Pick a state for its haunt score, every record behind it, and what Google asks about it. Or read on for the national story.
A data story · October 2026
Every state ranked from nine public records and a year of searches
This is the most comprehensive ranking of America’s most haunted states: all 50 scored on nine public records from six sources, each counted per person and by total.
Then the search data: 12,501 Google autocomplete completions captured for every state, and a year of Google Trends searches, from haunted places and ghost hunting to Mothman and skinwalkers. Every state’s score, every record and every search is published below.
Let’s look at the data…
Per person, West Virginia is the most haunted state in America with a haunt score of 87 out of 100, just ahead of Wyoming (84) and Montana (78). Count the totals instead and Ohio comes first. West Virginia is the most ghostly, Oregon the most mysterious, and Wyoming the most ghost-obsessed.
Most ghostly
Most mysterious
Most ghost-obsessed
| # | State, and what it is known for | Score | Ghostly | Mysterious | Ghost-obsessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 old asylums and sanatoriums, the most per person | 87 | 1st | 8th | 2nd |
| 2 | 123 spooky place names, the most per person | 84 | 12th | 6th | 1st |
| 3 | 453 ghost towns, 2nd most per person | 78 | 6th | 2nd | 17th |
| 4 | 1,298 ghost towns, 3rd most per person | 75 | 4th | 19th | 3rd |
| 5 | 1,416 historic places, the most per person | 75 | 2nd | 16th | 8th |
| 6 | 811 ghost sightings, the most per person | 73 | 5th | 10th | 16th |
| 7 | 563 ghost towns, 4th most per person | 72 | 13th | 7th | 14th |
| 8 | 2,521 ufo reports, 2nd most per person | 72 | 23rd | 1st | 15th |
| 9 | 768 ghost towns, 5th most per person | 69 | 9th | 17th | 5th |
| 10 | 158 bigfoot reports, 10th most per person | 69 | 11th | 13th | 11th |
| 11 | 186 spooky place names, 4th most per person | 68 | 33rd | 4th | 9th |
| 12 | 1,789 cemeteries, the most per person | 68 | 3rd | 12th | 32nd |
| 13 | 4,985 cemeteries, 8th most per person | 66 | 8th | 21st | 12th |
| 14 | 409 ghost towns, the most per person | 66 | 18th | 3rd | 29th |
| 15 | 1,987 ghost sightings, 3rd most per person | 65 | 17th | 18th | 6th |
| 16 | 2,054 ghost towns, 7th most per person | 61 | 15th | 25th | 7th |
| 17 | 179 spooky place names, 7th most per person | 60 | 43rd | 11th | 4th |
| 18 | 795 ufo reports, 5th most per person | 60 | 21st | 15th | 21st |
| 19 | 979 ghost sightings, 10th most per person | 59 | 26th | 22nd | 10th |
| 20 | 12 old asylums and sanatoriums, 4th most per person | 59 | 19th | 20th | 18th |
| 21 | 5,055 ufo reports, the most per person | 56 | 46th | 5th | 24th |
| 22 | 230 spooky place names, 10th most per person | 55 | 45th | 9th | 19th |
| 23 | 111 haunted locations, 9th most per person | 54 | 14th | 31st | 23rd |
| 24 | 12,856 cemeteries, 7th most per person | 52 | 22nd | 27th | 20th |
| 25 | 2,039 cemeteries, 2nd most per person | 52 | 10th | 34th | 25th |
| 26 | 2,213 ghost sightings, 12th most per person | 51 | 27th | 37th | 13th |
| 27 | 6,972 cemeteries, 10th most per person | 50 | 16th | 28th | 28th |
| 28 | 3 old asylums and sanatoriums, 2nd most per person | 49 | 7th | 32nd | 41st |
| 29 | 649 haunted locations, 17th most per person | 44 | 32nd | 38th | 22nd |
| 30 | 3,448 ufo reports, 8th most per person | 43 | 49th | 14th | 27th |
| 31 | 529 haunted locations, 10th most per person | 43 | 31st | 29th | 31st |
| 32 | 6 old asylums and sanatoriums, 7th most per person | 43 | 28th | 40th | 26th |
| 33 | 16 old asylums and sanatoriums, 8th most per person | 42 | 29th | 36th | 33rd |
| 34 | 3,818 cemeteries, 18th most per person | 40 | 35th | 26th | 39th |
| 35 | 356 ghost towns, 17th most per person | 40 | 34th | 33rd | 34th |
| 36 | 6,568 cemeteries, 3rd most per person | 40 | 20th | 42nd | 40th |
| 37 | 506 ghost towns, 8th most per person | 40 | 47th | 23rd | 30th |
| 38 | 4 old asylums and sanatoriums, 9th most per person | 40 | 24th | 30th | 44th |
| 39 | 5,181 cemeteries, 21st most per person | 38 | 30th | 41st | 35th |
| 40 | 52 old asylums and sanatoriums, 6th most per person | 36 | 39th | 24th | 46th |
| 41 | 4,522 historic places, 12th most per person | 34 | 25th | 44th | 45th |
| 42 | 4 old asylums and sanatoriums, 28th most per person | 33 | 42nd | 39th | 38th |
| 43 | 601 ghost towns, 21st most per person | 32 | 38th | 43rd | 36th |
| 44 | 731 historic places, 10th most per person | 30 | 40th | 45th | 37th |
| 45 | 6 old asylums and sanatoriums, 12th most per person | 26 | 37th | 47th | 42nd |
| 46 | 7,669 ghost sightings, 23rd most per person | 23 | 44th | 46th | 43rd |
| 47 | 302 bigfoot reports, 25th most per person | 22 | 50th | 35th | 47th |
| 48 | 21 old asylums and sanatoriums, 11th most per person | 20 | 41st | 49th | 48th |
| 49 | 96 haunted locations, 6th most per person | 20 | 36th | 48th | 50th |
| 50 | 6 old asylums and sanatoriums, 21st most per person | 13 | 48th | 50th | 49th |
| (not a state, would be 47)2 old asylums and sanatoriums, 2nd most per person | 23 | 32nd | last | 48th |
Nine public records went into the ranking. Added up across the fifty states, this is what America has logged, mapped and reported.
154,162
cemeteries
88,110
UFO reports
68,036
ghost sightings
15,037
ghost towns
10,976
haunted locations
5,021
Bigfoot reports
4,452
spooky place names
214
closed asylums
Of the 4,452 creeks, hollows, mountains and swamps with a spooky word in their name, “devil” is the favourite in 41 states. Only Oklahoma, Rhode Island and South Dakota prefer “dead man”, Arizona and Mississippi prefer “hell”, Maine and New Hampshire prefer “coffin”, Connecticut prefers “witch” and Kansas prefers “bloody”. California has the most, with 440; Wyoming, Montana and Alaska have the most per person.
Readers have posted 68,036 ghost sightings to Ghosts of America, town by town. These towns have the most, and two of them are army bases.
Most reportedly haunted locations
By the Shadowlands index, which lists the places rather than the sightings: Los Angeles, CA (61); San Antonio, TX (55); Honolulu, HI (43); Pittsburgh, PA (42); El Paso, TX (37); Houston, TX (33); Orlando, FL (32); Laredo, TX (32).
272 of America’s 88,110 UFO reports are dated October 31. California (32), Florida (27), Texas (17), New York (15), Washington (14) and Georgia (11) file the most on Halloween. In 49 states the commonest thing seen is “a light”; in Delaware it is a triangle.
5,021 reports sent to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, and the counties that send the most.
76
Pierce County, WA
43
Humboldt County, CA
34
Coconino County, AZ
27
Clackamas County, OR
22
Le Flore County, OK
21
Collier County, FL
20
St. Louis County, MN
19
Portage County, OH
The USGS still maps 214 asylums, sanatoriums and state hospitals that no longer treat anyone. California has 52 (Camarillo State Hospital), New York has 21 (Glenridge Sanatorium), Illinois has 16 (Chicago Sanitarium), Wisconsin has 12 (Hickory Grove Sanatorium) and Ohio has 8 (Oakwood Sanitarium). Per person, West Virginia has the most, among them Hillcrest Sanitarium, Weston State Hospital and Bluefield Sanitarium.
States where Google completes “why is [state] so haunted”.
Each state’s share of searches for “haunted places”, last 12 months.
Top ten: Wyoming, West Virginia, Kentucky, Kansas, Montana, Indiana, Iowa, Idaho, Utah and Arkansas. Bottom ten: Massachusetts, Texas, Georgia, Hawaii, California, Florida, Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Vermont. Google asks why 10 of the bottom 10 are haunted, and why 7 of the top 10 are.
Every spooky search in this story on one scale, most searched first, with the states that search each one hardest.
Google Trends, United States, 2025-10-26 to 2026-10-21. Bigfoot = 100; the rest are compared with it in batches and averaged over two pulls. Dogman is left out: its searches are mostly the Dog Man books. The states are each topic’s highest share of searches.
Bigfoot is searched hardest in Washington, Montana, Oregon. Google even asks why Bigfoot is so popular in Idaho, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington. Here is what America wants to know.
Is it...
Can it...
Why does it...
Why is it...
What does it...
Where does it...
Then type a state and “bigfoot”. Sightings come up in almost every state; this is what else Google offers, and in how many states. A Bigfoot law comes up in California, Oregon, Texas, Washington.
Bigfoot is the most-googled monster in 48 of the 50 states. Look past him and skinwalkers come second in 44. Only a few states stay loyal to their own legend: Kentucky (Mothman), Louisiana (The rougarou), New Jersey (The Jersey Devil), Ohio (Mothman), Virginia (Mothman), West Virginia (Mothman). In Utah and West Virginia, the local monster out-searches Bigfoot himself.
Every region has its own. Here is what people ask Google about each, and whether its home state is the one searching for it.
Skinwalkers
Home: Utah, Arizona, New Mexico
Searched most in Utah, Wyoming, Montana. Arizona ranks 10th. New Mexico ranks 4th.
Skinwalkers come from Navajo (Diné) tradition, and many Navajo people do not talk about them. Google’s own suggestions include “why is skinwalker a bad term”. These are searches; we make no claim about the tradition.
Mothman
Home: West Virginia
Searched most in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky.
The chupacabra
Home: Texas
Searched most in New Mexico, Texas, Arizona. Texas ranks 2nd.
The Jersey Devil
Home: New Jersey
Searched most in New Jersey, Wyoming, Delaware.
The rougarou
Home: Louisiana
Searched most in Louisiana, Colorado, Mississippi.
The Goatman
Home: Maryland, Texas
Searched most in Kentucky, Maryland, West Virginia. Maryland ranks 2nd. Texas ranks 4th.
The Lizard Man
Home: South Carolina
The Loveland Frog
Home: Ohio
The Flatwoods Monster
Home: West Virginia
Type “is” and a state into Google, then “haunted”. Here is the place it offers first.
Some places do not wait for a state to be asked about.
Type a state, then “haunted”, and Google suggests what is haunted there. Here is how many states each thing comes up in.
Take the town Google offers first for each state and add “haunted”. Leaving out the tours and ghost stories every town gets, this is what people look for there.
Mobile, Alabama
haunted hotel
Juneau, Alaska
haunted hotel
Phoenix, Arizona
haunted hotel · ghost town
Rush, Arkansas
ghost town · ghost town map
Bodie, California
ghost town · curse · ghost town history · ghost adventures · ghost town pictures
Colorado Springs
haunted hotel · haunted mines · haunted cave tour · haunted car wash · haunted corn maze
Mystic, Connecticut
haunted bookshop · haunted bookstore
Fort Delaware
paranormal tour · paranormal · paranormal investigation · paranormal tour tickets · paranormal adventure
Cassadaga, Florida
haunted hotel · haunted museum
Savannah, Georgia
haunted pub crawl · haunted hotels · haunted stories · haunted museum · haunted bar crawl
Idaho Falls
haunted history tour · haunted river · haunted hospital · haunted car wash · haunted mill
Alton, Illinois
haunted hotel · haunted town · haunted mansion · haunted school · ghost adventures
Gary, Indiana
haunted house movie · haunted house documentary · haunted house movie netflix · haunted house address · haunted movie
Dubuque, Iowa
haunted hotel
Kansas City
haunted houses edge of hell · haunted pub crawl · haunted hotel · haunted houses the beast · haunted winery
Louisville, Kentucky
haunted hotel · haunted hospital · haunted asylum · haunted sanatorium · ghost walk
Portland, Maine
haunted hotel · haunted walk · haunted pub crawl · haunted walking tour · haunted lighthouse
Baltimore, Maryland
haunted hotel
Salem, Massachusetts
haunted happenings · haunted hotels · haunted museum · haunted airbnb · haunted bed and breakfast
Monroe, Michigan
haunted museum · haunted walking tour
Rodney, Mississippi
ghost town · ghost town pictures · ghost town murders
Branson, Missouri
haunted hotel · ghost town · titanic museum haunted
Billings, Montana
haunted hotel
Omaha, Nebraska
haunted museum · haunted hotel
Reno, Nevada
ghost town · ghost 911 call
Clinton Road, New Jersey
ghost truck · ghost boy · haunted road
Taos, New Mexico
ghost ranch · haunted ranch · paranormal
New York City
haunted hotel · ghost tour of greenwich village · ghost apartments · ghost strain · ghost cars
Ohio University
haunted dorm · haunted asylum · haunted story · haunted room · haunted dorm room
Salem, Oregon
haunted prison · haunted corn maze · prison haunted house · fairgrounds haunted house
Charleston, South Carolina
haunted jail · haunted hotel
Deadwood, South Dakota
haunted hotel
Gatlinburg, Tennessee
haunted mansion · ripley's haunted adventure
Galveston, Texas
haunted hotel · haunted walmart · ghost wolves
Ogden, Utah
haunted hotel · ghost adventures · ghost hunters
Stowe, Vermont
haunted bridge
Virginia Beach
haunted mansion · haunted hotel · haunted car wash · haunted farm · haunted escape room
Spokane, Washington
haunted apartment · haunted apartment garrett · ghost town
Wisconsin Dells
haunted boat tour · haunted mansion · haunted duck ride · haunted trolley · haunted trolley tour
Casper, Wyoming
ghost adventures · ghost town
White House
haunted by abraham lincoln · haunted reddit · haunted movie · ghost photo · ghost abigail
Pick a state in the bar at the top of the page for its full data and a line you can quote, and link straight to it with ?state=XX. Every state in one spreadsheet: download the CSV. Free to use with a link back to this page. Questions or a different cut of the data: [email protected].
What Google assumes. We typed eleven spooky templates into Google Suggest for each of the fifty states and Washington DC, with the state name in lower case, English, US requester: “is [state] haunted”, “most haunted place in [state]”, “creepiest place in [state]”, “[state] cryptid”, “[state] urban legend”, “[state] ghost”, “[state] haunted”, “[state] bigfoot” and “why is [state] so haunted, creepy or scary”, then “[town] [state] haunted” for the first town shown for each state. We kept every completion in the order Google offered it: 12,501 completions across 2 passes on 2026-10-21. Autocomplete reflects what people type, not what is true, and its order is not a volume. Raw captures with the exact query and position are archived. For the creatures we typed “is”, “can”, “why does”, “why is”, “what does” and “where does” before each name, and the bare name, the same way and on the same day.
Cleaning. A place counts only when the completion names a town or landmark of that state (“athens ohio”, “ohio university”). We dropped hotels, ships, regions, abbreviations, other states that share a name, and lines that are not about the state. A place is shown only when it appeared in both passes. Two passes on the same day are a thinner check than weekly sweeps, so treat a single town as what Google offered, not as the state’s most haunted place.
What America searches. Google Trends interest by state, United States, 2025-10-26 to 2026-10-21, for haunted places, ghost hunting, cryptids, bigfoot, urban legends, ouija board, mothman, jersey devil, chupacabra, rougarou, goatman, skinwalker, ghost tour, haunted house. Each value is a state’s share of its own searches, scaled so the top state is 100, not a count of searches, and every Trends response is a sample, so we averaged 2 pulls. Small states can top a share table on modest volume. Searching about ghosts is not the same as believing in them, and the autocomplete half is national, not per state.
The most haunted ranking. For each of the 9 records below we ranked the fifty states, once per 100,000 residents and once by the raw count, and averaged a state’s ranks within each group: Ghostly (Haunted locations, Ghost sightings, Cemeteries, Ghost towns, Old asylums and sanatoriums, Historic places), Mysterious (Bigfoot reports, UFO reports, Spooky place names) and Ghost-obsessed (Google Trends interest in haunted places, ghost hunting, cryptids, Bigfoot, urban legends, Ouija boards, ghost tours and haunted houses). Each group’s average rank becomes a score out of 100: a state first on every record in the group would score 100, one last on every record about 2. The haunt score is the average of the three group scores, so each group weighs the same however many records it holds. Washington DC is scored but left out of the count, and its ranks are the places it would take. Ties go alphabetically. These records count what people have logged, mapped and reported, so older, more rural and better-documented states score higher. They measure stories, not ghosts. Scores a few points apart are close calls: leaving out one record, or adding one search, can swap neighbouring states, so West Virginia and Wyoming are best read as joint leaders. Ranking as of October 22, 2026.
Haunted locations are the Shadowlands entries that name a state. Ghost sightings are the stories readers have posted to Ghosts of America, added up from the count beside each town on the state’s page. Washington DC appears on both the Maryland and Virginia pages, so it is counted once, for DC. Ghost towns are populated places the USGS marks “historical”, meaning the place is gone. Old asylums are USGS hospital entries named asylum, sanatorium or sanitarium, and state hospitals the USGS marks historical (closed). Hospitals still treating patients are left out. Spooky place names are USGS names containing devil, ghost, witch, haunted, skull, skeleton, coffin, dead man, graveyard, tombstone, phantom, demon, hell, bloody and similar words, leaving out cemeteries and churches. Bigfoot and UFO reports are reports people sent in, not confirmed sightings, and the UFO count covers reports logged with a US state.
Maps and data by Answer Socrates. Run the same kind of question on anything at answersocrates.com.