Turner’s Seafood

Of course, many of the state’s haunted restaurants are in Salem. One of these is Turner’s Seafood located in the historic Lyceum Hall, home to famous visitors like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederick Douglass, Henry David Thoreau, John Quincy Adams and Alexander Graham Bell, who gave the first demonstration of the telephone in Lyceum.

However, the history of this restaurant reaches back even further. Before the grounds were Lyceum Hall, they were the site of an apple orchard belonging to Bridget Bishop, the first woman killed in the Salem Witch Trials.

Visitors report seeing a figure believed to be Bishop in windows, mirrors and staircases while wearing a long, white gown. Whenever guests in the dining room get a strong whiff of apple, it is believed that Bishop is lingering nearby.

See if you can sniff Bishop out in the main dining room from noon to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday or noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Guests can request a table online, but walk-ins are welcome.

Location: 43 Church St., Salem

Spider Gates Cemetery

Spider Gates Cemetery, also known as Friends or Quaker Cemetery, lies deep in the woods of Kettle Brook Resrvoir out near Worcester. Legend says that the former entrance to the 18th century cemetery is the eighth gate to Hell, according to ghost tour company Boston Ghosts.

A 2024 report from the Worcester Telegram shares the stories of various hauntings on the cemetery grounds: a Hanging Tree haunted by someone who took their own life among its branches; a second cemetery across the street that disappears after you see it once; the river Styx running underneath a cave where a young woman was murdered; and the voice of Marmaduke Earle, who speaks to those that rest their head on his gravestne at midnight.

Location: 15 Earle St., Leicester

Wayside Inn

The oldest hotel in the entire country, The Wayside Inn dates all the way back to 1661, when John How, one of the first settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was granted a license for a house of public entertainment, or “pub,” in Marlborough, which began a multi-generation tradition of family innkeepers.

The first two-room dwelling was built in 1703, acting as the How family house until 1716, when four Sudbury selectmen granted Samuel’s son David How permission to keep a house of entertainment for travelers.

Today, the inn is believed to be haunted by former resident Jerusha Howe, who ran the inn with her brother Lyman until her death in 1842. According to Boston Ghosts, Howe died from a broken heart after the man she was supposed to marry never returned from England, and now she haunts the hotel looking for male companionship. Male guests of rooms nine and ten – Howe’s former living quarters – have reported feeling her presence or finding her at the foot of their bed in the night.

Double-occupancy rates at The Wayside range from $220-240 per night, and reservations can be booked by calling the front desk at 978-443-1776.

Location: 72 Wayside Inn Road, Sudbury

Haunted history: The oldest hotel in Massachusetts was the first in the country. How to stay there

Hoosac Tunnel

Looking for a ghostly encounter without staying the night? Take a drive by the Hoosac Tunnel in the Berkshires. Running along the Deerfield River, this tunnel is believed to be haunted by the 200 deaths that happened during its 24-year construction, earning the tunnel the nickname of “the bloody pit.”

While only freight trains can drive through the tunnel, past travelers have repoted hearing voices and seeing orbs from outside, says US Ghost Adventures.

Location: Eastern portal at 239 River Road, Drury

Warren Tavern

Established in 1780, Warren Tavern is the oldest tavern in Massachusetts and one of the first buildings to be erected after Charlestown was ransacked and burned by the British in 1775. Many founding fathers visited the tavern, including Paul Revere and George Washington, whose funeral speech was given there.