What Is Ghouler?
Ghouler is the largest structured directory of documented haunted locations across the United States. We don't do clickbait top-ten lists or haunted house attractions — we build detailed case files for real places with real history.
Every location in the archive is organized with historical background, documented paranormal claims, investigation sources, community reviews, and accessibility information. Think of it as an encyclopedia for the unexplained, built by investigators, for investigators.
Whether you're a seasoned paranormal researcher, a history enthusiast, a curious skeptic, or someone who just had an experience they can't explain — Ghouler was built for you.
Discovering Haunted Locations
The Discover page is your gateway to the archive. You can search for any location by name, or use our powerful filtering system to narrow down exactly what you're looking for.
By Location
Filter by state, city, or browse the full U.S. map
By Type
Asylums, prisons, hotels, cemeteries, battlefields, and 20+ more
By Experience
Apparitions, EVP, shadow figures, cold spots, poltergeist activity
By Access
Public, private, restricted, or requires permission
You can also hit the Random Haunt button in the navigation bar to land on a completely random case file. It's a great way to discover locations you didn't know existed.
Browsing by State
The Browse by State page shows you every U.S. state in the archive with a count of documented locations in each. Click any state to see all its haunted locations, then drill down by city or apply additional filters.
State pages show you not just the list of locations, but also the most common types of haunted sites in that state and the most frequently reported types of activity. It's a great starting point if you're planning a trip or investigating a specific region.
Understanding Case Files
Every haunted location in the archive has its own case file — a structured page that consolidates everything known about that place. Here's what you'll find on each one:
Location Details
The type of location (asylum, hotel, cemetery, etc.), its city and state, current status (active, abandoned, demolished), and access level (public, private, restricted).
Haunt Intensity
A Level I–V rating based on the volume, variety, and consistency of structured paranormal data tied to the location — from both admin research and visitor reports. It reflects documented experiences, known entity types, reported hotspots, and corroborating visitor data. Level I means sparse mentions; Level V means a richly documented, landmark paranormal profile.
Documented Claims
Specific reported events and experiences tied to the location. Each claim is tagged by type — apparitions, EVP, shadow figures, unexplained sounds, cold spots, object movement, and more. This gives you a clear picture of what kinds of activity have been reported without vague generalizations.
Investigation Sources
Books, articles, reports, media, and other references tied to each location. We track where the information comes from so you can verify it yourself. Every claim links back to its source material when available.
Accessibility Information
ADA accessibility details including wheelchair access, terrain conditions, and other physical considerations. Because knowing a location is haunted doesn't help if you can't physically get there.
Reviewing Locations
If you've visited a location in the archive, you can submit a review directly on its case file page. Reviews on Ghouler aren't like typical star ratings — they're structured investigation reports.
When you submit a review, you'll share:
- Your verdict — whether you believe the location is haunted, you're unsure, or you don't believe it is (recorded for reference but does not affect Haunt Intensity)
- Your experience — a written account of what happened during your visit
- Equipment used — EMF meters, EVP recorders, spirit boxes, thermal cameras, and more
- Specific claims you witnessed — tag exactly which types of activity you encountered
- When you visited — time of day and time of year, which helps track patterns
Your review becomes part of the permanent record for that location. It helps other investigators decide whether to visit and what to expect.
Creating Boards
Boards are your personal way to organize haunted locations. Think of them like playlists, but for haunted places. You can create boards for any purpose:
Trip Planning
"Ohio Road Trip" or "Places Near Me"
Research Themes
"Civil War Sites" or "Abandoned Asylums"
Watchlists
"Want to Investigate" or "Top Priority"
To save a location, click the Save button on any case file page and choose which board to add it to — or create a new one on the spot. Your boards are visible on your profile so other investigators can see what you're tracking.
Following Investigators
You can follow other investigators on Ghouler. When you follow someone, their activity — reviews, badge achievements, and new board additions — shows up in your feed.
Follow buttons appear on user profiles and on the leaderboard. You can see who's following you and who you follow from your own profile page.
Following is a great way to keep tabs on investigators whose research you respect, or to build a network of people who investigate the same types of locations you do.
The Activity Feed
The Activity Feed is a real-time stream of everything happening on Ghouler — new reviews, earned badges, visitor check-ins, uploaded photos, and more.
You can like, comment on, or repost any activity item. It's the social heartbeat of the community. New items appear automatically without refreshing the page.
When you first join Ghouler, you'll get a welcome post from the community. From there, your own contributions — reviews, visits, badge achievements — will start showing up in the feed for others to see.
Leaderboard & Badges
Ghouler has a badge and reputation system that rewards you for contributing to the archive. Badges are earned across several categories:
Field Work
Visit and review locations to earn investigator badges
Verdicts
Submit your verdict on whether locations are haunted
Contributions
Suggest edits, submit locations, and add sources
Community
Build a following, engage with the community, earn social badges
Each badge family has multiple tiers — the more you contribute, the higher you rank. Your total badge points determine your position on the Leaderboard, where investigators are ranked by overall contribution to the archive.
You can choose which badges to display on your public profile. It's not just about vanity — badges signal to other investigators what kind of researcher you are.
Submitting a Location
Know a haunted location that isn't in the archive yet? You can submit it for inclusion. Submissions go through a review process — our team checks every one before it goes live.
To submit a location, you'll need a free Ghouler account. All submissions go through a review process before going live in the archive.
When you submit, you'll provide:
- The location's name, address, and type
- A brief description of its paranormal history
- Any known access information
- Links to sources or references
Once approved, the location gets its own case file page in the archive and becomes available for the entire community to review and research.
Suggesting Edits
After you submit a review for a location, you'll have the option to suggest edits to the case file. Notice something wrong — an outdated address, incorrect status, missing accessibility info? You can flag it.
Your suggestions are sent to the admin team for review and tracked in the dashboard alongside all other community contributions. This means the archive gets better over time through collective effort, not just top-down updates.
Suggesting edits also earns you contribution badges, which count toward your leaderboard ranking.
Understanding the Data
Ghouler tracks more than just "is it haunted?" Every piece of data in the archive serves a purpose for serious research:
Haunt Intensity
A Level I–V rating based on structured paranormal data — not opinion polls. It measures how much documented evidence (experiences, entities, hotspots, and corroborating visitor data) exists for a location.
Experience Tags
Standardized categories for reported activity (apparitions, EVP, cold spots, etc.) so you can compare across locations and spot patterns.
Equipment Tracking
Reviewers log which investigation tools they used — EMF meters, thermal cameras, spirit boxes, full spectrum cameras — so you can evaluate evidence quality.
Time & Seasonal Data
When investigators visited and what time of day they experienced activity. Over time, this reveals whether certain locations are more active at specific times.
Source Attribution
Every claim links to its source — a book, article, investigation report, or media piece. You can verify anything in the archive yourself.
The more data the community contributes, the more useful the archive becomes. That's the whole point — turning scattered anecdotes into structured, searchable research.
Your Profile
Your profile page is your public identity on Ghouler. It shows other investigators:
- Your bio and avatar
- Badges you've earned and chosen to display
- Your investigator rank based on total contributions
- Locations you've reviewed
- Boards you've created
- Your recent activity
- Your follower and following counts
You can customize your profile from the Settings page, where you can update your display name, bio, avatar, and which badges appear on your profile card.