Ten years ago, an unusual idea took shape: what if people's fascination with the unexplained could help keep history standing?
That idea became National Ghost Hunting Day™, and its signature event, the World's Largest Ghost Hunt™, grew into something no one expected. It started in the United States and quickly spread across oceans. At its peak, more than 50 historic locations in 17 countries on six continents took part.
On September 26, 2026, National Ghost Hunting Day celebrated its 10th anniversary. To carry that mission into the next decade, Mysterious Adventures Tours is launching a giveback campaign. From September 28 through October 31, 2026, for every tour booked with us we'll donate $50 to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Here's the story behind the day, why it has always been about preservation, and how you can be part of the next ten years.
Key Takeaways
- 10th anniversary: National Ghost Hunting Day was established in 2016 and has been observed every year since, including through the pandemic.
- Global reach: The World's Largest Ghost Hunt reached more than 50 locations across 17 countries and six of the world's seven continents at its pre-pandemic peak.
- The mission is preservation: Money raised by participating historic sites has always stayed with those sites to help cover roofs, foundations, archives, insurance, and upkeep.
- Book a tour, help save history: From September 28 to October 31, 2026, Mysterious Adventures Tours will donate $50 per booking to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
- Support a specific site: Anyone can donate directly to the haunted places we're featuring through our landing page, with or without booking a tour.
What Is National Ghost Hunting Day?
National Ghost Hunting Day™ is an annual observance registered with the National Day Calendar™ that celebrates paranormal investigation as a way to support and draw attention to historic places. The first observance took place on October 1, 2016.
Its centerpiece is the World's Largest Ghost Hunt™, a coordinated investigation where participating locations begin at the same moment in a simultaneous “shotgun start.” Investigators, historic property owners, and paranormal enthusiasts in different cities and countries all begin together, turning a single night into an international event.
From America's Largest Ghost Hunt to the World's Largest Ghost Hunt
The event was originally envisioned as America's Largest Ghost Hunt. That name didn't last long.
Almost immediately, investigators and historic properties overseas wanted to take part. Australia and England joined the initiative, and before the inaugural year was even complete, the event had been renamed the World's Largest Ghost Hunt.
Where the World's Largest Ghost Hunt Has Gone
By its pre-pandemic peak, participating sites spanned the United States, England, Australia, Germany, India, Greece, Egypt, Romania, and the Philippines. Over the years, properties associated with the investigations have included some of the most storied places in paranormal history:
- The Conjuring House (Rhode Island, USA)
- The Great Pyramids (Egypt)
- Bran Castle, often called “Dracula's Castle” (Romania)
- Ancient Ram Inn (England)
- Geelong Gaol (Australia)
- Waverly Hills Sanatorium (Kentucky, USA)
- Ohio State Reformatory (Ohio, USA)
- Fort Mifflin (Pennsylvania, USA)
The Real Mission: Historic Preservation
Behind the equipment, the EVP sessions, and the late-night investigations, National Ghost Hunting Day has always been about one thing: keeping historic buildings alive.
Old buildings are expensive to maintain. Many of the world's most atmospheric places are also the most vulnerable, and without steady funding, they can close, decay, or disappear entirely.
Organizations like the National Trust for Historic Preservation have long documented how many historic sites struggle to stay open.
The Money Stays With the Properties
From the very beginning, one principle has guided the event: funds raised by participating historic sites stay with those sites.
Ticket revenue from local investigations was designed to help properties cover the real costs of preservation, including roof repairs, foundation work, archival care, insurance, and ongoing maintenance. These are the expenses that decide whether an old building stays open or is eventually lost.
“The premise was never profit,” said Maria Schmidt, founder of National Ghost Hunting Day and CEO of Mysterious Adventures Tours. “It was that these buildings are running out of time, and the people who love them are running out of ways to pay for them. A ghost hunt is a fundraiser with better lighting.”It Forces You Into the Present
The Four Pillars of National Ghost Hunting Day
- Historic preservation: helping historic properties generate the funds they need to survive.
- Paraunity: bringing investigators, researchers, and property caretakers together around a shared goal.
- Parapsychology research: supporting coordinated, large-scale investigation and study.
- Public education: helping people learn the real history of the places behind the legends.
A Worldwide Paranormal Community
National Ghost Hunting Day brought together people who might never have worked side by side: investigators, researchers, mediums, historic property owners, and well-known paranormal personalities.
Early supporters included The ScareFest, Destination America, America's Most Haunted, Paranormal Database, regional ambassadors, and investigation teams around the world. Brian J. Cano also helped lead an early collective-consciousness research initiative called The Bridge, coordinated with Paranormal Database.
Across the decade, contributors and participants have included Brian J. Cano, Dustin Pari, John Zaffis, Cody Ray DesBiens, Satori Hawes, psychic medium Scotty Rorek, the Daughters of Hecate, and hundreds of paranormal investigation teams whose work made the international effort possible.
The pandemic slowed the World's Largest Ghost Hunt's expansion, but it never ended the observance. National Ghost Hunting Day has been recognized every year since 2016.
Giving Back: Book a Tour and We'll Donate $50 to Historic Preservation
Ten years in, we want to put the mission into action, not just celebrate it.
From September 28 through October 31, 2026, for every tour booked with Mysterious Adventures Tours, we will donate $50 to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a nonprofit that works to protect and save historic places across the United States.
Historic buildings don't survive on atmosphere alone. They survive on roofs, foundations, archives, insurance, and advocacy, and that's exactly the kind of work these donations support.
How the Giveback Works
- Book any Mysterious Adventures Tours journey between September 28 and October 31, 2026.
- We donate $50 to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
- Your trip helps protect historic places and the real costs of keeping them standing, from repairs to restoration to advocacy.
You get an unforgettable journey, and a historic place gets a little more time.
Travel Beyond the Guidebook With Mysterious Adventures Tours
Mysterious Adventures Tours LLC is a U.S.-based tour operator specializing in immersive Supernatural Tourismexperiences around the world. Our journeys explore destinations through history, folklore, legends, gothic traditions, and cultural storytelling, taking travelers past traditional sightseeing and into the stories that made these places legendary.
Our Haunted Italy Tour with Nick & Tessa Groff is one example. It's a 10-day journey through Venice, Florence, and Rome from May 21–30, 2027, featuring multiple paranormal investigations and an excursion into the Venetian Lagoon to explore the mystery of Poveglia Island. Curious about the legends waiting there? Read our guide to the haunted places in Italy.
Book during the giveback window, and your journey helps preserve a haunted landmark too.
Ready to Make History Part of Your Next Adventure?
For ten years, National Ghost Hunting Day has proven that curiosity about the unexplained can help protect the places where history happened. Now you can be part of that mission.
Book any Mysterious Adventures Tours journey between September 28 and October 31, 2026, and we'll donate $50 to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is National Ghost Hunting Day?
National Ghost Hunting Day™ is an annual observance registered with the National Day Calendar™ that celebrates paranormal investigation as a way to support historic preservation. It was established in 2016, and its signature event is the World's Largest Ghost Hunt™.
When was National Ghost Hunting Day 2026?
National Ghost Hunting Day 2026 was held on Saturday, September 26, 2026, marking the observance's 10th anniversary.
What is the World's Largest Ghost Hunt?
The World's Largest Ghost Hunt™ is a coordinated paranormal investigation where participating historic locations begin at the same time in a “shotgun start.” At its pre-pandemic peak, it included more than 50 locations across 17 countries and six continents.
Who founded National Ghost Hunting Day?
National Ghost Hunting Day was founded by Maria Schmidt, who is also the CEO of Mysterious Adventures Tours. Mysterious Adventures Tours produces both National Ghost Hunting Day™ and the World's Largest Ghost Hunt™.
How does ghost hunting help historic preservation?
Many historic properties host paid paranormal investigations to raise money for upkeep. During the World's Largest Ghost Hunt, funds raised by participating sites stay with those sites to help pay for repairs, archives, insurance, and maintenance.
What famous haunted locations have taken part?
Locations associated with the World's Largest Ghost Hunt include the Great Pyramids, Bran (Dracula's) Castle, Ancient Ram Inn, Geelong Gaol, Waverly Hills Sanatorium, the Ohio State Reformatory, Fort Mifflin, and the Conjuring House.
How does the $50 tour donation work?
When you book any Mysterious Adventures Tours journey between September 28 and October 31, 2026, Mysterious Adventures Tours donates $50 to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit dedicated to saving historic places.
A Haunting Is History Wishing to Be Heard
“Ten years in, we have access to extraordinary places all over the world, and that access is the whole gift,” Schmidt said. “So my only real hope for the next ten years is that we never forget the reason. Not the livestreams, not the equipment, not the numbers. Historic preservation. Every one of these buildings is a story that wants to be heard, and if we stop showing up, the story stops with the building.”
That's why National Ghost Hunting Day exists, and why we keep showing up.
Or, as the movement has said from the very beginning:
“A Haunting is History Wishing to be Heard.”