Easy Ways to Experience Year-Round Haunting Travels

Old Richardsville Road Bridge in Bowling Green, Ky. (photo courtesy of mbpr!) As the legend goes, a young woman either jumped off, drove off or was pushed off the bridge (that part is unclear) and died at the site. It’s said that if you drive onto the bridge at night and shift your car into neutral, some unseen force will push your vehicle to the other side. Local legend claims it’s the young woman trying to safely escort travelers across so they don’t suffer the same fate that she did.

Even though the spooky season only lasts 31 days, you can still experience thrills and chills throughout the South year-round. Whether it's spooky sites like the Old Richardsville Road Bridge in Bowling Green, Ky., visiting a haunted city such as Selma, Ala., or hitting the road on a haunted road trip through Georgia, you just need to know where to go and what to look for.

Read on if you want to add an eerie sensation (or two) to a future getaway.

Hauntingly (Fun) Destinations

While Galveston, Texas, New Orleans, Savannah, Ga., St. Augustine, Fla., Key West, Fla., and Charleston, S.C., are some of the better-known haunted destinations in the South, the region is filled with all types of scares everywhere, like:

Eureka Springs, Ark., is home to Crescent Hotel, which claims to be "the most haunted hotel in America." Additionally, the 1905 Basin Hotel has ghosts, too. And that's only the beginning. The town has its share of creepy stories.

From King's Tavern to The Towers to Glenfield Plantation, Natchez, Miss., is where nearly every historic building and stately home has a ghost story or two. And don't forget about Natchez City Cemetery, either.

Macon, Ga., known as the "birthplace of Southern Rock" and home to other music legends, offers up haunted places like the Hay House, mentioned in Architectural Digest's "13 Most Beautiful Haunted Destinations Around the World." There are also the stories found along College Hill Corridor as well, as detailed in "Macon Beyond."

Undoubtedly, the "City of Five Flags," Pensacola, Fla., is haunted. Seville Quarter lists 12 haunted places that includes Fort Barrancas, Fort Pickens and Saengar Theater. Of course, the Seville Quarter is also haunted.

Boasting a historic district spanning more than 230 blocks and a heritage stretching back several centuries, plenty of spirits still linger in Wilmington, N.C. The city offers ghost tours, haunted buildings and a haunted battleship.

In Search of Ghosts

In addition to staying at haunted accommodations or enjoying a meal at haunted restaurants, ghost tours are an easy and popular way to attain that prickly feeling on the back of your neck with the bonus of never-knowing-what-you-might-capture-on-your-smartphone's-camera. Tours to consider are the Ghosts & Paranormal Tours of Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson, available March -November; the McRaven Tour Home in Vicksburg, Miss., said to be "Mississippi's Most Haunted House" provides haunted tours on Fridays and Saturdays, as well as ghost investigations on specific dates; the Dahlonega (Ga.) Walking Tours, which also offers the Grapes and Ghosts Wine Tours; The History, Highways and Haunts tour company in Huntsville, Tenn., provides ghost tours of both the Historic Scott County Jail (Huntsville) and Historic Rugby (Tenn.) Village; oh, not to be outdone, is the adrenaline-pounding paranormal tour with End of the Line Paranormal at Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tenn.; Learn more about the haunting happenings on The Haunted Hanover (Va.) Tavern Tours; and the Hilltop History and Haunts Tour in Bowling Green, Ky., focuses on the spooky side of Western Kentucky University (WKU.)