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Exterior view of MonstroCity, entrance to the City Museum.

At the mention of the Oregon Trail, many young Americans will recall fording rivers, crossing plains, and being waylaid by dysentery or broken legs in a popular game played on flickering computer screens. The real Oregon Trail, used by many American pioneers during the westward migration from Missouri to Oregon during the mid-nineteenth century, was far more remarkable.

Illustrations by Jordan LysenkoWith horror movies like The Devil Inside (2012) and The Woman in Black (2012) coming out every year, Americans’ fascination with ghosts and haunting is readily apparent. Let’s face it—we’re either curious about the next life or we’re just addicted to the exhilaration of a fright attack. If you’re the kind of person who goes to all the new horror flicks hoping to jump five feet in the air, here are a few haunted spots to hit this fall. Each is known as one of the most haunted places in America.

Travelers with lean pockets and wide interests should include St. Louis at the top of their “To Go” list. The stomping ground of literary giants Tennessee Williams and T. S. Eliot, St. Louis has a rich urban culture.