With Halloween just around the corner, we are embracing places, things and legends that haunt our dreams - or at least creep us out. If you find yourself feeling brave enough, check out these creepy places in Vermont that will send shivers down your spine. We have even created this map to help you make your way through this spooky road trip in VT.
Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium, St. Johnsbury
We’ve seen all kinds of things at museums – paintings, sculptures and even steamships, but never, EVER, did this medium to come to mind. At the Fairbanks Museum you can see the artwork of John Hampson displayed. His medium? Dead bugs and bug parts. Moths, beetles, butterflies alike are painstakingly arranged into a colorful picture that can be hung on a wall. Each picture is made up of between 6,000 and 13,000 bugs and took 3-4 years to complete. Eewwwwww!
Bread and Puppet Theater, Glover
There is so much strangeness going on in this place. Founded in the 1960s, the original theater got its name by distributing bread to the audience, because good art should always accompany good food. These aren’t cute, little fuzzy puppets you’d find in a toy store. No, these are life-sized puppets who often were used to display political agendas. The puppets were eventually moved to a 150-year-old farm where both the barn and its contents are highly flammable, as noted by the plethora of "No Smoking" signs. The sign out front says "Enter at your own risk" and they’re not kidding! Old puppets, paper, glue, scrap lumber and stray animals are housed in this barn.
Emily's Bridge, Stowe
Legend has it that the Gold Brook Bridge, also known as "Emily’s Bridge" is haunted by a ghost named Emily. There are many stories of how Emily died on the bridge. The most popular is that she was supposed to elope with a lover who was meeting her at the bridge, and when he didn't show, she hung herself from the rafters. Even the locals are a bit leery of this place since sightings, noises and lights have all been reported over the years.
Black Agnes at the Green Mount Cemetery, Montpelier
The legends of the statue named Black Agnes vary, but one thing is always the same: something bad will happen if you sit in her lap. Depending on who tells the story, the unlucky person will encounter three instances of bad luck, have an uncountable amount of bad luck, or die within seven days. Perhaps it's best just to avoid the statue altogether.
Knight's Spider Web Farm, Williamstown
Caution: Spiders at work! At this spider web farm, Will Knight, now in his 80's, houses many spiders in his barn. When he sees a particularly interesting web, he sprays it with a white spray paint and then passes a wood plaque through the hole to save it. After a few coats of lacquer, Knight has perfectly mounted and preserved each web as a spectacular piece of art. More than 16,000 webs have been collected since 1977. Would you like to buy one of these spectacular webs? You're in luck! They are all reasonably priced and you can have a delightful chat with Will Knight himself.
Grave with a window, New Haven.
Timothy Clark Smith feared being buried alive, so he arranged for a square of glass in the ground to lead straight down to his face.
Grave of a mummy, Middlebury.
The Henry Sheldon Museum was delighted to get a mummy, and not just any old mummy. This was the two-year-old son of an Egyptian King! The remains, however, came in such a state that it was never displayed and stored away to be forgotten in an attic. When the curator found it in 1945, the body was cremated and given a proper Christian burial. (Pictured is a mummy from the British Museum.)
Vermont Police Academy, Pittsford
The Vermont Police Academy was once a state hospital for tuberculosis patients, and it is said to still be haunted by a nurse named Mary who worked here during that era and had contracted TB herself. All of the old call buttons are still in the recruits' rooms, and it is said that if pushed, the friendly ghost of the nurse, Mary, will pay a visit during the night.
Brattleboro Retreat Tower, Brattleboro
This tower which was built by patients at this asylum is said to be haunted by many former patients who jumped to their deaths from the top.
If these things alone don't creep you out enough, try coordinating with this haunted road trip through Vermont.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Get the latest updates and news
Thank you for subscribing!