13 Historic Haunted Houses

Some fun ideas.  

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Haunted houses can provide some interesting insight into history while also satisfying Halloween lovers’ need to be scared out of their wits. The following are a handful of locations that may not be for the feint of heart.

“House of Death,” New York City: Located in the picturesque West Village neighborhood of Manhattan, the “House of Death” at 14 West 10th Street was built in the 1850s and was once the home of Mark Twain. Twain’s ghost is one of many reported sightings inside the brownstone, where paranormal investigators have reported seeing visions of a lady in white as well as a gray cat.

Winchester Mystery House, San Jose, California: This architectural wonder in San Jose was once the residence of Sarah Lockwood Pardee Winchester, an heiress to the Winchester® Repeating Arms fortune. The 24,000 square foot Winchester Mystery House is reported to be haunted by everyone who was ever killed by a Winchester® rifle. The labyrinthine home includes cut-off staircases and halls that lead to nowhere among its 160 rooms, many of which Sarah Winchester added to provide a place to stay for the many spirits she believed were haunting the house.

The Marr Residence, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada: Built in 1884, the Marr Residence is the oldest house in Saskatoon that is still standing in its original location. Visitors to this popular tourist attraction insist they have encountered ghosts during their visit. While no one knows for certain, those ghosts may be the spirits of soldiers who were wounded during the Northwest Resistance armed conflict in 1885. The Marr Residence was one of three homes in Saskatoon that served as a field hospital during that conflict.

LaLaurie Manson, New Orleans: Located on Royal Street in the heart of New Orleans’ famed French Quarter, LaLaurie Mansion was built by Marie Delphine MacCarthy Blanque LaLaurie in 1832. Madame LaLaurie was a slave owner who was rumored to be especially cruel, even refusing to provide the key to the slave quarters when area residents arrived at the property to help put out a fire in 1834. Victims of Madame LaLaurie’s cruelty are believed to haunt the property to this day, and passersby have reported hearing screams coming from the home, which is not open to the public.

Casa Loma, Toronto, Canada:  This gothic revival castle was completed in 1914. It is built with secret passageways and hidden storage areas. Legend has it that ghosts have been spotted on the property for years. The estate is transformed into a haunted house for Halloween each year.

Winchester Mystery House, San Jose, California:  When Winchester Rifles heiress Sarah Winchester lost her husband and infant daughter, a psychic medium told her it was payback by the spirits of all of the people harmed by Winchester rifles. She was told to build a house large enough to accommodate all of the angry spirits. The Winchester Mystery House has 160 rooms, secret passageways, upside-down columns, and staircases to nowhere to confuse spirits. Visitors have experienced all sorts of unexplained phenomena within the walls of the house.

Raynham Hall, Norfolk, England:  Within this English hall, a mysterious “Brown Lady,” rumored to be Lady Dorothy Walpole, supposedly roams. She was captured on film in the December 1936 edition of Country Life.

Driskill Hotel, Austin, Texas:  This historic landmark was opened in 1886 by cattle baron Jesse Driskill. It has a well-known history of paranormal activity following the deaths of guests, which include two honeymooning women who took their own lives in the same room 20 years apart.

Larnach Castle, Dunedin, New Zealand:  The lone castle in New Zealand is a beautiful building set amid misty gardens. It is rumored that the castle’s builder, a politician named William Larnach, witnessed the death of his daughter and two wives in the house before taking his own life on the property. Larnach’s ghost supposedly watches over the castle and is responsible for paranormal events.

Poveglia, Venice, Italy:  The island of Poveglia is a short ride from Venice, and used to be a quarantine zone for people suffering from the plague. The island later housed a psychiatric hospital. Many people attest to the island being a prime spot for paranormal activity.

One if by Land, Two if by Sea, New York City:  Located in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan, this restaurant once was the carriage house of Aaron Burr. The eatery supposedly is haunted by upwards of 20 ghosts, including Burr and his daughter, Theodosia.

Port Arthur, Australia:  Port Arthur is filled with reports of paranormal spectacles. The spot originally was a penal colony in the 19th century where prisoners endured mandatory church services and solitary confinement to correct poor behavior.

Rose Hall, Montego Bay, Jamaica:  Rose Hall once was the residence of plantation owner John Palmer and his English-born wife, Annie. She poisoned him to take control of the plantation and fortune. Annie was known as The White Witch by slaves on the property because she practiced voodoo and tortured workers, never mind killing her second and third husbands as well. It is said The White Witch, who is encased in a stone tomb on the property, still roams the grounds as a spirit and terrorizes guests.

Halloween celebrants who can’t wait to be scared this October 31 can make the day even more frightening by learning about the many houses across the globe that are believed to be haunted by ghosts from years past.


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About The Publisher

Jeff Corbett
As entrepreneur, author and magazine publisher with over 25 years’ experience in the global marketplace, I enjoy writing as an advocate for international business and personal freedoms. Thanks to my experiences building businesses I also have a tremendous interest in reading or writing about motivation and self-discipline.