If you have an affinity for all things spooky, there’s a chance you may be considering a Halloween-themed wedding. We’re totally on board, which is why we’ve rounded up some of the eeriest places to have your wedding, complete with chilling backstories for each. We’ve rounded up 10 epically creepy, haunted locales for your nuptials below—just be sure to warn your guests that they’re possibly in for a scare.
1. The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado
Why It’s Scary: The ghost of F.O. Stanley, the hotel’s original owner, is said to play piano in the music room while his wife, Flora, frequents the billiard room and lobby. Also, watch out for room 408, where guests have claimed to hear children outside their door—only to find none in sight. And if that’s not scary enough, it inspired Stephen King’s legendary horror novel The Shining when he and his wife stayed there in 1974.
Wedding Ideas: Perfect for a Halloween wedding, check out The MacGregor Ballroom, with its dark, wooded décor and picture window with mountaintop views, or The Music Room, which boasts arched Palladian windows and French doors and seats up to 80 guests for a smaller affair.
2. Belcourt Castle in Newport, Rhode Island
Courtesy of Belcourt CastleWhy It’s Scary: The Belcourt Castle, with oak paneling and a library with four secret passages, is home to more than just pricey art. The castle’s antiques are said to be haunted. Think: a screaming suit of armor and a haunted monk carving.
Wedding Ideas: The beautiful, gilded gates of Belcourt Castle give way to a regal setting for any wedding. Hold a candlelit reception for up to 250 guests in the beautiful French Gothic Ballroom, featuring a large fireplace and ornate 13th-century stained glass.
3. The Lemp Mansion in St. Louis, Missouri
Why It’s Scary: The Lemp Mansion, hailing from the early 1860s, is said to be haunted by the original Lemps, once a famous brewing family. Beginning in 1901, The Lemps were struck with numerous tragedies when Frederick Lemp died of mysterious circumstances followed by several suicides within the mansion itself.
Wedding Ideas: Have an outdoor ceremony beneath the mansion’s gazebo, in one of its many gardens, or on the idyllic patio. Then step inside for a sit-down dinner with your guests where you’ll find hand-painted ceilings, Italian marble and carved mahogany mantels.
4. Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Massachusetts
Why It’s Scary: Supernatural occurrences in the hotel, like the mysterious turning of a ship’s wheel in one of the hotel’s past restaurants, are attributed to the spirits of old Salem sea captains. Another ghostly guest is Bridget Bishop, the first person to be executed at the Salem witch trials and who once owned an apple orchard on the site where the Hawthorne Hotel stands. Today, the smell of apples is said to often drift through the hotel.
Wedding Ideas: The hotel’s Grand Ballroom has been a New England wedding favorite since the hotel opened its doors in 1925. For an afternoon wedding, enjoy the Grand Ballroom’s sweeping views of Salem’s historic Common—especially picture perfect during fall.
5. Hotel Provincial in New Orleans, Louisiana
Why It’s Scary: Located in New Orleans’ French Quarter, the Hotel Provincial was once a Confederate hospital and is said to be haunted by both soldiers and doctors from the Civil War era.
Wedding Ideas: Hold your ceremony in the idyllic New Orleans–style courtyard. Then have your reception or cocktail hour in the Latrobe Room, decorated in an elegant European style, which accommodates about 60 guests. The hotel has exposed brick walls, Southern antiques and a view of the Mississippi, so it’s an ideal place to put up your guests.
6. Maumee Bay Brewing Company in Toledo, Ohio
Why It’s Scary: The ghost of its founder, a wealthy sea captain, has appeared in the pool room, but he isn’t the only ghost to roam its wood-paneled halls. The structure was originally built on a Native American burial ground and later stood as a recuperation facility during the Spanish-American War, so no one knows who’s to blame for the reports of floor creaks, shutting doors and footsteps.
Wedding Ideas: Originally known as the Oliver House Hotel, the home of Maumee Bay Brewing Company stood as a modern luxury hotel with all the bells and whistles, drawing wealthy clients from near and far. Now a renovated event space in the heart of Toledo, it accommodates anywhere between 20 and 250 people for an elegant and uniquely spooky reception.
7. Sturdivant Hall Mansion in Selma, Alabama
Why It’s Scary: Staff and visitors have reported seeing objects move on their own and hearing footsteps and doors closing with no explanation. It’s said to be the ghost of John Parkman, the original owner of the magnificent mansion—and a crooked banker who was imprisoned for his bad practices and killed while trying to escape.
Wedding Ideas: This historical Greek Revival mansion isn’t just a stunning Southern charmer—it’s historically and architecturally important. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, the venue boasts a broad, sweeping front porch to overlook the grounds.
8. Grant-Humphreys Mansion in Denver, Colorado
Why It’s Scary: Two centuries old and located near a once-looted cemetery, the notoriously haunted Denver estate is reportedly home to at least five ghosts, including Albert Humphreys, a wealthy entrepreneur who bought the home in 1917 and died mysteriously on the third floor.
Wedding Ideas: Whether you choose to have your ceremony outside in the flower garden or inside among elegant columns and high ceilings, this venue is the picture of stately elegance.
9. Beardslee Castle in Little Falls, New York
Why It’s Scary: The ghost of Captain Beardslee is said to be seen at night, walking the grounds of the manor and holding a lantern, searching for his son who was fatally hit by a train. You might also see a “lady in white” drifting through the halls.
Wedding Ideas: Built in 1860 to replicate an Irish castle, Beardslee offers the elegance and drama of an ancient castle with more modern amenities, such as a restaurant and catering staff on-site.
10. Sprague Mansion in Cranston, Rhode Island
Why It’s Scary: Amasa Sprague, the heir to the family business and inheritor of the mansion, was mysteriously murdered near the estate in 1843. His ghost is known to roam up and down the grand staircases, sending inexplicable gusts of cold air through the wine cellar and flickering the lights on and off in the Doll Room. (Um, so creepy, right?)
Wedding Ideas: The beautifully renovated Victorian mansion, built in the early 1800s, is a favorite for receptions, bridal showers, weddings and engagement parties. Check out the haunted wine cellar, explore the grounds and charm your guests with ghost stories.
