Stokercon 2026 Visitor’s Guide Part II: More Spooky Locations of Pittsburgh
Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum, Oakland, Pittsburgh
Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum (image from their website).
Pittsburgh is no stranger to hosting horror events and being featured in some of horror’s most iconic films—one being Jonathan Demme’s Silence of the Lambs (1991), based on Thomas Harris’s 1988 novel. National Landmark Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum (located about fifteen minutes from StokerCon at 4141 Fifth Ave, 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15213) is home of the Grand Ballroom where one of the film’s most iconic scenes was shot—when Clarice Starling visits the caged Lecter before he attacks the guards and escapes.
As a local, I have not heard much about whether the historic building may be haunted but Soldiers & Sailors does house over 9,000 historical artifacts from the Civil War through Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, and all the trauma and weight attached to, or represented by, the pieces spanning more than 150 years of American history. While “Cage Night” (a large Halloween event featuring film-used and replica props) is in October, the museum hours are Monday-Saturday from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm and they offer free admission for military and veterans (plus discounted admission for college students with valid student ID).
Buffalo Bill’s House, Perryopolis, PA
And if you didn’t already have “Goodbye Horses” running through your mind, you can head down to Perryopolis and see Buffalo Bill’s House (located about one hour south of StokerCon at 8 Circle Street, Perryopolis, PA 15473). The four-bedroom home is available as a vacation rental and offers guided tours, but please keep in mind it is a private property. Availability for overnight stays can be found on their website.
Site of the Donora Death Fog, Donora, PA
Spelter stacks of U.S. Steel's Donora Zinc Works (picture from Donora Historical Society).
If Perryopolis seems far to drive by the Buffalo Bill House if you’re not already staying there, you can pass Castle Blood and Tom Savini’s Special Make-up Effects Program (both mentioned in Part I of our Visitor’s Guide) on your way to Donora, the site of the 1948 “Donora Death Fog” toxic emissions disaster. Exposure to the lethal air that could not circulate lasted several days, killing twenty people within the week; fifty more over the next month, and sickened thousands, killing nearly all vegetation within a half-mile radius of the zinc plant, and subsequently led to the Clean Air Act of 1963. The Donora Historical Society and Smog Museum (located at 595 McKean Ave, Donora, PA 15033) is open Saturdays from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm or by appointment. The historical marker is located outside of the town’s library, around the corner from the museum (510 Meldon Ave).
Jekyl & Hyde, South Side, Pittsburgh
On your way back to StokerCon, you can lighten the mood with some spooky libations at Halloween-themed bar, Jekyl & Hyde, in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood (less than two miles from StokerCon at 140 S 18th St, Pittsburgh, PA 15203). They are open nightly from 7:00 pm to 2:00 am. A caution to my fellow Halloween people, as someone who lived a few-minute walk from here: this bar is right off East Carson Street—which is full of bars, restaurants, and tattoo shops—and parking is one of the scarier things about our city. There are incredible ride-share opportunities available, and I recommend going that route if heading out to experience any of the nightlife (including stellar people-watching to inspire future characters in your work).
Article by B.S. Miller
B.S. Miller is a writer and teacher who lives with her husband and children in a secluded area south of Pittsburgh, surrounded by critters, crows, and coyotes. Miller earned her MA in Literature from the University of New Orleans and BSEd in Secondary English from Slippery Rock University. She is a member of the Horror Writers Association.
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