Eastern State Penitentiary misses Pennsylvania's haunted top ten in new evidence-ranked index

Pennsylvania's most famous haunted site, Eastern State Penitentiary, does not make the top ten in HauntBound's 2026 index of the state's most haunted places, which ranks sites by published evidence rather than reputation. Baker Mansion in Altoona ranks #1. Philadelphia County holds two of the top ten.

The top five:

1. Baker Mansion, Altoona
2. Saint Vincent Archabbey, Basilica and College, Latrobe
3. Baleroy Mansion, Philadelphia (exterior viewing only)
4. Historic Rock Ford, Lancaster
5. Cambria County Jail, Ebensburg

Baker Mansion in Altoona has the most distinct published accounts of any Pennsylvania site, eight. The oldest documented site is King George II Inn in Bristol, dating to 1681. Elfreth's Alley in Philadelphia is the index's most family-friendly pick in the state. Apparitions are the most commonly reported phenomenon, on record at 166 sites.

"We rank by evidence, not legend: independent published accounts, documented history, and how far back the reports go. We don't claim ghosts are real, or that they aren't. We document where the reports concentrate, and we show our work," said Ben Fineman, editor of HauntBound.

HauntBound ranks each state's places by the documented record of reported haunting phenomena: the quantity, independence, persistence and documentary quality of published reports. A story retold many times counts for less than independent accounts, and a source that only establishes a building's history never counts as evidence of a haunting. The index does not try to determine whether paranormal phenomena are real. The 2026 index reflects sources identified and classified as of September 15, 2026.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/pennsylvania/The fact sheet, with city-by-city numbers and cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/pennsylvania/Interviews by email and city-by-city data on request.

HauntBound (hauntbound.com) is a family-friendly field guide to more than 6,000 documented haunted and historic places across the United States, ranked by published evidence rather than legend. No venue pays to be listed or ranked.

Media contact: Ben Fineman, Editor, HauntBound, editor@hauntbound.com

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