The Most Mysterious Place in Every State: the South

From New Orleans, where folk spiritual practices continue to attract the curious, to cypress swamps and pine forests still inhabited by off-grid families, the South remains a destination for those drawn to places a bit outside the mainstream. But the South is more than just ghost stories and tales that misread local traditions. Many of its most mysterious places have centuries-deep histories grounded in fact. Some predate statehood and draw inspiration from geographic features, like wetlands and firefly-covered forests. Many of these sites have been examined by academics and paranormal investigators alike, yet plenty remain unexplained.

Whether you chalk it up to local folklore, cultural traditions, or real phenomena just not yet explained by science, the places below are some of the most mysterious in the South.

Photo: Nature’s Charm/Shutterstock

• Location: 2500 Shore Dr, Virginia Beach, VA 23451
• How to visit: The park is open daily from 7 AM to sunset, with a $5 parking fee and $10 entrance fee

First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach is known for both its natural beauty and for being the first place English colonists landed in America in 1607. Its legends are based in a mix of fact and myth, with one of the most popular tales relating to Blackbeard the pirate. Supposedly, he saw military ships coming from Virginia, and went on land to quickly bury his remaining treasure before a battle in 1718, in which he was killed. (His ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, still sits off the coast.)

Despite repeated searches, his treasure remains missing, though rumors persist that his ghost lingers in the park. Add to that the fascinating “rainbow lights” that appear each winter and the reports of unexplained footsteps and drums — plus the fact that there’s a confirmed Native American cemetery in the park — and it’s no wonder so many people find First Landing one of the most mysterious and fascinating places in the state.

• Location: 1445 Harrison St, Vicksburg, MS 39180
• How to visit: McRaven is open daily for historic tours as well as evening haunted tours on weekends

McRaven was built in 1797 by a career thief. He’d steal from travelers along the highway, then retreat to the home to hide out. It’s seen the best and worst of Mississippi’s history in Vicksburg, a town that was a lynchpin of the Civil War during the fight for control of the Mississippi River. The building served as a Confederate field hospital during the Siege of Vicksburg, and its halls witnessed the passing of residents like Mary Elizabeth Howard, who died giving birth at age 15.

Today, McRaven is known as the most haunted home in Mississippi and has historic artifacts and original fixtures inside. Visitors and staff report apparitions in period dress, doors opening and slamming on their own, unexplained cold spots, and the sensation of being watched. Paranormal investigators have been looking into stories about Confederate ghosts in this area for decades, with some of the most compelling evidence for life after death coming from this exact home.

Photo: Wendy van Overstreet/Shutterstock

• Location: 470 Matoaka Rd, Rock, WV 24747
• How to visit: Lake Shawnee Amusement Park is privately owned, but the owner gives daytime and nighttime tours by appointment

The dilapidated Lake Shawnee Amusement Park, with its rusting rides, was once a bustling family attraction in the early 20th century. That ended in the 1950s after a series of tragic accidents, including a young boy’s drowning and a girl killed on a swing ride. Those tragedies seeded legends of a curse, and in the late 1980s, archaeologists uncovered an 18th-century Shawnee burial ground that was already notorious as the site where three children were murdered in the 1700s. Lake Shawnee Amusement Park has a deserved place on the West Virginia Paranormal Trail.

Today, it’s open for tours, many of which focus on its history. Visitors describe it as “having a creepy aura,” and it frequently appears on lists of the eeriest abandoned places in America. It doesn’t take a huge leap of faith to think a theme park built on a lost Native American burial ground later stricken by multiple accidental deaths may have a spirit or two bouncing around, but if you want to see it for yourself, private overnight stays are also available.

• Location: 344 Caveland Dr, Olive Hill, KY 41164
• How to visit: The park is about 90 minutes from Lexington and offers guided cave tours, hiking trails, campgrounds, and cabins for overnight stays

Cave exploration can be frightening on its own, but in eastern Kentucky’s caverns, you may not be underground alone. At Carter Caves State Park, twisting passages filled with stalactites, flowstone, and natural bridges. For generations, tales have circulated of ghostly figures, eerie echoes, and long-lost lovers reunited in death.

In the X-Cave, legends tell of Native American spirits haunting the passages. One recalls a tragic Romeo-and-Juliet-style story about a Cherokee warrior who discovered his beloved had taken her own life. The bones of two people and silver pieces were reportedly found inside, supporting the tale.

Some believe the caves hide treasure or even portals to other realms. While no evidence supports these paranormal claims, plenty of creepy and unexplained photos have been taken in the caves. Even if you don’t see anything unexplained, the sheer size and shadowy beauty make the caves feel otherworldly. Carter Caves State Park leans into it, with organizers hosting horror movie screenings (including cave-themed horror movies) inside the largest chambers.

Photo: WanderDrone/Shutterstock

• Location: Northern Georgia, about 50 miles north of Atlanta
• How to visit: There are several parks around the lake’s shore, and both Lanier Ghost Tours and North Georgia Excursion offer haunted boat tours that combine ghost stories with sonar searches for the sunken town below

Lake Lanier is one of the largest human-made lakes in the US (59 square miles), built in the 1950s by flooding farmland and several towns — including the once-thriving predominantly Black community of Oscarville. The reservoir submerged homes, churches, and cemeteries beneath its waters that reach 160 feet deep once you get in from the 690 miles of shoreline. Since the lake was filled, more than 700 deaths have been recorded there.

The unpredictable depths, where remnants of the submerged towns still lie, create hazardous conditions on this popular recreational lake. Even today, it’s not uncommon for 10 or more people to die on the lake annually. One of the most famous haunting stories revolves around the “Lady of the Lake,” a woman in blue who drifts along the shoreline and near bridges. She’s said to be linked to one of two women killed in a 1958 car crash.

• Location: 8176 NC-181, Newland, NC 28657
• How to visit: The marked Brown Mountain Overlook is the best viewing location on dark nights (consider bringing binoculars)

The mysterious lights above Brown Mountain have puzzled North Carolinians for nearly two centuries, with the first reports dating back to 1833. They’re most often spotted rising from the mountain’s southeastern side near Morganton in the summer, and are often described as glowing white orbs. Folklore connects the lights to Native American legends, and official agencies from the US government have been investigating them since 1916.

Reports have suggested the lights may be from headlights or trains, though critics to that theory are quick to point out they’ve been seen when no trains or vehicles are in the area. The US Geological Survey issued formal reports on the lights in the 1970s that ruled out marsh gas or radium, nor do they result from communication signaling between local moonshiners. In the end, the report suggested the lights are a mix of causes ranging from refracting automobile lights to electrical discharge, but most people still consider the mountain’s lights more or less unexplained.

Photo: Matthias Miller/Shutterstock

• Location: Ocala National Forest, Florida
• How to visit: The forest is fully accessible, with trails, springs, and campgrounds spread across Marion, Lake, and Putnam counties

The sprawling Ocala National Forest covers more than 600 square miles. This wild expanse is steeped in history, with evidence of people living on the land since 3000 BCE. It’s been called home by the Indigenous Ocale people, Spanish missionaries, the Seminole people, and US settlers who took the land for a military frontier. That history leaves plenty of time for legends to build.

Paranormal researcher Christopher Balzano has cataloged stories of ghost lights flickering among the pines, shadowy soldiers near Fort King who vanish mid-conversation, and the “Coyote Woman,” a shapeshifter said to punish those who disrespect the land. Another legend is centered on the “Skunk Ape,” a Bigfoot-type figure said to live deep in the swampy surrounds.

If you’re looking for a mysterious Florida location that doesn’t cover such a wide expanse, head to Brooksville’s May-Stringer House, a Victorian mansion-turned-museum often called Florida’s most haunted home. Guests report cold spots, toys moving on their own, and the faint cry of young Jessie Mae, who died here in childhood. Today, the Hernando Heritage Museum offers both historic tours and late-night ghost investigations.

• Location: 20 S Battery St, Charleston, SC 29401
• How to visit: Book a room at the 20 South Battery hotel

Charleston’s atmosphere lends itself to spooky stories — there’s a reason why so many paranormal tour operators operate in the city. One of the frequent locations on tours is the Battery Carriage House, operating as the 20 South Battery hotel. This stately residence overlooking White Point Garden was built in 1843, and the house has lived many lives going from the Civil War to the Gilded Age and beyond. With that history comes an enduring reputation for spectral occurences. The hotel embraces the stories, making sure visitors aren’t surprised if an unexpected guest shows up in their room.

In Room 10, guests describe the “Gentleman Ghost,” a well-dressed spirit who appears beside the bed before fading into the night (maybe just a soul looking for a comfy place to lay his head?). Word is, if a living person screams, he’ll see himself out. In Room 8, the energy is darker: reports of a headless torso, cold spots, and an oppressive atmosphere. Theories suggest these figures may be tied to past tragedies. The Room 8 guest is thought to be a Civil War soldier, while the Gentleman Ghost is believed to be a college student who committed suicide by jumping off the inn’s roof.

Photo: Cameron J Dunaway/Shutterstock

• Location: 75 Prospect Ave, Eureka Springs, AR 72632
• How to visit: The Crescent Hotel remains a popular resort and is open year-round for stays and special events

While it’s easy to confuse haunted with mysterious, “America’s Most Haunted Hotel” near Eureka Springs is both and has a factually creepy history. It was built in 1886 as a wellness resort centered around the nearby mineral springs, and has since served as an elite social club, a women’s college, and, most notoriously, a fraudulent hospital led by the infamous Norman Baker in the 1930s. Baker, a radio personality-turned-medical huckster, promised miraculous cancer cures and ran his hospital without a medical license, causing plenty of suffering and death that fuels the hotel’s reputation today.

Guests regularly report footsteps, apparitions, and cold spots, especially near Room 218. Children visiting at the hotel have been said to tell their parents they made a friend, only to describe Breckie — a child who died in the hotel at age 4 in the late 1910s. There’s even a non-human ghost: a beloved cat called Morris who lived in the hotel lobby for 21 years. The hotel hosts annual paranormal research weekends, inviting both amateur and professional ghost hunters to share findings.

• Location: 430 Keysburg Rd, Adams, TN 37010
• How to visit: The cave and cabin are about 40 minutes from Nashville and open seasonally for guided tours

The Blair Witch Project, filmed in the 1990s, changed horror flicks as we know them today, popularizing the “found footage” genre. While you might watch it now and laugh or think it’s all fake, the film was inspired by a true story set in a place you can actually visit.

The Bell Witch legend is one of America’s most famous ghost stories. In the early 1800s, the Bell family of Adams, Tennessee, claimed they were tormented by a violent spirit that spoke, struck family members, and poisoned patriarch John Bell. His death in 1820 is said to be the only in US history officially attributed to a supernatural cause. Today, visitors can tour the Bell Witch Cave, where reports of strange voices, icy touches, and shadowy figures, sometimes even John himself, continue. Whether folklore or fact, the story still makes this site one of the most haunted in the country.

Photo: Donn-Beckh/Shutterstock

• Location: 634 Mound State Parkway, Moundville, AL 35474
• How to visit: Moundville Archaeological Park is about 20 minutes from Tuscaloosa and open for self-guided or ranger-led tours. Each October, the park hosts the Moundville Native American Festival.

Moundville was once an 185-acre planned city where about 1,000 people of Mississippian culture lived. Sometime in the 12th century, soon-to-be residents leveled and then filled the ground before building 29 mounds topped with temples, meeting buildings, and houses for the upper class. Satellite farming villages with thousands more people growing maize, beans, and squash supplied the city. Then, in the 15th century, the residents left, and no one knows why.

Moundville quickly became no more than a burial ground, where graves included pottery, carvings, shells, and ceremonial copper axes. Symbols on the artifacts, like skulls and serpents with wings and horns, are thought to represent war and death. Archaeologists have excavated less than 15 percent of the site and continue to work to discover why the city declined. The mounds range from 3 to 57 feet tall. While there are some stories here and there about unexplained sightings, Moundville’s mystery is mostly archaeological, not supernatural.

• Location: Honey Island Swamp, near Slidell, Louisiana
• How to visit: Book a swamp tour through operators like Cajun Encounters or Honey Island Swamp Tours in Slidell. Monster sightings not guaranteed, but mosquito bites are.

For decades, locals near Slidell have whispered about a swamp-dwelling creature with yellow eyes, matted gray hair, and a rotting smell. Known as the Honey Island Swamp Monster, this Bigfoot-like cryptid was first reported in 1963 by a retired air traffic controller, who also found a mauled wild boar and a set of three-toed, webbed footprints nearby.

Some locals link the legend to a train wreck in the early 1900s, where circus animals allegedly escaped into the bayou (that may or may not have happened). The story goes that chimpanzees survived and bred with alligators, creating a hybrid creature that adapted to the swamp. Others believe it’s just a regional cousin of Bigfoot, but with webbed feet and worse hygiene. Reports of sightings, guttural cries, and unsettling movement in the cypress groves still surface today, and boat captains in the area are more than happy to share their own stories.