National parks have a darker side that is buried in mystery and tradition, while being well-known for their magnificent vistas and natural beauty.
There are rumors that some of these tragically named pathways are haunted by the ghosts of people who died on them. Come explore these haunting pathways with us, where there is a rumor of a thin veil separating the living from the dead.
Transept Trail, Grand Canyon National Park
The Transept Trail is steeply inclining down into the Grand Canyon from its location on the North Rim. There’s an ethereal wail that sounds like a grieving woman that campers have reported hearing on the night wind.
Some have claimed to have seen a woman wearing a white dress decorated with blue flowers drifting down the canyon rim or walking the trail in the middle of the day or at dusk.
This is the so-called Wailing Woman, an apparition. She haunts the route where her kid and husband perished, as well as the Grand Canyon Lodge nearby, where she killed herself out of sheer grief.
This ghost has scared both hikers and lodge guests since the late 1920s, acting as a warning of the canyon’s peril.
The Heritage Trail, Mammoth Cave National Park
There is the world’s longest known cave system in Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. There’s something about caverns that evokes a feeling of spookiness in people’s minds.
The Heritage Trail is the most haunted of Mammoth Cave’s various routes, though there are definitely some dark areas along them.
More than 150 reports of paranormal occurrences at Mammoth Cave have been made, primarily by park rangers and visiting scientists. Stephen Bishop, the renowned cave guide, is one of the most common eerie encounters.
Bishop, a former slave of Dr. John Croghan, the caves’ original owner, was well-known for his physical prowess and deep familiarity with the underground system.
Bishop, who passed away in the 1850s, has been spotted exploring the caverns and the graveyard where he is buried while holding a lantern.
A particularly unsettling stretch of the Heritage Trail consists of the group of cabins constructed by Dr. Croghan to serve as a sanatorium. Dr. Croghan was among the many tuberculosis patients who died as a result of the project’s catastrophic failure.
It is reported that deep within the caves, the ghosts of numerous of the patients can be seen drifting along the trail.
Read Also: Ghosts of Maine: Haunted Places You Have to See to Believe
Corbin Cabin Trail, Shenandoah National Park
Several old homesteads can be found in Shenandoah National Park. The Corbin Cabin route in Corbin Hollow is quite eerie.
In the early 1900s, George Corbin and his spouse lived there. While giving birth to her child at the cabin, Mrs. Corbin passed away. After that, in order to feed his newborn, Mr. Corbin had to bury his wife and hike into town to buy milk.
It is said that Mrs. Corbin’s ghost still prowls the grounds. The park owns and maintains the cabin, and daring guests are welcome to spend the night there if they so choose.
Numerous guests have mentioned that they have heard Mrs. Corbin muttering, seen her ghost in the moonlight, and even wandered around the house at night. A really strange encounter, to put it mildly.
Read Also: Legends of Yosemite’s Eerie Lake: The Most Haunted Place in the Park
Greenleaf Hut Trail, White Mountains National Forest
The White Mountains have claimed their share of hikers over the years, particularly those who venture up Mount Washington, despite being home to villages like Gorham that are ideal for outdoor adventures.
Though there is a certain spookiness to the Greenleaf Hut Trail, many hikers in the White Mountains feel as though they are hiking with the souls of those who have gone on before them.
As a base camp, Greenleaf Hut is used by many hikers who aim to summit peaks in the Presidential Range.
Ben Campbell, a hiker from Scotland whose boots were returned to the Greenleaf lodge after he passed away overseas, is said to haunt the lodge.
There’s a sound of Campbell’s voice resonating in the night air, and the boots seem to be moving all by themselves. Even though he’s not a malicious spirit, the cabin has an unsettling aura about it.
Read Also: An Island Paradise in South Carolina: Gourmet Eats and Stunning Shores
Chilnualna Falls Trail, Yosemite National Park
The park’s most haunted trail is said to be Chilnualna Falls Trail. The Pahonio, a spirit wind that the local Native Americans claim sweeps unwary hikers to their deaths over the edge of the falls, is said to haunt the falls.
Although the legend has never been verified, there have been enough fatalities on the road to raise doubts about its veracity.
The 240-foot falls have caused multiple people to stumble or be pushed over, drowning in the lake below.
The idea that there may be some validity to the Native American tradition is strengthened by the numerous hikers who have claimed to have heard the cries of drowning children while hiking the path.
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