America’s Creepiest Cemeteries

St. Louis Cemetery Number 1, New Orleans, Louisiana

Nicolas Cage's career choices are pretty scary, but perhaps not as scary as the giant, empty, pyramid-shaped tomb he's built for himself at St. Louis Cemetery Number 1 in New Orleans. Living celebrities not terrifying enough for you? This graveyard is also famous for being the final resting place of Marie Laveau, a famous voodoo priestess. Believers visit Laveau's tomb and mark three Xs on the grave, hoping she will grant them a wish in return.

Stull Cemetery, Stull, Kansas

Stull Cemetery in Kanas is nicknamed the "gateway to hell" and attracts so many thrill seekers that trespassers face a fine of up to a $1,000 and six months in jail. Many urban legends surround this graveyard—including one that claims that the devil's half-human child is buried here. (And no, we didn't dig up the grave to fact-check that, thank you very much.)

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Sleepy Hollow, New York

The legend of Sleepy Hollow is so creepy that it's been featured in print and movies and is currently the basis of a television show. Dare to visit this cemetery and you might see more than the famous headless horseman: According to the New York Times, a local legend claims that a sculpture nicknamed the Bronze Lady in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is rumored to cry loudly and weep real tears.

Westminster Burying Grounds, Baltimore, Maryland

Edgar Allan Poe was the master of spooky suspense, so it only makes sense that he is reported to haunt his final resting place: the Westminster Burying Grounds. Another legend about this graveyard is so scary that Poe himself could have written it. The story goes that a minister was murdered, but his head kept screaming after death, so the culprits gagged it and buried the head here in a block of cement. Be warned: According to the tale, if you hear the head screaming, the sound will stay with you forever and drive you insane.

Howard Street Cemetery, Salem, Massachusetts

The town of Salem, with its terrible witch-hunt history, has enough of a haunted reputation on its own. So imagine how creepy the town's oldest cemetery is. It's also the resting place of Giles Corey, the only person who was killed by torture during the witch trials—he was crushed to death here, slowly, over two days. Now his spirit supposedly appears in the graveyard right before a tragedy happens in the town.

Cemetery Hill, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Seeing spirits may be common, but at Gettysburg's Cemetery Hill, you can apparently smell the creepiness. The story goes that so many people died at the Battle of Gettysburg that the bodies began to rot before they could even be buried. To combat the stench, people held peppermint-soaked cloths over their faces—and even today, visitors claim that they can still smell the mint.

Resurrection Catholic Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois

Ever hear the urban legend about the driver who picked up a hitchhiker, then dropped her off at a cemetery where she turned into a ghost? This is that cemetery. So maybe don't pick up hitchhikers around here. (Or probably anywhere else in Chicago…)

Do you know of a creepy cemetery in America? Scare us with your story in the comments.

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