We all have stories about haunted houses. My Great Grandmother lived in one. I grew up hearing stories from my mother about it. She told me once she had climbed out onto the roof to read when the window shut and locked behind her. I also heard stories about the lights turning on and off in that  same room and the sound of someone climbing up the stairs and opening and closing the door to that same room . The room my mother slept in when visiting her grandmother. I remember feeling a creepy sensation when I visited the old home but I can’t be sure if it was a ghost or the ghost stories.

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1.   Bacon’s Castle, or  the "Arthur Allen House". -  Built in 1665 this Virginia home in Surry County is the oldest documented brick dwelling in the United States. Occupied by rebels during the Civil War it is said that over 300 slaves were brutalized and tormented by the rebel soldiers. It has been documented that disembodied voices, spectral fireballs and floating heads of these battered slaves still haunt the grounds. 

 

2.   The Villisca House, or “ The Ax Murder House:. -  In Villisca Iowa back in 1912 8 people including six young children were brutally murdered in this home. A bloody ax, half eaten food and smoked cigarettes were all left as evidence but no murderer was ever brought to justice. Visitors claim to hear voices and have photographed orbs. All who enter claim to feel the presence of spirits in unrest. 

 

3.  The Whaley House. - Built in 1855 on San Diego, California’s most famous, public execution sites, this home was destined for a good haunting. While living in the home the Whaley’s claimed to have experienced several mysterious events. Eventually six members of the Whaley family died in the home and many claim to see and hear ghosts and to smell the French perfume that Anna Whaley was known to wear. 

 

4.   The Winchester Mansion. -  Sara Winchester, the widow of William Wirt Winchester of Winchester rifles began the construction of this home in 1884. Sara, a true believer in the afterlife had sought out the expertise of a medium in order to channel her husband's spirit. The The medium, under the command of a spirit told her to move west and construct a home for herself and the ghost’s of all the victims that fell prey to the Winchester rifle. Sara moved to San Jose, California and began building round the clock until her death on September 5, 1922.  All who have entered witness her relentless pursuit to appease the spirits. Rooms with no doors, stairways leading to nowhere and hallways with no apparent purpose. Some say you can still hear the builders working late into the night.

 

5.   Amityville Horror House. - In 1974, 23 year old, Ronald J. DeFeo Jr., murdered his entire family including his parents and four siblings while they slept. The mass murder took place in the small, charming town of Amityville, New York. Ronald, who is still alive today claims that voices told him to kill his family. Thirteen months after the murders, the Lutz family purchased the home for a bargain but after hearing strange noises, feeling cold chills and smelling odd aromas called a priest to bless the home. The priest claims to have heard an ominous voice telling him to “Get out.”  Mr. Lutz, after being awakened at 3:15am every morning ( the same time the murders took place ) and seeing green ooze spill from the keyholes, moved his family from the home after having lived there for only 28 days.

 

6.   The Lalaurie House .- New Orleans, Louisiana 1831. An affluent socialite, Madame Lalaurie and her third husband Dr. Lois Lalaurie purchase a beautiful three story home on Royal Street. The wealthy slave owner was said to have tortured and mistreated her slaves. Many suspected Lalaurie of this behavior but it was finally confirmed one day when she was seen chasing the child of a slave through the courtyard and into the house. Moments later the child fell to his death. She was fined and forced to sell her slaves but sympathetic relatives sold them back to her. Eventually, it is reported that one of her own slaves set fire to the home. Seven severely starved  and battered slaves were pulled from the home and two bodies were found buried on the premises. Visitors of the site claim to hear voices and feel the spirits of the tormented and abused slaves.

 

7.   Rose Hall. - Annie Palmer and her husband moved into a large sugar cane plantation in Jamaica, built in 1770. Palmer having grown up in Haiti learned voodoo from her nanny. A skill that earned her the name “The White Witch”. Annie was said to be an insatiable sex addict. When her husband could no longer satisfy her she poisoned him along with two other suitors. She took to sleeping with her slaves and rather than letting rumors spread of her nightly escapades she killed them too or forced another slave to do it for her. If a man chose not to sleep with her or a slave tried to escape her wrath she would banish them to a 16 foot ditch she had dug and let them rot. Her reign ended when she was strangled to death by the grandfather of a housekeeper who had lost her own life due to a hex Palmer had placed on her for catching the eye of one of her lovers. It is said that visitors hear doors slamming and men screaming.