Top 10 Haunted Homes
| October 28, 2010 | Posted by Sandie under Real Estate, Special Events |
1: Winchester House
The Winchester House, in San Jose California, is said to be haunted by the ghost of Sarah Winchester. The house is one of two homes sanctioned by the US Commerce Department as haunted, and is said to be the most bizarre haunted house in the United States. Sara Winchester, widow of William Winchester (founder of Winchester rifles) dreamt up and designed the home. She built the home as a way to deal with her misguided feelings after the death of her daughter (1866) and her husband (1881); the house was intended to ward off evil spirits. The house was under construction from 1884 all the way until Sarah’s death in 1992. The interior consists of a maze of hallways that twist and turn, some leading to dead ends, all of which are intended to confuse evil spirits.
2: Lizzie Borden House
The Lizzie Borden House is located in Fall River, MA. It is said to be haunted by the ghosts of Andrew and Abby Borden. On August 4, 1892, someone killed Andrew and Abby Borden with an ax. To this day, no one knows who killed them. Lizzie Borden, Andrew’s daughter and Abby’s step-daughter, was a prime suspect. The Lizzie Borden House was turned into a bed and breakfast where guests can hope to catch a glimpse of the ghosts of the Bordens.
3: LaLaurie Mansion
The LaLaurie Mansion is located in New Orleans, LA. It is said to be haunted by the victims of Madame LaLaurie, who used to torture and abuse the slaves that worked in the house.
4: White House
The White House is said to be haunted by many notable ghosts, including those of Abigail Adams and Abraham Lincoln. Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams (our nation’s second president) is the “oldest” ghost in the White House. Abby and John Adams were the first people to live in the White House back when it was still unfinished in 1800. To this day, Abby is spotted hanging laundry in the East Room. Abraham Lincoln is also claimed to haunt the White House, and many former presidents and White House staff have felt his presence still lingering.
5: Franklin Castle
The Franklin Castle in Cleveland, OH is supposedly Ohio’s most haunted home. It was built in 1860 for Hannes Tiedemann, a German immigrant. The property truly looks like a haunted house, and is said to be haunted by three babies that mysteriously died in the home. One can still hear the babies crying..
6: Sprague Mansion
The Sprague Mansion in Cranston, RI is haunted by the ghosts of Amasa Sprague and Charlie the butler. The Sprague family, one of Cranston’s most prosperous families, owned the Cranston Print Works textile mill. After Mr. Sprague’s passing in 1836, the business was left to his two sons, Amasa and William II. Amasa was found shot dead and beaten on a road between the textile mill and his mansion. The true murderer was never found. The Sprague Mansion is said to be haunted by Amasa and the spirit of Charlie the butler, whose dreams of riches were destroyed when his daughter did not marry into money.
7: Chambers Mansion
The Chambers Mansion is located in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco California. The Mansion was built in 1887 for Richard Chambers. He is said to still live there to this day and haunt the mansion with his two nieces.
8: Myrtles Plantation
Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, LA is an old, antebellum plantation home. In 1808, Clark Woodruff took over the plantation. He took a liking to a slave named Chloe. Chloe became jealous of Woodruff’s family and baked a cake filled with poison that killed Woodruff’s wife and two children. When Chloe confessed, she was hanged by fellow slaves who then dumped her body in the Mississippi. Since Chloe’s hanging, various other natural deaths have occurred on the plantation. Chloe haunts the place, along with another previous plantation owner William Winter, who was shot and killed on the front porch in 1871.
9: Stranahan House
The Stranahan House is located in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The House was built by Frank Stranahan, a young entrepreneur. Frank Stranahan originally went to Fort Lauderdale to operate a barge ferry across the river. He was the first non-Indian to live in the town, and ended up starting a trading post, post office, bank and hotel. Frank built the Stranahan House for his wife, local school teacher Ivy Cromartie. As the story goes, Stranahan took his own life on June 23, 1929 after battling depression and struggling to deal with the economic downturn of the Great Depression and the impact of a hurricane on his local businesses.
10: Whaley House
The Whaley House is located in San Diego, California. Tom Whaley built the two-story brick Whaley House on top of a plot where gallows had once stood. Though he had witnessed the hanging of “Yankee Jim” Robinson just a few short years earlier, Whaley, apparently unfazed, bought the property and constructed his home. After the Whaley family moved into the home, they started to hear heavy footsteps throughout the house. Whaley believed these footsteps belonged to Yankee Jim who was haunting the house, and is said to still stomp around the house to this day. The home was declared a California State Historic Landmark in 1932 and is now open to the public.
Click here to see the original article on Zillow.
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