HauntBound Press Fact Sheet · Updated September 2026
The Most Haunted Places in Arkansas
Arkansas has 62 documented haunted locations in the HauntBound index.
Top 10 identified after source-level analysis of the 21 strongest Arkansas candidates.
By the numbers
- Total documented
- 62
- Museum / Historical Site
- 17
- Cemetery / Burial Ground
- 10
- Theater / Performance Venue
- 8
- Family-friendly
- 61
- Bookable
- 13
- Oldest documented site
- Old State House Museum (1833)
- Most-reported phenomenon
- apparitions
Ranked
- 1. Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa HauntBound identified six distinct published accounts at this working hotel, across five kinds of published source. Six later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions and electrical anomalies. 6 original accounts · documented across 6 decades, 1875-2025 · retold in 6 later publications
- 2. 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa The 1886 Crescent Hotel opened as a Victorian resort, later a women's college, then the fraudulent Baker Cancer Hospital from 1937 to 1940, where patients paid for worthless treatments and many died before founder Norman Baker was convicted of fraud. The basement morgue he installed remains intact. Guests report a poltergeist named Michael, a worker who died in a fall, active in Room 218. 7 original accounts · documented across 7 decades, 1900-2019 · retold in 1 later publication
- 3. Tilly Willy Bridge HauntBound identified six distinct published accounts at this outdoor site, across four kinds of published source. Three later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions. 6 original accounts · documented across 5 decades, 1928-2025 · retold in 3 later publications
- 4. Malco Theatre (Maxwell Blade Theatre of Magic) HauntBound identified five distinct published accounts at this working theater, across four kinds of published source. One later publication retells those accounts. Reported phenomena include disembodied voices. 5 original accounts · documented across 7 decades, 1880-2024 · retold in 1 later publication
- 5. Clayton House Museum HauntBound identified four distinct published accounts at this museum site, across four kinds of published source. Two later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions and cold spots. 4 original accounts · documented across 4 decades, 1852-2018 · retold in 2 later publications
- 6. Gurdon Light HauntBound identified four distinct published accounts at this outdoor site, across five kinds of published source. Seven later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include electrical anomalies. 4 original accounts · documented across 2 decades, 1930-1994 · retold in 7 later publications
- 7. The Empress of Little Rock HauntBound identified six distinct published accounts at this working hotel, across four kinds of published source. Six later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions. 6 original accounts · documented across 3 decades, 1993-2023 · retold in 6 later publications
- 8. King Opera House Theatre HauntBound identified four distinct published accounts at this working theater, across four kinds of published source. Two later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions and phantom footsteps. 4 original accounts · documented across 5 decades, 1891-2023 · retold in 2 later publications
- 9. MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History The Tower Building, the only surviving structure of the 1840 Little Rock Arsenal, was the birthplace of General Douglas MacArthur in 1880 and was seized by Arkansas militia in February 1861, months before the state voted to secede. Union forces held the arsenal after retaking Little Rock in 1863. Now a museum, it draws reports of a soldier's apparition and cold spots in the basement, EVP recordings of voices, and shadow figures in the stairwell. 4 original accounts · documented across 3 decades, 1864-2005 · retold in 1 later publication
- 10. 1905 Basin Park Hotel The 1905 Basin Park Hotel rose on the site of the Perry House, an 1881 hotel destroyed by fire in 1890, built of limestone and marketed as fireproof, with every floor opening at ground level on the hillside. During Prohibition the basement reportedly ran a speakeasy and gambling parlor. Visitors describe figures in 1920s dress on the closed fifth floor, cigar smoke and whiskey smells below, and a woman in Victorian dress on the staircase. 3 original accounts · documented across 4 decades, 1880-2015 · retold in 1 later publication
By city
- Hot Springs: 7 documented sites
- Little Rock: 7 documented sites
- Fayetteville: 5 documented sites
- Fort Smith: 4 documented sites
- Jonesboro: 4 documented sites
- Eureka Springs: 2 documented sites
- Magnolia: 2 documented sites
- Camden: 2 documented sites
- El Dorado: 2 documented sites
- Clarksville: 1 documented site
- 24 more across the rest of Arkansas
Press images
- Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arlington_Hotel_Hot_Springs_Arkansas_2023.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/arkansas/arlington-resort-hotel-spa/hero.jpg
- 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa Alan Islas, CC BY-SA 4.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crescent_Hotel.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/arkansas/1886-crescent-hotel-spa/hero.jpg
- Malco Theatre (Maxwell Blade Theatre of Magic) Brandonrush, CC BY-SA 3.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Malco_Theater,_Hot_Springs,_AR_001.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/arkansas/malco-theatre-hot-springs/hero.jpg
- Clayton House Museum Hakbak, CC BY-SA 3.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:W.H.H._Clayton_House.JPG hauntbound.com/images/locations/arkansas/clayton-house-museum/hero.jpg
- The Empress of Little Rock Elletuesq, CC BY-SA 3.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Hornibrook_House.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/arkansas/empress-of-little-rock/hero.jpg
- King Opera House Theatre Tom Check (flickr user: tombothetominator), CC BY 2.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:King_Opera_House,_Van_Buren,_Arkansas.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/arkansas/king-opera-house-theatre/hero.jpg
- MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History L. Allen Brewer, CC BY 2.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tower_Building_of_the_Little_Rock_Arsenal.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/arkansas/macarthur-museum-of-arkansas-military-history/hero.jpg
- 1905 Basin Park Hotel EurekaSpringsAR, CC BY-SA 4.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aerial_shot_of_downtown_Eureka_Springs,_Arkansas.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/arkansas/basin-park-hotel/hero.jpg
Images listed here may be republished with the credit shown; all other HauntBound images are not offered for press use.
Superlatives
- Oldest documented site: Old State House Museum Documented since 1833.
- Most documented: 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa 7 distinct published accounts.
- Top haunted stay: 1905 Basin Park Hotel Overnight stays bookable.
- Most family-friendly: Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa 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.
Updated October 19, 2026: listings that could not be sourced, or that are private or have no public access, were withdrawn after an October review, so some of the state's town counts are lower. The documented total stays as published until the November update.
This is a documentation ranking, not a visitation guide; sites not open to visitors are marked on their entries.