10 Most Haunted Places in Washington: Real Ghost Stories You Can Visit

Washington State hides a long shadow behind its evergreen postcard views. Behind the ferries and the coffee shops sit asylums, sanitariums, and old forts soaked in tragedy.

The state grew up fast and hard. Logging camps, oyster ports, military batteries, and boom-town saloons all left their dead behind.

Some of these stories rank among the darkest in American history. You can explore many more on our directory of all haunted places in Washington.

This guide counts down ten of the most haunted places in the state. Each one is a real, documented location with a verifiable history.

You can visit, book a room, or tour nearly all of them. These are not urban legends built on nothing.

Bring a flashlight, a recorder, and steady nerves. If you plan to investigate, start with our ghost hunting equipment guide before you go.

1. Starvation Heights Sanitarium (Olalla)

Deep in the woods of Olalla once stood the sanitarium known as Starvation Heights. Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard ran it from 1908 to 1912 under the guise of therapeutic fasting.

What she actually gave patients was slow starvation. Historians estimate between 40 and 100 people died there on as little as a cup of broth a day.

The most famous victim was Claire Williamson, a wealthy Australian who weighed under 70 pounds at her death in 1911. Her spirit is the most seen ghost on the property, thin and pale, whispering that she is so hungry.

The building burned in 1935, but the land never let go. Hikers report sudden temperature drops, waves of weakness, and the sound of children singing near an old cedar tree.

The site sits on private land and is not officially open. The safest way to feel its weight is to read the case and visit nearby Olalla by daylight.

2. Thornewood Castle (Lakewood)

On the shore of American Lake sits Thornewood Castle, a 27,000-square-foot Tudor Gothic mansion. Chester Thorne built it between 1908 and 1911 for his wife Anna, shipping a 400-year-old English manor across the Atlantic to do it.

Chester died in 1927 and Anna in 1954. Guests still meet them both inside the walls they loved.

Anna appears in the Rose Bedroom, sitting in an antique chair before she fades. The scent of roses drifts through her old room even in deep winter.

The Great Hall and the basement Red Lion Pub are the hot spots. A 2010 investigation recorded a male voice saying “get out,” and the show Ghost Adventures filmed shadow figures here in 2014.

The castle runs as a bed and breakfast with rooms from about $250 to $595 a night. Book the Tower Room if you want the most complaints of nightmares and sleep paralysis.

3. Manresa Castle (Port Townsend)

Above the Victorian seaport of Port Townsend rises Manresa Castle, a red brick mansion built in 1892 by Prussian baker Charles Eisenbeis. It later became a Jesuit training college before opening as a hotel in 1974.

The castle’s darkest legend lives on the third floor. A young kitchen worker named Kate reportedly hanged herself in room 302 in the 1920s after a doomed romance with a priest.

Guests in 302 wake to a woman in white at the foot of the bed. Her reflection appears in the bathroom mirror, mournful, then gone.

Charles himself is said to haunt the first floor, objecting to changes in his home. A skeptical journalist even recorded a voice saying “I’m still here” in the empty third floor hallway.

Rooms run roughly $100 to $200 a night, and you can request the haunted ones. Weekend ghost tours run from May through October.

4. Northern State Hospital (Sedro-Woolley)

The crumbling asylum called Northern State Hospital housed thousands of patients from 1912 to 1976. At its peak more than 2,700 people crowded its wards on 700 acres of Skagit County farmland.

Records show at least 1,500 deaths here, many from neglect, tuberculosis, and experimental treatment. A cemetery on the grounds holds hundreds of graves marked only with numbers.

The most seen spirit is the Nurse in White, still making rounds in the old medical wing. A ghost child believed to be Mary Catherine Hanson, who died in 1925, laughs near the women’s ward.

Building 208, the tuberculosis ward, is the darkest spot. Visitors report suffocation, shadow figures, and the feeling of hands pushing them on the stairs.

The property is private and closed to the public, with active patrols and arrests. Respect the no trespassing signs and admire this one from the historical record.

5. Pike Place Market (Seattle)

Seattle’s beloved Pike Place Market has served the city since 1907. Few of the tourists buying fish and flowers know they walk atop one of the Pacific Northwest’s most haunted sites.

Below the stalls run the buried streets of Seattle’s Underground, once home to opium dens and violent crime. That darkness left its mark on the market above.

The most famous spirit is Princess Angeline, Chief Seattle’s daughter, who sold baskets here until 1896. A man named Arthur, said to be murdered over a gambling debt, appears near the lower-level elevator.

The Down Under shops and Post Alley near the Gum Wall hold the heaviest activity. A spirit box session once made contact with Arthur, who claimed he was killed over money in the 1950s.

The market is free and open daily from 9 AM to 6 PM. Seattle Ghost Tours and the Underground Tour both cover its hauntings.

6. Fort Worden (Port Townsend)

The coastal military base Fort Worden was built between 1897 and 1920 to guard Puget Sound. It stayed active through both World Wars before closing in 1953 and becoming a state park.

Soldiers died here in training accidents, tunnel cave-ins, and the 1918 flu. Many of them never seem to have left their posts.

Private James, killed by malfunctioning artillery in 1906, stands at attention in Building 202. A flu-era nurse still walks the old base hospital in her starched white uniform.

Battery Kinzie is the most feared spot, where three soldiers died in a 1921 shell misfire. Visitors hear phantom explosions and feel invisible hands pushing them from the underground chambers.

The park is open dawn to dusk with a $10 Discover Pass. Brave guests can even book the restored officer’s houses overnight.

7. Kells Irish Pub (Seattle)

The cozy Kells Irish Pub has poured pints in Post Alley since 1983. Its building, though, opened in 1903 as the Butterworth mortuary.

For decades the basement held embalming tables and cold storage for bodies. Renovations turned up old mortuary equipment and strange stains in the lower rooms.

The main ghost is a young woman in early 1900s clothing who appears in the upstairs mirrors. A more aggressive male spirit rules the basement, shoving staff and locking doors.

Investigators recorded a woman’s voice saying “help me” and a spirit box that answered “Edward,” matching founder Edward Butterworth. Managers still refuse to go down alone.

Kells is open daily from 11 AM to 2 AM with no cover charge. Late nights between 11 PM and closing give the best odds of a scare.

8. Sorrento Hotel (Seattle)

The elegant Sorrento Hotel opened in 1909 for visitors to the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. Over a century of drama has left more than memories in its Italian Renaissance halls.

Writer Alice B. Toklas, a frequent 1930s guest, is said to haunt the fourth floor. Her presence shows up as the smell of roses and knocking on the walls of Room 408.

A Victorian bride in white descends the grand staircase before vanishing at the landing. A maintenance worker of 23 years claimed he saw her seven separate times.

Room 408 is the epicenter, where belongings shift overnight and mirror messages appear in the fog. A 2015 investigation caught a voice saying “still waiting” in the Fireside Room.

Rooms run roughly $200 to $500 a night, and anyone can book. The Fireside Room and lounge welcome non-guests who just want the atmosphere.

9. Oxford Saloon (Snohomish)

The rowdy Oxford Saloon has served drinks in Snohomish since 1900. Its logging-boom heyday came with fights, a Prohibition speakeasy, and more than one murder.

The most active ghost is Henry, a logger stabbed to death in Room 3 during a card dispute in 1920. He appears in suspenders and work clothes before walking through closed doors.

A sad woman named Amelia haunts Room 2, seen in mirrors before she disappears. A playful child spirit hides keys and giggles through the bar after closing.

Room 3 is the darkest space, locking itself from the inside with no working lock. An investigator captured a clear EVP there of a male voice growling “get out.”

The Oxford is a working bar open 11 AM to 2 AM with no entry fee. Local ghost tours feature it, and after-hours investigations run by appointment.

10. Tokeland Hotel (Tokeland)

On the remote shore of Willapa Bay stands the Tokeland Hotel, built in 1885. It is one of the oldest continuously running lodgings in Washington.

Its most famous spirit is Charlie, a stern 1930s manager rumored to have run a brothel upstairs. She appears as a tall woman with dark hair in a severe bun.

Guests wake at 3 AM to find Charlie standing at the foot of the bed. She still straightens furniture overnight, keeping her hotel in order after death.

Room 7 is the most haunted, where cold spots and self-opening doors are common. A 2012 investigation recorded a female voice saying “get out” when no women were present.

The hotel takes overnight guests year-round, with rooms from about $89 to $149. Room 7 books months ahead thanks to its reputation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most haunted place in Washington?

Starvation Heights in Olalla is widely considered the most haunted, given the dozens of real deaths there under Dr. Linda Hazzard. Manresa Castle and Northern State Hospital are close rivals.

Which haunted places in Washington can you stay overnight?

You can book a room at Thornewood Castle, Manresa Castle, the Sorrento Hotel, and the Tokeland Hotel. Fort Worden also rents restored officer’s houses for overnight stays.

Is Manresa Castle really haunted?

Guests and staff have reported activity in room 302 for decades, tied to a kitchen worker named Kate. Multiple investigation teams rate it among Washington’s most genuinely haunted hotels.

When is the best time to visit haunted places in Washington?

Fall and winter, roughly October through February, see the most reported activity across these sites. Foggy Pacific Northwest nights between midnight and 3 AM are prime hours.

Are Washington’s haunted places free to visit?

Pike Place Market, Kells Irish Pub, and the Oxford Saloon are free to enter as public businesses. Fort Worden needs a $10 Discover Pass, while the hotels charge for overnight stays.

Washington’s ghosts range from starved patients to soldiers who never left their posts. Every place above is real, documented, and waiting for you to visit.

Plan your own haunted road trip with the help of the full Washington directory. Just remember to respect the private sites and the spirits who linger there.