Stokercon 2026 Visitor’s Guide: Haunted Sites Outside Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh is a city loaded with dark history. From natural disasters to steel industry accidents to the shady goings-on at the old penitentiary and larger-scale incidents like the Homestead Strike (and its breaking), Pittsburgh has seen it all. There was even a bombing in the Gulf Tower back in 1974! Plenty of hauntings can trace their roots to the city's past, and there is plenty of horror to explore.

The hauntings are not confined within the city limits, however. Far from it! Western Pennsylvania and parts beyond boast a wide array of mysterious manifestations and thrilling chills. If you have the guts to explore these wooded hills, here is a list of attractions that will set your hair standing on end:

Carrie Furnace, Swissvale, PA

Carrie Furnace in Swissvale, PA.
Image by RandyMower—Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Thrill seekers and ghost hunters alike have trekked to Carrie Furnace, a retired blast furnace complex on the Monongahela River. They have reported the clank and clang of strange noises, ghostly figures of workers that fell to their molten deaths, as well as agonized screams and moans emanating from thin air. Some blurry photographs purport to be evidence of these otherworldly apparitions. And the eponymous Carrie was posthumously relocated to a mausoleum in the nearby Homewood Cemetery. Can her spirit hear the stirrings of those men who melted in the furnace that bears her name?

Today, Rivers of Steel has revitalized Carrie Furnace as a modern events venue against the backdrop of the 'Burgh's historically brutal yet prosperous steel industry. Yet echoes of the past remain, should you be daring enough to investigate them.

The Legend of Green Man's Tunnel, South Park Township, PA

If you travel south of the city through the Liberty Tunnel, you will eventually come to a different sort of tunnel, if you are brave enough to seek it out. Originally called the Piney Fork Tunnel and used to transport coal for the railroad, this now overgrown and impassable place holds a tale shrouded in confusion: The legend of Charlie No-Face.Some say an electrical worker servicing the lines had his face melted off in an accident, leaving him blind and missing his nose, an ear, and an arm. Others claim it was a young boy who suffered similar injuries when he climbed an electrical pole. The age and the severity of conditions may vary, but the hideous fate of Charlie No-Face lives on in this place that time has forgotten. Oh, but not everyone has forgotten the site, as taggers have sprayed the area with gruesome graffiti, and scattered around are the remains of possible satanic rituals. Beware, should you venture there, the presence of Charlie No-Face.

Dead Man's Hollow, McKeesport, PA

This conservation area, a nearly 500-acre wooded expanse, sprawls across the Youghiogheny River from the moldering city of McKeesport. Many tales of death and destruction are tied to Dead Man's Hollow, which has certainly earned its name for over a hundred years. This idyllic retreat became a nightmarish dumping ground in the years after the Civil War. First, an unidentified corpse was found dangling from a tree and dancing in the wind. Later a shootout resulted in the death of a local business owner. One of the assailants, Ward McConkey, professed his innocence even on the gallows, claiming he was himself the victim of judicial murder. His spirit joined the others in Dead Man's Hollow. He wouldn't be the last.

A string of accidents added to the carnage. An ill-timed explosion slayed a pair of quarry workers. A ferry accident by the bank ended in a man's drowning. At the nearby pipe factory, a man tried to escape a malfunctioning elevator only to be squeezed to death against the ceiling. Were these instances unrelated, or the long-awaited vengeance of the wronged dead?

A strange smell pervades those woods, though no one can pin it down. Corpse stench? Ectoplasm? Or something more sinister? Dead Man's Hollow is also host to its own cryptid legend, a giant snake seen to be slithering between boles and over and under protruding roots. It would take a person of stout spirit indeed to wander and wend through the trails shaded by the trees of Dead Man's Hollow.

Hill View Manor, New Castle, PA

Located in the decrepit and downtrodden city of New Castle is a building that fits the atmosphere. Hill View Manor is considered one of the most haunted locales in Western Pennsylvania. This former nursing home and poor farm once housed “inmates,” the mentally ill and the elderly. The variety of unnerving sounds, viewings, and encounters found at a place like this is as unmatched as they are innumerable. 

After its closure in 2004, the building was repurposed as a haunted attraction. Not only can you book a ghost tour, but paranormal investigators are able to book the entirety of the place all to themselves! If you are an aspiring investigator or a sampler of the supernatural, Hill View Manor is a great stop on the spooky express. 

West Virginia Penitentiary, Moundsville, WV

Anyone willing to cross the state border and immerse themselves deep in the heart of West (by God) Virginia should visit the West Virginia Penitentiary. This deep country center of paranormal activity is inherently frightening due to its Gothic architecture and secluded locale. Upwards of 100 prisoners have been executed there—by electrocution and hanging. The various fires, riots, and other traumas only heighten the frights. The penitentiary prides itself on once being “the bloodiest institution in the nation.”

When visiting, you can opt for the safer historical day tour, a longer, unguided photography tour, or, to spice the experience up, you can sign a paranormal waiver, and experience a twilight tour for a 90-minute guided journey followed by free time to investigate on your own.

Worried you'll miss out on StokerCon activities? No sweat. The West Virginia Penitentiary also offers midnight tours!

Centralia Disaster Area, Centralia, PA

“Graffiti Highway” in Centralia, PA.
Image by Codyrt—Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Everyone's heard the tragic story of Centralia, PA, right? The town that sits just a day trip east of Pittsburgh, lit on fire way back in 1962 by the anthracite coal beneath the ground that has burned ever since? No? Does the movie Silent Hill ring a bell? The script for that entrancing horror movie was based not so loosely on the very real horror of an entire town engulfed by a tragic accident. Anthracite coal burns very hot and very slowly, and for a long time, depending on the size of the vein. And the one beneath Centralia is a doozy. 

Warning: The roads into Centralia have long since been abandoned, and smoke and steam, combined with Mother Nature, have done their work. This hasn't stopped tourists, enthusiasts, and devil worshippers from defacing the road and environs, and conducting heinous rites in the town some say the devil burned.

Yet, as of the 2020 census, five people still resided in Centralia, the town whose industry burned it from below and that history has forgotten, including one child under the age of eighteen. How old would that child be now? Did they flee the town upon reaching adulthood…or have the fiery devils of Centralia denied them escape?

Bonus: The Living Dead Museum Gift Shop and the Evans City Cemetery

Horror connoisseurs know that Western Pennsylvania is the zombie capital of the world, where George A. Romero filmed the entirety of the original Night of the Living Dead, as well as Dawn of the Dead and others. Less than an hour north of Pittsburgh is the Evans City Cemetery, where the zombies were “Coming to get you, Barbara!” back in 1968.
Not far beyond the Squirrel Hill Tunnel from Pittsburgh, meanwhile, situated in the very mall depicted in Dawn of the Dead, is the Living Dead Museum and Gift Shop. It may not look like much from the store front, but this museum stretches deep into the bowels of the mall where zombies roamed, and victims clawed for survival.
The museum may be moving soon. Contact their office before venturing there…or don't. You can always walk the hallowed halls of the Monroeville Mall and imagine hordes of flesh-eating monsters flooding inside in a wave of consumerism…literally and figuratively!

Just Missed It: Castle Blood, Monessen, PA

Over this once prosperous burgh looms a mansion of madness: Castle Blood. A haunted attraction known for immersive sets, original characters, and unforgettable experiences, Castle Blood resides in the shadows of the nearby coke plant's fire towers. They are offering a summer event to slay your boredom: Summerween. Unfortunately, it is set for the weekend after StokerCon. Still, if you are in town beyond the convention, this is an event you won't want to miss—especially when you can perambulate past another Monessen landmark (see below).

Of Note: Tom Savini's Special Make-Up Effects Program, Monessen, PA

Mere blocks away from Castle Blood, in an unassuming building, is a mecca to practical effects gurus and fanatics from all over the world: Tom Savini's Special Make-Up Effects Program. Partnered with Douglas Education Center and featured in movies and the show Faceoff, this is where those who wish to learn from the master flock. Tom Savini's reputation needs no introduction, and his school would be a premier horror destination…if you were allowed inside. Alas, to this day, only students, staff, and the master himself are allowed entrance. But, if you are ever in the area, perhaps visiting Castle Blood, it is worth walking by merely to bask in the aura.

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Article by Brandon Ketchum

Brandon Ketchum is a speculative fiction writer from Pittsburgh, PA who enjoys putting a weird spin or strange vibe into every story, dark or light. He is a member of SFWA and the Horror Writers Association, and his work has been published with Air & Nothingness Press, Perihelion, Mad Scientist Journal, and many other publications, including the short story collections Legio Damnati and Civili Bellum. 

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