Oregon is one of the most beautiful states in the country. The scenery is outstanding, it’s actually one of the greenest states. It’s also known for being friendly, with its quirky cities and strong active culture. But like everywhere, Oregon has a darker side. From abandoned mental institutions to creepy cemeteries, here are seven of the most haunted places in Oregon.
Most Haunted Places in Oregon
1. Battery Russell, Hammond
Battery Russell was a military unit built in Fort Stevens during the Civil War. While it didn’t get much use during the Civil War, it did get damaged during WWII by a Japanese submarine. There are conflicting stories as to whether there were any deaths during the attack. Either way, people say that the ghosts of soldiers roam the grounds, with some saying they see Civil War soldiers and some swearing they’re from the second World War. Stories that circulate the grounds say a soldier walks around the place with a knife, while another can be seen pacing around with a torch.
2. Geiser Grand Hotel, Baker City
The Geiser Grand Hotel still stands in Baker City. It’s garnered such a reputation for being haunted that many of the staff, past and present, point-blank refuse to go to the third floor, so as not to provoke the unresting spirits. The stories of the third floor of the Geiser Grand Hotel are infamous, it’s certainly one of the most haunted places in Oregon. People swear that lights flicker on and off without explanation, with staff reporting the ghosts to be a group of rowdy friends, partying until the early hours!
3. Heceta Head Lighthouse, Florence
Lighthouses tend to have a creepiness about them. They’re extremely lonely and Heceta Head in particular has a hauntingly isolated past. It was very difficult to get to the lighthouse, with winding roads being difficult to navigate and drive through. The innkeeper and their families were always very cut off from the world, usually for long periods of time. There are a few stories that circulate these spiral halls. One is of a woman named Rue. While it’s unclear whether she was the daughter or wife of a previous innkeeper, she’s known to cause quite a bit of mischief. She doesn’t like people making changes to what was once her home, and will set off fire alarms as punishment.
4. The Witch’s Castle, Portland
Of all the haunted places in Oregon, the Witch’s Castle might be the most renowned. No one knows the true origin of the building, but most people of Portland will know its story. People say that in the 1850s, a mother put a curse on a man who wanted to marry her much younger daughter. Believing her to be a witch, the man that wanted to marry the daughter murdered the mother at the site. Today, the husband and wife are said to be unresting spirits, roaming around the site.
5. Lafayette Cemetery, Dayton
Cemeteries are creepy at the best of times. But this one has a different kind of story, involving an accused witch. Witch accusations were seemingly rife in Oregon. This is a story of two people – Richard and Anna Marple. Richard was a murderer, sentenced to death. Around 30 years later, his mother, Anna, was accused of being a witch for predicting that the town would burn to the ground. Whether it was Anna or her son that was executed here, no one knows, but there was an execution at the cemetery, and it seems they never left. Either way, both mother and son apparently haunt the derelict graveyard, with locals even knowing to stay away.
6. Oregon State Hospital, Salem
The abandoned Oregon State Hospital is one of the most haunted places in Oregon, with a gruesome past. Built in the 1800s, the hospital was once a mental institution, but no one was getting the help they needed. The ‘doctors’ performed unspeakably terrible ‘treatments’ on the patients, even using a secret underground tunnel to conduct these experiments. There have been a whole host of terrible acts at the hospital, one of them being as recent as 1942. Sadly, 47 people were killed and hundreds more became terribly ill after being served poisoned eggs for breakfast. Today, people can visit the museum part of the hospital. People who have visited say they get a strong sense of being watched.
7. Pittock Mansion, Portland
The Pittock Mansion is an absolutely huge place, once the home of Henry and Georgiana Pittock. Having been built in 1909, Henry and Georgiana lived there until their deaths, but the mansion stayed in the family until the early 1960s. It was then converted into a museum, and it was around this time that inexplicable things started happening around the house. Staff and visitors say they can feel the spirit of Henry and Georgiana, who never left their forever home. People say the couple play tricks on people, like closing and locking doors, although we think that sounds a lot creepier than a ‘trick’!