Maria Cortes Gonzalez El Paso Times A new study is pointing a spooky, bony finger to Texas as one of the spookiest states in the country. Being the season of ghouls, witches and skeletons, the team at Hard Rock Bet, an online sportsbook and casino app, conducted a study on all 50 states, looking at four frightening factors — haunted locations, ghost towns, UFO sightings, and average haunted house rating. Texas came in second after California. California has 136 haunted locations and a staggering 16,969 UFO sightings. Florida came in third, with 120 haunted locations and with 8,757 UFO sightings. More: Halloween 2025 events return to El Paso with haunted parks, KLAQ Halloween Parade Here is why Texas came in second and where you can find more spooky details. The Lone Star State lays claim to more ghost towns than anywhere else in America, a spine-chilling 550 in total, according to the study. The number of abandoned ghost towns in each state were gathered from batchgeo.com/map/ghost-towns . Among the ghost towns listed in Texas is Smeltertown in El Paso. Smeltertown was a residential community in El Paso for workers of the Asarco smelter and their families. The residents were forced to move by landowners after outbreaks of lead poisoning were discovered in the 1970s. The smelter stack was later demolished. Texas boasts 120 haunted locations, making it a daring destination for thrill-seekers. The haunted attractions were counted from thescarefactor.com Haunted houses across the state have earned an almost perfect 9.63/10 average rating, ensuring plenty of thrills this Halloween. Texans have witnessed 6,592 UFOs in their skies. The number of UFO sightings in each state, were rated as recorded on https://nuforc.org/ More: Día de los Muertos: How to celebrate in El Paso María Cortés González may be reached at 915-546-6150; mcortes@elpasotimes.com; @eptmaria.bsky.social on Bluesky, and @eptmariacg on TikTok. Source: https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/texasregion/2025/10/31/texas-is-no-2-for-most-haunted-states-with-ghost-towns-ufo-sightings/86993285007/