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In the middle of the 18th century, while trying to run away after stealing gold from Tiburcio Vasquez (commonly referred to as the Mexican Robin Hood), two robbers were caught and killed. The Castro House in Sonoma city once belonged to a government official and his family. Recent visitors have discovered various creepy dolls strewn about the area. A feeling of doom and lurking presence, voices and other paranormal activities have all been reported. Thus, along with thirty nine followers of Heaven’s Gate (who called themselves the “away team”), he committed the largest mass-suicide recorded on US soil at a mansion he had purchased in Rancho Santa Fe, California. The John Sowden house was presumed to be the site where the prime suspect, Dr. George Hill Hodel had supposedly killed her before fleeing the country.
Amityville Horror House: Amityville, New York
Rumored to be on top of a burial ground is the Myrtles Plantation in Louisiana, which is the home to at least 12 different ghosts. Built in 1796, ghost stories center around the tale of an enslaved woman named Chloe, who had her ear chopped off after she was reportedly caught eavesdropping. Seeking revenge, Chloe killed two of the master’s daughters by poisoning a birthday cake. She was then hanged by her fellow enslaved people, and today is reportedly seen wandering the plantation with a turban on to conceal her ear. This Dutch colonial sitting pretty on Ocean Avenue in Long Island, New York is perhaps the country's (and world's) most famous real haunted house, though whether or not it was all a hoax is up for debate. But haunted or not, the Amityville home has certainly witnessed plenty of horrors.
LaVeta Place and the Ackley Family Lore
Another tour includes an intro to ghost hunting, with a focus on the technology that's used to communicate with spirits. Back in 1912, this home in the small Iowa town of Villisca suffered a heinous crime that left an entire family, including four children and their two young friends, murdered by an ax. No one was ever charged with the crime, but 100 years later, ghosts lurk in the house, crying out for justice. You can book a day tour, or even stay overnight, waiting for the screams of the victims. And, check out these 50 abandoned houses that would look great restored. This remote village is home to less than 800 inhabitants—and one spooky vampire story.
Villisca Ax Murder House Villisca, IA

According to an article by ABC News, the house has "10,000 windows, 2,000 doors, 47 fireplaces, 40 staircases, 13 bathrooms, and nine kitchens." Paranormal investigators say that homes hold on to the accumulated energy of everyone who has previously lived there or that tragedy and sadness can cause a spirit to linger, hoping to correct the pains of the past before they move on. If you want to investigate things for yourself, you can stay at the plantation for $175/night. You can read her full account here, as well as commenters who also lived there and corroborate these claims. I'll definitely not be requesting an in-person viewing for this place—private balcony or not—if this address ever pops back up in my StreetEasy feed. Located across from one of Savannah, Georgia's, most famous and pristine squares (Monterey Square in the city's historic district), the Mercer-Williams house dates back to 1860.
Culbertson Mansion
29 Real-Life Haunted House Stories That Keep Us Up at Night - House Beautiful
29 Real-Life Haunted House Stories That Keep Us Up at Night.
Posted: Tue, 24 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
The hotel, which opened as the Community Hotel in 1927—named after the townspeople who helped raised the funds for its construction—has a history of underground opium dens, speakeasies, and gambling. Today, the hotel is known for the paranormal activity that haunts some of the rooms and halls. Certainly one of Ohio’s most haunted places, the Franklin Castle may also be one of the most haunted houses in America. Though visitors can only see it from the street, you may still catch a glimpse of Louise Tiedemann from the window. In 1881, German immigrant Hannes Tiedemann built Franklin Castle in Cleveland for himself and his family.
# The Castro House, Sonoma
Another spirit, Mathew, seems just as interested in today's guests and their strange new technology as they are in him (he died in 1888). This imposing Victorian home is considered to be the most haunted house in Ohio, and it's easy to see why — it was, after all, built in the 1800s by Hannes Tiedemann, who was known around Cleveland for being cruel and abusive. When a string of mysterious deaths in Tiedemann's family happened in the house, those rumors crystallized. The small Iowa town of Villisca (population of around 1,118) doesn't have much to offer tourists — except for a night of terror at the Villisca Ax Murder House. Back in 1912, the white wooden house was the site of a horrifying crime that left an entire family, including four children and their two young friends, dead by an ax-wielding murderer.

Docents have watched the ghost of an enslaved man walk across the room and tend a long-boarded-up fireplace. Another paranormal presence is Grace Sherwood, accused of witchcraft in the 1700s and found guilty by 'ducking' (a process in which she was bound and dropped in deep water; drowning would mean she was innocent). Thankfully, after seven years in prison, she was released, and in 2006 she was officially exonerated. In the tapestry of American folklore, certain homes have become famous for the tales of the restless spirits within their walls, and each has a spine-chilling story to tell.
Winchester Mystery House
He and his family thrived on the farm until they started to see strange looking animals around the property, most notably a dog with a rabbit's head. The home is open for in-person tours, and anyone who can't make the journey can try one of its equally spooky virtual tour options via "Ghostflix." Back in 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were found dead — killed by an ax-wielding psychopath. Though she stood trial for the crimes and was ultimately acquitted, Lizzie spent the rest of her life under the shadow of guilt. As depicted in The Conjuring, the Perron family moved to the house in 1971 and immediately began experiencing strange things.
A few weeks after Lam went missing, her body was discovered in the rooftop water tank after visitors and tenants complained about a funky taste. They later found odd footage of her in the elevator from the night of her disappearance. It's difficult to make out what she's doing; it looks like she's either playing hide-and-seek with someone outside the elevator, or she's frightened and attempting to hide from someone but the doors won't seem to shut. Authorities ruled the death accidental drowning—but because you need a key to access the roof, many suspect foul play. At some point in the '30s, one man was pinned to the exterior wall by a truck.
Hampton is said to haunt the upstairs lounge while Austin covers the lobby. Some say a ghostly face appears in the cellar over the sink where bloody clothing may have been washed right after the 1892 hatchet murders of Andrew and Abby Borden. Andrew's daughter, Lizzie, who was acquitted at the trial of the century, perhaps by the jury's error. She, Andrew and her stepmother Abby are said to linger in the house, along with children who roll marbles on the attic floor, victims of a drowning by their mother in the basement well next door. Aim for the anniversary reenactments every August if you’re dying to see the Lizzie Borden House. In 1885, construction was completed on Staten Island’s Kreischer Mansion.
King Louis XI’s half sister Charlotte de Valois was married to Jacques de Brézé, who learned from a servant one night that his wife was in bed with another man upstairs. De Brézé ran upstairs and killed both lovers with a sword, choosing to wear green (his late wife’s favorite color) to the funeral instead of black. Since then, visitors have reported catching sight of a “Green Lady” haunting the halls in her signature color. According to local lore, Annie Palmer, the wife of plantation owner John Palmer, had a dark streak beyond the black magic she practiced. In the 1800s, she murdered John, her second and third husbands, and numerous male slaves whom she’d taken as lovers.
The Silent Movie Theatre is said to be haunted by the ghosts of its first two owners. John Hampton opened the theater in 1942 and dedicated his life to preserving silent films… using toxic chemicals that eventually gave him cancer. Lawrence Austin reopened the theater after Hampton’s death in the early nineties; in 1997, he was fatally shot in the lobby in a plot concocted by his lover/projectionist.
Listen to this week's episode of our haunted house podcast series, Dark House, for exclusive ghost stories and insights into the home's haunted reputation. This house is the site of a grim murder where in 1974 a son killed his parents and four siblings by gun. The next tenants, the Lutz Family, stayed 28 days before fleeing. These events—including the chilling utterance of the words ‘get out’—were immortalized in the book and movie franchise, The Amityville Horror.
Over the last decade, voters have approved Proposition HHH to build homeless housing, Measure H to deliver homeless services and Measure ULA to keep people from slipping into homelessness. “If there ends up being distress for multi-family [buildings], it’s a way to keep as much housing as they can,” he said. LA4LA is already partnering with the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, a state-chartered agency that administers the city’s public housing developments, to provide loans to buy buildings. A-listers in designer gowns and million-dollar jewels parade down the red carpet, blocks from tents where people live in unsanitary conditions. Private jets take off at Van Nuys Airport, soaring over streets lined with RVs and crowded apartment complexes.
A woman murdered her newborn in the building in 1944, and the pattern of suicides continued into the '60s. In 1962, a woman jumped from the ninth floor window and landed on a pedestrian, killing them both. It's worth noting that two of the women who died by suicide apparently jumped while their husbands were asleep in the room. Because there's so little information about who lived here and when, and because abandoned places tend to ignite the dark side of the imagination, there are tons of legends around alleged atrocities occurring (and consequent hauntings).
"This is definitely the exact kind of house where you would dream," Gambino said in an interview with USA TODAY. "It's a very special house where people immediately get, you know, emotionally connected when they're there." Designed by LA architect William King and built in 1982, the listing comes with several gathering spaces in and around the home, with charming gardens, a wraparound deck and a garage that could be used as studio space. An estimate for the unfinished building came in at $850 million, she said, and it would probably have to be torn down.
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