The Hudson Valley is full of haunts and legends that come alive in spirit during the spookier months. From abandoned ruins to modern-day towns, there is plenty of opportunity to go off and ghost hunt on your own, but these guided tours provide the history, the evidence, and sometimes the right paranormal equipment to almost guarantee a ghost sighting or two in your neighborhood.
Ghosts of Albany
Hilton Albany Hotel, Albany
Duration: 90 minutes
Haunts to look for: ghosts of gangsters, night watchmen, and doomed lovers
View this post on Instagram
Experience the Capital Region in a new light during evening ghost tours that pass by the State Capitol Building, State Supreme Court, and other local landmarks. Watch out for the ghosts of gangsters, a Capitol Building night watchman, bawdy women, and doomed lovers, among other spirits who are legendary haunts in downtown Albany. Test your courage at this nightly event that was named “Top Five Fall Events” in the Capitol District by Times Union.
Capitol Hauntings Tours
New York State Capitol Building, Albany
Duration: 60 minutes
Haunts to look for: demons, watchmen, and missing artists
View this post on Instagram
If you’re interested in getting a closer look at the New York State Capitol Building, reserve a Capitol Hauntings Tour to explore the inside of the landmark structure. Running from October 2 through November 1, the tour takes visitors through the halls and rooms of the building where lost murals and artists, the ghost of a night watchman who died in a fire, and a secret stone-carved demon holding a Capitol curse will raise the hairs on the back of their necks.
Haunted Huguenot Street
Dubois Fort Visitor Center, New Paltz
Duration: 60 minutes
Haunts to look for: the ghost of Edward Cary
View this post on Instagram
Running on Fridays and Saturdays from October 11-27, this guided tour of New Paltz’s historic Huguenot Street immerses visitors in “The Curious Case of Edward Cary.” The interactive theater experience is led by Blandina Elmendorf, who recently heard of her father Edward Cary’s passing at the Ulster County Poor House. Join her on her quest through 1813 New Paltz and unlock family secrets along the way.
Old Dutch Church Cemetery
Old Dutch Church, Kingston
Duration: 60 minutes
Haunts to look for: ghosts of Dutch settlers, British soldiers, and Native Americans
View this post on Instagram
Dating back to 1658, the Old Dutch Church Cemetery has seen many different groups of people, from Native Americans to British soldiers. The cemetery is also the final resting place of many Revolutionary Kingston natives and George Clinton, the first governor of New York. Theatre on the Road brings this tour to life by telling stories and haunting tales of the former residents during this educational, entertaining, and spooky candlelit tour.
Pine Bush UFO & Paranormal Museum
Pine Bush
Duration: 90 minutes
Haunts to look for: UFOs, Sasquatch
View this post on Instagram
Pine Bush is home to many unexplainable happenings in the Hudson Valley, and this museum seeks to answer questions on all things aliens, unusual sightings, and extra-terrestrial explorations. Guided tours of the museum delve deep into the unknown to show artifacts and evidence of local mysteries, while the haunted history lantern tour takes visitors to sites of paranormal activity, reported ghost sightings, and ghost investigations in Pine Bush.
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
Sleepy Hollow
Duration: 120 minutes
Haunts to look for: ghost of Washington Irving
View this post on Instagram
This evening lantern tour takes visitors on a two-hour-long journey through the famous Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, where they can see the final resting place of titans of industry like Andrew Carnegie and William Rockefeller and the author of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” Washington Irving. While admiring beautiful art, architecture, and cool cemetery symbolism, visitors will find their way by kerosene lantern light during evenings through November during the guided ghost tours.
Tarrytown Music Hall
Tarrytown
Duration: 45 minutes
Haunts to look for: ghosts of the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts
View this post on Instagram
Built in 1885, the Tarrytown Music Hall has seen its fair share of famous Hudson Valley families such as the Rockefellers, Goulds, and Vanderbilts. A venue for presidents’ speeches and women’s suffrage rallies, the music hall has long since served as a vessel through which many people passed, and some didn’t leave. An official site of the Haunted History Trail of New York, the music hall has been investigated several times and has consistently shown paranormal activity.
The Haunted Shanley Hotel
Napanoch
Duration: 90 minutes
Haunts to look for: paranormal activity
View this post on Instagram
Known for its paranormal sightings, The Shanley has been featured on TV shows like Ghost Lab and Ghost Hunters. The hotel does day tours and, if you’re brave enough, you can even stay the night as a part of the Paranormal Investigation Team, but beware, because visitors have reported rocking chairs rocking on their own, doors slamming, piano music, footsteps, and mysterious clock chimes while renting a room. Many have also seen shadows and apparitions, some of which can be experienced on the tour with the help of paranormal investigation equipment.
Related: Halloween Events for Spooktacular Fun in the Hudson Valley
