If you’ve ever experienced a supernatural run-in with a ghost, it’s likely changed your life. That is, if you believe in that sort of thing.
And we aren’t talking ghosts like in the classic movie Ghostbusters. Sometimes houses have such a deep-rooted history of tragedy, it’s almost guaranteed to be full of ghosts and apparitions.
And here are five of the most truly haunted houses you’ll definitely want to visit this Halloween season—if you think you can handle it!
The Morris-Jumel Mansion
One of the most haunted houses of all time is located in Washington Heights in Manhattan, NY. It is the borough’s oldest home.
In 1810, French merchant, Stephen Jumel, purchased the mansion and soon got married.
After his death in 1832, his wife Eliza claimed she would often still hear his voice.
A séance was conducted in her home by para-psychologist, Hans Holzer, who said he heard Stephen accuse his wife of killing him. She apparently had removed his bandages and let him bleed to death.
Spooky, huh?
As fate would have it, Eliza went on to marry Aaron Burr, who was the Vice President of the United States at the time—and who had also killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel.
In 1964, a tour group of schoolchildren visited the mansion and claimed they heard a “cranky old woman” complaining that her “husband was very ill.”
Yikes. That’s creepy.
Baleroy Mansion
Philadelphia is known as the city of brotherly love.
But not so fast.
Sometimes nightmarish events can happen in the most wonderful places.
The Baleroy Mansion is one of those places.
A carpenter built the estate, and he also eventually murdered his wife.
In 1926, a British family known as the Easbys bought the home, and reported strange things occurring in this 32-room mansion.
They experienced everything from hallucinations to unexplained deaths. Several housekeepers would die on the premises in sudden fashion.
That sounds like a classic haunted house for sure.
The Gardette-LePrete Mansion
New Orleans is one of the most haunted towns in America. It has a creepy, supernatural history that goes way back.
One of America’s first “serial” killers, The Axeman of New Orleans, was a mysterious but famous figure. Many believed he was the devil incarnate when the city’s jazz scene exploded during World War I.
But the Gardette-LePrete Mansion at 716 Dauphine Street, right near Bourbon St., is one of the most haunted places in New Orleans.
A slaughter-fest occurred here.
A passerby heard a strange noise coming from the mansion and came upon the bodies of dozens of young men and women in the courtyard. Their bodies had been hacked to pieces.
Neighbors say they still hear voices coming from the house to this day.
Franklin Castle
Franklin Boulevard is one of the most prestigious streets in Cleveland, Ohio.
This four-story “castle” is considered one of the most haunted houses in the rust belt state.
Officially, it’s known as the Tiedemann House and has a long history of brutal murders and ghosts to petrify its guests.
The legend goes that a banker named Hannes Tiedemann built the mansion in 1881. Over the course of the next ten years, four of his children died. And his mother.
Although never proven, it’s rumored that Hannes Tiedemann added secret passages to keep his sexual deviances and murder victims hidden.
One urban legend claims that he killed a servant girl on her wedding day for refusing his sexual advances.
After his death, the house was abandoned and sold several times due to paranormal activity.
And then there was the time the Northeast Ohio Psychical Research Group performed an investigation and one member ran screaming from the premises.
That should tell you all you need to know about how haunted Franklin Castle truly is.
The Whaley House
The Whaley House is widely branded as the most haunted home in all of America!
Located in San Diego, California, it has garnered the prestigious honor by Time Magazine and The Travel Channel’s America’s Most Haunted.
This Grecian inspired, two-story brick home was built in the mid-19th century and is now a public museum.
And apparently it’s swarming with paranormal activity.
In 1852, a man known as “Yankee Jim” was convicted of attempted larceny and hanged in the back of a wagon where the house sits.
But even after witnessing the execution, it didn’t stop Thomas Whaley from buying the home.
Whaley’s infant son and young daughter both died in the home soon after.
Now you probably understand why it’s a breeding ground for scares.
Real life haunted houses can be quite thrilling to visit, don’t you think?
It would be like touring The Overlook Hotel from The Shining.
Except these places are real. Very, very real.
(h/t Proud American Traveler)