HOUSTON — It's no secret that people have been moving to Texas in droves in recent years, but apparently ghosts and other spirits also like the Lone Star State.
In fact, Texas has the deadly distinction of being dubbed the most haunted state in America by BonusFinder.com. They did a data dive that included ghost sightings, reports of paranormal activities and the number of cemeteries.
The researchers turned to Ghosts of America to track ghost sightings. They used Ghostquest for paranormal phenomena in each state and the Find a Grave website to determine the number of cemeteries.
BonusFinders came up with the following numbers for every 100,000 people in Texas.
- Ghost sightings: 7,517
- Haunted locations: 925
- Paranormal investigators: 158
- Cemeteries: 13,710
That gave Texas a whopping score of 9.8 out of 10.
Haunted hot spots in Texas
Galveston has long been called one of the most haunted cities in America and popular ghost tours on the island add to the lore.
According to ghostcitytours.com, haunted spots include the Grand Galvez and Tremont House hotels, Bishops Palace, Ashton Villa and the Moody Mansion. One of Galveston's best-known ghost stories centers around the Seawall Walmart which is said to be occupied by children from St. Mary's Orphans Asylum who perished in the 1900 Storm.
San Antonio is also considered a paranormal hot spot with Victoria’s Black Swan Inn along the banks of Salado Creek on the top of the list. The land was said to be inhabited by Native Americans dating back before 5000 B.C. and sightings of Indian spirits have been reported. The bloody battle of Salado also took place there in 1842 and the ghosts of the soldiers who died are believed to haunt the house.
The Alamo is also said to be haunted along with historic hotels like the Gunter and St. Anthony.
Houston has its share of ghost stories including The Rice where President John F. Kennedy spent his last night before being assassinated in November 1963. It's said that cold spots, rattling doors and beds, orbs of light and a presence are felt in JFK's room. Ghost dancers appeared in the ballroom before it was renovated in to the Rice Lofts. Now the lofts are haunted by spirits who dance on the rooftop, according to VisitHouston.com.
The downtown ghost tour also includes the Julia Ideson Building, Alley Theater and La Carafe, the oldest bar in H-Town.
America's top 10 haunted states
According to Bonusfinders.com, these are the ghostly scores for the ten most haunted states.
1. Texas - 9.8
2. Maine - 9.0
3. Florida - 8.8
4. Vermont - 8.8
5. North Dakota - 8.5
6. South Dakota - 8.4
7. West Virginia - 7.6
8. Kentucky - 7.5
9. Montana - 7.3
10. Iowa - 7.1