Nevada Town Named Most Haunted in America

By the Editorial Team · Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Virginia City, Nevada, with its rich Comstock-era history, was named the most haunted city in the U.S. by Vivint's 2026 Spookiness Index, ranking highest due to its exceptional rates of ghost-related online searches and haunted attractions per capita. This designation underscores how smaller towns with concentrated paranormal tourism and historic lore tend to score higher in haunt-related evaluations compared to larger cities like New York.

Virginia City, Nevada, a small town with a population of approximately 855, has been identified as the most haunted city in the United States according to the 2026 Spookiness Index released by home security company Vivint. The ranking evaluated 74 destinations across the country based on seven factors related to paranormal activity and eerie attractions.

The Spookiness Index considered the number of reported ghost sightings, haunted places, haunted house attractions, psychic and spiritual businesses, funeral services, and the volume of unsettling Google searches. These metrics were adjusted per 10,000 residents, a methodology that tends to favor smaller tourist towns due to their concentrated activity.

Virginia City, known for its Comstock-era boomtown history, topped the index largely because of its unusually high rate of spooky online searches, which reached approximately 10,870 per 10,000 residents. Additionally, the town recorded about 124 haunted house attraction listings per 10,000 people, reinforcing its reputation for supernatural lore.

Following Virginia City in the ranking were Tombstone, Arizona, in second place and Eureka Springs, Arkansas, in third. Other notable entries included Galena, Illinois; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; and Cape May, New Jersey, all recognized for their paranormal associations and tourism industries centered around haunted history.

In contrast, New York City ranked near the bottom of the list, placing 68th out of 74 cities analyzed and becoming the seventh-least spooky in the study. Despite logging more ghost sightings than other cities in New York state—with 16 reported incidents—and seven haunted places, the sheer size of its population suppressed its score when metrics were scaled per capita. New York City trailed behind smaller cities like Poughkeepsie and Buffalo, which placed 44th and 49th respectively.

The results highlight the influence of population size on perceptions and measurements of paranormal activity, with smaller towns often registering higher spookiness ratings due to concentrated local histories and tourism-based ghost lore.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.