72% of U.S. travelers would pay up for paranormal experiences, Booking.com's 2027 travel trends reveals — over half seek contact with 'the other side'

“I love that it adds a little bit of adventure, and a little bit of a rush,” she told Moneywise. “I feel like you get that little bit of adrenaline rush when you go into a spooky place, or a haunted place — maybe you’re going to have an experience, and maybe you’re not.”

With Halloween approaching like Michael Myers stalking Laurie Strode, both Booking.com and Historic Hotels of America released Halloween-themed data for those itching to look beyond the veil. According to Booking.com, 72% of U.S. travelers would pay for a paranormal experience. An additional 57% of Americans want to have an experience with the “other side.”

“I actually love that statistic because a lot of places, specifically hotels, do not like to advertise that they’re haunted,” Marquardt said. “They’re afraid that it’s going to scare away people rather than bring them in.”

That’s what the top 25 most haunted hotels list is banking on. Released by the Historic Hotels of America, a national trust for historic preservation, the list includes the Emily Morgan and the Gunter hotels in San Antonio, the River Street Inn in Savannah, Georgia and, of course, the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Massachusetts. Missing from the list are notorious stays like the Chelsea Hotel in New York City, the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, the Pfister in Milwaukee and the Skirvin in Oklahoma City.

I’ve got thrills, they’re multiplying

Dark tourism has been trending for years on a global scale. Around 82% of American travelers have visited at least one dark tourism site, whether it’s Salem, Gettysburg National Military Park or even Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana.

But there is a caveat: very rarely do people have a supernatural encounter with that “other side” while visiting these locations. Even Marquardt had her fair share of disappointments with locations, especially at Myrtles.

“I do say on my podcast all the time that just because a place is haunted — and it could be the most haunted place in the world — but just because you stay there for a few hours or even 24 hours doesn’t mean that you’re going to have an experience,” she said.

Los Angeles-based paranormal investigator Tawney Lewis, who often travels for paranormal conventions and investigations, echoes that sentiment. She’s been to Lilydale in New York and has investigated with Marquardt at the Wildwood Sanitarium in Salamanca, New York.

“I say it at the beginning, as a joke, but then I’m serious: ‘You know what, you’re more than likely not going to see spirits. You’re not going to have an experience, and please don’t blame me,’” she said, with a laugh. “We can do an investigation for 10 to 12 hours and not get anything. That happened to me at Montana State Prison.”

But really, it’s all about the ambience. And some travelers revel in just the vibe of a location like Alcatraz or Gettysburg.

The best hot spots for cold spots

One of the best options for trepidatious people, Marquardt said, is starting with a mom–and–pop–operated ghost tour in whatever town or city you’re visiting. The first one was started in 1970 by Shirley Dougherty in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Commercial ghost tours got their start in Chicago. Richard Crowe launched his endeavour in the city back in 1973 and it’s been a benchmark for history hounds and ghost fiends since.

“I do want to recommend really researching who you take your tours with,” Marquardt said. “Let’s just say you should book smaller, homegrown tours instead of some of the big conglomerates because they [the former] really research their facts.”

“It means a lot to them because this is their hometown and they put a lot of effort into their tours,” she added.

One such homegrown tour developer is Kimberly Christine in Duluth, Minnesota. She gained experience while living in Savannah, Georgia and Los Angeles. A native Minnesotan, she launched her Duluth tour four years ago, taking guests from the Canal Park starting point around the downtown core.

“Sometimes I’ll get people asking me, ‘Are we going to see a ghost?’ and I say, ‘No, but you know we might hear from one,’” she told Moneywise with a laugh. “So, a lot of people are misinformed when it comes to ghost tours. They don’t really know what they’re getting into, and it’s great.”

Allison Jornlin is the tour developer for American Ghost Walks, which organizes historic sojourns through eight U.S. states and two territories. Jornlin has noticed an uptick in boat cruise tours in locations like Alaska, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“We’ve been riding this wave for a while,” she told Moneywise. “It’s tough because I don’t really consider haunted history dark tourism. I think of it as uplifting because you’re remembering people from the past and giving them a way to live on through folklore.”

Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jornlin launched her own ghost walk in the Brew City back in 2008. Her brother, Mike Huberty, launched his own tour in the state capital, Madison, in 2010. The two have since combined forces and have been picking up tours as original developers retire.

“We have found a lot of demand from the cruise ships,” Jornlin said. “A big chunk of our business comes from our great relationships with different cruise lines.”

Alaska is one popular spot where American Ghost Walks conduct tours in Juneau and Ketchikan.

Would you rather channel a cultural vibe?

For those not wanting to be touched by ghosts but still want to channel that cultural zeitgeist, San Antonio hosts the U.S.’s largest Día de Los Muertos celebration.