5 Most Haunted Places in Western New York

If you know anything about North American history, then you know that Buffalo and New York have a very long, storied, and spooky past on the continent. There are all sorts of scary places in the Empire State, many of which we're sure you've heard of.

The most popular ones might immediately pop up in your mind, such as places like the Amityville Horror House on Long Island, all of the abandoned Letchworth Village buildings, the infamous Sleep Hallow, NY, Cemetery, and who can forget Buffalo's Iron Island Museum in the Lovejoy Neighborhood.

If you haven't noticed, Halloween is quickly approaching, and it won't be by soon enough so we can move past all of this pumpkin spice craziness we're dealing with in Western New York. Now, while coffee shops and grocery stores full of pumpkin-everything is a pretty scary sight, a few other places in the 716 can also fall into the spooky category. 

But you don't have to wait until October 31st to start thinking about what places to avoid or head straight to for a good scare:

Highmark Stadium

If you've been near Gates 6 and 7 at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, you've likely seen the 19th-century cemetery that also occupies the land. The Sheldon family farm was on the site, and they started to bury their dead there in the 1830s. Before that, several Erie Nation Native American tribes lived in the area and also used the area as a burial ground. Still, to this date, there are approximately a dozen marked graves, and who knows how many unmarked graves are on site.

The Rand Building

I have had the pleasure of working in the Rand Building for Townsquare Buffalo for many years, with quite a few of those years being in the building overnight, and I can confirm without a doubt that this building is haunted. Doors close and close on their own, lights turn on and off when you least expect it, a ghostly-looking lady runs the halls, and there's a scary creaking sound at night. I'm also not the only one who has seen these things happen, and I am also not the only one who hates being inside this building at night.

The Ivy Arch Bridge in Buffalo's Delaware Park

Wedged deep inside the Rumsey Road Woods in Buffalo's Delaware Park, near the soccer fields, the Ivy Arch Bridge has always been a bit creepy. Being a runner/bike rider who lives in North Buffalo with a son who plays soccer on the field, I have run, walked, and ridden over and under this bridge on more than one occasion as it was getting dark, and let's just say the scary noises are everywhere. It's not somewhere I'd want to stick around to find out what secrets are deep in the park.

Goodleburg Cemetery

The Goodleburg Cemetery in South Wales, NY, has been a pretty quiet kept secret for those in the Buffalo Southtowns. However, many people who live near this cemetery that was active in the late 19th-century report that a Lady In White routinely roams around the property, along with the ghost of a Doctor who is allegedly responsible for the death of quite a few women and children during that time.

Sugar Road in Cheektowaga, New York

Firmly nestled right between three cemeteries along the Buffalo / Cheektowaga border, Sugar Road is only one block and runs about 1/2 mile. However, it is the scariest 1/2 mile you could drive in Buffalo. Very few street lights are on the block, and it's essentially pitch black at night while you bisect St. Stanislaus Cemetery, St. Johns Cemetery, and the Buffalo Cemetery. I avoid this street as much as possible because I will swear under the penalty of perjury that I have seen a few aberrations. You don't need to take my word for it; wait until the sun goes down and quickly drive down Pine Ridge and head east towards Eggert Road.

What haunted places around Buffalo do you think we should know about?