Happy Halloween: 10 Haunted Houses You Can Actually Buy
Do you believe in ghosts? While I like to put on a brave face, the truth is I secretly do. You try watching American Horror Story at midnight all alone and tell me you don't get a shiver up your spine. Speaking of AHS, when it comes to haunted houses are you a believer? Would you ever stay in one?
Well, here's your chance! Did you know that there are actual haunted houses on the market that you can purchase? Scary but true! Here are 10 haunted houses up for sale right now:
1. Sowden House (top and bottom right)
5121 Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles, CA
Price: $3,850,000
Sq Ft: 5,600
Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright, designed this Mayan inspired mansion. While it's fairly eerie looking from the outside, the creepiest fact is about one of it's past owners. From 1945 to 1951, the house was owned by Dr. George Hodel. He was a suspect in the infamous Black Dahlia murder case. Steve Hodel, Dr. Hodel's son and a retired detective, believes that Elizabeth Short (the victim) was tortured, murdered and dissected in this very house. Fun fact, the movie The Aviator was filmed here as well as Season 6 of Project Runway.
2. America's #1 Haunted Farmhouse (top left corner)
Olean, NY
Price: $289,000
This home has a history going back to the 1850's of frightening off its past owners. According to locals and visitors, there are 12 or more not-so-friendly ghosts who are frequently seen in or around the house. Documented incidents include ghost cars that disappear into the night, a possessed teenager, a young woman who kept a diary once lived there and later committed suicide, house vibrations and a ghost who seems to take control of visitor's automobiles causing accidents and breakdowns. Some people say that the home is near a Native American massacre-site.
In her book “Echoes of a Haunting” which is about this home, Clara M. Miller also a one time resident, writes in great detail about events that happened there including weird noises, frequent ghost sightings, and a chimney that was taken apart brick-by-brick by some unseen force.
3. Lizzy Borden’s Home (bottom left corner)
306 French Street, Fall River, MA 02720
Price: $650,000
Sq Ft: 3,697
Built circa 1889, the home has 14 rooms, original parquet floors, tin ceilings and seven fireplaces. Lizzy bought this home after she was acquitted a year after her parent’s brutal murder and lived there until the day she died. Since Lizzie died in 1927 (her funeral was held there), the house has been through multiple owners and over the years ended up in the hands of Robert Dube who has tried many times to sell the estate.
4. Amsterdam Castle
49 Florida Avenue, Amsterdam, New York 12010
Price: $1,250,000
Sq Ft: 36,000
First off, with turrets, vine covered bricks, dungeons and clawfoot tubs, this bonafide castle is the perfect setting for any horror movie. Adding to this is the nearby Erie Canal where the Green Hill Cemetery is located. Glowing orbs have been caught on film there and there's always a presence of heavy fog and vapors and leaves rustling. A figure of a woman wearing a white nightgown is frequently seen walking in the cemetery late at night crying, looking for her husband’s grave.
5. Military Hospital
Galena, IL
Price: $799,000
Sq Ft: 6,300
Sitting atop this imposing 6300 sq. ft. structure is a large belvedere (a 360-degree viewing room) with sweeping views of the surrounding eleven-acre area and the Galena River. This great piece of architecture on the hospital's roof is supported by a spiraling, ornate iron staircase that emerges elegantly from the bottom of the structure. It’s rumored the ghosts of this old hospital still roam these serene grounds!
For the adventurous buyer, this building with its rock-solid foundation on top of bedrock, could be turned into a retreat, a spacious family home, or the set of the next Hollywood horror film! This structure, which has been in existence since the days of the steamboat, has three open floors and is large enough to hold a small army.
6. Blairsden (top left corner)
30 Blair Dr., Peapack Gladstone Boro, New Jersey
Price: $4,900,000
Sq Ft: 50,000
This beautiful thirty-one room mansion, when it was built in 1893, was the largest in New Jersey and was considered the height of opulence with its large Italian themed gardens, marble floors and oak interiors. In 1950 though, the house was sold to the Sisters of St. John the Baptist for $60,000, a year after Blair died because his heirs could not support the upkeep of the estate.
Local lore has it that the mother superior, who lived at the estate with twenty-five other nuns and twenty-five orphans renounced her Christian faith and began to worship the devil. Legend has it one night she became possessed and went on a murder spree killing all twenty-five of the sisters, some guests staying at the home and the children. It's a beautiful home, but I'm not sure if I'm game to stay there.
7. The Ma Barker Gangster Ghost (top right corner)
Oak Park, IL
The infamous house where gangsters Kate "Ma" Barker and her son Fred made their last stand against a barrage of FBI gunfire is now available for purchase. Both interesting and eerie at the same time, is that all the original furniture that Ma and the boys used is still in place.
This house that was once full of bullet holes (now covered, but still visible patches) is also full of country charm. Situated on the lovely Lake Weir, with over nine acres of land and loads of beach front property, you'll feel like you can bring the whole gang down to stay. History and rumor has it that Ma Barker’s ghost still haunts the homestead, so an adventurous buyer would find the asking price of $1,000,000 a steal!
8. Disney Haunted Mansion (bottom left)
3816 Turnberry Ct, Duluth, GA
Price: $873,000.00
Sq Ft: 10,008
The home was built by Mark Hurt, who is a Disney fan and contractor, and wanted something a little different than the other homes in his upscale Duluth neighborhood. He managed to get the Disney home's specification details and duplicated much of the home including the Haunted Mansion sign in the front yard. It's not actually haunted and is quite nice both inside and out with over 10,000 sq. ft., 7 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, hardwood floors, stainless-steel appliances, an in-law/nanny suite and a guest suite. There is one scary guest bathroom with flickering lights and a faucet that plays ghost tunes and even the Disney ghost Ezra's image in the mirror.
9. Buxton Inn Bed and Breakfast (bottom right)
313 E. Broadway Street, Granville, OH
Price: $3,900,000
Sq Ft: 29,439
Now celebrating its 200th anniversary the Buxton is considered one of Ohio’s best weekend getaways and also one of its most haunted spots! Recently while on one paranormal investigation at the historic Inn, a group of ghost hunters caught a rather detailed EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon, or the voice of the undead) on one of their overnight investigations. They said they believe it was the voice of the man that the inn was named after, Major Buxton.
The property has ten total buildings; five comprise the inn while the other five have additional rooms when the main inn is full. After a day of walking through the beautiful courtyard with its six gorgeous fountains and grand garden, you can sleep the night away in one of the cozy rooms in the inn while listening to disembodied footsteps walking the halls, doors opening and closing by themselves and if you’re lucky you’ll see the lady in blue.
As the property was being shown recently, the real estate agent had the potential buyers walk down the steps ahead of her. When they started down the hall, footsteps on creaking steps were coming behind them. Looking back in that direction, there was no warm body to be seen, though the stepping and creaking continued!
10. Thousand Islands Mansion
Carlton Island, Cape Vincent, New York
Price: $495,000
Sq Ft: 5,000
When it was constructed in 1895 for the president of Remington Arms and Typewriter Company, William O. Wyckoff, the Carleton Island Villa was one of the grandest structures in all of New York. Uninhabited for over 60 years, the home is in need of major restoration. The insides are almost completely gutted, aside from a few ghosts that are rumored to inhabit the home.
Do you believe in ghosts? Do you have any spooky experiences in a haunted house? Would you ever stay in one or better yet, buy one?
(images, information via toptenrealestatedeals.com)
Facebook Comments
17 Comments
Really interesting!!! | |
Wow | |
Well, I didn't believe in ghosts. Now I do. Thanks! Lol. | |
Too scary, and weird. I'm not sure who would pay all that money for a haunted house but I wouldn't want to visit one. I may take my children to see the Disney house. Who knew I use to live ten minutes away? | |
Ahh I hate anything scary, so I tried reading this while listening to Christmas music thinking it might not scare me as much that way...it didn't work...and I'm home alone in a new home :( | |
I would love to see the Sowden House. Not because I think it sounds scary...I would love to see the beautiful architecture. As for a scary house, I would want to check out the #1 Farmhouse. I think that would be interesting to walk through and hear of it's story. | |
I am not a big believer in paranormal activity. I have never had any experiences myself, but I am not entirely sure that there are no such things as ghosts. That being said, I would still probably buy a house if I really loved it, even if I knew it was "haunted". I really like the mayan-looking house at the top. | |
interesting | |
Ghost Adventures is the name of the show I was trying to tell you about. If you've never seen it you should check it out. I believe spirits can also attach themselves to objects. My son brought home some paintings from my sister in-laws haunted house last weekend and ever since then we've been hearing voices when no one else is there and no TV's are on. I thought it was just me until this afternoon when he came to me and told me he was hearing talking and foot steps too. It gave me the chills, I want those painting out of my house now!!! | |
Some of these houses look beautiful. I'm a believer in ghosts so I don't think I can last a day in any of these places. lol |