Top Haunted Cemeteries
October 27, 2023
It's not a stretch to say that graveyards and cemeteries play host to some of our most terrifying nightmares. Resting places can be haunted for many reasons—grave robbers, natural disasters, or improper burial can ultimately stir souls laid to rest. Below, read on to discover the world's most famously haunted graveyards. Be sure to hold your breath when passing by them!
3. Paris Catacombs in Paris, France
How would you feel if skulls and other remains encircled you more than sixty feet underground? Probably a little freaked out! Approximately six million bodies reside underground in the Paris catacombs, arranged in artful and space-saving ways. With so many bodies and histories, it's not difficult to imagine that some souls linger inside and outside their tombs.
The city decided to transfer millions of remains underground when the French capital experienced significant health problems directly tied to the city's many cemeteries in the late 18th century. In addition, Paris was growing so rapidly that the city did not have the means or room to bury the dead properly. Since the bones moved underground, countless tourists have experienced eerie and otherworldly phenomena in their depths. Accounts include apparitions of long-dead royalty, abandoned video cameras with chilling footage, and disembodied voices. The catacombs of Paris are no strangers to top haunted location lists worldwide and are a popular ghostly tourist destination that does not disappoint.
2. St. Louis Cemetery in New Orleans, Louisiana
St. Louis Cemetery is Louisiana's oldest operating cemetery, established in the late eighteenth century. With over 300 years of burials, this cemetery has its fair share of famous ghosts. Most notably, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans herself, Marie Laveau. Marie Laveau practiced fortune-telling, herbal remedies, and other occult rituals during her lifetime.
Visitors to the graveyard claim to see a woman dressed in vibrant clothing and a turban, characteristic of the priestess' dress. They also claim that this figure vanishes from sight. Other brave tourists experience being scratched, pinched, or shoved near her grave. Due to the many experiences with Marie Laveau's ghost, some travel to the cemetery seeking her expertise. Tourists will mark her grave with three Xs before asking for her assistance with their problems. They must return to her grave with a gift if their matter is resolved. Despite being dead for hundreds of years, the ghost of Maris Laveau remains as busy as ever!
1. Stull Cemetery in Stull, Kansas
Being a cemetery is one thing and being a cemetery with one of the “Seven Portals to Hell” is in a completely different league of terrifying! Located between Kansas City and Topeka, the town of Stull is a mostly forgotten and desolate town of about twenty residents. Stull cemetery sits next to an abandoned church which is also said to be the center of horrifying and strange phenomena. For over 100 years, stories of apparitions and diabolical witchcraft have linked to Stull cemetery and the surrounding churchyard.
The legend goes that the devil appears twice a year in the cemetery on Halloween night and the night of the Spring Equinox. Cemetery-goers report being touched by unseen figures, unexplainable memory loss, and even their cars switching positions while they visit the grounds. Due to high amounts of interest and reports of otherworldly experiences, the town of Stull barricaded the cemetery with a high-security fence to tame tourists—which leads many to ask, what are they hiding?
Death is a part of life—cemeteries and graveyards serve as both a reminder of this fate and the importance of honoring our dead. However, visiting these top haunted cemeteries may get a little more than you bargained for!
