BLOG: 15 Curious and Creepy Places You Can Explore in Pennsylvania, and 5 You (Probably) Shouldn't Attempt
Oh, hey, fellow Pennsylvanians - it’s National Pennsylvania Day! July 20 marks the day of the year when the state of PA is given recognition. As native Pennsylvanians, we’ve discovered the state we call home is full of creepy places, fascinating history, and mysterious legends and lore. Some are well-known and well-traveled, while others are obscure and secret, but all of them are worthwhile treasures of experience! Whether you also hail from Pennsylvania or plan to visit the wonders of the Keystone State some day, be sure to check out these 15 Curious and Creepy Places You Can Explore in Pennsylvania, and 5 You (Probably) Shouldn't Attempt in honor of National Pennsylvania Day!
In no specific order of preference, these first 15 curious, creepy places offer unique experiences and plenty of stories to explore!
1) Columcille Megalith Park
Called the “Land of Myth and Mystery,” Columcille Megalith Park can be found in Bangor, Pennsylvania. Columcille’s creation is rooted in Celtic spirituality inspired by the Isle of Iona off the coast of Scotland. The outdoor sanctuary is meant to be an open space that welcomes people of all faiths and traditions to come in search of transformation and renewal. Since opening as one small house in 1975, Columcille has continued to add to its structures, peaceful trails, and meditation sites. It now has over 80 standing stones, a bell tower, a chapel, and mystical archways like Thor’s Gate and the Infinity Gate that some visitors maintain may be portals into another world - one of myth and mystery. The park is open daily for spiritual travelers - take a look through the photo gallery of our visit to Columcille Megalith Park!
2) Pennhurst State School and Hospital
It seems inevitable that any abandoned asylum would be teeming with paranormal activity, and Pennhurst State School and Hospital in Spring City, PA is no exception. Known as “The Shame of Pennsylvania”, Pennhurst was a state-funded school and hospital with a grim history. Originally opening in 1908, Pennhurst became the subject of a 1960s television expose’ called Suffer the Little Children, which horrifically revealed not only that the facility was woefully overcrowded and understaffed, but also that the patients suffered abuse, neglect, and brutality on a daily basis. It took two more decades before the facility was finally closed in 1987 - then its haunted legacy began. While lying abandoned and hidden from view in secluded woodlands for 25 years, Pennhurst became a legendary haunted location, despite being closed to the public. Many of those who ventured onto the property claimed to see apparitions, hear voices, loud noises and laughter, capture EVPs, and feel touched by unseen presences - just to name a few of Pennhurst’s many haunted encounters. After its years of abandonment, the crumbling property can now be visited during daytime tours, paranormal investigations, and Halloween haunted attractions. For additional photos inside Pennhurst, flip through our Pennhurst Asylum ParaCon 2019 Photo Album.
Image from Journal of the American Revolution.
3) Fort Mifflin on the Delaware
Despite sometimes being called the “Fort That Saved America,” Fort Mifflin on the Delaware is not a location that is widely known. In the fall of 1777, 400 American troops held the British Navy at bay, preventing them from re-supplying their forces in Philadelphia and allowing George Washington to safely install his troops at Valley Forge. When the British finally broke through weeks later, the battle that ensued was the greatest bombardment of the Revolutionary War, with 1,000 cannonballs fired at Fort Mifflin in one hour. The remaining American troops set the fort ablaze, and regrouped in New Jersey. Fort Mifflin is now a national historic landmark, and one that many believe is one of the most haunted places in the United States! Since 1778, reports of paranormal activity have been recorded at Fort Mifflin on the Delaware, including a screaming woman known as Elizabeth Pratt, a faceless man, a lamplighter walking the grounds with an oil lamp, disembodied voices, and much more. The Fort is open for daily visits, and available for paranormal investigations.
4) Eastern State Penitentiary
No list of Pennsylvania curiosities and paranormal places would be complete without Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. Considered to be the world’s first “true” penitentiary, designed to inspire penitence through solitude and isolation, the prison operated from 1829 to 1971. Despite its Quaker-based model of penitence, the punishments many prisoners came to endure were cruel and violent. Methods like the “Mad Chair,” the “Iron Gag,” and “The Hole” led to amputations, mutilations, insanity, and sometimes death. After shutting down in 1971, the prison was left abandoned and fell into ruin for several decades, until restoration attempts began and it re-opened for public tours in 1994. During its 142 years in operation, ESP saw 1,200 inmates die, 50 inmates commit suicide, dozens get murdered by other prisoners, and over 100 people attempt to escape. Combined with its inhumane punishments, total isolation methods, and then its subsequent abandonment, the prison has created a decidedly haunted atmosphere where ghosts can thrive. Reports of paranormal activity and ghost stories date back decades, with famous inmate Al Capone even claiming he was haunted during his stint in ESP in 1929. Not only is Eastern State Penitentiary considered one of America’s most haunted prisons, it is also one of the most haunted places in the world. The “preserved ruin” is now open daily as a museum, and hosts the Halloween attractionTerror Behind the Walls every year. For more history and images of Eastern State Pen, check out our blog 10 Horrible History Facts About Eastern State Penitentiary (and Our Own Tour of the Famous Haunted Prison!).
Image from Altoona Mirror.
5) Allegheny National Forest
About 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, PA lies the huge expanse of the Allegheny National Forest. Covering 513,175 acres of the state, ANS is Pennsylvania’s only national forest, and a place that is steeped in history and mystery. Among the strange activity that has been reported in and around the forest are Sasquatch sightings, UFO sightings, hauntings, vortexes, unidentified screams in the night, creepy EVPs, and legends of a giant skeleton discovered in a cavern. In 2018, a green sphere UFO was witnessed over Smethport in ANS. Numerous Bigfoot encounters have come out of the ANS area, including a 2013 sighting near Kinzua Bridge. Kane Manor, a bed & breakfast in the ANS, was built 1896 and is reportedly haunted by an unknown ghost. Originally owned by Dr. Elizabeth Kane, the first female doctor in Pennsylvania, guests of the B&B have experienced unexplainable noises, disembodied footsteps, and creepy feelings followed by the sudden scent of cigar smoke. Treasure hunters, too, may be drawn to ANS, where tales of a lost silver cave waiting to be re-discovered have trickled through area since the 1700s. With such a large coverage area and so many mysteries, Allegheny National Forest offers a nearly endless expanse of exploration in the Pennsylvania Wilds. But be careful where you tread, as people have gone missing in the forest and never been recovered.
For firsthand accounts of high strangeness in Allegheny National Forest, listen in on Episode 45: Bigfoot in Broad Daylight, Episode 98: The Vortex Portal, and Episode 100: Bigfoot Found Them.
Image from the Philadelphia Inquirer.
6) Centralia
Centralia may be Pennsylvania’s most famous ghost town, with only five official residents remaining as of 2017. The reason behind - rather underneath - Centralia’s near-desolation is an enormous underground coal mine fire that has been burning for almost six decades. Igniting in 1962, Centralia’s mine fire has spread for over 400 acres, rendering the town dangerous and inhabitable. All real estate remaining in Centralia has been condemned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since 1992, and the U.S. Postal Service discontinued its zip code in 2002. Still, Centralia remains a fascinating piece of Pennyslvania’s history, and a number of people still attempt to explore the abandoned town. One of Centralia’s five original churches remains standing in the smoking rubble, and up until 2020, its famous “Graffiti Highway” - a cracked, unused strip of road that became an art gallery of graffiti over many years - attracted a lot of artistic explorers. The highway has been covered over since last year to discourage people from entering the burning town, but for anyone who chooses to brave the dangers (and for its five remaining locals), the remains of Centralia are still there to explore. (For one such Centralia story, take a listen to Episode 258: My Friend The Hatman.)
Image from Flickr.
7) Moravian Book Shop
Located in the Historic District of downtown Bethlehem, PA, Moravian Book Shop holds the prestigious title of the oldest continuously operating book shop in the United States, in existence since 1745! (Some have argued that the Book Shop is even the oldest operating bookstore in the world.) Along with its collection of books, Moravian Bookshop also has also curated a collection of ghosts, including a classic woman in white apparition, shadowy figures, and the ghost of a man in a long black cloak, to name only a few tales in its haunting history. The Book Shop is open daily for bibliophiles and ghost hunters alike.
8) Hexenkopf, the Witch’s Head Rock
“Hexenkopf,” hidden in the woods of Northampton County, PA, has been known for generations as a meeting place for witches. The large rock formation is named after the Pennsylvania German word for “Witch’s Head,” not only because from a certain angle it resembles a witch, but also because of the many bewitching legends surrounding it. Originally used by ancient Native Americans as a place for healing rituals, the Witch’s Head became a site of magical transference used in Pennsylvania German powwowing, in which sickness or evil was cast out of another person or object, and transferred into Hexenkopf. As a result, the rock is said to have stored that magic, giving it supernatural abilities. Among its tragic history are many suicides that took place on the rock face, nine property owners dying, unexplained fires occurring nearby, cases of insanity in local residents, demons in the woods, and people disappearing entirely in the fog that rolls off the rock, never to be seen again. Although Hexenkopf is set back in the woods near Easton, it can be fairly easily found after a short trek through the underbrush. If you attempt to reach the rock at night, you may even witness the unearthly glow that Hexenkopf’s magic is said to give off.
Image from Flickr.
9) Devil’s Hole Ruins
Abandoned ruins in the middle of the woods are always intriguing, and the Devil’s Hole Ruins in Cresco, PA are no exception - in fact they are even more mysterious because no one knows exactly what they used to be. Many have guessed that the crumbling structure may have once been someone’s home, an old speakeasy, or a ski lodge, but no one knows for certain. It is suspected that the ruins were abandoned in the 1950s. They derive their name from a lake that used to be nearby, which local legend holds was bottomless and led straight to Hell for anyone who sank in its waters. The lake was destroyed after a flood in 1955, but the remnants of the Devil’s Hole building are still accessible for exploration along Devil’s Hole Trail.
10) Indian Echo Caverns
The beautiful limestone caves in Hummelstown, PA are a popular tourist attraction, with a dark legend behind them. Believed to be used first Susquehannock Indians and then French fur traders in the 17th century, the caves were also possibly the home of the “Pennsylvania Hermit” for almost two decades. As the legend goes, the sister of one William Wilson was accused of murdering her children and condemned to execution. She confessed to William that is was actually her lover who killed them and then fled. Wilson tracked the man down, and though he denied committing the murders, Wilson was able to secure witnesses for his sister’s innocence, and eventually turned to none other than Benjamin Franklin, the Supreme Executive Council head, who granted her a pardon. Wilson rode furiously back to his sister with the good news of the pardon, only to find her lifeless body dangling from the gallows, mere minutes after she was hanged. Unable to handle his grief and failure, Wilson is said to have lived the rest of his life alone inside Indian Echo Caverns. How much of this sad legend is really true cannot be determined, but for almost 100 years, since 1929, visitors have been allowed to explore the caverns and their lore for themselves.
Image from Wikipedia.
11) Kecksburg
Kecksburg, PA is renowned as “Pennsylvania’s Roswell.” In the afternoon of December 9, 1965, thousands of people across six states witnessed a fireball streaking through the sky. The mysterious fiery object crashed into the Kecksburg woods, and the area was soon sealed off by U.S. military personnel. Allegedly, they removed a large object on a flatbed truck, and listed the first official explanation for the fireball as a meteor burning up on descent through the atmosphere. In 2005, NASA released a statement claiming that the object had really been part of a Russian satellite, but these findings were (conveniently) lost back in the 1990s. But those who were actually able to witness the Kecksburg UFO, as it has come to be known, glimpsed a very different object, reporting that they had seen “a bronze-colored, acorn-shaped object roughly the size of a VW Beetle bearing markings that resembled Egyptian hieroglyphics,” before they were forcefully cleared from the area by the arriving military. In commemoration of the unexplained event, Kecksburg erected its famous “Space Acorn,” a life-size replica of the UFO that was originally used on an Unsolved Mysteries episode about the incident. Although the Kecksburg UFO sighting happened many decades ago, any visitors to the area may still stand a good chance of spying another one, as Western Pennsylvania seems to be a hotbed for UFOs in recent years!
Image from Cryptid Wiki.
12) Raystown Lake
Much like Pennsylvania has its own Roswell, it also has its own Loch Ness Monster. The Raystown Ray allegedly makes its home in Raystown Lake of Huntington County, the largest PA lake to be located entirely within the state’s borders. The first sighting of the Raystown Ray dates to 1962, before the original Raystown Dam was destroyed and the current manmade Raystown Lake was created in its place. Although a manmade lake may not sound like the natural home of a sea monster, Raystown Lake does covers 8,300 surface acres, can reach depths of up to 200 feet, and is 28 miles long at its longest point, allowing plenty of space for a creature to harbor itself. Ray sightings have continued into the 2000s, with eyewitness testimonies claiming to see a water creature ranging greatly between 8 feet to 60 feet in length. Other experiences include sudden water turbulence and disturbances, and several old photographs depict a large shadowy object lurking just under the water’s surface. The team from Syfy Channel’s Fact or Faked investigated Raystown Lake in 2010, and concluded it was a possibility that a large creature is living in the manmade reservoir. Whether that creature is a large carp, as some have claimed, or a monster more like Scotland’s Nessie is still a mystery. Raystown Lake is open to visitors and monster hunters, and has a few other intriguing places, like Penn’s Cave and Lincoln Caverns, not far away.
Image from YouTube.
13) The Unmarked Grave of H.H. Holmes
Holy Cross Cemetery in Pennsylvania is the final resting place of one unholy devil. H. H. Holmes is known as the most prolific serial killer in America, and quite possibly in all of history. Holmes began his life of crime by committing insurance fraud and bigamy, but escalated his criminal repertoire quickly. Like a mad scientist in a horror movie, Holmes constructed what became known as his “Murder Castle” in Chicago - a hotel he secretly outfitted with hidden chutes, mazes, one-way doors, toxic gas lines, and torture rooms to facilitate his taste for murder. Holmes preyed upon his hotel guests by conducting experiments on them, torturing them, and dissecting their bodies. When he was eventually apprehended, he was sentenced to death only for one murder, although he confessed to 27 killings and was suspected of up to 200… all by the age of 34. In 1896 he was hanged at Philadelphia’s Moyamensing Prison and buried 10 feet deep in concrete in Holy Cross Cemetery - because, in grim irony, he feared grave robbers would take his body for dissection. Although his grave is unmarked, the location of his body is still notorious for true crime enthusiasts wishing to pay their disrespects to the country’s most gruesome serial murderer.
Image from SWPARE.
14) Underwater Town of Somerfield
Image from SWPARE.
The abandoned town of Somerfield in Somerset County may be one of the more difficult curious PA places to explore, considering that it is actually underwater. The history of Somerfield dates back into the mid-1700s, when George Washington crossed the Youghiogheny River on his way to Fort LeBoeuf. Settlers continued to build up the area, until the Great Crossings Bridge was finally built in 1818 as part of the country’s National Road. Although Somerfield never became a large center of industry, it grew from a frontier settlement into a quaint two-street town with hotels, taverns, and its own post office. Sadly, a railway built nearby in the early 1900s made it too easy for business to bypass the small town, and by 1946, the town was put on the proverbial chopping block for the sake of progress. As part of the construction project for the Young Dam, most of Somerfield was intentionally demolished and flooded, submerging all traces of its existence. But once in a while the remains of the underwater ghost town emerge, when Pennsylvania drought dries up the waters. The 1818 Great Crossings Bridge, still standing, is the most prominent feature to become visible and can be traveled once again when the river recedes. In years of severe drought, the town’s broken sidewalks and building foundations have also appeared, bringing to the surface the last remnants of a centuries-old town that time forgot. If you happen to seek out Somerfield during a particularly dry year, you may become one of the few explorers who have gotten the opportunity to see the underwater town resurrected.
Image from HauntedHouses.com.
15) Easton Public Library
Image from HauntedHouses.com.
Every library has its collection of books. Not every library its collection of bodies. Easton Public Library in Easton, PA was opened in 1903. To facilitate its construction, it was determined that the German Reformed Cemetery of Easton would be removed and the library built in its place. Five hundred and fourteen bodies were originally buried in that cemetery, and although most were relocated to other resting places in the city, 30 bodies remained. Two of those bodies, Elizabeth Morgan and Easton city founder William Parson, were reburied in the new library’s lawns, where their graves are still visible. The remaining bodies were either left to lie unmarked where they were on the library property, or ended up in a mass grave in a cement vault in the ground. It is because of the disturbed cemetery and the deceased who were left behind that Easton Public Library is known as a very haunted location. To further frustrate the restless spirits that are said to haunt the aisles, the mass grave was eventually paved over to create a library parking lot, leaving the deceased unceremoniously forgotten beneath the pavement. Many have claimed to experience paranormal activity in the library, including doors that mysteriously open and slam, books that fly off of shelves, invisible hands touching visitors, and the apparition of a woman who strolls the library and its grounds, who many suspect is Elizabeth Morgan herself. Today the library is open for visitors, patrons and of course, ghosts of the former cemetery.
The next 5 Pennsylvania locations are largely, and some entirely, off-limits, and caution should be used upon any attempt to explore these areas. The Confessionals does not encourage any illegal investigations, and advises further research before journeying to any of the following locations.
Please be sure to email us your full story after you do not visit them.
Image from About Camp David.
1) Raven Rock Mountain Complex.
In Fairfield, Pennsylvania, there is an “Underground Pentagon.” A relic of the Cold War era that is still very much in use, the Raven Rock Mountain Complex is a subterranean facility created for the Department of Defense in the 1950s. Although Raven Rock itself - also known as “Site R” - is not a secret location, many of the facility’s activities are classified. The complex is built to withstand a nuclear attack, and is practically self-sufficient with a power plant, food reserves, two underground reservoirs, and tunnels that lead to three-story buildings. It is also highly restricted, and getting inside without proper authorization would be impossible. It is technically possible to explore Raven Rock’s fenced-off perimeter. However, as one listener shared with us in the Written Confession: Intercepted While Exploring At Raven Rock Mountain Complex, even that exploration of the area could be dicey. For the strange story of one man who did enter the Raven Rock Complex, don’t miss Episode 224: Pennsylvania’s D.U.M.B. | Raven Rock!
Image from Google Maps.
2) The Body Farm
Pennsylvania is home sweet home to a scientifically macabre anthropological research center better known as a “body farm.” Located on a 222-acre stretch of farmland in in Fayette County, the California University of Pennsylvania uses the Body Farm to study the process of human body decomposition. To do so, it situates donated human cadavers across its property and leaves them exposed to the elements as they decompose. Pennsylvania’s Body Farm is the fifth facility of its nature in the country, but the first one located in the Northeast region, which affords new discoveries in the field of forensic anthropology thanks to PA’s diverse Northeastern climate. For obvious reasons - namely, the multiple dead bodies decaying in full view - the Body Farm is not open for public consumption. Entering the premises would probably require you to be a university student, an anthropologist… or a test subject.
Image from Sometimes Interesting.
3) Centralia
It’s an ironic double-entry on our list! Yes, the ghost town of Centralia is technically still accessible to explore… but whether you should risk it is another question! Know before you go that Centralia’s underground fire is not its only danger. The fire itself causes toxic gases to emit above the surface, and the carbon monoxide can reach dangerous levels in some places. Since all of its real estate has been condemned and the fire is still raging, restoration or repairs to the town are nonexistent, and buildings continue to crumble and disappear. Sinkholes also pose a risk, with one 12-year-old boy almost losing his life in the 1970s when a 150 foot hole opened underneath him. Finally, one of the main “attractions” in Centralia - its colorful long stretch of abandoned highway known as “Graffiti Highway” was covered over in April 2020, leaving nothing but disappointing dirt mounds in its place. While the idea of stepping into a ghost town tragically destroyed by a fire that burns endlessly has a weird allure, it may not end especially well. After all, the 2006 horror movie Silent Hill was partially based on the town of Centralia… you may not necessarily want to find out why!
Image from Zero = Two.
4) Rosicrucian Pyramids
Quakertown, Pennsylvania doesn’t sound like the kind of place where you would see pyramids, but it does, in fact, have a few. The Rosicrucian Pyramids of Bucks County are located on the grounds of the headquarters of the Fraternitas Rosae Crucis, an order formed by doctor, occultist, and writer Paschal Beverly Randolph in 1858. The Rosicrucian order is a secretive group, much like the Masons, that places heavy emphasis on symbolism and practices mysterious rituals. Randolph himself was purportedly a practitioner of “sex magic'“ - mystical rituals involving sex. The Bucks County Rosicrucian Pyramids are symbolic of the body, mind, spirit, and soul, which may be the reason for their prominence in the property’s memorial gardens where the ashes of former Rosicrucian members are buried. The Pyramids are arranged in order of smallest to greatest, and are still the site of many secret Masonic and Rosicrucian rituals, including a summer solstice ceremony in which members can be glimpsed from the nearby road, encircling the pyramids and chanting loudly. Despite the sneak peaks inside, however, the property is strictly private and technically a cemetery, so trespassing of any kind is forbidden and prosecution for entering the grounds is possible. What goes on inside the Rosicrucian headquarters of Bucks County may just remain a mystery, just as the secret order intended!
Image from Roadtrippers.
5) Seven Gates to Hell
There is a legend in Hellam Township, York, Pennsylvania that leads straight to Hell. Or at least leads there in a circuitous, mysterious, and not entirely clear pathway. As the story goes, there are seven remote gates to Hell in Hellam, and if one can find them and travel through them in the correct order, they will unlock a portal into Hell. There are variations to the legend, with some claiming that an old asylum off of Trout Run Road (also known as Toad Road in the legends) burned down years ago, trapping the souls of inmates inside a series of gates. Another version states that a mad doctor in the area created the gates, which lead deep into the forest. In both accounts, only the very first of the seven gates is visible during the daylight hours. The remaining six must be discovered in the dark of night, and no one knows their exact location, because after the first gate, no other physical gates have been known to exist. Although the Seven Gates to Hell stories are rife with lore, the facts about them are few, so locating them may be next to impossible. Also making the exploration of the Seven Gates to Hell troublesome is that their suspected location is largely based on private property, and locals have been increasingly bothered over the years by eager Hell hunters. Some determined adventurers have allegedly made their way to the fifth gate before being frightened away, but no one as yet has passed through all seven. And if they ever did, their final destination would unleash literal Hell! For more thorough details and additional stories surrounding Pennsylvania’s Seven Gates to Hell, check out the book Beyond the Seventh Gate by Timothy Renner.
These legendary PA places are only a fraction of the many hidden gems waiting to uncovered throughout the state! What other creepy, curious, or just plain weird places in Pennsylvania would you add to our exploration list? Share your suggestions and stories with us in the comments below!
Want more weirdness from the Keystone State? We’ve got it! For more episodes in PA, tune in to:
For more articles, stories, and blogs based in Pennsylvania, check out:
Written Confession: Guest On Episode 170 Films Strange Object Above His House in Pennsylvania
Written Confession: Still Looking for Answers About “The White Thing”
NEWS: Strange 'Sky Pyramid' Caught on Camera Over Philadelphia
~ Lindsay W. Merkel
