A Special Haunted Roadtrip Series
For ten weeks, Haunted Roadtrips explores America’s Most Haunted Cities—places where history and heartbreak cling to the streets like fog.
We’ve wandered through Savannah, New Orleans, St. Augustine, Charleston, Salem, Gettysburg, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Each city carried its own weight, its own ghosts, its own tragedies.
Now we arrive at Boston, Massachusetts—a city where revolution was born…
and where the whispers of that revolution never fully died.
Boston’s ghosts do not simply appear.
They remember.
The Cold Open
Fog drifts low across Boston Common, curling around iron fences and bare branches like pale fingers. The grass glistens with dew, but the air feels older—heavy with footsteps that no longer belong to the living.
Somewhere in the distance, a lantern flickers.
You follow the light through the mist until it reaches the gates of the Granary Burying Ground, where crooked headstones lean like tired soldiers. A shadow moves between them—slow, deliberate, almost human. It disappears behind Samuel Adams’ marker… but never reappears on the other side.
Wind sweeps down Tremont Street, carrying a whisper that sounds like parchment and gunpowder and an argument that ended 250 years ago.
The city shifts.
Now you’re standing inside the corridor of the Omni Parker House, glass chandeliers dimmed to a warm amber glow. The carpet muffles your footsteps. An elevator dings somewhere out of sight.
You feel a presence before you see anything—hair rising on the back of your neck as the temperature drops. The elevator doors slide open, empty. A moment later, the scent of whiskey and cigar smoke rolls past you, though no one else is there.
The fog outside thickens, pressing against the hotel windows like a memory trying to get in.
Then, faint and far away, you hear it:
The hollow clang of a bell over the harbor.
One… two… three…
Through the mist, the ghost-gray outline of a ship materializes, sails rippling though there is no wind. A figure stands at the bow, watching the city it never returned home to.
This is Boston—where the Revolution still whispers through the streets, where tragedies echo across centuries, and where the restless dead walk as easily as the living.
Welcome to Haunted Roadtrips: America’s Most Haunted Cities – Stop #9.
Where Are We Headed?
Founded in 1630, Boston is one of America’s oldest cities—its cobblestones older than the nation itself, its burial grounds filled long before the first shots of the Revolution.
It is a city shaped by turmoil:
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The Boston Massacre
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The Great Molasses Flood
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The Revolutionary War
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Maritime disasters
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The Iroquois Theatre fire
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Centuries of epidemics and hardship
Boston doesn’t have one haunting theme.
It has layers—colonial spirits, hotel apparitions, theater ghosts, prison stories, and lost sailors drifting back to shore.
This is a city where history has been lived, lost, rewritten…
and still whispered in alleyways after dark.
The Omni Parker House
If Savannah has the Marshall House and Chicago has the Congress Plaza Hotel, then Boston’s crown jewel of hauntings is the Omni Parker House—a hotel so haunted that staff talk about ghosts as casually as room service.
Built in 1855, it has hosted:
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Charles Dickens
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Emerson
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Longfellow
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Mark Twain
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U.S. presidents
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And dozens of guests who checked in but… never quite left.
Hauntings:
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10th Floor Shadow Man
Guests report a tall man in a frock coat standing at the foot of their bed. He disappears when the lights flick on. -
Elevators That Move on Their Own
The elevator often stops on the third floor, where the hotel’s founder, Harvey Parker, once lived. No one is there. -
The Charles Dickens Mirror
Dickens lived here while performing his first American readings of A Christmas Carol. His mirror is said to fog mysteriously—even on warm days. -
Room 303 (the infamous one)
So many guests reported dark entities and overwhelming dread that the hotel permanently converted the room into storage.
The Parker House isn’t just haunted—it’s comfortable with its ghosts.
They’re practically part of the staff.
Granary Burying Ground
Boston’s most famous cemetery, founded in 1660, is the resting place of:
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Samuel Adams
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John Hancock
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Paul Revere
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Victims of the Boston Massacre
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And more than 5,000 others, most in unmarked graves
By day, it’s crowded with tours.
By night, it’s a whispering forest of stone.
Reported Phenomena:
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A cloaked figure seen standing near Revere’s grave
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Blue-white orbs that float between markers
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Footsteps following visitors, especially near the Massacre victims’ tomb
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A woman crying softly, though no one is present
Some say the spirits of Boston’s founders watch over the city still—unable to rest as the nation they sparked continues to evolve.
Boston Common
Before it became a peaceful park, Boston Common was a place of executions—most famously of accused witches, criminals, and prisoners of war.
People walking the Common after sunset report:
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Cold spots the size of a person
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The feeling of being watched
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A hanging woman’s apparition, seen swaying from an invisible rope
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Whispers that drift across the grass like someone calling a name
Even the most seasoned tour guides avoid lingering here too long after midnight.
Fort Warren (George’s Island)
A short ferry ride from the mainland lies Fort Warren, a Civil War fort used as a prison for Confederate soldiers and accused spies.
Its most famous ghost is The Lady in Black.
Her Legend:
A Southern woman disguised herself as a man to rescue her husband imprisoned here. When the plan went wrong, she accidentally shot him—and was executed for espionage. Her final wish: to be buried in the black cloak she wore in disguise.
Visitors still see:
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A woman in black wandering the battlements
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Footsteps running along deserted hallways
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Muffled crying from abandoned casemates
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Cold wind even in high summer
Fort Warren is one of the most active haunted sites in New England—and one of the eeriest.
USS Constitution (“Old Ironsides”)
Launched in 1797, the USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship afloat. She earned her nickname when cannonballs bounced off her hull during the War of 1812.
But the ship carries more than patriotism.
Hauntings:
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Sailors have seen apparitions in 19th-century uniforms walking the deck
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A shadow man near the gun ports is frequently photographed
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Bells sometimes ring without wind
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Visitors report whispers below deck, where more than 400 men once lived—and some died
Old Ironsides seems determined to keep her crew… even after death.
Theatre District – Especially The Cutler Majestic
Boston’s theaters are elegant, gilded, and extremely haunted.
At the Cutler Majestic Theatre:
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A woman in a Victorian gown appears in the balcony
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A child’s laughter echoes during rehearsals
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Stage lights flicker during emotional scenes
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Ushers see empty seats fold down, as if someone invisible just sat
Other haunted theaters include:
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The Opera House
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The Wilbur
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The Colonial Theatre
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The Orpheum
Actors swear someone always watches from the darkest corner of the room.
The Boston Athenaeum
One of the oldest libraries in America—quiet, refined, and deeply unsettling.
Ghosts reported:
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A Union soldier reading in the corner, who vanishes when approached
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A woman in gray gliding through the stacks
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A presence in the rare books room that makes visitors dizzy
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Pages turning on their own
Staff say the Athenaeum doesn’t feel haunted—it feels occupied.
The Great Molasses Flood (1919)
On January 15, 1919, a massive storage tank ruptured, releasing 2.3 million gallons of hot molasses into Boston’s North End. The wave was 25 feet high and traveled at 35 mph. Twenty-one people died; 150 were injured.
Locals claim:
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Sticky footsteps follow pedestrians at night
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The smell of molasses hangs in the air on warm days
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Screams echo between the old brick buildings
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Shadow figures appear at the site, then dissolve
It remains one of Boston’s strangest and most tragic hauntings.
Firsthand Chilling Encounters
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Parker House Bellhop: A staff member reported seeing Harvey Parker himself give directions to a lost guest—only to disappear mid-sentence.
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Granary Tourist Photo: A visitor captured a clear image of a man standing behind the Revere monument. No reenactors were present.
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Fort Warren Ranger: He heard a woman singing through a stone wall—an old Southern lullaby.
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USS Constitution Crew: Modern sailors report seeing a man in a blue naval coat saluting during night watch… before fading into the sea mist.
Boston’s hauntings don’t hide—they observe.
The Real History Behind the Hauntings
Boston’s ghosts are born of:
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Revolution
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Tragedy
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Maritime loss
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War
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Fire
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Disease
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And the weight of centuries
Nearly every block has a story.
Every building has seen someone rise—or fall.
Boston is not haunted because it is old.
Boston is haunted because it has lived so much.
Want to Visit?
Ghost seekers will find Boston one of the easiest cities to explore:
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Ghost Tours: Lantern walks through Boston Common, theatre district tours, nighttime harbor tours
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Stay Overnight: Omni Parker House (for the brave), The Liberty Hotel (a former jail), or seafront inns
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Historic Sites: Granary Burying Ground, Old South Meeting House, Boston Massacre Site, Fort Warren
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Best Seasons: Autumn for fog and foliage, spring for cool nights and fewer crowds
Take photos. Bring good shoes. And avoid room 303 at the Parker House… unless you’re absolutely sure you want to.
Fun Facts & Lesser-Known Stories
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The Parker House invented Boston Cream Pie. Some say ghosts move the trays.
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Paul Revere’s ghost is rumored to ride through the North End on certain moonlit nights.
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The Cutler Majestic once showed an entire performance to an empty—yet fully occupied—balcony.
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The USS Constitution is still active. Even the Navy acknowledges “odd activity” onboard.
Further Reading: Related Legends You Might Like
Pop Culture + Paranormal Cred
Boston appears in:
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Ghost Hunters
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Haunted History
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Most Terrifying Places in America
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Multiple Travel Channel specials
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Dozens of paranormal books
The Parker House alone has been investigated more than any hotel in New England.
Spooky Scale
👻👻👻👻 (4 out of 5 Ghosts)
Boston’s spirits aren’t here to scare you—they’re here to remember.
Final Thoughts
Boston is a city built on revolution, shaped by tragedy, and kept alive by memory. Its ghosts walk through centuries of history, whispering reminders of the battles we fought—and the ones we’re still fighting.
Next week, our journey continues to Stop #10—the final city in our haunted tour.
Where do you think we should head next?
Would you rather face
the ghosts of San Francisco…
or the spirits of San Diego?
📌 Don’t miss an episode!
Check out last week’s edition, where we explored Chicago, Illinois — Where Shadows Rise from the Ashes.
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Urban Legends, Mystery, and Myth explores the creepiest corners of folklore — from haunted houses and cemeteries to unsolved mysteries and modern myth.
Want even more terrifying tales?
Discover our companion book series, Urban Legends and Tales of Terror, featuring reimagined fiction inspired by the legends we cover here.
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