3 Haunted Places that Would Make Good Settings

Heceta Head Lighthouse, Oregon coast

Three Haunted Places that Would Make Good Settings

In speculative writing, spooky places are often their own characters. Humans love scary stories so much that real-life locations all over the world are rumored to be haunted. So if you’re looking to write a ghost story, here are a few lesser-known real-life haunted locales that would make good settings.

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Heceta Head Lighthouse (shown above) near Florence, Oregon, is a working lighthouse and an opulent bed-and-breakfast. It’s said to be haunted by a spirit named Rue, who lost a daughter on the grounds. If you’re looking for a haunted place that’s cheerful and welcoming to the living—lending itself to tales of friendly ghosts, like Rue, or horrifying stories that hit you unexpectedly—it’s hard to go wrong with a living landmark and symbol of safety.

Dead Woman’s Crossing

Dead Woman’s Crossing, Oklahoma is a concrete bridge over Deer Creek in an unincorporated community in Oklahoma, also called Dead Woman’s Crossing. In 1905, a woman named Katy DeWitt James was found shot to death in the creek, near the bridge, which at the time was made of wood. Fortunately, Katy’s baby daughter turned up unharmed. The murder is unsolved, but witnesses said Katy entered the Deer Creek area with a woman named Fannie Norton, who then returned alone. The name of the place alone is spooky enough, but a lonesome concrete bridge in the country encapsulates the horror inherent to isolated places.

Landmark Inn

Landmark Inn, in Marquette, Michigan is a restored 1930’s hotel. Any such place is likely to give rise to ghost stories, but the Landmark, on the shores of Lake Superior, has a very unusual ghost. She likes to fill beds with metal screws—insert your own joke here—which might make you think she was a carpenter in life, but no, she was a librarian. Her oddities elevate the usual haunted hotel with a kind of whimsy that would make for a good story.

The world is full of spooky places and speculative stories just waiting to be told. You can also check out some unusual vampires, rare cryptids, weird ghosts, and strange werewolves that might make good characters.