Almost every city and town has ghost stories. Many have active hauntings. The biggest challenge for new ghost hunters is to find really haunted places.

Look at the photo to the left. It doesn’t look especially haunted, does it?

That’s a photo of the most haunted wing of one of America’s most haunted houses, The Myrtles Plantation.

Few places are as haunted as that house. However, no matter where you live, you can find haunted places nearby.

Q. How do I find local ghosts?

It’s best start ghost hunting near your own home. That’s usually the easiest place to find haunted sites.

Do a Google search for your city, town, state, and region, using words such as “ghosts” and “haunted.” Many websites list every location that is even rumored to be haunted. In our experience, only a small percentage of these will have ghosts. However, if the sites are near your home, it’s worth checking every location. (Check our recommendations in our “Haunted Places” category.)

Check news headlines for recent reports of hauntings. Search at Google News using words such as “ghosts,” “haunted houses,” and so on.

Read books at the library. Most public libraries have a section about the paranormal. Also look among books describing your local geographical area. Libraries usually have a section specifically about their town or city, and the region in general.

While “ghost” books can be unreliable, they are a good place to start. We especially recommend the latest edition of the book, Haunted Places .

Ask people. You may be surprised by the number of people who believe in ghosts. Almost everyone has heard of a few places with ghost stories and haunted histories. Generally, college, high-school and middle school students know the most rumors about local haunted places.

Check back issues of local newspapers. Most newspapers feature haunted sites in issues published the week before Halloween.

Ask the police. You may be surprised that the police are often the best resource for information about hauntings. Generally skeptics, the police know which places generate complaints about odd activity–noises, weird lights, and so on–but have no reasonable explanations.

Cemeteries are usually mildly haunted. Older cemeteries–from the 19th century and earlier–are far more likely to have ghosts. Explore the oldest sections of cemeteries for the best results. However, many cemeteries are closed between dusk and dawn. Always observe local laws whenever you’re ghost hunting.

Abandoned buildings are often haunted. People don’t usually walk away from a perfectly good house or building unless there is something significantly wrong with it. What’s wrong may simply be a ghost. (However, never trespass on private property. Get permission.)

Theaters–the kind that have a stage the people have performed on–are almost always haunted. Usually, these are fun ghost. Look for ghosts on the stage, in the audience, backstage, and just outside the auditorium doors. Many theaters have a ghost that visits during rehearsals, and can be seen sitting or standing on the balcony.

Colleges and some schools usually have at least one poltergeist. Ask the students for help in finding them. An EMF meter can be especially useful for locating poltergeist activity.

Avoid investigating private homes when you are new to ghost hunting. In addition to issues of safety, people who are troubled by ghosts–or proud of them–have expectations that you may not be able to meet.

These should be a enough ideas to get you started when you are looking for some good local haunts. In addition, rely on your gut instinct. If a location looks haunted, it might be a good place to investigate.

Also, be sure to check our Guidelines for Ghosthunters before going on your first ghost hunt.