Freaky Historical Philly: Where to Get Your Creep On This October

Can you believe that Halloween is in two weeks? I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to set the mood! Luckily, Philly is the perfect place to get in the spirit. Owing to the city’s long and eventful history, there are several locations that either have a morbid backstory or are rumored to be haunted. All of the following are open to the public and available to be explored… if you dare. Will you have a close encounter with the spirit world or simply be chilled to your bones? Be sure to come back and let us know if you visit any of these haunts.

Do angels watch over Mt. Moriah cemetery, or something far more sinister? Photo credit: Slate.com.

Mount Moriah
This abandoned cemetery in southwest Philly is located on the bank of Cobbs Creek. Once a prominent and glorious necropolis for local luminaries who passed on, Mount Moriah has been long since abandoned and fallen into disarray. It was incorporated in 1855, and quickly filled up with the bones of Civil War soldiers. Betsy Ross herself was once interred here, before they dug her up for the Bicentennial. The soldiers’ graves are maintained by the government, but the civilian mausoleums are being quickly reclaimed by the surrounding forest, bogged down in tall grass and crumbling in neglect. This place is either tragically romantic or undeniably eerie, depending on your bent.

Eastern State Penitentiary
You’ve seen all those horror movies about cursed old prisons, right? Get ready to live your own worst nightmares at Eastern State. Guided tours of the prison, which has a brutal and bloody history, are available all year ’round, but in October the pen transforms into a world-renowned “haunted house” attraction. Do you dare to provoke the spirits by having some fun at their expense?

Betsy Ross House
You might picture old Betsy as a peaceful little old woman sewing in her rocking chair, but death apparently turned the country’s first flagmaker into something of a fiend. Ross coped with the loss of a husband and a child in her lifetime, and they say that she can be found wandering her former home and crying. Strange sounds in the basement have been reported as well.

Baleroy Mansion
This Chestnut Hill manse has been described as one of the country’s most-haunted homes. Nobody can seem to agree on what, exactly, is lurking in the shadows of the estate: ghosts, demons, and/or jinns have all been accused. Visitors, renovators, and caretakers have all reported paranormal activity, including household furnishings mysteriously falling or flying, spirits appearing (and disappearing) suddenly, and a blue armchair that allegedly kills anyone who sits in it. There’s some bad juju afoot at Baleroy Mansion: that seems to be the consensus.

Liberty Hall
One of Philly’s most famous phantoms is said to dwell in Liberty Hall – the ghost of Ben Franklin himself. Fortunately, ol’ Benny seems to be having a good time in death. Folks say they have seen his ghost dancing in the square, where his statue is, or carrying armloads of books down the hall. Wikipedia says that one lady accuses him of having pinched her butt. Naughty naughty, Ben!

Philadelphia Zoo
The Philly Zoo is the oldest such institution in the U.S., and possessed of a long and dignified history. It’s whispered, however, that the animals are far from the wildest entities at the zoo. Apparently a lady in a long gown regularly traipses the staircase of the John Penn House, and both the Treehouse and Pennrose Buildings are said to be plagued by poltergeists.

Pine Street
When walking after dark on Pine Street between Sixth and Seventh, be on the lookout for the Hag of Pine Street. The specter of this old woman reportedly haunts the Society Hill street on which she died, yelling down out of open windows or “swiping her cane at young people.” I’ve heard of curmudgeonly oldsters, but this lady wants you to stay off her lawn even in the afterlife!