For many tourists, a great vacation means picturesque places, natural beauty, and new experiences. The more unique the experience, the better. When you are in the USA, you have plenty of options for your vacation. For those looking for some thrills and adventure during your holiday, nothing beats real haunted houses and ghost hunting. The USA has many such properties with mysterious pasts which are open to visitors too.
For travelers looking forward to offbeat experiences, we have listed the most haunted houses in the USA and their chilling stories. Who knows? You may look at the next vacation in a different light. Let us find out about these places. Reader discretion advised!
1. Winchester Mystery House: San Jose, California
We all have heard of places where paranormal activities began after a mishap. But that is not the case with Winchester Mystery House. It got constructed as a residence for spirits.
Sarah Winchester, the widow of William Winchester, the heir of Winchester Arms, came up with this idea. When William Winchester died prematurely in 1881, Mrs. Winchester sought a spiritual medium. Sarah found out the family was cursed to be haunted by those killed by a Winchester gun. To appease the spirits, she started building a home for them.
She not only made a house but a labyrinth out of unplanned and haphazard construction that kept going on for 38 years. The Victorian manor has 10,000 windows, 2000 doors, nine kitchens, 40 staircases, 47 fireplaces, and 13 bathrooms. Many visitors report unexplainable footsteps and strange shadows.
2. House of Death, New York
Greenwich in New York features some of the best real estate in the world. It is also home to 14 West 10th Street, known as the “House of Death.” Legends say the townhouse gets haunted by 22 ghosts, including one of a 6-year-old girl and the famous author, Mark Twain.
Much of the haunted history got documented by author Jan Byrant Bartell in “Spindrift: Spray from a Psychic Sea.” It recounts her experience of living in a top-floor apartment in 1957. Today the house still has private residents. Hence, you cannot explore the interiors. But homeowners still report sighting the ghost of Mark Twain, a girl, a woman in white, and a grey cat.
3. The “Conjuring” House
The true story of this house is the basis for the 2013 movie “The Conjuring.” The storyline is about a family witnessing paranormal activity on the property, which is also said to be true in real life. Eight generations of the same family-owned this 14-room farmhouse in the U.S. They suffered and encountered several haunting activities resulting in suicide, drowning, and murder of their family member. The most notable incidents occurred with the Perron family. They moved to this house in 1971 and eventually faced many paranormal activities. Based on this, the conjuring movie got made. Ultimately, they sought the help of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.
4. The “Amityville Horror” Haunted House
The horror of Amityville starts with a gruesome incident when a young man named DeFeo Jr. shoots his parents and siblings methodically with a rifle. This incident took place on Nov 13, 1974. Whatever the reason DeFeo may claim for this heinous murder, it left a dark mark on the house.
The next owner, the Lutz family, encountered some weird paranormal activity on the property right after they moved into the house. They even called a priest to perform an exorcism. However, the priest was reportedly slapped by an invisible hand and asked to leave. If all these incidents are true, Amity Ville is one of the most haunted places in the U.S.
5. Waverly Hills Sanatorium
This building’s architecture gives the impression of a haunted house out of a movie scene. It was the first hospital built at the edge of Louisville in 1910 to treat the patients of a plague of tuberculosis.
The sanatorium witnessed many deaths over the years. There are many claims that 60000 patients died there. This figure is according to the records of the hospital. From the 1960s to the 1980s, Waverly Hills served as a geriatric hospital. There were many rumors of patients getting mistreated here, and they used treatment like electroshock therapy. Many stories of hauntings have spread over the years revolving around this sanatorium.
6. Franklin Castle: Cleveland, Ohio
This historical Victorian house is considered one of the most haunted places in the USA, and for valid reasons. The house was built in 1880 by Hannes Tiedemann, notorious for his abusive and cruel nature. Rumors started to form about the place soon after several members of the Tiedemann family died mysteriously.
Hannes’s daughter died due to diabetes soon after they started living here. After that, his mother died. Three more children in the family were to die after that. Finally, in 1895, his wife, Louise, died. Hannes left the house shortly after that.
The series of mishaps led to rumors about the haunting. The darkest rumor is about Hannes hanging his daughter and then killing the other family members. In 1975, human bones were found on the premises. However, many believe the present owners staged it.
7. The White House: Washington, DC
The home to all Presidents of the United States has some haunted history to share. The most famous paranormal incident known by all is encountering the ghost of the 16th President Abraham Lincoln, who got assassinated during his duty. The British prime minister, Winston Churchill, had multiple encounters with the Lincoln Ghost.
There are other haunting incidents as well. One story is about the ghost of the second president, John Adams’s wife, Abigail Adams. Many have seen her carrying laundry and walking through walls. Also, the third president Thomas Jeffery’s ghost is often heard playing the violin. All these incidents indicate the White House must be haunted.
8. The Villisca Axe Murders House
The house got its name from a gruesome tragedy that befell the Moore family on June 9, 1912. Someone killed the family of eight, including the children, with an ax that night. As per the coroner’s report, on the day, the killer entered the house from the back door and killed the couple. Judging by the gouges on the ceiling, the killer raised the ax high and swung it down 60 times on Josiah Moore’s head. Today the house is considered one of the most haunted houses in Ohio. Visitors claim to hear the voices of children and footsteps. Some even reported witnessing objects moving around on their own.
We hope you enjoyed this article. If you are visiting the Orlando, Florida area, please visit us here at The Escape Hatch. We have some quite scary escape rooms available, which you can book online.
