HauntBound · Most Haunted State index · Delaware

The Most Haunted Places in Delaware

29 documented locations, ranked by depth of evidence. Updated September 2026.

What makes this ranking different

  • Evidence-ranked. Ranked by independent sources, documentation depth, and how far back reports go, not by legend. See methodology.
  • Family-rated. The only haunted-places index with a family-suitability rating on every site.
  • Logistics-verified. Every entry checked for what you can actually visit, book, or stay in.

Delaware has 29 documented haunted locations in the HauntBound index.

Total documented
29
Museum / Historical Site
7
Outdoor / Natural Site
5
Haunted House / Historic Home
4
Family-friendly
29
Bookable
8
Oldest documented site
Ryves Holt House (1665)
Most-reported phenomenon
apparitions

The upset

Delaware's most famous haunted site, Woodburn (Governor's House), does not make the evidence top ten; the winner is Cape Henlopen State Park (Fort Miles) in Lewes. Woodburn (Governor's House) · Cape Henlopen State Park (Fort Miles)

Ranked

  1. Photo of Cape Henlopen State Park (Fort Miles)
    1. Cape Henlopen State Park (Fort Miles) Lewes · Battlefield / Military Site · Family Comfort: Moderate

    HauntBound identified seven distinct published accounts at this military site, across three kinds of published source. Two later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions and electrical anomalies.

    7 original accounts · documented across 20 decades, 1600-2024 · retold in 2 later publications

  2. Photo of Rockwood Mansion
    2. Rockwood Mansion Wilmington · Museum / Historical Site · Family Comfort: Moderate

    Rockwood Mansion was completed in 1854 as the retirement home of Wilmington banker Joseph Shipley, modeled on his English country estate, and now operates as a county-run park and museum on 72 acres. In 2020 it hosted the series finale of Ghost Hunters after eleven seasons. Staff and visitors report footsteps on the upper floors, knocking on closed doors, whistling, and conversation overheard in rooms with no one in them.

    3 original accounts · documented across 4 decades, 1800-2016 · retold in 1 later publication

  3. Photo of Cannonball House (Lewes Historical Society)
    3. Cannonball House (Lewes Historical Society) Lewes · Museum / Historical Site · Family Comfort: High

    The Cannonball House in Lewes dates to the mid-1700s and takes its name from a British cannonball, still lodged in its foundation, fired during the 1813 bombardment of the town. It now operates as the Lewes Historical Society's maritime museum. Staff describe the site's ghost as a woman named Susan, said to have died after her dress caught fire at the hearth, and a door that will not stay shut and tools found moved overnight.

    3 original accounts · documented across 2 decades, 1917-1960 · retold in 2 later publications

  4. Photo of Lums Pond State Park
    4. Lums Pond State Park Bear · Outdoor / Natural Site · Family Comfort: Moderate

    HauntBound identified two distinct published accounts at this outdoor site, across four kinds of published source. Two later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include cold spots and disembodied voices.

    2 original accounts · documented across 4 decades, 1815-1970 · retold in 2 later publications

  5. Photo of Fort Delaware
    5. Fort Delaware Delaware City · Prison / Reformatory · Family Comfort: Moderate

    Fort Delaware, completed in 1859 on Pea Patch Island, became a Civil War prison camp holding roughly 33,000 Confederate soldiers, about 2,500 of whom died of disease and exposure before it became a state park in 1951. Visitors and investigators report a blue-tinted figure known as the Blue Man, children's voices in the old officers' quarters, and, during a 2008 television investigation, audible cannon fire with no living source.

    2 original accounts · documented across 5 decades, 1815-2018 · retold in 1 later publication

Superlatives

Oldest documented site
Ryves Holt House

Documented since 1665.

Most documented
Cape Henlopen State Park (Fort Miles)

7 distinct published accounts.

Top haunted stay
Addy-Sea Inn

Overnight stays bookable.

Most family-friendly
Smyrna Museum (The Barracks)

Family Comfort rating: High.

Methodology

For purposes of the HauntBound Index, "most haunted" means the location with the strongest documented record of reported haunting phenomena. We evaluate the quantity, independence, persistence, and documentary quality of published reports. We do not attempt to determine whether paranormal phenomena are real, and we never count a source that only establishes a building's history as evidence of haunting claims. Repetitive coverage is subject to diminishing returns, so a story retold many times does not outrank a story independently documented. Rankings never consider commercial relationships.

The 2026 Index reflects sources identified and classified as of September 15, 2026.

This is a documentation ranking, not a visitation guide; sites not open to visitors are marked on their entries.

Planning a visit? See the Delaware Haunted Trail →