Eerie escapes: 10 lesser-known spooky cities to visit for Halloween

Anoka held its first citywide Halloween celebration in 1920, putting it in the running for the oldest city-run Halloween tradition in the U.S. Costumed children have marched in its parade since that first year. By 1937, Anoka had claimed the title "Halloween Capital of the World."

Visitors today can choose from events running through October, including a costume contest, the Light Up the Night Parade, a community bonfire, and a house-decorating contest. The main event is still the 1.5-mile Grande Day Parade, set for Oct. 24 in 2026. Some parade-goers stake out spots along the route as early as 4 a.m.

Literary fans may know Baltimore as home to the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum, a National Historic Landmark. But the city has more macabre history to offer.

Green Mount Cemetery holds some of the country's most famous (and infamous) people. Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, is buried there in an unmarked family plot. The most distinctive headstone belongs to Elijah Bond, who patented the talking board later sold as the Ouija. One side of his headstone is carved with a replica of a Ouija board, making it a must-visit for anyone who enjoys communicating with the dead.

San Antonio is known as one of Texas' most haunted cities, so it's fitting that it's home to one of the country's most haunted hotels. The Emily Morgan Hotel catalogs paranormal activity throughout the building, from elevators that stop on an empty seventh floor to footsteps on the ninth. Room 810 may be the most notorious, with guests reporting whispers when alone and the feeling of being watched. The Gothic-style building opened in 1924 as the Medical Arts Building, and its former morgue now houses the general manager's office.

Ghost-chasers won't have to go far for more. The Alamo is nearby and has its own reputation for ghostly encounters.

"Twilight" fans have made St. Helens a must-visit alternative for Halloween. The small town stood in for Port Angeles, Washington, in the first film, and Bella Swan's house is here (and available to rent).

Beyond the vampire lore, St. Helens is known for its Spirit of Halloweentown celebration, which runs weekends from Sept. 26 to Nov. 1 in 2026. The town is where the 1998 Disney Channel movie "Halloweentown" was filmed. This year's festival brings back cast members J. Paul Zimmerman, Emily Roeske, and Phillip Van Dyke (Oct. 17–18) and Judith Hoag (Oct. 24–25), along with a nightly Great Pumpkin Lighting and a filming-location trolley tour.

St. Augustine could be seen as Savannah's older relative, with just as many ghostly vibes. It's the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the continental U.S., founded by Spain in 1565, 168 years before the British established Georgia.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse has had several reported ghost sightings, most famously tied to the Pittee sisters, who drowned in 1873 when a construction cart at the site flipped into the water. The Ximenez-Fatio House Museum has hosted candlelit tours exploring the death and mourning customs of the city's 19th-century residents.

Private companies run ghost tours year-round that visit other spooky spots, including the Old Jail, the St. Francis Inn, and local cemeteries.

Southern Idaho may not be the first place Halloween fans think of, but Albion (population: fewer than 300) belongs on any ghost lover's list.

People have reported encounters with the dead at the former Albion State Normal School, which trained teachers for decades before closing in the 1950s. Some visitors claim they left with unexplained scratches.

Every fall, the campus becomes the Haunted Mansions of Albion, a ticketed walk-through spread across five buildings with more than 80 actors. Guests can also stay on the campus year-round through the Albion Campus Retreat, as long as they don't mind a few uninvited guests.

Exploring a flooded underworld isn't a traditional Halloween trip, which is exactly what makes the Bonne Terre Mine a thrill.

Miners pulled lead from Bonne Terre from the 1860s until the mine closed in 1962. Groundwater then flooded its lower levels, creating a billion-gallon lake that stretches roughly 17 miles. Certified scuba divers with nerves of steel can explore it by lamplight in 58-degree water.

For those who'd rather stay dry, walking and boat tours wind through what the venue bills as the world's largest human-made caverns.

If subterranean waters give you the heebie-jeebies, a bewitching paddle on the bay may be more your speed. Morro Bay's Witches and Warlocks Paddle started in 2013 as a birthday outing for about a dozen friends, and witches paddles have since spread to harbors across the country. Anyone in a witch or warlock costume can join. The 2026 paddle is Oct. 24 at Coleman Beach.

The Pfister Hotel is a must-see for those who love Halloween and Major League Baseball. Visiting teams stay there when they play the Brewers, and some wonder whether it gives the home team an otherworldly advantage.

Multiple players have reported strange happenings: televisions turning on, lights flickering, objects moving on their own. A few claim to have seen ghosts.

Hotel management tends to downplay the stories, but legend has it that Charles Pfister, the hotel's original owner, still walks the halls.

Vicksburg's role in the Civil War sealed its place in American history and made one of its homes among the most haunted in the South. During the 1863 Siege of Vicksburg, the McRaven House served as a field hospital, taking cannon fire and sheltering wounded soldiers. A year later, Union troops shot the home's owner, John H. Bobb, about 100 yards from the house. He reportedly never left.

Bobb's ghost has company. Highwayman Andrew Glass, who built the house's original section in 1797 and made a career of robbing travelers on the Natchez Trace, is said to linger too. According to McRaven's guides, the most active spirit is Mary Elizabeth Howard, who lived in the home and died after giving birth in 1836.

McRaven runs historic tours daily and haunted tours on Friday through Sunday evenings.

Story editing by Carren Jao. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn.