It's spooky season! Here are 10+ haunted places to visit within an hour of Louisville

Haunted hotels, a dastardly distillery, a sinister sanatorium.

October is the perfect time to visit some of Kentucky's spookiest places. And no, we're not talking about "haunted houses," but actual haunted locations. If you're lucky (or not), you may see the Lady in Blue, come back to face with Col. Albert B. Blanton, or hear unexplained ghostly sounds, slamming doors and more at these haunted locations.

Here are more than 10 spooky locations within an hour of Louisville you can visit this Halloween season — or anytime you're looking for a scare.

Bethlehem Academy

7051 St. John Road, Elizabethtown, Kentucky; 502-264-3457; facebook.com/bethlehemacademy1818

Bethlehem Academy, a noted boarding school run by the Sisters of Loretto that for more than 100 years welcomed classes of girls. It's also been a bed and breakfast and a restaurant. Rumors say ghostly nuns haunt the place, along with those who died on the grounds long ago. The spirits make themselves known by turning the lights on and off and moving chairs and other objects after closing time.

"There are people who think it’s downright haunted," Cindy Scarcelli, site coordinator, told The Courier Journal. "And there are people who think it's just a pillar of history that needs to be brought back to life. No matter what direction you believe, they don’t want it to go away."

Scarcelli, a self-labeled skeptic, has spent countless hours at the academy but has only felt a ghostly presence once. In 2015, she was speaking in a stairwell when she was hit with an unexplained distinct smell of red wine.

"I would love to tell you that I did not experience that, but I did," she said. "It made me second guess my own thoughts on the spirit world."

Other reported happenings, such as self-rocking chairs and doors that swing by themselves, might be the work of a cross breeze through the home.

"This house is 204 years old," she said. "People have died here. Whether or not that a spirit can stay in purgatory or go to heaven or to hell, that’s on you ... I embrace the spirit of the children who lived here whose laughter is still in the walls."

Tours can be booked by contacting Bethlehem Academy via its Facebook page.

The Brown Hotel

335 W. Broadway, Louisville, 502-583-234; brownhotel.com

The iconic Brown Hotel in downtown Louisville is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and it's been said ghosts love it there. This hotel is said to have a haunted floor that is used for storage space. John Graham Brown, the owner, previously lived on the 15th floor where most of the paranormal activity reported happens.

It is said that the elevator is known to stop on that floor for no reason and footprints have been seen walking in plaster dust on the floor, as collected by Kentuckyhauntedhouses.com. One guest reported hearing heavy walking and moving furniture at night.

Buffalo Trace Distillery

113 Great Buffalo Trace, Frankfort, Kentucky; 800-654-8471; buffalotracedistillery.com

Buffalo Trace Distillery is one of the oldest bourbon distilleries in Kentucky and is said to be haunted by Col. Albert B. Blanton, a former distillery president.

According tokentuckyhauntedhouses.com, employees and visitors have reported seeing apparitions, unexplainable cold spots and hearing voices. There were so many reports of sightings, injuries, accidents and deaths that the hosts of "Ghost Hunters' on the Syfy network launched a full investigation in 2011. It was so spooky, it was "one of the few sites they had been to where all of the investigators on the team had a paranormal experience," according to Syfy.

Buffalo Trace Distillery is a family-owned company based in Frankfort. The distillery's rich distilling tradition dates back to 1787 and includes such legends as (possible) resident ghost Blanton,  E.H. Taylor, Jr., George T. Stagg, Orville Schupp and Elmer T. Lee.

The Campbell House

1375 S. Broadway, Lexington, Kentucky; 859-255-4281; thecampbellhouse.com

Once an equestrian farm, the 1951 building is a member of Historic Hotels of America, an organization that identifies hotels that have maintained their authenticity, sense of place and architectural integrity. Stories say two women were murdered at the hotel and that the women still make their presence known today. Some claim there is a bloodstain on a carpet where a woman was stabbed to death and can sometimes be seen, according tokentuckyhauntedhouses.com.

Witnesses have also reported apparitions and doors slamming on their own.

Jailer's Inn Bed & Breakfast

111 W. Stephen Foster Ave., Bardstown, Kentucky; 800-948-5551; jailersinn.com

The Old Nelson County Jail property housed prisoners for almost 200 years, from 1797 to 1987. The front building, sometimes referred to as the "Old Jail," was constructed in 1819 with barred windows and 30-inch-thick walls. It's now it is a bed-and-breakfast with modern guest comforts and amenities.

People say this place is haunted but the ghost of Martin Field, who was seen beating his wife, according tokentuckyhauntedhouses.com. She allegedly ran to the neighbor's property, but he shot and killed her. Field was set to be hung but died of unknown causes. People say they can still hear him screaming.

Guest have said they have had confrontations with ghosts at the Jailer's Inn, including going to bed and feeling the covers moving on the bed. Former employees also reported hearing footsteps and seeing reflections in the mirror when no one is in the room.

Loudoun House

209 Castlewood Drive, Lexington, Kentucky; 859-254-7024, nps.gov/nr/travel/lexington/lou.htm

The Loudoun House is on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of only five remaining castellated Gothic Revival villas left in the United States designed by New York architect A. J. Davis. It is the current now home to the Lexington Art League.

The mansion is rumored to be haunted by two women, both dressed in Victorian-style clothing, one in the western part of the mansion and the other in the formal dining room, according tokentuckyhauntedhouses.com. Also, an apparition of a black cat, the aroma of an antique floral perfume in one of the upstairs rooms now used as a studio, voices and distant strains of ballroom music are sometimes heard.

Louisville Palace

625 S. Fourth St., Louisville; 502-583-4555; louisvillepalace.com

The Louisville Palace was opened in 1928 the Lowe's Theater and is said to be haunted by several ghosts.

Some have seen apparitions in the balcony, including a man in 1930s-era clothing or a spooky faceless woman in a blue-grey dress with shoulder pads walking the mezzanine lobby, according tokentuckyhauntedhouses.com. A former theater employee said to have died from either a heart attack or a fall down a backstage staircase, is sometimes seen up in the projection room. A boy and girl are often heard giggling by the Mammoth Bar and slamming doors in the restroom.

And finally, an employee said while he and his wife were there, someone pulled his wife's ponytail, but no one else was in the room.

Old Talbott Tavern & Talbott Inn

107 W. Stephen Foster Ave., Bardstown, Kentucky; 502-348-3494; talbotttavern.com

The Old Talbott Tavern is steps away from restaurants, boutique shops and many historical landmarks in Bardstown. Known as a bar and restaurant, this historic structure from the late 1700s is one of the oldest hotels in Kentucky and claims the title of oldest bourbon bard in the world. The tavern still operates as a bed and breakfast.

Considered one of the most haunted hotels in the country, the Old Talbott Tavern played host to Abraham Lincoln, Daniel Boone and the notorious 19th-century outlaw Jesse James in addition to French King Louis Philippe, General George Patton, John James Audubon, George Rogers Clark and former presidents Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison.

Built in 1779, the tavern was the final stagecoach stop for travelers headed to the west at a time when Kentucky was considered part of Virginia. Weary voyageurs would arrive on foot or on horseback, looking for a place to eat, drink and sleep for the night, Courier Journal writer Kirby Adams reported.

Some extended their visits ― King Louis Philippe stayed so long that he had murals painted on the walls of his suite. John James Audubon lived at the inn for a couple of years and paid his rent by gifting the tavern owner some of his treasured artwork. After one of many nights of drinking and card games, Jesse James is said to have fired a series of bullets into a wall.

Visit the Old Talbott Tavern today and you'll see those bullet holes, the King's murals, Audubon's paintings and, if you are lucky, encounter the ghosts of some of those travelers who have taken up permanent residence.

"Guests have reported door knobs jiggling with no one on the other side, flashes of light and orbs moving in their room, furniture moving, personal items being tossed off of chairs and the apparitions of those who have stayed here in the past," Chuck Wood, manager of the property, told The Courier Journal. "They play a lot of tricks but nothing malicious. It's just something we are living and working with every day."

Guests hoping to encounter the spirits of former boarders may run into the 8-year-old twin boys who died of dysentery at the inn. A young girl is also said to haunt the hotel. She died after a fall down the wooden staircase between the second-floor guest rooms and the restaurant below.

"We had a video crew from the Discovery Channel and they set up a camera in this hallway," Wood said standing outside the Heinrich and Irving rooms. "During the night, they captured an image of what we believe is a Union soldier who lost both his legs in the Civil War. He was dragging himself down the hall. We've also seen what we call 'The Goblin' who disturbs things in a storage room at the end of the hall."

Paramount Arts Center

1300 Winchester Ave., Ashland, Kentucky; 606-324-0007, paramountartscenter.com

The Paramount Arts Center was originally known as the Paramount Theatre. It is said that during some renovation work on the Paramount Theatre, a death occurred there and the man's ghost haunts the center, according tokentuckyhauntedhouses.com.

Four construction workers were working on a project inside the auditorium, all of them had gone to lunch except for one man, Joe. When they returned, they found Joe hanging from the curtain rigging, dead. Ever since then, sounds have been heard, things have gone missing, cold drafts have been felt and some folks even claim to have seen the image of a man appear on occasion.

Seelbach Hotel

500 S. Fourth St., Louisville, 502-585-3200; seelbachhilton.com

The Seelbach Hotel in downtown Louisville was founded by Bavarian-born immigrant brothers Louis and Otto Seelbach and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. During its years downtown, the Seelbach has had many guests report strange sounds and activity during their stays. It is said that a mysterious “Lady in Blue” haunts the floors. She was there to meet her husband at the hotel, but he was killed in an accident and she allegedly threw herself from a stairwell. Did she jump to her death or did she die by accident?

There have been reports of televisions turning on at a loud volume early in the morning and the sound of running footsteps on wooden floors.

"The building is very haunted," night security guard Patrick Rhodes told Courier Journal reporter Dahlia Ghabour. "Between Al Capone and the gangsters (staying here), World War I and II and the Great Depression and the age of the building, there's lots of different things that have happened here."

Rhodes, 59, is a Louisville-born retired Marine and said he's always been a spiritual person who relies on his faith and prayers. When he walks the hotel property at night, locking doors and doing security patrols, he whispers the Lord's Prayer to himself and makes the sign of the cross on his chest.

Then he recites Psalm 23, a verse that has special meaning to his family.

"'Even though I walk through the darkest valley I will fear no evil, for you are with me,'" he will mutter as he checks a door.

Then he acknowledges the apparitions and continues his rounds.

As far as ghost stories go, the Lady in Blue has helped distinguish the Seelbach. Last month, U.S. News & World Report featured the hotel in a story titled "The 27 most haunted hotels in America." People regularly visit the Seelbach hotel specifically to experience its supernatural energy. Mediums, ghost hunters and witches have all visited and asked Rhodes to take them on a late-night ghost tour.

They aren't the only guests who tend to experience strange things at the Seelbach.

"I've heard doctors, lawyers, construction people, grandmothers, everybody in every realm that have reported doors opening and closing, lights flickering on and off or the smell of her perfume," Rhodes said. "Maybe a blue streak of light going across a room. I have thousands and I'm still adding on to the stories."

Speed Art Museum

2035 S. Third St., Louisville, 502-634-2700; speedmuseum.org

In late 2021, The Speed Art Museum hosted an exhibit called "Supernatural America: The Paranormal in American Art." That show, specifically, challenged guests to consider why America is haunted by examining artifacts and pieces from violent chapters in United States history. The premise was that, perhaps, ghosts with links to Native American genocide, slavery and the Civil War linger on today to force people in the present to face the terrors of the past, Courier Journal reporter Maggie Menderski previously reported.

"Supernatural America" closed at the beginning of this year, but The Speed doesn't need that specific collection to send a chill up your spine.

There are plenty of objects on display now and in storage with dark pasts and potentially unsettled energy.

"Ghosts and spirits, apparently, are attached to things," said Steven Bowling, the museum's chief marketing officer. "So, I think that's why, a lot of times, people think museums are haunted. They have these things that are ancient."

But is it really haunted? Maybe.

Whenever the elevator opens unexplainably on a random floor, Bowling just shrugs and tells Hattie to "come on in."

According to legend, a female spirit haunts the hallways and the basement of the building. While there's no true evidence that the glimpses of shadowy figures or the flickers on security cameras belong to the museum's founder, Hattie Bishop Speed, some staff members certainly wonder if she's still wandering the halls 80 years after her death.

But enough strange things have happened at the museum that supernatural energy certainly could be there.

Waverly Hills Sanatorium

4400 Paralee Drive, Louisville, 502-690-7880; therealwaverlyhills.com

The Waverly Hills Sanatorium opened in 1910 as a two-story hospital to accommodate Louisville patients struck by a tuberculosis outbreak. The tuberculosis hospital closed in 1961 and reopened in 1962 as Wood Haven Medical Services, a geriatric facility. Woodhaven had numerous complaints over patient neglect and was closed by the state in 1982.

After closing, Waverly Hills gained a reputation for being haunted. Volunteers working on the building's restoration have reported hearing ghostly sounds and slamming doors, seeing apparitions in doorways and being struck by invisible hands, according tokentuckyhauntedhouses.com. Waverly Hills has been featured on ABC/FOX Family Channel's "Scariest Places on Earth"; VH1's"Celebrity Paranormal Project" and Syfy's "Ghost Hunters."

Reach Features Clerk Gege Reed at greed@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Haunted places in Kentucky: Spots to visit near Louisville