The Fall Road Trip Files: One Weekend, Five Spooky Stops

Seasonal wanderlust and Halloween intrigue combine beautifully when you embark on a New England road-trip that blends foliage with frights. Here’s a curated two-day itinerary featuring five truly haunting - and absolutely open - destinations spanning Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. It’s perfect for your October cravings, complete with atmosphere, local flavor, and ghostly intrigue.

Day 1: Massachusetts – Salem & Providence

1. Salem, Massachusetts – The Witch City’s Soul

Start your journey in Salem, where history and hauntings mingle in shop windows and cobblestone streets. Known for its link to the 1692 witch trials, Salem pulls nearly 1.2 million visitors each October. It’s also home to ghostly lore - and, inside the Pickman House, restored rooms once filled with animatronic figures offer a spooky reminder of craftsmanship and storytelling in true colonial style.

Spend your morning wandering the Witch House, browsing occult shops, and catching communal chill at local ghost tours under lanterned skies - Salem paves a mood-setting start to any Halloween weekend.

Day 1 Afternoon: Connecticut – Easton’s Eerie Cemetery

2. Union Cemetery, Easton, CT

A short drive takes you to Easton’s Union Cemetery, named one of America’s most haunted burial grounds. Think ghostly hustle by a "White Lady," glimpsed by famed demonologist Ed Warren and said to drift between the mounded stones on moonlit nights. If cemeteries send a shiver down your spine in the best way, this is a heavy moment worth stepping into.

Day 1 Evening: Dinner & an Overnight in Providence

Dinner in Providence sets a quiet, thoughtful end to your first day before heading into Rhode Island's spookier side.

Day 2 Morning: Rhode Island – The Conjuring House

3. The Conjuring House, Harrisville, RI

On Halloween - October 31^st - the infamous 18th-century farmhouse that inspired The Conjuring films heads to auction. Known for its alleged paranormal activity tied to Bathsheba Sherman and fierce ghost-hunting legend, it's a real-world crossroads of folklore, cinema, and real estate drama. Though not visitable, it’s a perfect spooky roadside shrine to peek at from the distance.

Day 2 Midday: Massachusetts – Lizzie Borden’s Legacy

4. Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum, Fall River, MA

Head northwest along the coast to Fall River and the notorious Lizzie Borden House. Now a museum and B&B, this preserved setting of the infamous 1892 double murder feels suspended in time. Sleep in rooms echoing the original furnishings - if you dare - or opt for a daytime tour that hums with history and public curiosity.

Day 2 Afternoon: Rhode Island Seaside Scare

5. Newport, RI - A Haunting Coastal Drive

Conclude your two-day circuit with a drive along Newport’s Ocean Drive at dusk. While not haunted per se, it’s long inspired misgivings and moody imagination - coupled with salty air, dramatic shores, and rocky Gothic architecture. Whispered as a spine-tingling ride when the wind picks up, it wraps up your weekend on a quietly spectral note.