once, Senator John Brown and his wife hosted many prominent members of society, including political figures, opera singers, and army generals. Now, it is a museum that is haunted by several spirits.
The Gray Lady Ghost is said to be the spirit of Margaretta Varick, the aunt of John Brown’s wife. Margaretta Varick died on the property three days after arriving in 1817, most likely due to a heart attack.
Several generations after her death, the great-granddaughter of John Brown and Margaretta Brown began to see an apparition of a lady in a gray gown in her bedroom for nights on end. Her heart racing, she screamed to her brother, who then ran into the room. But the apparition was gone, only to appear again the next night.
Liberty Hall suffered damage from a fire in 1965. Frances Coleman took photos of the residence the same year, and after developing the film, one of the photos revealed a blurry form that raised the hair on his neck. There, in the image, was what appeared to be a figure wearing a long grey gown.
Reports of the Gray Lady being seen from the Palladian window and roaming the house have been made as recently as 2018.
Another ghost found at Liberty Hall has a mysterious story. In 1805, a Spanish opera singer was one of the guests attending a party at the residence. She was seen walking amidst the gardens, headed towards the river, and then was never seen again.
There have been reports of a dark-haired woman running through the gardens with a look of terror frozen to her face, shrieking but silent.
2. Sleepy Hollow Road, Prospect, Kentucky
Address: Route 1694, Prospect, Kentucky
On the border of Jefferson and Oldham counties lies Sleepy Hollow Road. It is a stretch of road engulfed in trees that holds ominous lore, especially for those who travel it by night. Sleepy Hollow Road has two harrowing tales of strange and unexplainable activities.
Some, who dare to travel this road in the dark, report a hearse appearing out of nowhere. Reports even mention this hears attempting to run the driver off the road.
Approach the small wooden bridge that overlooks Harrods Creek, and chills may crawl up your spine. Nicknamed the crybaby bridge, locals tell stories of how women would toss sickly or unwanted babies from the bridge. Passerbys nowadays have reported hearing the cries of babies as well as the wails of their mourning mothers at this spot.
3. Kentucky State Penitentiary, Eddyville, Kentucky
Address: 266 Water St, Eddyville, KY 42038, United States
The Kentucky State Penitentiary, also called the Castle on Cumberland, was built in 1886. This facility was constructed to house death row inmates and remains functional today. This prison facility is the home of the first electric chair, Old Sparky.
The land on which this penitentiary stands today was once a town that was flooded to create electrical dams. Inmates working under grueling conditions that resulted in many lost lives in limbs constructed the prison.
Steve Asher, worked for the Kentucky State Penitentiary for seven years and openly talks about many of the strange occurrences he witnessed during his time there. From seeing inmates wearing old-school uniforms to hearing disembodied voices, Steve Asher has compiled his supernatural encounters in his book Hauntings of the Kentucky State Penitentiary.
4. Bobby Mackey’s Music World, Wilder, Kentucky
Address: 44 Licking Pike, Wilder, KY 41071, United States
The ghost stories and lore surrounding Bobby Mackey’s Music World originate from it being a slaughterhouse in the 1850s. After killing the animals, the waste was tossed into a well.
When the slaughterhouse closed in the late 1800s, this site hosted secret satanic rituals where blood sacrifices were made.
In 1896, there was a murder near the site where a young girl, Pearl Bryan, was beheaded. Her body and the murderers were found, but her head never was. One of the two murderers vowed to haunt the site as he awaited the death penalty for his crime.
A series of murders and fatal shootings have taken place in the building that became a casino and then a nightclub. Today it remains a nightclub, but some believe that its basement contains a portal to Hell.
Many staff, clients, and even Bobby Mackey’s wife have reported various odd happenings. From seeing the headless ghost of Pearl and returning to all of the lights turned on to the unplugged jukebox playing a song not listed.
If you’re in the area you can book a tour directly with the Bobby Mackey team here!
5. Camp Taylor, Louisville, Kentucky
Address: Neighborhood in Louisville
Camp Taylor is an entire neighborhood where hauntings and ghost sightings happen regularly. It was once farmland that became a World War I military base. The training camp suffered an influenza outbreak within its first year. Hundreds of deaths occurred each day, and soldiers had to stack bodies in piles.
After the war, it became a residential neighborhood where strange ghostly sightings occurred. People report seeing soldiers marching in military formation and hearing the sounds of cannons.
You might also catch a glimpse of a victorian-era woman wandering about at night. Some say she lingers looking for her lover who died of influenza. She had died from influenza days before. Book a tour through the ghostly sites of Old Louisville today.
6. Mammoth Cave National Park
Address: Green River Ferry Road, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, 42259
Mammoth Cave is part of a native burial ground, so it is no surprise that strange shadows lurk here. Before it became a National Park in 1941, a doctor used the cave to treat Tuberculosis patients.
A group of patients moved into a hut built inside the cave, hoping that the cool cave temperatures could cure the disease. Two patients died and were placed onto rock slabs, now called the corpse rock.
Meanwhile, the other patients got worse. There have been reports of hearing coughing near the corpse rock, the feeling of being touched, cold spots, and voices of men and women speaking.
7. Talbott Tavern, Bardstown, Kentucky
Address: 107 W Stephen Foster Ave, Bardstown, KY 40004, United States
The Old Talbott Tavern is a small five-room hotel and tavern built in 1779 that is one of the most haunted places in Kentucky worth visiting. It is one of the oldest buildings in Bardstown and full of stories of rugged bar fights.
The outlaw Jesse James is reported to have stayed here, even putting a few bullet holes in the walls. His ghost is said to remain here.
Visitors have reported being shaken awake by housekeepers who disappear, strange sounds, furniture moving. The most hair-raising is a video of a shadow figure crawling down the hallway.
Do you dare to spend the night?
8. Nada Tunnel, Powell County, Kentucky
Address: Kentucky Route 77
The Nada Tunnel is a 900-foot long one-lane tunnel on Route 77 that is one of the haunted places in Kentucky. Green lights have been reported floating inside the unlit tunnel. Cars can only go through one at a time, with their headlights on!
The surrounding scenery is lush and green, but the tunnel is made of limestone…a top conductor for spirits to enter the living world.
Inside the limestone tunnel lies darkness and stories of a climber falling to his death. Another tale tells of a worker dying from an accidental dynamite explosion. It is said that both of their spirits still haunt this stretch.
9. Hayswood Hospital, Maysville, Kentucky
Address: 2-98 W 4th St, Maysville, KY 41056, United States
The abandoned Hayswood Hospital is one of the most haunted places in Kentucky for paranormal explorers to visit. Since the 1800s, this plot of land has been the grounds for various hospitals and an all-girls school.
People have reported hearing crying babies from inside, seeing faces in windows, and seeing shadow figures walking through the hallways of this now seemingly empty hospital.
10. Waverly Hills Sanatorium, Louisville, Kentucky
Address: 4400 Paralee Dr, Louisville, KY 40272, United States
The Waverly Hills Sanatorium opened in 1909 to treat patients with Tuberculosis. Before discovering the cure, over 8,000 patients died on the grounds.
Visiting Louisville? Book this walking ghost tour for all the best sites.
Waverly Hills Sanatorium is one of the most haunted places in Kentucky. The building hosts paranormal tours and overnight stays where many have reported high EMF levels, food smells coming from the empty kitchen, loud banging, orbs, and cold spots.
Your heart will quicken as you look into reflections because people have been known to see faces in them. Some of the spirits here have been reported to be unfriendly, even pushing curious explorers.
11. Seelbach Hotel, Louisville, Kentucky
Address: 500 S 4th St, Louisville, KY 40202, United States
The Seelbach Hotel is one of many haunted hotels in Kentucky. The hotel is haunted by a female ghost named the Lady in Blue. The hotel staff believes the ghost to be Patricia Wilson, a 24-year-old woman who was waiting at the hotel bar for her husband to join her.
As Patricia Wilson sipped her drink, she received word that her husband had died. The next day, staff found her body at the bottom of the hotel elevator shaft. Some 50 years later, a chef and a housekeeper saw a female wearing a blue chiffon dress walking through the hotel. When they tried to approach her, she disappeared.
Guests now report smelling lilac perfume or feeling a presence nearby when inside the elevator. Do you have the guts to stay the night?
12. Soule’s Chapel & Cemetery, Somerset, Kentucky
Address: Somerset, KY 42501, United States
Soule’s Chapel was once a prominent church for the local community. The civil war divided the congregation, leading to the building of Bradley’s Chapel nearby. Half the congregation moved to this church.
Once the war was over, the remaining Soule’s Chapel churchgoers moved to Bradley’s Chapel.
The abandoned Soule’s Chapel then fell into disrepair. Locals believe that it became a place for satanic rituals. Some believe murders took place here as well as gruesome acts that have caused this land to become one of the most haunted places in Kentucky.
13. Red Dog Road, Harlan, Kentucky
Address: Red Dog Road, Kentucky 40831, USA
Investigators went to Red Dog Road to exhume the body of Mountain Jane Doe, murdered in 1969. Imagine their surprise when, instead, they dug up the body of another murder victim.
Red Dog Road has since been a place that brings panic to visitors. People have reported seeing shadowy figures, strange lights, and the sounds of someone walking nearby.
14. Maple Hill Manor, Springfield, Kentucky
Address: 2941 Perryville Rd, Springfield, KY 40069, United States
The Maple Hill Manor is an estate built on 15 acres of land. It was a Greek revival plantation built from hand-cut wood by slaves in 1851.
Four of the owners’ children died on the premises throughout the houses’ history. One of the sons fell to his death from the stairwell and is said to still haunt the manor today.
The family cemetery is on the land and the resting place of many soldiers who died nearby after the civil war.
Footsteps can be heard throughout the house when no one else is near. Some have reported smelling perfume and feeling cold spots.
You can book a room to stay here on their website!
15. Sauerkraut Cave, Louisville, Kentucky
Address: 3000 Freys Hill Rd, Louisville KY 40241
Located in the E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park, Sauerkraut Cave is one of the haunted places in Kentucky you need to visit. It is the only remaining remnant of the old Lakeland Asylum where horrific early experimentations on the mentally ill took place.
Sauerkraut Cave was used as a storage unit for goods, including sauerkraut. Patients from the Lakeland Asylum were known to attempt to escape the facility via the underground network of caves that eventually exited through Sauerkraut Cave. Many never made it out.
Today it is a state park, the Lakeland Asylum has been demolished, but its dark history still haunts the area.
16. Kasey Cemetery, Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Address: Old Hardinsburg Rd Elizabethtown, KY 42701
Also known as the Grandview Cemetery or the Gates of Hell, the Kasey Cemetery is one of the most haunted places in Kentucky. This 300-year-old family graveyard goes through dark forest pathways. Many of the graves have been vandalized and it is suspected that occult activity and sacrifices have taken place on the land.
Visitors have reported sudden nosebleeds, cars not starting, hearing voices and footsteps, and orbs appearing in photos. There is no cell phone service here, so it makes the experience that much more bone-chilling.
17. Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky
Address: 113 Great Buffalo Trace, Frankfort, KY 40601, United States
The Buffalo Trace Distillery has been producing bourbon for over 250 years. But it also is frequented by ghosts.
The staff has reported hearing footsteps and voices when no one is around, seeing lights on that had been turned off, and even seeing an apparition walking amongst the barrels.
18. Wickland Mansion, Bardstown, Kentucky
Address: 550 Bloomfield Rd, Bardstown, KY 40004, United States
The Wickland Mansion is a historic home that once housed three Kentucky governors, giving it the second name, the Home of the Three Governors. The staff has reported various ghostly phenomena like doors opening, hearing music, and feeling a presence.
Various paranormal teams have entered the mansion and encountered the three main spirits of former employees. A former cook, groundskeeper, and carpenter reside in the house and communicate with the living in various ways.
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