TextSearch

11 Best Scary Ghost Stories - True Scary Stories for Halloween Search Subscribe Country Living All Access Give a Gift Member Exclusives Country Life Kids & Pets Travel Holiday & Entertaining New Year Valentine's Day Easter Mother's Day Father's Day July 4th Halloween Thanksgiving Christmas Entertaining Weddings Food & Drinks Kitchen Tips Healthy Recipes Dinner Recipes Pie Recipes Breakfast Recipes Design Ideas House Tours Decorating Ideas Color Inspiration Real Estate Remodeling & Renovation Home Makeovers Expert Advice Gardening Garden Tours Gardening Ideas Outdoor Decorating Home Maintenance Cleaning Tips Organization Ideas Crafts & DIY Projects Mason Jars Country Living Shop Editors’ Picks Sale For the Home Top Products Shopping Guides Gifts Antiques & Collectibles Gift Baskets Home Collection Outdoor Collection Kitchen Essentials Flowers Pet Products Country Living Fair Newsletter Follow Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram Youtube Promotions Win United States US UK Your Privacy Choices Privacy Notice/Notice at Collection Terms of Use Editions: US UK Food & Drinks Gardening Home Shopping Life Subscribe Sign In My Account Sign Out Type keyword(s) to search Today's Top Stories 1 Easy, Cheap, 30-Minute (or Faster!) Dinner Recipes 2 Sunny Places to Escape the Winter Blues 3 The Most Popular Gifts of 2022 4 Dad Jokes To Keep the Whole Family Laughing 5 The Best Women's Winter Boots for 2022 Country Living editors select each product featured. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. More about us. Country Life 100+ Genius Halloween Ideas for 2022 11 Best Scary Ghost Stories That Will Scare Your Socks Off 11 Best Scary Ghost Stories That Will Scare Your Socks Off Read on, if you dare. By Ashley Leath Updated: Sep 29, 2022 This Dad Tells His Kids Silly Scary Storiesby Good Housekeeping USVideo Player is loading.Play VideoCLICK TO UNMUTEPrevious VideoPlayNext VideoUnmuteCurrent Time 0:00/Duration -:-Loaded: 0%Stream Type LIVESeek to live, currently behind liveLIVERemaining Time -0:00 1xPlayback RateChaptersChaptersDescriptionsdescriptions off, selectedCaptionscaptions settings, opens captions settings dialogcaptions off, selectedAudio TrackPicture-in-PicturePlay in full-screen The media could not be loaded, either because the server or network failed or because the format is not supported. Refresh the page to resume playback. This Dad Tells His Kids Silly Scary Storiesby Good Housekeeping USBeginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindowColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaqueFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsReset restore all settings to the default valuesDoneClose Modal DialogEnd of dialog window.Advertisement Replay "This Dad Tells His Kids Silly Scary Stories" Up Next 01:40 6 Fall Craft Ideas for Kids and Adults 01:40 19:48 Makeover Takeover Renovation Summit - Tia Mowry 19:48 17:37 Real Moms Discuss Whether It's Harder Being a Mom Today & More 17:37 Scary ghost stories aren't for the faint of heart! But for those who are all about the Halloween movies and all things witches or vampires, we've got spine-chilling tales for you from around the country. One might just take place near where you live, amping up the creepy factor, and if not you might just need to plan a trip to ones of these spooky ghost towns.On the East Coast, there have been reports (by John Lennon!) of the Crying Lady in The Dakota, a famous apartment building in New York City. Down in the South, Huggin' Molly haunts Abbeville, Alabama, and chases—and embraces—people around the town. Over in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, the Crescent Hotel is allegedly haunted by a number of ghosts, and down in St. Francisville, Louisiana, a ghost named Chloe can reportedly be sighted in the Myrtles Plantation. So scroll on to start reading these scary ghost stories (don't worry, they're short) or save them for after dark for a more terrifying experience. They are sure to get you into the Halloween spirit and give you plenty of ideas for stories to tell to add fright factor to your friends too! Advertisement - Continue Reading Below 1 Sloss Furnaces | Birmingham, Alabama BuyenlargeGetty Images Five years after the Civil War, Birmingham, Alabama, was founded. With its birth in 1871 came the need for tons of pig iron to fix the U.S.'s crumbling infrastructure, so Colonel James Withers Sloss began to build Sloss Furnaces. A year later, the company opened its doors to hundreds of employees, according to its official website. Jobs on blast furnaces were advanced but also dangerous, and many workers started falling to their deaths in the furnaces. By the early 1900s conditions had worsened with a cruel foreman, James "Slag" Wormwood, who took dangerous risks to increase production, according to Reader's Digest. During his tenure at Sloss, nearly 50 employees died on-site, and many others were involved in terrible accidents. Allegedly, his workers threw him into the furnace in retaliation in 1906. Today you can still walk the grounds of Sloss Furnaces, if you dare. You may even hear Slag's voice yelling, "Get back to work!" and witness other paranormal experiences. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below 2 The Crying Lady in the Dakota | New York, New York Getty Images Since its opening in 1884, The Dakota apartment building has been home to many rich and famous residents of New York City. Among them were John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who moved in in 1973. John was also assassinated outside the building in 1980. Before that fateful day on December 8, though, John said he say a "crying lady ghost" walking the halls, and afterward Yoko, who still resides there, claimed she saw John's ghost sitting at his piano and that he said to her: "Don't be afraid. I am still with you." Advertisement - Continue Reading Below 3 The Bell Witch | Adams, Tennessee Getty If you're a scary-movie lover, you might actually know about the Bell Witch. The films An American Haunting and The Blair Witch Project are both based on the story. Way back in the early 1800s, a man named John Bell moved his family to an area in Tennessee called Red River, which is now known as Adams, Tennessee. After they had settled in the new home, some peculiar things started happening. The Bell family began hearing some bizarre noises, including dogs barking, chains rattling, rats chewing, and a woman whispering. Soon, that woman became known as the Bell Witch, and many people believe she's the ghost of a former neighbor of the Bell's, Kate Batts. Batts and the Bells had a dispute over land, and she had sworn vengeance on the Bell family before she died. Later on, Bell died from poisoning, and it's rumored to be the work of the Bell Witch. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below 4 The Ghosts of the Crescent Hotel | Eureka Springs, Arkansas Getty Spend the night in the haunted Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, which opened in 1886. (During construction, a worker named Michael was killed, and his ghost reportedly still haunts room 218.) The hotel came under the ownership of known medical fraud Norman Baker in 1937, who fancied himself a doctor. He turned the hotel into the Baker Cancer Hospital, claiming to have the cure for the disease (he did not, obviously). Patients who died under his care were buried right in the hotel's basement, which served as a makeshift morgue. He was arrested in 1940, but his patients' spirits are said to still remain. Because the hotel is still open, guests often say they see apparitions and hear noises during their stays. SyFy's Ghost Hunters even has footage of something moving in the basement. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below 5 Huggin' Molly | Abbeville, Alabama Getty It's best to stay home when the sun sets in Abbeville, Alabama, if you want to avoid Huggin' Molly's chilly embrace. As the legend goes, beginning in the early 1900s, an oversize figure clad in all black began roaming the streets at night looking for unsuspecting victims. Once she fixates on someone, she hugs the person and screams loudly into their ears. Many people have recounted stories of being chased by what they believe was Huggin' Molly. Local parents have even taken advantage of the story to keep their children in line. The town embraces its nighttime warden, proudly calling itself the "home of Huggin' Molly." There's even a family-friendly restaurant named after her! Advertisement - Continue Reading Below 6 The Surrency House Ghost | Surrency, Georgia Getty The Surrency clan began experiencing paranormal activities in present day Surrency, Georgia, in the 1870s. Family members reported witnessing objects soaring across rooms, hearing laughter and crying, and seeing red eyes staring into the house. Food was thrown from their plates and utensils twisted into unusable shapes. The townspeople speculated that these occurrences were cries for help from spirits who thought the family would be able to save them. On the day the family decided to finally leave the house, a fire iron allegedly floated up and started hitting one of the sons on the head. No one was ever brave enough to live in the house again, and the building went up in flames in 1925. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below 7 The Ghost of Bellamy Bridge | Marianna, Florida Karsun Designs Photography/Flickr Creative Commons For a taste of true haunting love, travel over this spooky bridge in Marianna, Florida, which has several ghost legends surrounding the structure. In the 1830s, Elizabeth Jane Croom Bellamy married local politician Dr. Samuel C. Bellamy. On their wedding night, her dress accidentally caught on fire, which covered the young bride in horrible burns. She initially survived, but eventually passed away. Elizabeth was buried along the banks of the Chipola River, and it was said that her love for her husband was so strong, she couldn't rest. The deceased newlywed, dressed in white, can allegedly be seen wandering the banks from the vantage point of the bridge (which was built after she died). It's said that she appears on fire either walking through the swamps or diving straight into the river, as if to douse the flames, or somberly walking along the side of the river. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below 8 The Ghost of Deer Island | Biloxi, Mississippi Getty Back on May 20, 1922, Anthony Ragusin, aka Mr. Tony, relayed this tale in a column in the Sun Herald. He writes that in the early 1800s, two fishermen spent the night on Deer Island off Biloxi's coast. They heard noises that they ignored until it became impossible to do so. When they went to see what was causing the ruckus, they claimed they found a headless skeleton that ran after the pair. They immediately made a beeline for their boat and got off the island immediately. It's said that the bony frame belongs to a pirate who had his head chopped off by his captain, and his body was left behind as a ghastly guard to watch over buried treasure. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below 9 Zombie Road | Wildwood, Missouri Getty Outside of St. Louis lies Zombie Road, a hotbed of ghostly activities. There are many scary stories stemming from Lawler Ford Road (its actual name), from sightings of Indigenous spirits wandering the stretch to victims of train accidents (there used to be active tracks there) like Della Hamilton McCullough, who was struck by a passing train. In the 1950s, it became a popular late-night teen hangout spot, with various murders happening in the area, too. It's also been rumored to be the home base of a murderer named Zombie, who escaped a mental asylum. These days, the stretch has been rechristened as a nature trail, but it's closed once night falls (with hefty fines for those who dare to trespass). Advertisement - Continue Reading Below 10 Dead Woman's Crossing | Weatherford, Oklahoma Getty This one's a regular murder mystery turned ghost story, according to Atlas Obscura. In the early 1900s in Weatherford, Oklahoma, Katie DeWitt James left her home with her baby after she filed for divorce from her husband. She planned to move in with her cousin, but her family never heard from her. After an investigation, it turned out that she moved in with local prostitute Frannie Norton. She was last seen leaving the house with Frannie and her child in a carriage. Frannie returned with the child, who was covered in blood, but without Katie. Her body was found later, along a nearby creek, with her head cut off. It was rumored that her ex-husband had her killed with Frannie's help, but Frannie claimed she wasn't involved in Katie's death. But on the day she was supposed to be questioned by the police, she poisoned herself. Katie's still around though. She allegedly appears as a blue light floating around town, and people have reported hearing a woman looking for her baby and the rolling sound of wheels. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below 11 The Myrtles Plantation | St. Francisville, Louisiana Getty Of the numerous spirits haunting this plantation, built in 1796 in St. Francisville, Louisiana, the most known entity is Chloe, according to the official website. It's said that plantation owner Clark Woodruff carried on an affair with an enslaved person, Chloe, which he ended abruptly. She began to eavesdrop on his conversation, and he caught her. As punishment, he cut her ear off. She then poisoned the rest of his family with a birthday cake, leaving him alone. The other enslaved people knew what she had done and hanged her. She supposedly still remains on the property, with a photograph from 1992 where her spirit is reportedly visible. This commenting section is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page. You may be able to find more information on their web site. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below More From 100+ Genius Halloween Ideas for 2022 What Time Does Trick-or-Treating Officially Start? 58 of the Best Halloween Songs of All Time Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Great Halloween Party Games for Kids and Adults 74 Easy Halloween Crafts You Can DIY This Fall 40 Easy Fun Halloween Treats for Kids The Most Clever Halloween Instagram Captions 55 Pumpkin Quotes and Puns to Make You Laugh Last-Minute Halloween Costume Ideas to the Rescue! Wait, Why Do We Celebrate Halloween? 24 Halloween Window Decor Ideas to Try This Year Newsletter About Us Media Kit Press Room Contact Us Community Guidelines Advertise Online Customer Service Subscribe Other Hearst Subscriptions Give a Gift Events & Promotions Giveaways A Part of Hearst Digital Media Country Living participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. ©2023 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Notice CA Notice at Collection Your CA Privacy Rights/Shine the Light DAA Industry Opt Out Terms of Use Site Map Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads

These Super-Scary Stories Will Keep You up at Night