1. Winchester Mystery House – San Jose, California
This Victorian mansion was endlessly expanded by Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune, who believed the spirits of shooting victims were haunting her. For 38 years, she ordered round-the-clock construction, creating a bizarre maze of staircases that lead to nowhere and doors that open into walls. With over 160 rooms and countless architectural anomalies, the house feels more like a physical manifestation of paranoia than a home, according to Barry Kramer from Amateur Traveler. Some say Sarah’s obsession was madness; others believe she genuinely feared vengeful spirits.
Visitors today can tour the mansion and experience its eerie layout firsthand. Many have reported footsteps in empty hallways, sudden cold spots, and ghostly whispers. The house offers nighttime flashlight tours that elevate the creepy ambiance even further. Whether haunted or not, it’s a place where unease clings to every ornate corner.
2. The Myrtles Plantation – St. Francisville, Louisiana
This once-idyllic Southern estate has become one of the most haunted locations in the country. The most infamous legend involves Chloe, an enslaved woman allegedly caught eavesdropping who later poisoned the family’s children in revenge. While the story is debated, the mansion has seen at least a dozen documented deaths and remains soaked in sorrow. Visitors routinely describe feelings of dread and claim to see ghostly figures wandering the halls, according to Mike Huberty from American Ghost Walks.
You can actually stay overnight in the house, which has been converted into a bed and breakfast. Guests report doors slamming, phantom footsteps, and even waking to invisible hands touching them. It’s a mix of Southern hospitality and gothic horror, leaving a lasting impression on everyone who passes through. The real horror, however, lies in the historical truths behind the ghost stories.
3. Lizzie Borden House – Fall River, Massachusetts
The scene of one of America’s most infamous unsolved murders, this house was the site where Lizzie Borden allegedly killed her father and stepmother with a hatchet. She was acquitted, but the mystery lingers—and so do the spirits, according to those who’ve stayed overnight. The property now operates as a museum and bed and breakfast, drawing true crime fans and paranormal investigators alike, according to Julie Jordan from PEOPLE. Guests can even sleep in the rooms where the murders occurred.
Strange phenomena have been reported for years, including whispers, ghostly apparitions, and furniture that seems to move on its own. Despite renovations, the house retains its grim aura and a sense of suspended time. Tours delve into the original court case, the forensic details, and the eerie energy that refuses to fade. It’s less of a murder house and more of a museum of unresolved fear.
4. The Whaley House – San Diego, California
This Greek Revival mansion was built on top of an old execution site, and it seems that the dead never left. Tragedy plagued the Whaley family almost from the start, with suicides, child deaths, and business failures leaving behind emotional scars. Today, visitors report seeing apparitions, hearing phantom footsteps, and encountering mysterious smells that vanish as quickly as they arrive. The air inside the house feels charged, as if something is always watching.
Now a museum, the Whaley House leans into its ghostly reputation with daily and nighttime tours. Paranormal researchers have long considered it a top location for supernatural activity. Even skeptics walk away shaken after a visit. It’s a historical landmark with a dark pulse running through it.
5. Bellamy Mansion – Wilmington, North Carolina
Beneath its stately facade, Bellamy Mansion hides the pain of the enslaved people who built and maintained it. Constructed just before the Civil War, it represents both architectural beauty and a brutal past. While it lacks traditional ghost stories, the basement quarters where enslaved workers once lived are sobering and emotionally heavy. It forces visitors to reckon with the true cost of luxury in the antebellum South.
The mansion doesn’t rely on cheap scares—it tells the truth, and that’s disturbing enough. Tours include honest discussions of slavery, racism, and the wealth gap that defined the era. Walking through the space is an education in beauty built on bondage. It lingers with you long after you leave.
6. The Lemp Mansion – St. Louis, Missouri
This once-grand home was the site of a brewing empire’s tragic collapse, ending in multiple suicides among the Lemp family. The sorrow is deeply embedded in the mansion’s walls, where guests claim to hear crying, feel cold drafts, and see unexplained shadows. The attic, once rumored to house a deformed family member, is particularly disturbing. The tragedies weren’t isolated incidents—they seemed to haunt each generation until the family was no more.
Today, the house functions as a restaurant, inn, and ghost tour location, according to Roy A. Barnes from Travel Thru History. While the setting is inviting, many say the energy is anything but. The combination of verified history and unexplained events makes it a magnet for ghost hunters. You don’t just visit the Lemp Mansion—you feel it.
7. The Stanley Hotel – Estes Park, Colorado
The Stanley Hotel’s beautiful, snow-covered grounds hide a chilling inspiration: Stephen King’s The Shining was born here. The author stayed in Room 217, where he had a terrifying dream about his son being chased through the halls, sparking the idea for his novel. Guests before and after King have reported hearing ghostly piano music, luggage unpacking itself, and lights flickering for no reason. Paranormal experts flock here for good reason—it rarely disappoints.
Even with its luxury offerings, the Stanley carries a weight that makes people uneasy. Room 217 is still the most requested—and avoided—accommodation. The hotel offers guided ghost tours and even overnight investigations for brave souls. Whether you’re a horror fan or a skeptic, the Stanley has a way of staying with you.
8. Pittock Mansion – Portland, Oregon
High above Portland sits the elegant but oddly somber Pittock Mansion. Built by publishing tycoons Henry and Georgiana Pittock, the couple died within a year of moving in. Ever since, visitors have reported strange activity—items moving on their own, ghostly music playing, and cold spots in otherwise warm rooms. It doesn’t feel evil—just incomplete, as if the Pittocks never truly left.
Now open for tours, the mansion offers sweeping views and rich history alongside its paranormal fame. The staff share stories of shadows moving through locked rooms and faces appearing in mirrors. Most activity is described as benign, but consistent. You’ll leave feeling like you weren’t entirely alone during your visit.
9. The Biltmore Estate – Asheville, North Carolina
The Biltmore might not seem like it belongs on a list of disturbing places—until you dig into its ghostly reputation. This massive estate was built by George Vanderbilt, who died young, leaving the mansion to his widow. Since then, guests and staff have reported hearing his voice calling her name, disembodied laughter, and eerie footsteps in empty rooms. Some say the house’s sheer size makes it feel alive.
There’s no grisly murder or famous ghost story here—just a lingering presence that keeps people on edge. The estate is fully open to the public, and it’s easy to get lost (literally and figuratively) in its echoing halls. The swimming pool area is especially known for strange sensations and voices. For such a beautiful place, it can leave you with an unsettling feeling you can’t quite shake
10. Kreischer Mansion – Staten Island, New York
Perched on a quiet hilltop in Staten Island, the Kreischer Mansion looks like a Victorian dream gone wrong. Built in the 1880s by German immigrant Balthasar Kreischer for his sons, only one of the original twin mansions remains today. After a series of misfortunes—including the suspicious suicide of one of the sons—the house developed a reputation for tragedy. Over the years, rumors of occult activity and poltergeist disturbances began to swirl.
In the early 2000s, the mansion’s dark history took a modern, grisly turn when a mob-related hitman murdered someone in the basement. Since then, the property has been mostly abandoned, its once-pristine facade slowly crumbling. Paranormal investigators report flickering lights, moaning sounds, and shadows flitting across upstairs windows. With both old sorrow and new blood staining its history, Kreischer Mansion feels like evil layered on decay.
11. LaLaurie Mansion – New Orleans, Louisiana
Behind its elegant French Quarter exterior lies one of the darkest stories in New Orleans history. Madame Delphine LaLaurie was discovered to have tortured enslaved people in her attic—acts so vile that townspeople stormed the house in outrage. The mansion has changed owners many times and has never been able to shake its horrifying past. Even from the sidewalk, many say you can feel something sinister watching.
Ghost stories are common, but the real horror lies in the verified history. Apparitions, screams, and cold spots are often reported by passersby. Tour guides often shorten their stops outside the mansion, citing overwhelming unease. It stands as a chilling reminder of human cruelty—and the spirits that trauma can leave behind.
12. Franklin Castle – Cleveland, Ohio
This Gothic-style mansion has earned the title of “Ohio’s most haunted house” with good reason. Built in the 1880s, it’s the site of countless rumors: secret tunnels, hidden rooms, and strange deaths within the Tiedemann family. Though many of the legends remain unproven, the house’s unsettling energy has never been in question. Strange noises, unexplained cold spots, and the sound of crying children have all been reported.
In recent years, it reopened to the public, allowing brave visitors to explore its eerie interior. Some describe a heavy presence on the stairs, or the feeling of being watched from windows. The house seems to resist peace—owners rarely stay long. Franklin Castle doesn’t need embellishment; its atmosphere speaks volumes.
13. Lynnewood Hall – Elkins Park, Pennsylvania
Once known as the “American Versailles,” Lynnewood Hall is a 110-room Gilded Age behemoth that now sits in haunting disrepair. Built by industrialist Peter A.B. Widener, the mansion became a site of mourning after multiple family members died tragically—including his son and grandson aboard the Titanic. The immense house became a mausoleum of wealth and loss, filled with priceless art but eerily empty of life. Eventually, it was abandoned and fell into severe neglect.
Locals believe the grief of the Widener family left a lingering imprint on the mansion. Broken windows, collapsed ceilings, and long, echoing halls only add to its spectral vibe. Visitors to the grounds have reported ghostly figures and whispered voices, especially near the once-grand ballroom. Lynnewood isn’t just decaying—it feels like it’s grieving.
14. Greystone Mansion – Beverly Hills, California
Greystone Mansion is a marvel of old Hollywood glamour—but its past is marked by blood. In 1929, oil heir Ned Doheny was found dead alongside his assistant in what was ruled a murder-suicide, though conspiracy theories persist to this day. The mansion has remained mostly vacant, and those who work there describe voices in the hallways and lights flickering with no explanation. Film crews shooting on location have even halted production after unexplained disturbances.
Today, Greystone is a city park and event space, though few linger after dark. Stories of whispering voices and shadowy figures continue to circulate. The house may be beautiful, but the tragedy that unfolded inside gave it a reputation it can’t escape. Beneath the manicured lawns and marble halls lies a mystery that’s never been fully explained.
