A HauntBound editor's pick
Family-friendly
haunted attractions.
Twelve haunted destinations rated for kids — across hotels, theaters, museums, and historical sites. Every venue here scores 2 or below on gore (out of 5) and 2 or below on jump scares. Atmospheric over alarming. Real history, real ghosts, no nightmares.
Updated July 5, 2026 12 of 1,786 family-safe venues in the catalog
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01Haunted Hotel / InnHannibal, MO
Garth Woodside Mansion
Second Empire Victorian estate built 1871 by Mark Twain's childhood friend John Garth; Twain stayed in what is now the Samuel Clemens room, and guests still report pipe-smoke phantoms there.
Garth Woodside Mansion is a Second Empire Victorian country estate completed in 1871 by Colonel John H. Garth and his wife Helen Kercheval Garth, both childhood schoolmates of Samuel Clemens. Twain stayed at Woodside on his return visits to Hannibal, including a documented 1882 trip up the Mississippi on the steamer Baton Rouge. The property has operated as a bed and breakfast since 1987.
Gore 1/5 Jump scares 1/5 Cost $$$ Age All AgesFamily notes: Upscale Victorian B&B suitable for all ages, though atmosphere and dining lean adult.
Full venue page, history, and family notes →Garth Woodside Mansion Bed and Breakfast
Overnight stays in the 1871 Garth family mansion, including the Samuel Clemens room where Mark Twain reportedly slept during return visits to Hannibal. Three private cottages on the 36-acre grounds also available.
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02Haunted Hotel / InnVicksburg, MS
Stained Glass Manor / Oak Hall Bed & Breakfast
Mission Revival mansion completed c.1908-1910 with 32 custom stained-glass windows and Louis Millet art-glass fixtures; current operators downplay haunting reports while regional listings detail Fannie Willis Johnson lore.
The Fannie Vick Willis Johnson Home at 2430 Drummond Street in Vicksburg is a Mission Revival mansion built between 1902 and 1908-1910 (sources vary on the completion date) for philanthropist Fannie Willis Johnson. Designed by New Orleans architects Keenan & Weiss and supervised by local architect William Stanton, the house contains 32 custom stained-glass windows and original Louis Millet art-glass fixtures. It now operates as Oak Hall Bed & Breakfast.
Gore 1/5 Jump scares 1/5 Cost $$ Age All AgesFamily notes: Stained-glass and architectural focus makes this an unusually family-friendly historic stop.
Full venue page, history, and family notes →Overnight Stay at Oak Hall
Stay overnight in the early 20th-century Mission Revival mansion, with 32 original custom stained-glass windows and Louis Millet art-glass fixtures throughout the principal rooms.
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03Museum / Historical SiteSyracuse, NY
Erie Canal Museum
The 1850 Syracuse Weighlock Building — the last surviving Erie Canal weighlock in the country — where docents report transparent children playing in the courtyard and footsteps tromping through 175-year-old halls.
The Erie Canal Museum occupies the 1850 Syracuse Weighlock Building, the last surviving structure of its kind in the United States. The building served as a working weighlock — essentially a giant scale for canal boats determining toll fees — from 1850 until weighing was discontinued in 1883. The museum was founded as a private non-profit in 1962, and the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
Gore 1/5 Jump scares 1/5 Cost $ Age All Ages AccessibleFamily notes: Family-friendly historical museum. Paranormal lore is documented through docent stories and tourism programming rather than presented as a frightening attraction.
Full venue page, history, and family notes →Erie Canal Museum Self-Guided Visit
Walk through the only surviving Erie Canal weighlock building in the United States. Exhibits include the full-size Frank Buchanan Thomson line-boat replica installed in the original weighlock chamber, the toll office, and rotating exhibits on canal history and the people who l…
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04Haunted Hotel / InnKerrville, TX
Y.O. Ranch Hotel
Hill Country Hotel Tied to a 600,000-Acre Ranch Empire
The Y.O. Ranch Hotel in Kerrville, Texas, takes its name from the historic Y.O. Ranch founded in 1880 by Charles Schreiner. The hotel offers 190 rooms with Hill Country and Old West design and houses the Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse. Although the hotel itself is a relatively recent build, it serves as a public expression of the Schreiner cattle and conservation legacy.
Gore 1/5 Jump scares 1/5 Cost $$$ Age All Ages AccessibleFamily notes: A family-friendly conference and resort hotel with no horror programming. The haunted reputation rests on guest anecdotes rather than organized investigation events.
Full venue page, history, and family notes →Overnight Stay at the Y.O. Ranch Hotel
Stay in one of 190 western-themed rooms with rich wood finishes and Saltillo tile floors. The hotel takes its name from the historic Y.O. Ranch in nearby Mountain Home and houses the Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse, a restaurant inspired by the Schreiner family's longhorn legacy.
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05Museum / Historical SiteSalinas, CA
John Steinbeck House (Steinbeck Birthplace)
Steinbeck was born here in 1902 and later wrote that the house was 'pretty haunted' after caring for his dying parents — the subject of a 2022 Ghost Adventures investigation.
This 1897 Queen Anne Victorian at 132 Central Avenue was purchased by the Steinbeck family in 1900 and remained the family home through John Steinbeck's childhood and early adulthood. Steinbeck was born in the front bedroom in February 1902. He returned in the early 1930s to care for his parents as they declined, later writing to a friend that the house had become 'pretty haunted.' The Valley Guild acquired the property in 1973 and has operated it as a luncheon restaurant since 1974.
Gore 0/5 Jump scares 0/5 Cost $ Age All AgesFamily notes: A working lunchtime restaurant and house museum in a well-maintained Victorian. The haunting connection is literary and low-key. Suitable for all ages.
Full venue page, history, and family notes →Free House Tour
Valley Guild docents lead free tours through all three floors of the house every third Saturday of the month and on Sundays in July. Tours cover Steinbeck's early life, the house's architecture, and the family's occupancy through the 1930s. Reservations required.
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06Theater / Performance VenueDurham, NC
Carolina Theatre of Durham
Downtown Durham's 1926 movie palace and civil-rights landmark, where staff still document multiple ghost reports across the projection booth, basement, and Connie Moses Ballroom.
The Carolina Theatre of Durham opened as the Durham Auditorium on February 2, 1926, was remodeled for film in 1929 and renamed The Carolina, and became one of downtown Durham's signature venues. During its first 37 years it operated under segregation, and in 1962 it desegregated following years of student-led 'Round Robin' protests organized by the local NAACP youth chapter.
Gore 1/5 Jump scares 1/5 Cost $$ Age All Ages AccessibleFamily notes: A working performing-arts venue with family-friendly programming; ghost lore is gentle and event-dependent.
Full venue page, history, and family notes →Theatre concert, film, or comedy event
Attend any of the theatre's hundreds of annual public performances — concerts, indie film screenings, comedy, and community events — and explore the historic lobby, balconies, and Connie Moses Ballroom while there.
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07Haunted House / Historic HomeMacon, GA
Hay House (Johnston-Felton-Hay House)
Macon's Italian Renaissance palace, where staff have documented unexplained activity for decades and a former owner reportedly still searches the house
Built between 1855 and 1859 for businessman William Butler Johnston at a cost of approximately $100,000, the Italian Renaissance Revival mansion at 934 Georgia Avenue has been called the 'Palace of the South' and is a National Historic Landmark. The Felton family held it through the Civil War period; Confederate general Henry Gray Felton occupied it during the war. The Hay family acquired the house in 1926 and donated it to The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation in 1977.
Gore 1/5 Jump scares 1/5 Cost $$ Age All AgesFamily notes: A working historic house museum operated by The Georgia Trust. Regular tours are family-friendly. Seasonal ghost tours involve paranormal storytelling appropriate for older children. The building is a multi-story mansion; wear comfortable shoes.
Full venue page, history, and family notes →Regular Guided House Tour
One-hour guided tour through the first three levels of the 1850s Italian Renaissance Revival mansion, covering the Johnston, Felton, and Hay families, the architectural details, and the house's documented history. No advance booking required for individuals; groups should rese…
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08Theater / Performance VenueStockton, CA
Bob Hope (Fox) Theatre
Stockton's 1930 Spanish Colonial movie palace — 2,030 seats, a 1928 Robert Morton organ, and a Victorian couple who watch from the balcony.
The Fox California Theatre opened October 14, 1930, designed by Clifford Balch and Floyd Stanberry in Spanish Colonial Revival style with a seating capacity of 2,500. It was one of only two movie palaces built in California's Central Valley. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, the theatre underwent an $8.5 million restoration and reopened September 2004 as the Bob Hope Theatre, renamed in honor of entertainer Bob Hope at the request of lead donor Alex G. Spanos.
Gore 0/5 Jump scares 1/5 Cost $$ Age All Ages AccessibleFamily notes: A working performance venue suitable for all ages. The ghost-tour narrative is mild — apparitions in period dress, temperature drops, shoulder taps.
Full venue page, history, and family notes →Attend a Live Performance
The Bob Hope Theatre presents concerts, comedy, and theatrical productions year-round. The 2004 restoration returned the Spanish Colonial interior to its original appearance with refurbished red velvet seats, a 1,200-square-foot Italian marble mosaic lobby floor, and the resto…
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09Theater / Performance VenuePasadena, CA
Pasadena Playhouse
California's State Theatre since 1937, where founder Gilmor Brown reportedly still adjusts lighting and moves props a half-century after his 1960 death
Gilmor Brown founded the Pasadena Playhouse in 1916 with a traveling acting troupe and built the current 686-seat Spanish Colonial Revival theater at 39 South El Molino in 1924–1925. The California legislature designated the Playhouse the official State Theatre of California in 1937. Brown ran the theater until his death in 1960, producing more than 2,000 plays and training actors who went on to Hollywood careers.
Gore 0/5 Jump scares 1/5 Cost $$ Age All Ages AccessibleFamily notes: Live theater venue with no disturbing history. The ghost story involves a beloved founder's benevolent presence rather than violence. Appropriate for all ages.
Full venue page, history, and family notes →Live Performance Season
The Pasadena Playhouse operates a full season of professional theater productions in its 686-seat main stage, ranging from classic American drama to world premieres. Attending a performance is the primary way to experience the building — its 1925 Spanish Colonial Revival inter…
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10Haunted House / Historic HomeRugby, TN
Kingstone Lisle
The Snoring Ghost of Rugby's Founder
Kingstone Lisle is the 1884 Carpenter Gothic cottage Thomas Hughes built at Historic Rugby, his utopian colony on the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee. Hughes — British author of Tom Brown's School Days — founded Rugby in 1880 as a settlement for England's landed gentry's younger sons. He intended the cottage for his mother, though she rarely visited.
Gore 1/5 Jump scares 1/5 Cost $ Age All AgesFamily notes: Historic Rugby is an outstanding family destination. The walking tour is calm and educational. Evening ghost tours add mild atmosphere but nothing frightening. The village setting and free hiking trails make for a full day out.
Full venue page, history, and family notes →Historic Village Walking Tour
$10/adult
A 90-minute guided walking tour departs from the Rugby Visitor Centre and includes Kingstone Lisle — the 1884 Carpenter Gothic cottage Thomas Hughes built for his mother — along with the 1882 Thomas Hughes Free Public Library, Christ Church Episcopal, and the 1907 Schoolhouse.…
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11Museum / Historical SitePort Townsend, WA
Rothschild House Museum
An 1868 Greek Revival merchant's home in Port Townsend, now a historic house museum on the National Register, associated with the 1886 death of merchant D.C.H. Rothschild.
The Rothschild House was built in 1868 by Bavarian-immigrant merchant David Charles Henry Rothschild, with carpentry by Horace Tucker. It is among Port Townsend's oldest surviving residences and one of the best-preserved Greek Revival houses on the West Coast. The Jefferson County Historical Society manages it as a historic house museum; it was listed on the National Register in 1970.
Gore 1/5 Jump scares 1/5 Cost $ Age All AgesFamily notes: An educational historic-house museum. Discussion of D.C.H. Rothschild's 1886 death by suicide may be sensitive for some visitors; lore is best discussed with older children.
Full venue page, history, and family notes →Historic House Museum Tour
Self-guided or docent-led tour of the 1868 Rothschild family home, preserved with period furnishings. Operated by Jefferson County Historical Society.
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12Haunted House / Historic HomeAnchorage, AK
Oscar Anderson House Museum
Anchorage's only historic house museum — the 1915 home of Swedish-born pioneer Oscar Anderson, said to be haunted by the man who lived here for nearly sixty years.
The Oscar Anderson House was built in 1915 by Swedish-born pioneer Oscar Anderson, who said he was the 18th person to arrive at the Ship Creek tent city that became Anchorage. It is the first wood-frame house in Anchorage. Anderson lived here until his death in 1974, after which the structure was restored and opened as a historic house museum.
Gore 1/5 Jump scares 1/5 Cost $ Age All AgesFamily notes: A small, gentle house museum focused on early-Anchorage history. Ghost stories are about a former resident said to remain attached to his home — appropriate for families with curious kids. Stairs and tight spaces limit accessibility.
Full venue page, history, and family notes →Self-Guided House Museum Tour
Tour the restored 1915 home of pioneer Oscar Anderson, restored to its original appearance between 1978 and 1982 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Docents share Anderson family history and, when asked, the well-known visitor reports of unexplained footste…
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If your kids are older
This guide is calibrated for school-age kids. If your teenagers can handle more, the Moderate family-fit filter opens up another 200+ venues — including the ones with hosted ghost hunts and overnight investigations that often have a 13+ minimum.
For toddlers, stick to outdoor and museum sites — the historical museum filter is the right starting point.
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