1. Manresa Castle, Port Townsend, Washington State
Inspired by chateaux in the
French Renaissance style, this beautiful former mansion – now a hotel – was
completed in 1892 at the behest of Prussian born Charles Eisenbeis. It
was originally supposed to be a hotel, but this business venture fell through
so Eisenbeis turned it into his family’s home. It remained empty for a
couple of decades after his death and eventually became a Jesuit school, before
finally achieving its original purpose as a hotel. While throughout the
building there are instances of electrical devices switching on and off,
and doors opening and closing on their own, it seems to be the third floor that’s the most haunted. Footsteps and voices are often heard on this floor, but room 306 is the most active. A female apparition has been seen and felt quite often here. She especially likes to go through guests’ belongings and usually moves things around; she’s often heard singing in the bathroom as well. The dining room and former chapel, also a dining area now, are also active, with apparitions of Eisenbeis’ wife Kate often seen, and reports of glasses being knocked over or shattering much talked about.
and doors opening and closing on their own, it seems to be the third floor that’s the most haunted. Footsteps and voices are often heard on this floor, but room 306 is the most active. A female apparition has been seen and felt quite often here. She especially likes to go through guests’ belongings and usually moves things around; she’s often heard singing in the bathroom as well. The dining room and former chapel, also a dining area now, are also active, with apparitions of Eisenbeis’ wife Kate often seen, and reports of glasses being knocked over or shattering much talked about.
2. Morris-Jumel Mansion, New York City, New York
A pre-Revolutionary War
landmark, this 1765 house was built by a British military officer and would
later feature prominently in the Revolutionary War, with George Washington even
using the house as his headquarters at one point. It seems that with all
of this past activity, spirits in the house are a little restless
themselves. Several different, distinct ghosts have been sighted here
over the years, most of which seem to be from the Revolutionary period and the
early decades following it. Former owner Eliza Jumel has been seen here,
and the presence of both of her husbands – one of which was former Vice
President Burr – have been reported. Ghosts here have a bit of a history
with startling visitors. One visitor fainted upon seeing a Revolutionary
War soldier step out of a painting, and another suffered a heart attack upon
seeing one of the house’s ghosts
3. Sauer Castle, Kansas City Kansas
Built in 1871 by Anton Sauer, originally from Austria, this beautiful but now derelict Italianate home was a Sauer residence for several generations, during which time it was the site of many of the family’s traumatic tragedies. Two people have committed suicide in this house, while a third, a little girl, drowned in the pool on the property. The original owner, Anton, also passed away in this house. With so many deaths, most of which were not peaceful, the house has become a hotbed for the supernatural. Various disembodied voices have been heard, either laughing, shouting, or crying, while doors often open and slam on their own. People have reported feeling watched and that objects have had a tendency to shake or rattle violently on their own.
4. Loudoun House, Lexington, Kentucky
Looking more like something you might see in rural England rather as opposed to Kentucky, this impressive Gothic Revival mansion was built in the mid-19th Century for a local lawyer. The house remained a private residence until the 1920s when it was sold to the City of Lexington, which now uses it to house the Lexington Art League. Two different female apparitions in Victorian dress have been seen in two different locations within the mansion, while the spirit of a black cat has been repeatedly seen all throughout the building. Voices and soft music have often been heard and one of the upstairs bedrooms repeatedly exhibits the smell of 19th Century perfume.
5. Ashton Villa, Galveston, Texas
Completed in 1859, this beautiful mansion, with its ornate cast iron piazzas and Italianate architecture, has the distinction of being one of the earliest brick structures in the state. The mansion was the home of Colonel James Moreau Brown and his family and remained in the Brown family until the late 1920s; today the house is now a museum. While it was the Colonel who built the house, it seems to be his daughter Bettie that has stuck around over the years. She has been seen numerous times by staff and visitors, often in formal attire, with one caretaker even witnessing a ghostly argument between her and an unknown gentleman. Items in certain rooms have been seen to move on their own, such as furniture, and clocks stop for unknown reasons.
6. Villisca Ax Murder House, Villisca, Iowa
On the night of June 9, 1912, eight people, including six children, were murdered in this house by an unknown assailant wielding an ax. The murders, not surprisingly, caused a national sensation, and while many suspects were questioned and even tried – later acquitted – this mass murder remains unsolved to this day. Either from the violence of their deaths, or their unresolved nature (maybe a little of both), this house has subsequently become a very active sight for the supernatural. Apparitions have often been seen, and disembodied footsteps and voices are common occurrences. The sight and sounds of the children are the most widely reported, with EVPs and personal accounts indicating laughing and then crying, as well as some children telling others to hide.
7. The Sallie House, Atchison, Kansas
doctor’s house, a little girl named Sallie died here during a botched appendectomy and her spirit has been here ever since. When a family moved in during the ‘90s, this little girl began to create mischief, knocking pictures down, toying with electrical appliances, and leaving a trail of their child’s toys throughout the house. This activity eventually escalated to a violent level, but while they originally thought it was the little girl that their child had seen, they inevitably learned through a medium that it was actually a middle aged woman responsible for the violence. All of her malevolence was directed towards the male owner of the house, repeatedly scratching and gouging him, leaving deep red welts and scratching deep enough to cause bleeding and bruising. After this entity shoved him and almost sent him careening over the railing of the stairs on the second floor, the family finally moved out of fear for his life. These activities have been documented by several paranormal groups.
8. Woodruff Fontaine House, Memphis, Tennessee
Completed in 1871, this house was built for Amos Woodruff, a local businessman. His daughter Mollie was married in the house and lived here her whole life…and beyond. Mollie’s spirit has been seen repeatedly throughout the house, now a museum, and has even interacted with employees. On one occasion, Mollie appeared to a couple of employees in order to explain that she would like the furniture rearranged according to how she’d always placed it in the house. Impressions are often left on her bed as if someone were sitting there. While Mollie’s spirit is certainly kindly, there is a more hostile male entity who frequents the first and third floor, leaving the second to Mollie. This particular entity greets many people with an overwhelming sense of hostility, and one woman even had her necklace ripped off of her.
9. The
Tower of London
Running almost neck and – er –
neck is this famous foreboding abode, the former prison of some of England's
most notorious figures, many of whom where hung or beheaded within. One of the
most notable is Anne Boleyn, wife of King Henry VIII, who lost his head when
she was unable to produce a male heir. Subsequently, it was she that lost her
head, and her headless apparition can still be seen within the so-called Bloody
Tower. One area, known as the Salt Tower, is so spooky that dogs refuse to
enter. In 1864, a soldier who passed out from fright after doing battle with a
ghostly apparition was acquitted for neglecting his duty when two other
soldiers corroborated his story.
10. The
Schooner Hotel, UK
Jolly Old England is host to
one of the oldest and most haunted hotels in the world. King George III, as
well as Charles Dickens, had stayed here over the course of its history, and it
is still open for overnight guests today. But would you stay? The British
Poltergeist Society has proclaimed it The Most Haunted Hotel in Great Britain.
And there have been over 3,000 sightings in the past few years. If you do
decide to stay there, you might want to avoid rooms 17 and 28, as grisly
murders and ghostly apparitions seem to be as commonplace there as afternoon
tea
0 comments:
Post a Comment