Top 10 Most Haunted Places in Pittsburgh, PA

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Pittsburgh, the Steel City, is known for its industrial heritage, vibrant arts scene, and delicious food. But there’s another side to this city that is shrouded in mystery. Pittsburgh boasts a collection of purported haunted locations, from historic cemeteries to abandoned buildings.  

Join us on a journey into the unknown as we explore the creepy corners and unsettling tales of Pittsburgh’s most haunted hotspots. We’ll dive into the chilling history, local legends, and ghost stories that make these places some of the spookiest in the Steel City.

10) University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh is the academic heart of the city. The university has been around since 1787, and it’s said that students, professors, and even travelers linger on the campus.

The Cathedral of Learning is home to the Croghan-Schenley Room. This ballroom and adjoining parlor were originally part of a glorious mansion that William Croghan Jr. built for his daughter, Mary, in the 1830s. In the 1940s, the room was officially named the Croghan-Schenley Room. Today, you can visit the room and reveal a hidden chamber behind a false fireplace. It is here that Mary’s ghost is believed to live forever.

Bruce Hall is rumored to be haunted by the wife or mistress of a family that lived in Suite 1201 during the 1920s. Though it’s not clear who the woman is, it is clear that this mysterious lady took her life in the room. Today, people report unexplained footsteps and disembodied female voices, as well as a fireplace that ignites on its own.

Edgar Allan Poe has a certain mystery about him, and that magic rubbed off on Martha Jane Poe McDaniel, grandmother of Pitt employee E. Maxine Bruhns and relative to the famous poet. It is in the university’s Early American Nationality Room that McDaniel has taken up a permanent residence. She will occasionally turn down the covers of a bed hidden behind a secret door, a bed that is dressed with her wedding quilt.

Formerly the Schenley Hotel, the William Pitt Union has seen its fair share of guests pass through its doors. Back when it was still a hotel, a Russian ballerina fell asleep in her guest room and accidentally slept through her big performance that night. Upon learning that the ballet director was demoting her, the ballerina committed suicide in the room. Today, it’s believed that the Russian ballerina will gently wake any students who may doze off in the Union out of fear that they may miss something important.

9) The Clayton Mansion

Henry Clay Frick was a millionaire industrialist, art patron, and financier who played a major role in the American steel trade. The Pennsylvania native took up residence in Pittsburgh once he made a name for himself in the industry. The Clayton (or Frick) Mansion is where he settled with his family during this time. 

The Clayton Mansion is now a historic museum that shows off its staggering collection of fine art and historical artifacts. But artifacts aren’t the only things tethered to this historic home. 

 

Who Haunts the Clayton Mansion?

 

Helen Clay Frick, daughter of Henry Clay and Adelaide Frick, is the last to have lived in the Clayton Mansion, and many believe that she never after her death in 1984. Security guards have reported hearing strange footsteps and other sounds late at night at the Clayton Mansion. 

It’s also believed that Helen’s mother, Adelaide Frick, still lingers in her former home, possibly remaining in the place where she lost her children.  Guests at the Clayton estate have noticed indentions on Adelaide’s bed, as if she is lying inches from them when they visit.

8) Church Brew Works

Today, it’s a brewery, but in the early 1900s, the building on Liberty Avenue was St. John the Baptist Church. The Catholic church was constructed in 1902 and eventually closed in 1993. Three years later, in 1996, Sean Casey purchased the church with plans to convert the space into a brewery and restaurant. Shortly after opening, the restaurant staff began to report unexplained activity. 

Employees have reported seeing objects dragging themselves and heard strange voices and footsteps that lead nowhere. They’ve even seen apparitions of a young woman wearing a long white dress, moving slowly and mysteriously across the area. Others have felt a ghostly spirit tug at their clothing, but there’s nothing around that could cause the sensation. 

The unexplained events unfolding at Church Brew Works have drawn the attention of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS), and soon after, the Ghost Hunters TV crew was involved in searching for the paranormal at the popular brewery.  

The TAPS team experienced some pretty troubling stuff at the old church, including phantom voices that sounded like they were calling out “Jesus.” The team felt a sensation like someone was blowing in their ears and heard someone walking, but no one was there. 

7) Allegheny Cemetery

Allegheny Cemetery is a beautiful, serene cemetery along the Allegheny River. One of the oldest cemeteries in the United States, it is the final resting place of many notable people, including former Pittsburgh politicians, businesspeople, missionaries, and war heroes. Allegheny is also reported to have many spirits lurking in many rows of gravestones. 

 

Ghost Stories from Allegheny Cemetery

 

Harry K. Thaw, son of coal and railroad baron William Kendall Thaw, is believed to wander the cemetery grounds. Thaw lived a troubled life, having shot and killed an architect in New York City in 1906 when he suspected the man had a romantic relationship with his model and showgirl wife. The trial was dubbed the “trial of the century” due to its salacious nature. He was found not guilty due to insanity and lived in an asylum for several years before being laid to rest at Allegheny Cemetery. He is said to emerge from beyond the grave and spook passersby from time to time.

There is also a bereaved woman who likes to hang out near the grave of Lillian Stevens. The ghostly figure is often seen weeping and kneeling at the grave, even when the cemetery is closed to the public. 

With so many military men buried at the cemetery, it’s little wonder why visitors sometimes hear galloping horses and catch glimpses of men in uniform patrolling the cemetery grounds. 

Finally, the Allegheny Cemetery may also be home to its very own Grim Reaper. Visitors have reported seeing an unsettling figure, clothed in long, black robes, pacing the cemetery, ensuring that the spirits that lay beyond behave themselves. 

Dead Man’s Hollow

Dead Man’s Hollow isn’t your typical nature conservation. The 450-acre area, which is now part of the Allegheny Land Trust, was once a quarry in the Youghiogheny River Valley. Then, in the early 1900s, it housed a pipe factory. Once that factory was abandoned, the natural world slowly began to overtake the buildings that remained behind – buildings that you can still see today. 

Buildings aren’t the only things that can be seen in this sprawling natural area. While you travel along the stunning 6 miles of walking and hiking trails, you may come face to face with one of the spirits believed to still haunt Dead Man’s Hollow. George McClure, who was shot to death in the Hollow in the 1800s, is believed to remain active near his final resting place. His alleged murderer, Ward McConkey, who was only 19 at the time, maintained his innocence until he was executed in 1883, only three years after the McClure murder. 

There is also a local legend that says that, before McClure’s murder, another body was found hanging by a tree somewhere in the Hollow. And then, there’s the story of the man who drowned in the Youghiogheny River after falling out of a ferry that was crossing the river. To this day, some visitors will feel an unseen hand tug at them, trying to pull them down into the water with him.

5) Calvary Cemetery

A well-known Catholic cemetery in Pittsburgh, Calvary Cemetery has an impressive history. Since the late 1800s, Calvary has been the final resting place for many people, spread out over the cemetery’s 200 acres. Athletes, politicians, and actors are included among Calvary’s most famous headstones. 

Calvary Cemetery is also home to its fair share of ghostly activity, all thanks to a duo by the name of Ed and Jack Biddle, two Canadian brothers who were laid to rest here after a chaotic life of crime and adultery. 

 

The Infamous Ghosts and Hauntings of The Calvary Cemetery 

 

Ed and Biddle made a name for themselves as burglars who used chloroform to knock out their victims. The so-called “Chloroform Gang” planned what was supposed to be a nonviolent grocery store robbery in April 1901. But in the process, they shot and killed a grocer in Mount Washington, Pennsylvania. Shortly after, the brothers were sentenced to death by hanging. 

While the Biddles were biding their time in jail, Kate Soffel, wife of the warden of Allegheny County Jail, would visit them frequently – something common for wardens’ wives back then. However, the relationship developed quickly, and she soon fell in love with Ed. She resolved to help the men break out of prison. Unfortunately, the jailbreak wasn’t successful. Police shot both brothers as they were on the run, and Kate attempted suicide when she realized that she would be caught. The men died within a few days, and Kate passed away of typhoid fever in 1909 after serving 20 months in a local jail. 

It’s believed that the Biddle men make appearances in the Calvary Cemetery. Perhaps they are forever stuck trying to escape their life of crime. Maybe Ed is continuing his hopeless search for his beloved Kate. 

4) Carnegie Library

Did you know that the Carnegie Library system started in Pittsburgh? The famous industrialist Andrew Carnegie is responsible for the vast, highly influential Carnegie Library family of libraries. In Pittsburgh, the Carnegie Library isn’t just a wonderful place to discover new books, movies, and other media – it’s also a great place to look for ghosts that may be trapped between this world and the next. 

The Carnegie Library in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh has a haunted history visitors love digging into. Let’s dive into the several ghosts that have claimed the Oakland Carnegie Library as their final resting place. 

 

The Ghostly Book Club of Carnegie Library

 

  • Following the library’s opening in 1895, a local judge became one of its best patrons. Townspeople could often find him buried in the stacks, reading something interesting. Sadly, the judge took his own life around the turn of the century, hanging himself in the stacks that he would always visit. It’s said that there is a Latin passage scribbled there that says “Sentio Est Hic,” which means “the judge is here.” 

 

  • When Carnegie Library got electricity, it was a major improvement for many but spelled disaster for one. As the story goes, an electrician was electrocuted on the very day that he helped install electricity in the old library. Now, he has been known to appear in the library, standing next to electrical boxes and fixtures. 

 

  • The Oakland Carnegie Library is home to thousands of books. Some of them have a mind of their own. Librarians and other library staff have reported that some books spontaneously drop off of the shelves, and others will move themselves, seemingly of their own accord, throughout the library. 

3) National Aviary

The National Aviary is the country’s largest nonprofit indoor aviary. It welcomes thousands of visitors each year who would like to get an up-close view of exotic birds and animals in an atmosphere that is as similar as possible to their natural habitat. 

There’s a darker story to the National Aviary, however. Located in the downtown area, it was once home to the Western State Penitentiary from the 1820s to 1880s. During the Civil War, over 100 Confederate soldiers were kept in the Penitentiary after being captured during the Morgan’s Raid in Pittsburgh. Six of them died in that spot, and one was killed after attempting to escape. 

It’s been many years since the National Aviary was a jail, but it still carries an unease that can only be chalked up to otherworldly entities. Staff have seen shadowy figures in the early morning and late at night when the zoo is not open to the public. They’ve also heard unexplained banging noises coming from the basement, and a radio in the kitchen has been known to turn itself on and off. 

2) Old Allegheny County Jail 

The Old Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh looms over downtown with a history as rich as it is chilling. Built in 1886, the imposing Romanesque structure served as the city’s main jail for over a century, its dark corridors and cramped cells holding countless inmates. Whispers of hauntings and otherworldly activity have long clung to the prison, with some believing that these tortured souls still linger there. 

Today, the jail is part of the Allegheny County Courthouse, but a small portion remains as the Old Allegheny County Jail Museum, offering a glimpse into its past. You can visit the jail today and try your luck at running into one of the several ghosts of the Old Allegheny County Jail. 

 

Hauntings at the Old Allegheny County Jail

 

  • William Culp, a prisoner executed in 1907, is said to haunt the former death row, repeating the gruesome scene of his crime night after night, terrifying fellow inmates.

 

  • With 58 hangings documented within the jail walls, some believe restless spirits linger, particularly after executions.

 

  • Remember Kate Soffel, the warden’s wife who was in love with Ed Biddle? Some believe that her spirit lingers here, in the very jail that the Biddles broke out of, a constant reminder of her heartbreak.

 

  • Reports of unexplained voices and disembodied murmurs add to the chilling atmosphere.

1) Congelier House (“The House the Devil Built”)

Pittsburgh’s Congelier House wasn’t your typical haunted mansion. The house on Ridge Avenue gained notoriety as “America’s Most Haunted House” thanks to a chilling concoction of urban legends and rumored hauntings. Here’s a glimpse into the spooky stories that swirled around this infamous residence:

 

  • One famous tale involves a jealous wife named Lyda Congelier who, upon discovering her husband’s infidelity with a maid, went on a murderous rampage. The story varies in gruesomeness, with some accounts detailing a beheading and others a violent double homicide. 

 

  • Another chilling legend involves a resident named Dr. Adolph Brunrichter, who allegedly conducted macabre experiments in the basement, including decapitations in a quest to keep severed heads alive. 

 

  • The house is said to have claimed other lives as well. Mary Congelier, a later resident, is said to have died tragically from a broken window shard during a gas explosion. Some believe even this “ordinary” death adds to the house’s unsettling energy.

 

While the historical accuracy of these tales is questionable, they fueled the fire of the Congelier House’s haunted legacy. Though demolished in 1927, the site where the house once stood still sends shivers down the spines of some Pittsburgh locals who believe the restless spirits haven’t quite departed.

Haunted Pittsburgh

Whether you’re a seasoned ghost hunter or simply curious about the paranormal, Pittsburgh’s haunted history offers something for everyone and an undeniably spooky atmosphere.

If you’re feeling brave and want to experience the otherworldly firsthand, book a ghost tour with Pittsburgh Ghosts. Our expert guides will lead you on a thrilling exploration of the city’s most haunted sites, bringing the local legends to life and maybe even sparking your own spooky encounter!

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