VisitPA’s Ghost Rides and Horror Film Trail: 50 Stops, 11 Days

Does VisitPA have actual physical badges of their trip and trail guides? Or are they for display only on their website? I don’t know. However, there are two guides (and badges) ghost enthusiasts and horror movie lovers would love: Ghost Rides and the Horror Film Trail, a.k.a. Trail of the Living Dead.

The Ghost Rides guide consists of two routes: (1) Eastern PA (comprised of four days, 21 stops), and (2) Pittsburgh and its countryside (4 days, 16 stops). The Trail of the Living Dead route features iconic movie locations in Pittsburgh and its countryside (3 days, 13 stops).

That adds up to 50 stops in 11 days! And that’s not counting the bonus stops in haunted hotels on some of the days.

Let’s unpack what spooky delights await on each route of these scary road trips.

Ghost Rides

Eastern PA

Day 1

The first day is divided between eight stops in two cities, starting in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, and ending in Bethlehem.

The four stops in Jim Thorpe are:

1. Old Jail Museum
2. Asa Packer Mansion
3. Historic Stone Row
4. Inn at Jim Thorpe

The four stops in Bethlehem are:

1. Old Moravian Cemetery Walks
2. Sun Inn
3. Donegal Square
4. Brethren’s House

Dennis Hauck’s Haunted Places Directory lists a few places in Bethlehem. It’s why I included it in the “Haunted Places with Christmas Names” episode of the Haunted Christmas season of the podcast.

However, VisitPA didn’t talk about what Hauck called the “cantankerous ghost” who “pesters students and employees in the Linderman Library at Lehigh University.” Nor did they allude to any of the spirits spotted at Moravian College, including an elderly couple, war-era ghosts (from both the Revolutionary War and World War I), or the “noisy spirits” who dwell in the tunnels under the south campus.

But they did include the Hotel Bethlehem in a “Bonus” listing at the end of this day, suggesting the historic, haunted hotel with its friendly ghosts would make a good place to spend the first night on this particular haunted road trip.

Day 2

The second day is divided between five stops in two cities, starting in Upper Black Eddy and ending in New Hope.

The stop in Upper Black Eddy involves hiking the Delaware Canal Towpath of the D And L Trail.

The four stops in New Hope are:

1. Van Sant Covered Bridge
2. Logan Inn
3. The Ghost Tours of New Hope
4. New Hope & Ivy Railroad

You’ll want to have your camera ready at any time, but this day looks like it has some really good photo ops—for instance, the covered bridge. Even if you don’t find ghosts there, it looks like a picturesque photo op.

And the railroad gets in the spirit during Halloween with a “No Hope After Dark” scary train ride, as well as a family-friendly “Trick or Treat Train” experience.

Again, the Bonus listing is a haunted hotel to rest in for the night: the Logan Inn.

Day 3

One day. One city. Four haunted places. This day welcomes you to Philadelphia. The four stops are:

1. Eastern State Penitentiary
2. Old City
3. St. Peter’s Cemetery
4. Washington Square Park

Ah ha. I see the theme now. The day’s Bonus listing is a haunted hotel. In this case, you can try to grab some shut-eye in the Morris House Hotel, which is conveniently located in the Old City, a.k.a. one of this day’s stops. (I say “conveniently” because it saves you some travel time to have your spooky stay already located at one of the stops.)

Day 4

You’ll end your Eastern PA Ghost Rides adventure with four stops in three cities, which are Newtown Square, Glenn Mills, and Spring City. However, to be fair, it could only be two cities, as the Bates Motel and the Haunted Hayride at Arasapha Farm in Glenn Mills count as one. Plus, they’re Halloween haunted attractions so they’re only open at the end of September into October. (Unless they ever open on Halloween or Valentine’s Day, like some haunted attractions do these days.)

But overall, you can start with a visit to the Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation in Newtown Square, and end at Pennhurst Asylum in Spring City, which also offers Halloween-style scares in addition to daytime history and photography tours.

Pittsburgh and Its Countryside

Day 1

The first day is divided between four stops in two cities, starting in Evans City, Pennsylvania, and ending in Harmony.

The journey begins in the same place that the horror film trail starts: the Zombie Capital of Butler County, a.k.a. Evans City. Specifically, you start your visit at the Evans City Cemetery, where you can re-create the famous scene from George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead with the iconic line, “I’m coming to get you, Barbara.” (I mean, if you’re there, you have to say it, right?)

Next, you’ll move on to the next three stops in Harmony:

1. Harmony Society Cemetery
2. Harmony Historic District
3. Mennonite Meetinghouse and Cemetery

Day 2

The second day will find you making three stops in as many cities on your way to Pittsburgh.

Start in Portersville with a hike in Moraine State Park before heading to see the Historic Downtown in Butler. You’ll end the day traversing Blue Mist road in Pittsburgh’s North Park before turning in for the night.

Since your third day is a big one in Pittsburgh, VisitPA didn’t suggest any haunted hotels to check into. However, I’d suggest the Omni William Penn Hotel if you want to include a haunted, historic spooky stay in your Pittsburgh road trip.

Day 3

Welcome to Pittsburgh! Hope you’re well rested. You’ve got these five places to explore today:

1. Frick Art & Historical Center
2. Cathedral of Learning Nationality Rooms
3. Allegheny Cemetery and the Allegheny Arsenal
4. Washington’s Landing / Herr’s Island
5. Heinz History Center and the Western PA Sports Museum.

Day 4

You’re not quite done with Pittsburgh yet. Although, I’d probably move the ghost tour, one of the suggestions for Day 4, to Day 3 because it’s a nighttime stop. Also, it’s only offered on Friday and Saturday nights. So take that into consideration when planning your time in Pittsburgh.

The other haunted place you’ll want to visit on your last day in Pittsburgh is Point State Park before moving on to your final city, Brownsville, and the last two stops of the trip:

1. Flatiron Heritage Visitors Center
2. Nemacolin Castle

The Horror Film Trail

Pittsburgh and Its Countryside

Day One

Like the Ghost Rides trail that starts in the same part of the state, you’ll begin your set-jetting journey in Evans City at the cemetery where George Romero filmed the iconic “I’m coming to get you, Barbara,” scene for Night of the Living Dead.

But also be sure to stop by the Evans City Post Office, where Romera also shot a scene for The Crazies.

Next, head to Kittanning, where many scenes of The Mothman Prophecies were filmed, including at the photogenic (and structurally sound) Kittanning Citizens Bridge.

Finally, you’ll end up at the haunted Omni William Penn Hotel. No horror movies have been filmed there, but some dramas with big names stars have, including Foxcatcher, Southpaw, Concussion, and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Also, book two nights here, as you’ll still be set-jetting in Pittsburgh on Day 3 too.

Day Two

Stops on the horror film trail you’ll want to take in during the day in Pittsburgh include:

1. Hillman Library at the University of Pittsburgh – to see the George A. Romero Collection and Horror Archive.
2. Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall – the Grand Ballroom is where the “cage scene” in Silence of the Lambs was filmed.
3. Carnegie Museum of Natural History – another Silence of the Lambs location.
4. Old Allegheny County Jail – scenes for both Silence of the Lambs and Netflix’s Mindhunter were filmed here.
5. Le Mardi Gras – as seen in Romero and Dario Argento’s Two Evil Eyes. Many stars have also patronized Pittsburgh’s oldest cocktail lounge over the years.
6. Jekyl & Hyde Bar – there’s a reason this is on our list of this horror-themed restaurants and bars. Every night is Halloween here, where you can sip “cocktails for the recently deceased” surrounded by horror movies and Halloween decor.

There’s one other stop that VisitPA included on Day 2: Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, PA. It’s less than an hour from Pittsburgh. Scenes from Mindhunter and the movie The Dark Half were filmed there. VisitPA includes it as the last stop on their list, but I’d probably start the day in Washington and then return to Pittsburgh for the rest of the day.

VisitPA’s tip for this day is to take a little detour after the natural history museum to Romero’s alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University. It’s only 20 minutes away, and part of 1982’s Creepshow movie was filmed there.

Day Three

Before you end your time in Pittsburgh, check out Little Italy, where parts of the horror film Innocent Blood were shot.

Then wrap up your trip in Monroeville at the Monroeville Mall, where Romero’s Dawn of the Dead was filmed.

For More Info

Visit www.visitpa.com.

Also, check out our Resources page to find a list of other CVBs that promote their haunted places.

Check-In

Which would you want to explore first: one of the Ghost Rides routes or the Trail of the Living Dead horror film trail?