Hysteria and horror gripped the town of Hartford, claiming the innocent and leaving tortured souls in its wake. Join Hartford Haunts to explore the disturbing history that still torments this town.
Book NowStand at the gates of an ancient burial ground home to thousands of souls, explore Mark Twain’s tragic legacy, and listen to a most curious story of a phantom illness provoked by restless and bitter spirits during a chilling Hartford ghost tour.
Video Loading...
Please wait, map loading...
Old towns like Hartford almost inevitably have a state house inhabited by a lingering haunt. Maybe it’s an old bureaucrat refusing to cross over or, as in the case of Connecticut’s Old State House, a poor soul who fell victim to a town’s growing hysteria more than likely perpetuated by someone seeking vengeance.
A building that wears its age well, there’s one thing the Elks Lodge definitely can’t mask with a pristine exterior: the paranormal activity known to startle members of the organization. Is it the apparition of a former member? Or could there be a more tragic side to this otherwise homey venue?
Lush and flourishing greenery starkly contrast the dead and cold presence watching over the 18th-century property. Four generations of memories have soaked into the Butler-McCook House’s walls, occasionally trickling out as a residual EVP or a wandering apparition.
Angered spirits and restless apparitions manifest throughout Hartford, their sinister and hostile gaze following from ominous state buildings and crowded burial grounds emanating petrifying energy. Discover their unbelievable truths tonight with Hartford Haunts.
In a time of panic and accusations, Hartford’s dead piled up in horrific fashion, compounding a need for a means of mass disposal. Join Hartford Haunts at the Ancient Burial Ground, where the people of Hartford interred their dead for over a century.
Stand at the edge of the land of the living and feel the presence of thousands of souls congregating at the old burial site. Scorn at mankind’s indifference as Hartford Haunts recounts the history of what should have been consecrated ground but became smaller parcels of real estate to sell off.
Pay your respects to the souls remaining within the grounds as Hartford Haunts introduces you to several more active spirits. With so many bodies buried here, it’s impossible to tell whose spirits still manifest around the town’s obelisk, curious about the many passersby that stop to visit the old gravesites. Just know if you spot a tall man in period attire lurking nearby, that’s no actor or eccentric local.
Visit Hartford’s Most Haunted Locations, Including:
The Butler-McCook House is a legend for being Hartford’s Oldest House, but the structure isn’t the only antiquity on Main Street. Venture with Hartfor Haunts to lif the veil on the building’s simple history, from its roots as a family home built in 1782 to a gift to Hartford from its final owner.
Feel someone’s stare fall upon you as an unseen presence ambles past a second-story window. If you’re lucky, you may just catch a shadowy figure pulling back the blinds to watch the world outside flourish. Watch while shrouded in shadows cast from tall, aged trees for a figure moving in the darkness as if watching over the 240-year-old estate.
Though the Butler-McCook House is one that is filled with apparitions gentle in nature, it’s proof that some spirits never move on. Find out who is forever anchored to this popular landmark on a haunting ghost tour with Hartford Haunts.
An impressive structure set off the aptly named Capitol Avenue, Connecticut’s State Capitol is more a displaced castle than what’s expected of an American government building. Admire the Gothic architecture as Hartford Haunts introduces you to a politician so devoted to his post that he remained long after his death.
Keep a watchful eye out as you scan the rows of windows. You may spot the State Capitol’s resident spirit intently watching over the building’s grounds. Governor William Buckingham isn’t a name well-known in contemporary Hartford, but the former governor and U.S. senator refuses to walk away and leave behind the work he loved.
Listen as Hartford Haunts recounts run-ins with the former senator, whose spirit is always off to accomplish a task. Discover what bone-chilling occurrence keeps some staff members away from the third floor on a heart-pounding Hartford ghost tour.
Just north of Hartford sits the town of Windsor, where, more than 300 years ago, witchcraft plagued its people. Embark on a search for the truth as Hartford Haunts transports you back to 17th-century Windsor when an outbreak of influenza claimed the lives of almost 30 people and set the town looking for a culprit.
Hear how a hapless traveler looking to start a new life in America became the target of accusations of witchcraft. Poor Alice Young may have suffered from a case of “wrong place, wrong time,” as all fingers pointed at her for the alleged black magic behind the spread of influenza.
Follow Hartford Haunts and relive Alice’s cursed walk to the gallows on the grounds before what we know now as Connecticut’s Old State House. As the first person to be killed for witchcraft in America, Young’s story is a precursor to the Salem Witch Trials. Learn more about her unavenged death and restless soul on hair-raising haunted history tour with Hartford Haunts.
The Museum of Connecticut History is a treasure trove of artifacts from throughout the state’s storied past. Attached to them are the stories of Hartford’s former residents, but none stands out more than the woman whose home plays host to the collection of psychically charged personal effects.
Get to know Harriet Beecher Stowe, the abolitionist author behind “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” and feel the impact of the many tragedies of her life through Hartford Haunts. Follow the author and her husband on a chronicling of their lives together, including the untimely deaths of four out of seven of their children.
Feel the anguish of Stowe’s most significant loss and experience how the death of her 18-month-old son changed the trajectory of her writing and inspired her most well-known work. A heavy air within the museum carries the author’s anguish, but the space isn’t entirely gloomy. Many have reported hearing the pattering of children’s feet scurrying throughout, a sign that some of the Stowe children remained behind to stay close to their mother.
Laugh along as Hartford Haunts tells anecdotes of mischievous specters, thought to be the Stowe children, taunting guides. It’s harmless fun, though some may say they’d appreciate it if Harriet returned to keep her brood in check.
An innocuous piece of land, Buckingham Square Park sits just under 2 miles from a negatively charged plot, representing everything the uniquely named park does not. Whereas Buckingham symbolizes Hartford’s progress, Sigourney Square Park is marked by death and the struggles of a growing population.
During a smallpox outbreak, Sigourney Square Park was used as a burial ground for the 40-something victims. Some spirits that linger want others to feel what they went through, and it’s not uncommon for guests of the park to feel their skin getting itchy or a fever setting in. Feel these unsettling sensations and more on a ghost tour with Hartford Haunts.
What better place than a library to reverse the hands of time and revisit the legacy of local author Mark Twain? The Hartford Downtown Public Library is not shy about its dedication to preserving Twain’s history, especially with one branch named for the “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” scribe.
Is Mark Twain receptive to these accolades to the point where he remained behind as a part of Hartford’s history? Find out as Hartford Haunts unveils the history of the brick house on Farmington Avenue that Twain once lived in. Does the famed author still reside in the place he once called home? Find out with Hartford Haunts.
Hartford isn’t the kind of town you look at and immediately assume to be rife with hauntings and tales of the otherworldly. Then, buildings like the lavish State Capitol and the quaint former home of Mark Twain and his family come into view, and it quickly comes together as to why Hartford Haunts has so many ghostly tales to share.
Journey through old Connecticut town with Hartford Haunts and satisfy that curiosity for the unknown. Get to know other open-minded travelers as you move from haunted location to haunted location on the best ghost tour in Hartford – book your Hartfor Haunts ghost tour tonight!
* This is a walking tour and we do not enter privately-owned buildings or private property *
Most anywhere in the United States, the gothic State Capitol building in Hartford would stand out and intrigue visitors. Hartford Haunts has all the secrets to its haunted history that seem fitting considering the antiquated appearance its peaks and towers give.
Where much of the country is scorching during the summer, Hartford hovers around more comfortable temperatures. Enjoy a comfortable walk with Hartford Haunts as your guide, and pick up a thing or two about Connecticuts’ haunted history while getting in your steps without exhaustion from the heat.
As the day fades into evening in Hartford, there are fewer opportunities for ways to fill the time. It doesn’t have the boisterous personality of a larger city, but Hartford Haunts can keep you engaged well into the twilight hours with fascinating tales from the other side.
Though the Salem Witch Trials and Hartford have no real connection, this Connecticut town experienced a similar hysteria years prior. The tragic events that unfolded in the mid-1600s left a dark mark on Connecticut’s Old State House, which experiences supernatural manifestations to this day.
Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe are literary legends whose works, for a spell, were quintessential reading. Hartford Haunts will bring you closer to both as part of your time exploring the city’s local apparitions.
