Easy Ways to Experience Year-Round Haunting Travels

Old Richardsville Road Bridge in Bowling Green, Ky. (photo courtesy of mbpr!) As the legend goes, a young woman either jumped off, drove off or was pushed off the bridge (that part is unclear) and died at the site. It’s said that if you drive onto the bridge at night and shift your car into neutral, some unseen force will push your vehicle to the other side. Local legend claims it’s the young woman trying to safely escort travelers across so they don’t suffer the same fate that she did.

Even though the spooky season only lasts 31 days, you can still experience thrills and chills throughout the South year-round.

Whether it's checking out spooky sites like the Old Richardsville Road Bridge in Bowling Green, Ky., visiting a haunted city such as Selma, Ala., taking a haunted road trip through Texas, Tennessee or Georgia, or exploring West Virginia Paranormal Trail that boasts 20 spine-tingling sites, you need to know where to go and what to look for.

Read on if you want to add an eerie sensation (or two) to a future getaway.

Hauntingly (Fun) Destinations

While Galveston, Texas, New Orleans, Savannah, Ga., St. Augustine, Fla., Key West, Fla., and Charleston, S.C., are some of the better-known haunted destinations in the South, the region is filled with all types of scares everywhere, like:

Considered to be one of the most haunted cities in Central Texas, Waco's "hot spots" for paranormal activity range from the ghosts at The ALICO, Texas' first skyscraper, to the Dr. Pepper Museum with its own two-hour Paranormal Experience, to the Armstrong Browning Library on the campus at Baylor University, where one of the ghosts is believed to be Elizabeth Barrett Browning herself, keeping watch over her possessions.

However, the most interesting reported ghost story is at the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, where you'll find the guns of Bonnie and Clyde, along with the Texas Ranger who captured them, on display. No big deal, right? Something cool to see. Well, it's been reported that employees arriving in the morning have found all three guns cocked. Hmmm.

Eureka Springs, Ark., is home to Crescent Hotel, which claims to be "the most haunted hotel in America." Additionally, the 1905 Basin Hotel has ghosts, too. And that's only the beginning. The town has its share of creepy stories.

Macon, Ga., known as the "birthplace of Southern Rock" and home to other music legends, offers haunted places like the Hay House, which was featured in Architectural Digest's "13 Most Beautiful Haunted Destinations Around the World." There are also stories found along College Hill Corridor, as detailed in "Macon Beyond."

Undoubtedly, the "City of Five Flags," Pensacola, Fla., is haunted. Seville Quarter lists 12 haunted places that include Fort Barrancas, Fort Pickens and Saenger Theater. Of course, the Seville Quarter is also haunted.

Boasting a historic district spanning more than 230 blocks and a heritage stretching back several centuries, Wilmington, N.C., still holds plenty of spirits. The city offers ghost tours, haunted buildings and a haunted battleship.

Cynthiana, Ky., may be the hometown of "The Walking Dead" creator Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore; however, it has haunting stories of its own, many of which are found at the Rohs Opera House (ca. 1871), recognized as one of the most haunted places in Kentucky. Spend either Friday or Saturday night and enjoy a paranormal investigation.

In Search of Ghosts

In addition to staying at haunted accommodations or enjoying a meal at haunted restaurants, ghost tours are an easy and popular way to get that prickling feeling on the back of your neck, with the bonus of never knowing what you might capture on your smartphone's camera.

Tours to consider are the Ghosts & Paranormal Tours of Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson, available March -November; the McRaven Tour Home in Vicksburg, Miss., said to be "Mississippi's Most Haunted House" provides haunted tours on Fridays and Saturdays, as well as ghost investigations on specific dates; The History, Highways and Haunts tour company in Huntsville, Tenn., provides ghost tours of both the Historic Scott County Jail (Huntsville) and Historic Rugby (Tenn.) Village; oh, not to be outdone, is the adrenaline-pounding paranormal tour with End of the Line Paranormal at Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tenn.; Go inside the historic buildings at Colonial Williamsburg (Va.) with Haunted Williamsburg and learn more about who hasn't left; the Hilltop History and Haunts Tour in Bowling Green, Ky., focuses on the spooky side of Western Kentucky University (WKU).