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America has some great ghost stories, and New England is at its epicenter with graveyards galore. Some of America's oldest colonial graveyards and burying grounds are found in New England. Packed with centuries' worth of history (and centuries' worth of burials), most cemeteries are peaceful places of contemplative reflection. But sometimes, the dead can't seem to move on from the realm of the living...

New England is notorious for its haunts and witchy-woo, especially during the fall. If you're looking for real spook and scares, these graveyards truly have haunting histories that'll be sure to haunt you long after you've left. But remember, these are places of eternal rest, so though these graveyards are open to the public, please be respectful and abide by their visiting hours and rules.

Related: See Boston's Creepier Side With A Haunted Winter Ghost Tour

Union Cemetery, Easton, Connecticut

Officially dubbed a haunted cemetery by high-profile paranormal researchers Ed and Lorraine Warren (of "The Conjuring" fame), Union Cemetery has two gruesome ghostly stories attached to its lore.

First, you'll hear of "The White Lady," a specter described as a woman with long dark hair dressed in a white dressing gown. There are many theories as to who she is...or was in life, but they all have some dates and themes in common. Many believe she is someone who lived in the 1940s; while some lore claims she is a mourning mother traveling throughout the cemetery to find her infant child who died, others claim she is the mother of a woman who was gruesomely murdered. It's also possible that The White Lady is, in fact, the murder victim herself.

The second most famous ghostly presence you may encounter in Union Cemetery is simply known as "Red Eyes." Visitors allege they've been confronted by a pair of bright red eyes in the bushes of the cemetery. However, when they turned to run, visitors claimed that loud footsteps followed them, chasing them closely behind. No visitor has been brave enough to look back when running. Locals believe that Red Eyes is the ghost of a man who was set on fire in the street nearby in 1935.

Related: These Haunted Roads Are The Last Places We'd Want To Be Stuck With A Flat

Blood Cemetery (Pine Hill Cemetery), Hollis, New Hampshire

Famous for its ominous eternal residents, the Blood Family, Pine Hill Cemetery is known to locals as Blood Cemetery. Legend has it that family patriarch Abel Blood, who died in 1867, is the source of the haunt. On the top of Abel's headstone is a finger that normally points skywards, and during the day, it's nothing more than a bit of graveyard iconography. However, it's said at night, the finger actually turns and points downward toward a place of eternal doom.

Accompanied by stories of tapping noises that surround visitors to the cemetery, random flashing lights, and sudden touches of cold spots near the Blood Family plot, people are convinced that Abel Blood and members of his family may be up to no good.

Spider Gate Cemetery (Friends Cemetery), Leicester, Massachusetts

This is the cemetery you'd want to play paranormal bingo in because it has it all--demons, a portal to the underworld, tragic death...just don't stay until after sundown. Not only is it illegal, but you'll face the wrath of all this spooky.

Friends Cemetery, aka Spider Gate Cemetery, dates to the 18th century but is known for the art-deco area wheel-like designs on the cemetery's front gate, hence its nickname. Right inside the cemetery, it's said that a young boy tragically died in 1943, and some believe that the gates were actually erected after his death as a way to keep visitors out and away from the boy's ghost.

If ghostly children aren't enough to scare you away, then how about demonic portals to the underworld? Some believe that passing through the cemetery's gates puts you at risk of demons stealing your soul or stumbling into the depths of the inferno. Others believe that the site of the Quaker's old meeting house at the center of the cemetery was actually an altar where witchy rituals called upon evil spirits--which is why grass never grows on that spot of the graveyard.

Hoping to communicate with the dead more than demons? Then visit the grave of Marmaduke Earle, a Quaker who passed away in 1839. Some people believe that his gravestone is a "payphone" to the dead; Marmaduke will speak to you if you perform a certain ritual similar to that of the legendary "Bloody Mary." Visitors sometimes leave coins at Marmaduke's grave in homage to the headstone's abilities.

If you've braved all of these cemeteries, then there's plenty more haunted lore to explore. Seeking a haunted hotel? Maybe a haunted museum? There are some extremely haunted places in the world that are ripe for adventure if you're brave enough to seek these thrills!