Several locales across the US claim to be king when it comes to Halloween. But three in particular — Savannah, Georgia; New Orleans and Salem, Massachusetts — have the haunting histories to truly earn the title.

The trio of historic cities, each of them at least a couple of centuries old, are charming and welcoming in the light, with their cobblestone streets, well-preserved, centuries-old structures and other nods to days of old.

But when night falls and the wind howls through empty streets, these cities cast a darker spell. For many visitors and year-round residents of these three cities, their macabre history is part of the draw.

“Becoming acquainted with a place’s supernatural beings, and becoming a transmitter of a place’s supernatural lore … is a way of further weaving ourselves i

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