Spokane, WA

According to local legend, the abandoned staircase behind a heavily-graffitied crypt at the Greenwood Cemetery in Spokane is more than just a little haunted. If you walk up the stairs without any lights on, the story goes, you will see the faces of men, women, and children when you reach the top. Those brave enough to climb the stairs will also hear, they say, the shrieks and cries of the dead and they will feel something akin to rain on their skin.

Supposedly the site of satanic rituals, the staircase, dubbed “1000 steps” because nobody can make it to the top, according to the legend, leads from the side of an access road up to the cemetery. Renovations at the cemetery made years ago have rendered the staircase unnecessary and it has deteriorated to the point of being virtually unrecognizable. The site of the former staircase is on private property, is obstructed by a rather ornate and elaborate gate, and considered hazardous in its current state.