5 U.S. locations top list of world’s most haunted ‘hot spots’, new study says

Trick or travel – according to a new study, five locations across the U.S. have topped a list of the world’s most haunted ‘hot spots’.

Travel experts at Planet Cruise say online searches for the ‘top 10 most haunted places in the world’ have surged by more than 129% over the past 30 days, as a “growing number of thrill-seekers” plan Halloween-themed excursions.

With that trend in mind, researchers with the cruise travel agency recently analyzed TripAdvisor data to determine the most haunted destinations across the globe.

Mary Kings Close in Edinburgh comes in at number 1 overall, with 497 ‘spooky’ mentions and 583 ‘scary’ mentions online.

The U.S. “dominated the top 10 leader board for the most haunted locations with a variety of different destinations around the country,” Planet Cruise representatives said in a news release.

Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has the second highest number of ‘haunted’ mentions in reviews on TripAdvisor, at 536, as well as 236 ‘spooky’ and 338 ‘scary’ mentions.

Other U.S. locations that round out the top ten haunted ‘hot spots’ include: The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, the St. Augustine Lighthouse in Florida, the Bonaventure Cemetery near Savannah, Georgia, and the Myrtles Plantation in Louisiana.

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5 U.S. locations top list of world’s most haunted ‘hot spots’, new study says Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Here’s a list of the study’s top 10 haunted destinations:

1. Mary Kings Close in Edinburgh, Scotland
2. Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia
3. The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado
4. Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast, Northern Ireland
5. St. Augustine Lighthouse in Florida
6. Bhangarh Fort in Rajasthan¸ India
7. Bonaventure Cemetery near Savannah, Georgia
8. Myrtles Plantation in Louisiana
9. Catacombs of Paris in France
10. Tower of London in the United Kingdom

Read more about each location and view Planet Cruise’s FULL list of 20 haunted ‘hot spots’ here.

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