From haunted houses to scary schools, spooky statehouses to creepy hotels, there are plenty of places to go ghost-hunting in The Ocean State. Looking for a scare-fest? Here are some of the most haunted places in Rhode Island.
1. The Ladd School, Exeter
A eugenics doctor founded The Ladd School in 1908. Horrific practices occurred on patients, including forced sterilizations and, in 1955, the murder of a severely disabled child. The school closed in 1994, and by 2014, all the ruins were demolished. However, as you can imagine, with such a house of horrors, plenty of ghost stories surround the site. Today, locals claim to hear moaning, phantom footsteps shuffling, and crying at the site. Many also claim to hear disembodied voices murmuring, whispering or crying out.
2. The Farm On Round Top Road, aka The Conjuring House, Harrisville
The Farm on Round Top Road is the real location where the story of the movie “The Conjuring” began. The Arnold Estate is an authentic Colonial home circa 1736. It is one of the most haunted houses in America. Visitors have witnessed and engaged in the abundance of supernatural activity present in the house. The haunted house’s history involves a demon possession and an exorcism. It is truly terrifying.
3. The Graduate (f.k.a. the Providence Biltmore),
The Graduate Hotel seems lovely, but Stephen King and Robert Bloch (Bates Motel) drew inspiration from its terrifying tales. A Satanist backed the building of the hotel. This Satanist performed various rituals in the building, which also saw multiple murders during the Prohibition era. Today, employees and guests tell tales of unexplained phenomena happening in the hotel. Are you brave enough to stay the night?
4. City Hall, Providence
The ghost of the former mayor, Thomas Doyle (1864-1869), visits the City Hall in Providence. After his untimely death, his body lay in state in the building. Staff and visitors report seeing chairs move without anyone touching them. They also hear unexplained whispers, footsteps in empty rooms, and lingering smells of cigar smoke. Providence’s City Hall is so haunted that the “Ghost Hunters” team filmed an episode here titled “City Hell”.
5. City Hall, Warwick
Warwick City Hall is so spooky it was featured on an episode of TV’s Ghost Hunters. Visitors in the building claim to hear a woman crying in the former jail and in the basement. They also hear children’s voices on the upper balcony. Employees report smelling phantom cigar smoke in the council chambers and a feeling of being watched by something unseen.
6. Seaview Terrace, Newport
Also known as the Carey Mansion, this 40,000 square-foot mansion, constructed in 1907, is the largest privately-owned Gilded Age “summer cottage”. The gothic horror television series Dark Shadows picked this property as its exterior filming location due to how creepy it looks. Loads of people report that ghosts linger on this property. The tales of disembodied voices and random banging add to the sheer terror. The most prominent spirit in the house is Mrs Bradey, the original owner’s wife. She loved her house so much that she couldn’t leave, and people claim to see her playing her beloved Estey organ.
7. Cumberland Monastery / Cumberland Public Library, Cumberland
A phantom monk roams the halls and moves books on the shelves of what is now Cumberland Public Library, he just couldn’t leave the Monastery, so he stayed. But that is not the only haunting in this house of books. The “Nine Men’s Misery” monument on the library grounds marks the spot where the Wampanoag captured and killed nine colonists during King Philip’s War in 1676. Many locals claim the spirits of the slain men roam and haunt the nearby trails.
