Top Five Most Haunted Cities in the U.S.

By Evan Andrews

Visit even the smallest of towns in the U.S. and you’re likely to hear some local ghost stories and discover a few haunted houses. But some American cities have gained the reputation for being particularly ghost-ridden thanks to their rich and often bizarre historical backgrounds..1. ghost-ridden: 受鬼魂折磨的；bizarre:怪诞的，古怪的。The following are five of the most haunted cities to steer2. steer: 沿着……前进，行驶。away from—or toward, if you dare—this Halloween.

5. Salem, Massachusetts塞勒姆，马萨诸塞州

In 1692, Salem, Mass. became the sight of a series of infamous trials after three local women were accused of using witchcraft to terrorize a trio of young girls.3. infamous: 声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的；trial: 审讯，审判；witchcraft: 巫术，魔法；terrorize: 恐吓，威吓；trio: 三人一组。The trials soon escalated into mass hysteria, with townspeople vehemently accusing neighbors and acquaintances, almost all of them unmarried women, of being witches.4. 这些审判很快升级为集体的歇斯底里，小镇民情激愤，居民们纷纷指控自己的邻居和熟人是巫婆，几乎所有被指控人都是未婚女子。escalate: 逐步升级；hysteria: 歇斯底里，非理性的情绪爆发；vehemently: 激烈地，强烈地。Over 150 people were arrested and charged, and as many as 19 were eventually executed by hanging.5. charge: 控告，指控；execute: 处死，处决。Today, the town of Salem encourages its reputation as “Witch City, USA” and has one of the biggest Halloween celebrations in the country. Alongside the tourist shops and museums, though, stand several infamous ghost stories related to the witch trials. One in particular concerns Gallows Hill, the site of several hangings, which is said to be haunted by the spirits of the 19 people lynched for being witches.6. concern: 与……有关，关于；Gallows Hill: 绞架山，塞勒姆审巫案行刑之地；lynch: 私刑处死。

在西方的文化传说中，鬼魂只能在每年的万圣节前夜重返人间，而活着的人也能在这一天看到灵界之物。虽然世界上本不存在所谓的鬼魂，但不得不承认，令人胆战心惊的鬼故事也不失为吸引眼球的好手段；万圣节前夜的南瓜灯、黑猫、巫婆扫帚亦成为了一种文化象征。在美国，即使只是一座小镇，也会有当地闻名遐迩的鬼故事。在万圣节来临之际，我们向大家介绍美国五大闹鬼城市，胆小者勿入哦！

Most Haunted Place: Joshua Ward House

最著名的闹鬼胜地：约书亚病房

Known as one of the most haunted houses in America, Joshua Ward House is built on the foundation of the home of George Corwin, the man who served as sheriff during the Salem witch trials.7. 约书亚病房以“美国最闹鬼的房子之一”而著称，它就建在塞勒姆审巫案时担任治安官的乔治·科文的家宅地基之上。Corwin is infamous for his role in the death of Giles Corey,a local man who was charged with witchcraft. When Corey refused to enter a plea in court, Corwin used an old English legal precedent and placed him under a board piled with rocks in order to coerce him into talking.8. enter a plea: 为自己辩护；legal precedent: 判例，法庭上已经裁决的、可作为同类案件审判依据的先例；a board piled with rocks: 上面压着大石头的木板。当时的法律规定，被告者若不在法庭上做有罪或无罪陈述，法庭就无法做出审判。为了避免其逃避法律判决，被告者会被压在沉重的木板之下，再在木板上压上巨石；coerce: 强制，迫使。Corey never relented9. relent: （态度等）软化，屈服。, and was eventually crushed to death under the massive weight. To this day,many claim that Corey and Corwin, who is rumored to be buried beneath the foundation of his old home, haunt the Joshua Ward House.

4. Chicago, Illinois芝加哥，伊利诺伊州

Thanks to its famous great fire and history of gangsters and underworld criminals like Al Capone,10. great fire: 此处指的是芝加哥大火（Great Chicago Fire），发生在1871年，是美国19世纪最大的火灾之一；gangster: 黑帮混混，匪徒；Al Capone: 艾尔·卡彭（1899—1947），是上世纪20年代美国芝加哥黑帮的控制者，有传记作者甚至认为他是芝加哥的“地下市长”。Chicago has developed quite a reputation for being haunted. The city has a number of well known ghost stories that are whispered among the locals each Halloween, and perhaps none is more famous than the story of Resurrection Mary. As the story goes, Mary was a young girl who was hit and killed by a car while leaving a dance hall with her boyfriend. She was buried in nearby Resurrection Cemetery, and ever since she can be periodically seen wandering the streets in her white burial dress,11. cemetery: 墓地，公墓；periodically: 定期地，间歇性地；wander: 徘徊，闲逛。still trying to find her way back home. Another famous story concerns what has come to be known as the “Devil Baby of Hull House,” a child born with scaly skin and a pointed tail who supposedly haunts the house once owned by famed activist Jane Addams.12. Hull House: 赫尔馆，美国一所著名的社会服务中心，主要为刚刚来到美国的欧洲移民提供服务；scaly: 有鳞的；pointed:尖的，突出的；Jane Addams: 简·亚当斯（1869—1935），赫尔馆协会的创始人。她因争取妇女、黑人移居的权利而获得1931年的诺贝尔和平奖，是美国第一位赢得此奖的女性。

Most Haunted Place: Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery

最著名的闹鬼胜地：单身汉树林公墓

Rumored to be one of the prohibition-era gangsters’favorite places to dump bodies, Bachelor’s Grove is an old and decaying burial ground that has been the site of countless stories about ghosts, spirits, and devil worship.13. 据谣传，单身汉树林公墓是禁酒时期黑帮最常光顾的抛尸地之一，因而成为了一个拥有无数关于鬼魂、幽灵和魔鬼崇拜故事的古老而衰败的公墓。prohibition-era: 禁酒时期，美国历史上一段推行全国性禁酒的时期，从1920年开始至1933年结束。Several headstones in the cemetery seem to move at will, and many claim that the spirits of the dead often materialize and walk the grounds at night.14. headstone: 墓碑；at will: 随意，任意；materialize: 使……显形，使……突然出现。The most famous of these is the “White Lady,” the ghost of a young woman who is always seen in a white dress, often cradling15. cradle: v.（像摇篮似的）怀抱着，捧着。a baby in her arms.

3. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania葛底斯堡，宾夕法尼亚州

In July of 1863, the small college town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania was the site of the biggest military clash of the Civil War, which to this day remains the bloodiest event to ever occur on American soil.16. clash:（武装）冲突，打斗；Civil War:（美国）南北战争，又称美国内战，是美国历史上最大规模的内战；soil: 国土，领土。Over 150,000 total soldiers converged17. converge: 会合，聚集。on the scene, and when the battle was over as many as 50,000 were killed, wounded, or missing. The shadow of the battle still stands over the town today, and many claim the ghosts of dead soldiers haunt the battle fields. What’s unique about Gettysburg is the sheer amount and frequency of its ghost sightings. Some places in the town, like the home of Jenny Wade, a woman who was killed by a stray bullet from the battle, supposedly experience paranormal activity on a daily basis.18. 在城里的某些地方，例如珍妮·韦德的家，据称每天都有灵异事件发生。珍妮是被战场上的流弹射死的。stray:偏离的，走失的；paranormal: 超自然的，不平常的；on a daily basis: 每天。Elsewhere, there have even been reports of lone visitors to the battle field park stumbling across what they assume to be a battle reenactment, only to later learn that none took place that day.19. 在别的地方，还曾有报道说有些孤身前往战地公园的游客偶然能看到战争场景，他们想当然地以为是在进行战场重现活动，过后才发现那天根本就没有这样的活动安排。lone: 独身的，无伴的；stumble across: 无意中发现，偶然碰见；battle reenactment:战场重现，是人们为了纪念历史事件而重现当时情景的一种庆祝活动。在活动中，人们会穿上当时的衣物，重现当时的著名历史事件。

Most Haunted Place: the Devil’s Den

最著名的闹鬼胜地：魔鬼老巢

The Devil’s Den is a rocky outcropping of boulders and shrubs that was the site of one of the clashes of the second day of the battle.20. rocky: 岩石的，多岩石的；outcropping:〈地质学〉（岩石、矿脉等）露出地面的部分；boulder: 巨砾，大石头；shrub: 灌木丛。The spot is famous for being the location of a small skirmish that took place when a Union artillery unit returned fire on a Confederate sharpshooter who was taking shots at them from behind the rocks.21. 这个景点以发生了一次小规模冲突而闻名：一个南部邦联狙击手在岩石后向一队北方联军炮兵射击，北方联军炮兵予以回击。skirmish: 小冲突，小规模战斗；artillery unit: 炮兵分队；sharpshooter: 狙击兵。They later found a body, and photographer Alexander Gardner took a photo of it that has since become one of the most iconic22. iconic: 标志性的，代表性的。images of the battle. But recent evidence suggests that the body in the photo was not the man responsible, and some even claim that Gardner dragged the corpse of another man to the spot in order to stage the picture.23. drag: 拖拽，拖动；corpse: 尸体；stage:展现，呈现。Supposedly,this man’s ghost now haunts the Devil’s Den, and to this day visitors to the park often have a great deal of trouble trying to take photos anywhere near the site. Pictures often come out blurry24. blurry: 难辨认的，模糊不清的。and unusable,and cameras have a strange way of suddenly dying whenever they are turned on in the area.

2. Savannah, Georgia萨瓦纳，佐治亚州

With its many cemeteries, gothic mansions, and trees covered in hanging Spanish moss, Savannah, GA fits the bill of a haunted city about as well as any town in America.25. gothic: 哥特式的。此处指哥特式建筑，整体风格为高耸瘦削，以卓越的建筑技术表现了神秘、哀婉等强烈情感；mansion: 宅邸，大住宅；Spanish moss: 松萝铁兰，一种依附于大树生长的植物，形状就像一顶假发或一团胡须； fit the bill: 符合……要求。It was one of only a few places that escaped being burned during Sherman’s famous “March to the Sea” during the Civil War, and so it still contains a good deal of antebellum architecture that serves as a perfect breeding ground for ghost stories.26. 它是少数几个躲过了内战期间著名的“舍曼向大海进军”战役而未被烧毁的城市之一，因此它保存了许多战前建筑，正好滋生恐怖故事。Sherman’s March to the Sea: “舍曼向大海进军”是南北战争中萨凡纳战役的通俗名称，由联邦少校威廉·特库姆塞·舍曼领导；antebellum:（美国南北）战争前的；breeding: 滋养的，繁殖的。One example is the Pirates’ House, a restaurant that in the late 1700s served as a pub for a notoriously rough clientele of sailors and buccaneers.27. pub: 酒馆；notoriously: 臭名昭著地，恶名远扬地；clientele: 顾客群，主顾；buccaneer: 海盗。As in Portland, shanghaiing was a common practice, and unsuspecting or drunk patrons were often waylaid and then dragged to the harbor via a series of underground tunnels connected to the bar’s rum cellar.28. 就像在波特兰一样，此处劫掠船工的现象很普遍， 而毫无防备或喝醉了的顾客常常被伏击，然后通过与酒吧朗姆酒窖相连的隧道拖到港口。shanghai:（以暴力或不正当手段）劫掠……去作水手或船工；patron: 主顾，顾客；waylay: 伏击，埋伏；rum:朗姆酒；cellar: 酒窖，地窖。To this day, many consider the cellar to be haunted, and it is said that at night the sounds of drunken sailors singing can still be heard.

Most Haunted Place: the Hampton Lillibridge House

最著名的闹鬼胜地：汉普顿莉莉桥屋

The Hampton Lillibridge house is an assuming threestory building that was built in 1796 and originally served as a boarding house.29. assuming: 据推测的，假设的；boarding house: 旅馆，短期租借处。It was purchased in the 1960s by a builder who hoped to restore it, and it was then that strange phenomena30. phenomena:（phenomenon的复数形式）现象。began to occur. At one point during construction, a portion of the roof collapsed, killing one of the workers. Other builders claimed they would hear voices and footsteps whenever they were alone, and that pieces of construction equipment would often be thrown across the room. Even creepier, they said they often spotted a man in a black suit staring at them from inside the house.31. creepy: 令人毛骨悚然的；spot: 发现，看到。Countless exorcisms and investigations have taken place at the house since, and it has gone through several owners, but the presence that haunts it is said to still remain there today.32. exorcism:（用祈祷、仪式或符咒等）驱邪；presence:（能感觉到存在的）精灵，鬼魂。

1. New Orleans, Louisiana新奥尔良，路易斯安那州

All southern port towns have their share of ghost stories, but none more so than New Orleans, which has truly embraced its reputation as a center of all things paranormal. All of the criteria that tend to produce ghost legends—a coastal location, a checkered past, a rich cultural history, and a potent mix of old and new world religion—can be found here.33. criteria:（criterion的复数）标准，条件；checkered: 多波折的，坎坷的；potent: 有影响力的。The city is full of haunted mansions,taverns, and graveyards, and you can’t go far without hearing stories of cursed pirate ships, Civil War-era spirits, and voodoo hexes.34. tavern: 酒馆，客栈；voodoo: 伏都教的；hex: 巫术。One of the most famous figures is undoubtedly Marie Laveau, a Creole35. Creole: 克里奥尔人的，指不属于欧洲大陆且现在或曾经是殖民地上的人，最早是用来称呼具有外国血统的人。woman who gained a massive following during the 1800s as one of the first practitioners of voodoo. She died in 1881, but for years after many people claimed to see her walking throughout the French Quarter, and more than 120 years later many ghostly legends about the “Voodoo Queen of New Orleans” still persist.36. French Quarter: 法语区，美国新奥尔良市中最古老、最著名的街区；persist: 留存，持续下去。

Most Haunted Place: LaLaurie House

最著名的闹鬼胜地：拉劳里宅邸

In the heart of the French Quarter lies an ornate mansion that in the 1800s belonged to physician Louis LaLaurie and his socialite wife Delphine.37. ornate: 华丽的，过分装饰的；socialite: 社会名流，社交名媛。As the story goes, it was rumored at the time that the couple treated their slaves viciously38. viciously: 邪恶地，残忍地。, and there was evidence Lady LaLaurie was responsible for the murder of a 12-year-old girl.The rumors were validated39. validate: 证实，确认……是真实的。when one night a fire broke out in the mansion’s kitchen. Firemen raced to the scene, and when they kicked down a door to the slave quarters they were astonished to find several slaves chained to the wall in a kind of makeshift dungeon.40. race: 快跑，疾行；astonish: 使……惊讶，使……惊恐；makeshift: 临时代用的，暂时凑合的；dungeon:地牢，土牢。Many have since claimed that the LaLaurie’s were performing grotesque surgical experiments on the slaves, but modern evidence suggests that this is probably an exaggeration.41. grotesque: 怪诞的，怪异的；surgical:外科手术的；exaggeration: 夸大之词，言过其实。Either way, the sadistic42. sadistic: 虐待狂的，残酷成性的。couple is said to have soon fled the city, and Lady LaLaurie eventually disappeared. The mansion where the horrors took place still stands today, and several ghosts have been sighted, among them the spirits of both Delphine LaLaurie and the young slave girl she is said to have murdered.