When we were younger, what was the one thing that most of us feared in common? It must be a ghost or a monster, right? Then imagine for a moment how terrifying it would be to visit a location that was completely possessed by ghosts.
There is certainly no shortage of eerie stories to be found in Arkansas. The state is home to a number of haunted locations, some of which are extremely well known while others remain largely undiscovered. If you are planning a trip to Arkansas to take in the sights that the state has to offer, then you will not want to miss the opportunity to visit some of the haunted locations that the state is known for!
Let’s get right into it and explore some of the most haunted places in Arkansas.
1. The Crescent Hotel
The Crescent Hotel boasts a rich heritage that is interspersed with ghost stories and has managed to keep much of its original Victorian character. Besides being one of the most haunted places in Arkansas, it’s also one of the most haunted locations in the United States!
The staff at the hotel frequently receives reports of mysterious activity from guests staying in various rooms throughout the building. It is also said that the hotel is home to more than one ghost. A guest in room 202 even took a photograph of an apparition, while guests in room 218 reported seeing full-body apparitions, feelings of strange sensations, and hearing noises that cannot be explained.
During the middle of the night, there were also reports of a ghostly nurse attempting to push a gurney down the hallway and through a solid wall. This is consistent with the property’s fascinating history, as it was once used as a retreat for people undergoing treatment for cancer.
2. Peel Mansion
Peel Mansion is known as the most popular haunted house in Arkansas. Samuel Peel is rumored to still linger at Peel Mansion, which he constructed in 1875 and now is said to be haunted by both Samuel Peel himself and his daughter Minnie Belle.
Minnie can frequently be seen in the guise of a woman dressed in white as she roams around the Peel mansion, and on occasion, she can be heard playing the piano with the same grace and artistry that she did in life. On the other hand, it is said that the music will suddenly stop if anybody walks into the room while she is playing it!
Peel Mansion is proud of its reputation as a ghostly building, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the week, it even hosts ghost walks that end with a dinner!
3. Jacksonville High School
‘The Mumbling Man’ is probably one of the Arkansas ghost stories that has gained the most notoriety over the years. The following is a story about a male ghost that is said to haunt Jacksonville High School. It is said that the ghost of this man can be seen walking around the auditorium of the high school.
People have stated that they have heard weird sounds in the auditorium that they are unable to explain. The most common of these noises is the sound of a man’s voice mumbling to himself when there is nobody else in the room.
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4. The Clayton House
The National Registry of Historic Places recognizes the Clayton House as a location of historical significance. It was once the residence of William Henry Harrison Clayton, and then over the course of time, it has evolved into one of the most well-liked constructions throughout the state of Arkansas.
It wasn’t until the seventies that the house was brought back to its former splendor, and ever since then, visiting it has been compared to traveling through time. Also, there are several irreplaceable items that once belonged to the Clayton family displayed in the home. Martha Siler, a former director of the Clayton House who worked there, claimed that she began having experiences with the paranormal almost immediately after beginning her employment there.
She has explained that there is a specific bedroom on the second floor that has a reputation for terrifying anyone who stays there. People have reported hearing music coming from empty rooms, along with the sound of slamming doors and boots stomping up the hallway. She also asserts that she saw a shadowy figure of a woman wearing a linen shirt and a brown skirt appear in Mr. Clayton’s study.
5. The Basin Park Hotel
The Basin Park Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, takes great pride in the spooky reputation that it has earned over the years; in fact, one of the hotel’s slogans is “Boo at the Basin.” The Basin Park Hotel is said to be home to a number of ghosts from the state of Arkansas, and a significant number of the visitors who stay there do so solely for the opportunity to capture an image of one of these specters.
Among the ghosts, there is a young girl with yellow dress and pigtails and a transparent plastic young woman reported as having steel blue eyes and cotton candy-like blonde hair are seen at the hotel the most frequently.
Ghost tours are offered every Friday and Saturday night at the Basin Park Hotel. The tours are led by two mediums who not only search the hotel for ghosts but also provide a rundown of the hotel’s eerie past.
6. The Allen House
Joe Allen, the former owner of the property and the person responsible for its construction, is said to haunt the Allen House in Monticello, but he is not the only ghost said to linger there. In fact, the ghost that is seen on the property the most frequently is his daughter LaDell Allen, who is thought to have taken her own life on the property by drinking cyanide.
After she passed away, Joe moved the rest of his family out of the building, and it was eventually transformed into apartments that were smaller and more reasonably priced. It wasn’t until this construction started that people started saying they saw LaDell’s ghost for the first time!
Learn more about the major cemeteries in Arkansas.
7. The Crossett Lights
According to a local legend, in Crossett, Arkansas, there was a railroad worker who, sometime in the early 1900s, either lost his head in an accident or had his head severed by a disgruntled coworker. After this incident, it is said that a strange light can be seen by travelers.
There is no disputing the fact that the spook lights are real, regardless of where they come from. If you travel to the area around 425 Ashley Road late at night, just outside of Crossett, you might catch a glimpse of that mysterious spectral light that floats along the path in which the old train tracks used to be.
They can sometimes resemble vintage railroad lanterns, but some other weeks they can take on a variety of shapes and colors and appear entirely different.
8. Arkansas Tech University in Russellville
At Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, there are a number of locations that are rumored to be haunted. There are two urban legends from Arkansas that could explain these haunting. Caraway Hall is said to have been constructed on top of a Cherokee burial site, according to one urban legend. Another legend claims that a young person committed suicide inside this building.
At Caraway Hall, several students have reported hearing noises in the building’s attic. It is reported that the ghost of a former student can be heard playing the piano in the practice room of Witherspoon Hall.
Also, Tucker Coliseum, the site where a tragic car accident took the life of a prominent basketball player, is haunted. It is said that the ghost left basketballs lying around the court in a disorganized manner.
9. Mr. Lyle House
This Jonesboro home was constructed by Jimmy Lyle in 1926, and current and former residents of the area claim that it is haunted by a number of spirits who enjoy having fun. It is said that the spirit of Mr. Lyle can be seen moving around in various rooms and hallways of the house.
The house had undergone renovation in 2006; during one of their breaks, construction workers claimed that they heard a youngster having a good laugh and running around the second floor, but when they checked, there was no one there.
Moreover, a family who lived in the house during the 1970s recalled that their daughter would wake up in the middle of the night and scream when she would see a young boy standing at the foot of her bed and smiling at her.
10. Avon Cemetery
It is said that the Avon Cemetery in De Queen is haunted by the spirits of a mother and child. The story goes like this: a woman drew water from the ancient well while holding her infant child on the boundary of the well. Tragically, the child rolled into the well and drowned.
Some people have reported seeing the ghost of the mother in the cemetery, and others claim that if you drop a stone into the well in the middle of the cemetery at night, you will hear the sound of a baby crying.
11. Clayton House
Standing regally in the Belle Grove Historic District, the Clayton House serves as a living history book of Fort Smith’s elegant Victorian period during the city’s frontier beginnings on the border of Indian Territory. The Italianate-style mansion also provides a perfect setting for weddings and private gatherings with its stately parlors and expansive grounds.
12. Haunted Eureka Springs
Prepare for an adventure that enlightens you to our towns unique haunted history that helped make our little village to be considered one of the most haunted towns in America. Family and pet friendly, people off all ages rave about the great time they have on our tour.
13. Crescent Hotel
Crescent Hotel offers Unusual tourism destination offering evening tours of a supposedly haunted 19th-century hotel. However, it’s haunted stories related to this old hotel dates back to 200 years in Arkansas.
Why not spend some of your free time engaging in some ghost hunting, which can involve anything from seeing ghosts to having paranormal experiences such as mysterious flashing lights or hearing nonhuman voices? Visiting some of the most haunted locations in Arkansas would be an exciting adventure, regardless of whether or not you actually think of the local ghost tales.