Real Haunted
Houses & the Stories behind them…
Good afternoon
my dears, Halloween is pasted but, I thought even though you might enjoy a few
Haunted House stories for today’s Post. I found about 25-different kinds. Some
are very creepy to downright scary while others are just very interesting. I
think Everybody has in their life time, been exposed to some kinda ghost story
involving a haunted house, a ghost with or with not a terrifying experience. However,
these stories aren’t like many stories that you might have heard or experienced
yourself. Putting the urban legends in as some factors, the pure fear, unknown
occurrences, pure speculation, paranormal which has been reported for years and
documented too. In the passed the Haunted house has been a far-fetched type of
thing, but now not so much…There are so many houses across the country and the
world that have been found to be haunted to a point that some won’t even go
never these haunted houses. There have been a lot thru the 3years I have been
posting…It is interesting when I have done a few of these posts on the
hauntings of homes across the world. It really doesn’t matter what type of
style, time period, ordinary famers to wealthy businessmen, the country you
live, wealth, high society families or poor. It is said that many homes that
are haunted have a common trait and that would be that someone had died within
that house. As for how haunted the house may be afterwards it really depends on
how the person or persons died. It can also happen, when a traumatic death
occurs in the house such as a murder, suicide or even the occupants inviting a
hostel entity in their home without knowing it. I found this can be the difference between a
sighting of a ghost to a very malevolent or even a violent entity within a
haunted house. Note; You will find that some of these will have longer
statements than others on the haunted homes, it doesn’t mean they are any less
important it just means that more has happened in the house…
Sturdivant
Hall – Selma Alabama-
The Sturdivant
Hall was built in 1856 in the Greek Revival Style, this beautiful antebellum
mansion was bought in 1864 by John McGee Parkman. In the years after the Civil
War, John McGee Parkman was arrested and imprisoned for cotton speculation.
While he was in prison, Parkman attempted to escape but was shot and killed in
the process. When his wife was forced to sell their house a few years after his
death, his ghost began to appear regularly throughout the house and the
grounds. And even today he is seen to this day at the Antebellum Mansion.
People often have report hearing windows and doors being opened then shut when
no one else is in the house, as well as doors that will close behind people and
lock on their own too! The apparitions of two little girls are also frequently
seen too! Though their identities remain unknown. We don’t know if Parker had
any children before he was sent to prison or if they were to young slaves that
had work in the house.
Whaley House –
San Diego California
The Whaley
House in San Diego was once a private Residence, in the mid-19th
centuries. However, it is now a museum that is dedicated to its former owners
& the history they created in that home. Part of this house was once rented
out to the County of San Diego for use as a Courtroom…which may explain the
appearance of several unidentified ghosts within the house. Apart from these
unnamed apparitions, the original owner, Thomas Whaley, his wife, one of their
children, a little girl, and a convict are repeatedly seen within the house. It
would seem the house was apparently haunted as soon as it was built, as the
spirit of a man who had been convicted and hanged on the site took up residence
in the house upon its completion – The two – story Greek Revival house was
designed by Thomas Whaley himself and construction began on May 6, 1856 and
then Completed in 1857, the cost of the house was more than $10,000. It was
made from bricks created in the Whaley’s own brickyard on Conde Street. The
house was the first of its kind in San Diego. It would seem that the Whaley
House was originally built where a graveyard once was. Thomas Whaley was of
Scots-Irish origin, born Oct 1823 in New York City – Seven child of a family of
10. After taking over his fathers, family business, he left New York for the
Gold rush arriving in San Francisco where he engaged in his business. Then soon
left for San Diego in 1851. After living there for 2years he married Anna
Eloise and they started a life together in 1857 in San Diego in the Whaley
House. I thought by telling you all a bit of the history would help understand
the haunting of the house. Thomas and Anna had six children, Francis Hinton-1854B, Anna Amelia, Thomas Whaley Jr, George-1860B,
Violet-1862B and Corinne Lillian-1864B. Sadly, it would seem their family
had terrible lost when their children were very young to even when they were
adults on their own…So I don’t know if this all had to do with the House but it
very much could have… After losing two
children in the Whaley house, the couple decided to move the family back to San
Francisco of 1859, while Thomas turned his affairs over to business partner
Frank Ames. By the summer of 1868, Thomas invested some of his new Capital of
Stock in merchandise and then headed back to San Diego. He decided to fix up
the old Whaley House for his family and then he brought his family back home to
San Diego in 1868.
The Bad luck
of the Whaley Family continues:
In 1882 Violet
Eloise Whaley and Anna Amelia Whaley married in Old San Diego. Violet Eloise
had married George T. Bertolacci – Anna Amelia had married her first cousin
John T. Whaley, son of Henry Hurst Whaley. It seems that only two weeks into
Violet Eloise marriage, traveling on their honeymoon she awoke finding her
husband gone. Later she found George Bertolacci was a con man only after her
family money. Due to the restrictive morals and societal standards of the time
period, Violet never recovered from the public humiliation and betrayal and suffered
from depression after her divorce. Corrine Lillian was engaged at the time of
her sister Violet’s death, sadly her fiancé broke of the engagement due to the
scandal it had raised.
1-Thomas
Whaley Jr. born 1856 suffered Scarlet Fever at 18months died 1858.
2-Anna Amelia
born 1858 died by fire of their wooden store.
3-Violet-22yr
Suicide by shooting herself in the chest with her Dads 32-calibre in 1885
5-Anna Amelia
Whaley died 1905 [meanwhile the Whaley house remained vacant in disrepair]
6-In late 1909
Francis Whaley undertook the restoration of the building and turned the home
into a tourist attraction.
7-Anna Whaley,
Thomas’s widow, Corinne Lillian Francis and George all lived in the old Whaley
House in 1912.
8-Anna died at
80yr 1913
9-1yr later
Francis Whaley died 1914
George Whaley
died in 1928 and last of the Whaley family died was Corinne Lillian Whaley till
her death in the house in 1953.
To this day
the house remains haunted. It is said that it guests and the staff from time to
time will catch a glimpse of the ghost of a Whaley family member who died
inside the house such as the baby Thomas Jr. Violet, Anna, Francis, George and
Corinne Lillian Whaley too. It is said to be one of the most haunted houses in
American. Shortly after the Whaley family moved in, they told the San Diego
Union that they would heard heavy footsteps in the house which they believed to
be the ghost of James “Yankee Jim’ Robinson, who had earlier been hanged on the
property. There were some visitors that reported seeing apparitions of Thomas
Whaley or Anna Whaley.
Octagon
House-Washington D.C.
It is said
that the Octagon House is another very much Haunted House in the US. Let see
why? It was completed in 1801 and is a former mansion of the most historic in
the nation. It was built for Colonel John Tayloe lll. It was also briefly the
site of the French Embassy during the War of 1812 – As Well as the Temporary
Residence of our President Madison who signed the Treaty of the Ghent in its
Central Parlor. It was also the home for
President James Madison and his wife Dolley on Sept 8, 1814, after the White
House was buried down, by the British, during the war of 1812. Today, the
Octagon house is used by the American Institute of Architects as a museum, but
it has also made quite a name for itself too. Apparently, the Octagon House is
also the center of paranormal activity too! Creepy! These go far back as the mid-19th century’s.
The central staircase is the major hotspot in the house. They say it is the
supernatural hotspot. What they mean by this is- they would often hear
footsteps there along with the saddened voice of a woman. Doors have been
locked only to suddenly be found standing wide open. Lights would turn on &
off on their own, and footsteps would be heard all the time. From the loudest
to the faintest footprints too! There have been even reports of objects that
have been seen moving on their own without human interference. I found later
that it was the Formal oval curved stairway, that had all the creepy
apparitions and a presence of another worldly force that many had either felt
or even seen. For some reason The Octagon Spiral staircase seemed to be a
portal for either ghostly apparitions or entity’s that sometimes were not very
nice is some cases. It has happened also on the second-floor landing, the
third-floor landing, the third-floor bedrooms and the garden area in the rear
of the home too! Among the eyewitnesses, who have seen these ghostly
apparitions & entities – is the curators, other employees hired by the
museum and visitors of the museum during the day. These variations ghost
stories in the Octagon House in Washington D.C. have been reported and seen for
over the last 200+years. There is also the Angled Service Stairway too!
Another
interesting thing about the Octagon House was its ancient ghost legend of the
mysterious ringing of the servants call bells. It is said that one of the
legends was linked to the African American Slaves who once lived there. You
see, when the house held bells to summon servants, the spirits of the dead
slaves would announce their presence by ringing these bells very loudly. The ghostly
bell ringing is believed to have first occurred in the mid-1800s. It was
Virginia Tayloe Lewis, a granddaughter of John Tayloe lll, who grew up in the
house and recorded this family memorate in an unpublished manuscript… It would
seem that the bells rang for a long time after Grandfather Tayloe’s death. And
after that everyone said that the house became haunted: the wires were cut and
the Bells still rang…In the dining room the servants would come upstairs to ask
if anyone had rung the bell, but no one had! There is a story by Marian
Gouverneur or actually an account that had happened, who was the wife of Samuel
Laurence Gouverneur Jr. who tells the story of General -George D. Ramsay Chief
of Ordnance for the United States Army and commander of the Washington Arsenal
in Washington D.C. and his experience of the BELLS. This is what happened at
the House of Octagon overnight told by the daughters of General George D Ramsay
– which it is said upon one occasion their father was requested by Colonel John
Tayloe… It would seem that General George D Ramsay was obliged to be absent
that night however, he said as a protection to his daughters he had to be
there. This is what happened:
While the
members of the family were at the evening meal, the bells in the house began to
ring violently. General Ramsay immediately arose from the table to investigate,
but failed to unravel the mystery. The butler, in a state of great alarm,
rushed into the dining-room and declared that it was the work of an unseen
hand. As they continued to ring, General Ramsay held the rope which controlled
the bells, but it is said they were not silenced still with being held by the
General. One gentleman, that was dining with the Colonel Tayloe, when this
mysterious ringing began, being an unbeliever in mysteries & a very
powerful man, jumped up and caught the bell wires in his hand, but only to be
lifted bodily from the floor, while he was unsuccessful in stopping the
ringing! So, declared that it was discovered, after a time, that rats were the
ghosts who rung the bells; others, that the cause was never discovered, and
that finally the family, to secure peace, were compelled to take the bells down
and hang them in a different fashion. Among other remedies, had been previously
tried that of exorcism, but the prayers, of the priest who had been summoned
availed nothing.”
The servant’s
bells are no longer in the house, and there are no more reports of their
continuing to ring to this day. This legend was established in 1874.
The White House,
Washington D.C.
The White
House, Well I bet you would never guess I would put the White house in this
list of Haunted Houses. However, a lot has happened in this National treasure
of house of our Presidents that you might think! As they say the no residence
in the country has had a history quite like that of the White House. That was
Completed in 1800, sadly burned to the ground by the British in 1812 and summarily
reconstructed
Over the last
two centuries. Of course, during those rebuilding there were many different
changes to protect the house of the president and to help insure the safety of
our nation. So really no one knows all that went into the re-built of the white
house but the people directly involved. However, through all that construction
in the year 1812 of the new White house, it was told through generations and
generations of reports of ghosts & apparitions that have come from those
living and working in the building including from such sources such as presidents
as their family members, visiting rulers and dignitaries too! The most
frequently of all the Presidents that have shown their presence is that of
President Abraham Lincoln. He has actually been seen sitting on his bed and
tying up his shoes, lying in bed with a contemplative expressive, as well as
walking down the halls. Also, Abigail Adams has also been seen too!
Villisca Ax Murder
House – Iowa 6
This one
happened to be a creepy & scary one! I was on the night of June of 1912
that a family of eight people including 6 children were murdered in this house
by an unknown assailant wielding ax. The murders, not surprisingly had caused a
national sensation. Even though there
were many suspects & many were questioned plus tried in the court of law
sadly all were acquitted later. To this day the mass murder has remained a cold
case as you say… Either from the violence of the people deaths, or by their
unresolved nature or even a little of both, this house has subsequently has
become a very active sight for the supernatural. It is said that Apparitions
have been seen often and disembodied footsteps and voices are very common
occurrences in the home. The sight and sounds of the children that were
murdered are the most widely reported with a EVPs and personal accounts
indication laughing and then crying as well as some children telling others to
hide.
The house is
nearly lost among the rolling hills and fields of southwestern Iowa in the tiny
town of Villisca where this horrific thing accrued in a house in 1912. It was a
quite peaceful place of only a few hundred people that lived in the town – when
one terrible tragic struck the town and the enduring mystery continues today. I
was a morning of June of 1912, when the horrific mass murder took place that
wiped out an entire family of ten. Murder never solved to this day ‘COLD CASE’
WHICH CASTED A SHADOWED OF CHACOS OVER THE TOWN OF VILLISCA THE LINGERS ON
TODAY! This dark cloud many not be the only thing that still lingering here in
the town.
Pirate’s House, Savannah, Georgia
Now, were in Little Savannah Georgia, one of the oldest
known cities with haunted houses. The Pirate house happened to be construed in
the years before 1753 when it was first used as a private residence. Sometimes
later in the century it became a tavern an inn, which it remained for many
decades. Today the building is used as a restaurant with the former inn space
on the second floor used for storage. During its time as the Tavern and Inn, it
was mostly frequented by mariners and others of the rough sort. It was
apparently the site of many Shanghaiing episodes where privateers would get men
very drunk or drug them so that they could secret them away through a tunnel
and to their ships, pressing their victims into service. Today many spirits
from this time period still would frequent the establishment …Apparitions are
often seen on the second floor and laughter is heard there as well. The first
floor and the basement are also very active, with chairs and place setting
being rearranged in the dining rooms and people reporting being suddenly
overcome by cold and nausea. So, that is the Pirate house.
House of the Seven Gables, Salem Massachusetts
Now, were’ in one of the most well-known historic houses
in New England -THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES…It was immortalized by Nathaniel
Hawthorne’s novel of the same name. The house was built in 1667 and over the
many years the house has evolved. What I mean by this is; it has had many
additions to the home and then later renovations that had altered the house.
There were even removed items and additions until finally being restored to its
original grandeur. The house is now a museum and the staff and its visitors
which are many often report supernatural occurrences quite often. Some of these
occurrences could be, the electrical and plumbing systems to have minds of
their own, as lights and faucets would turn on and off unaided. There were
shadows and full apparitions that people at the home which have been
encountered, including a woman believed to be a former owner and a little boy
who plays in the attic.
Lizzie Borden House, Fall River, Massachusetts
Well, my dears I have done an entire post on this House
and the famous Lizzie Borden sisters if you are curious. Sometime you’ll have
to check it out just look on my labels or just look on my search on the top of
my blog and put in Lizzie Borden… Well, as we all know undoubtedly in
Massachusetts the Lizzie Borden House is the most infamous of residence. You
all must know Why? It’s because the house was the site of the notorious ax
murders of the parents of Lizzie Borden and her older sister. Lizzie was the
main one who all believed that she alone had killed her own parents and in time
even her older sister had come to that conclusion and left her sister, to never
speak again. The thing about this case is that there was so much evidence
against Lizzie, that she was quickly charged with the crime of her parent
murders and sent to court however, even with all the evidence she was still
acquitted of all guilt. To this day everyone doesn’t really understand how she
got away with it. Also, the fact that no other person at the time was ever
charged with the murders, which makes this one of the nation’s most well-known
Cold Cases murder cases of all time. To make things even stranger, Lizzie
Borden remained in Fall River for the rest of her life, residing in a
neighborhood not far from where the murders of her parents took place. It is
believed that her desire was to remain close to her parents’ home and held the
true even in death. I have discovered a lot about the case over the years and
there are many things that were discover after her death. It is said that her
ghost has often been seen throughout the house and has been heard laughing on
the second floor near the stairs of her parents’ home. Her father and
step-mother have also been seen and heard, along with their former maid who had
been heard calling for help.
Adam Thorough Good House, Virginia Beach Virginia-
This haunted home dates back around 1720, although
previously thought to be much older that it was, this quaint brick cottage was
once the home of Adam Thorough Good, a very successful Tobacco famer and
businessman. While this story has had a rather uneventful history over the past
three centuries, Inside the house it hasn’t been quiet at all. The activity
within has been very active over the span of 3 centuries. By this I mean; Two
apparitions are commonly sighted there, one being a man and the other a woman,
both in the 18th century attire. The woman has been known to carry
candles through the house while the man is simply observed passing from room to
room, perhaps looking for something. It is said a large group of visitors even
witnessed the sudden movement of in animated objects!
Manresa
Castle, in Port Townsend Washington State-
Well, we are now in
my home state of Washington. However, Port Townsend is quite a way from Kent
Washington. This Manresa Castle was inspired by Chateaux in the French
Renaissance style. This beautiful former mansion is now a hotel and it was
completed in 1892 at the behest of Prussian born Charles Essenes. The Manresa
Castle was originally supposed to be a hotel, but his business venture fell
through so Eisenbeis turned it into his family 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
seems to be the most haunted of all! Footsteps and voices are often heard on
the third floor too! But the room 306# is the most active of ALL! It would seem
that a female apparition has been seen and felt quite often on the third floor
and in the room 306. The female apparition 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 the former chapel, as well as the dining
area are very active too! With apparitions of Eisenbeis’ wife Kate often seen
and reports of glasses have been knocked over or even shattered all over the
dining areas’.
Ann Starrett
Mansion, Port Townsend, Washington State-
We are now in Washington State again, at the
Ann Starrett Mansion which is an enduring monument to love in the Port Townsend
of Washington State. This Beautiful Queen Anne Victorian Mansion was built in
the year 1899 by George Starrett for his new wife Ann. They lived happily together
in the mansion for the rest of their lives. The house stayed in the family for
some time before finally becoming the bed and breakfast it is today. The house
exhibits a great deal of paranormal activity, some of which has been attributed
to George and Ann. However, the majority of the activity is continuously linked
to the nanny they hired to look after their only child, Edward. Both George and
Ann have been seen throughout the house, but it is the nanny who has been seen
and felt. She’s generally pleasant, but can take offense to certain people.
She’s been known to make pictures fall off the walls, pages of books turn and
create extreme cold spots within the mansion. Lights get turned off when
they’re left on in empty rooms and has been known to thump guest on the head
for offensive remarks too.
Cedar Grove Mansion
– Vicksburg Mississippi
In Mississippi, there are many Mansions that did
survive the Civil War even today. One of these is the most striking antebellum
mansions in Mississippi, Cedar Grove which has for all of its beauty, it has
seen its fair share of tragedy. Originally the Cedar Grove Mansion was the home
of John and Elizabeth Klein. It was also the site of some of the family’s
deaths too. One of John and Elizabeth Klein sons was killed on the back-porch
stairs when a gun accidentally went off – he was only 17years old. A daughter
and two young infants died at the Mansion as well, with their deaths attributed
to disease. John Klein would enjoy smoking a pipe and near his study the smell
of a pipe is often caught. As for his wife Elizabeth, she is frequently being
seen throughout the house, acting as if she’s simply carrying out her usual
daily chores. The apparition of a little girl has also been seen coming down
the main stairs and footsteps on the back-porch stairs have also been heard
too. Apart from all the activity linked to this family, many of the guest have
reported seeing Civil War soldiers throughout the house and the grounds –
hardly surprising since the house was also a hospital during the Civil War.
Morris-Jumel Mansion, New York City, New York
This is another
Mansion that was built during the Pre-Revolutionary War. It’s also a Revolutionary
War landmark of the Era. It was built in 1765 by a British Military Officer &
would later feature prominently in the Revolutionary War with George Washington.
They even use his house as a headquarters at one point during the war.
It would seem with
all this past history in the house, the spirits in the house are a little
restless themselves. There were several different, distinct ghosts that have
been sighted over the years in the mansion. Most of which seem to be from the
Revolutionary period and the early decades following the period. The former
owner Eliza Jumel has been seen in the house 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 houses ghosts.
Sauer Castle,
Kansas City Kansas-
The Sauer Castle
was built in 1871 by Anton Sauer. Anton was originally from Austria but decided
to build a beautiful Derelict Italianate home that was Anton Sauer residence
for several generations during which time it was the site of many family
traumatic tragedies. In the house 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 died in his beloved home. With so many deaths in the
home. 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 door often open and slam on their own.
People have even
reported having the feeling of being watched and having objects shake or rattle
violently on their own around them.
The Sallie House,
Atchison, Kansas
There are few haunted house in America that
have come to the level of the Sallie House in Atchison Kansas. This Haunted
house has a level of malevolency that has put this house on the Map! And as far
as even movies and books too. This is one Scary & Terrifying house…The
Sallie House was once a doctor’s house, where a little girl named Sallie had
died there during a botched appendectomy and her spirit has been there ever
since. This is when things got scary and terrifying in the Sallie House. In the
90’s a family moved in the house. This is when the spirit of the little girl,
that had died began to create mischief. It started with knocking of pictures
down, toying with electrical appliances and leaving a trail of their children’s
toys throughout the house. The level of activity escalated to a violent level
over just a few months. Originally the family that moved into the Sallie House
in the 90’s thought it was the little girl that their child had seen & in
the house as a ghost. However, they inevitably learned through a medium that it
was actually a middle-aged woman responsible for the violence. It happened to
be from all this middle-aged woman’s ghost and all of her malevolence was
directed toward the male of the owner to the house. He was being repeatedly
scratched and gouging him, leaving deep red welts and scratching deep enough to
cause bleeding and bruising all over his body. After this evil entity shoved
the male owner/father and almost sent him careening over the railing of the
stairs on the second floor, the family finally decided to move out of fear for
his life. These activities have been documented by several paranormal groups
that had tried to help the family during that time it was going on while living
in the Sallie Home.
The LaLaurie House,
New Orleans, Louisiana
This happened to be
a very sinister and scary house that had a very deep secret within its walls.
Delphine LaLaurie and her husband bought the house in the year 1831. They did
extensive and extended remodeling for this elegant New Orleans Mansion which
was in the height of luxury and refinement for its day in the year 1831…After
they finished the beautiful luxury of the New Orleans Mansion the couple had no
idea it held a far more sinister secret in its slave quarter and the attic
space above. While Madame LaLaurie seemed normal on the outside to her white,
high-society counterparts, she was the devil in disguise. Why? Because she
enjoyed the sadistic torture and murder of her slaves in private. In 1834,
there was a slave that had been chained to the stove in the kitchen. In an
attempt to either commit suicide or gain help, the slave chained to the stove
in the kitchen stared a fire in a mutilated slave were found, causing a huge
backlash of anger that culminated in a large mob descending on the mansion and
destroying it entirely. It would seem that LaLaurie had been able to escape
from the mob and fled to France where she died about a decade later. However,
the aftereffects of her malicious actions are still felt to this day in the
house. There are extreme paranormal occurrences have been routinely reported at
the mansion ever since the mid-19th century. There are Screams and
groans that are heard all the time. Apparitions of chained and mutilated slaves
are often seen, much to the horror of visitors. Some have even reported being
attacked by what appears to be the spirit of Madame LaLaurie.
Molly Brown House,
Denver Colorado
The last haunted
house is the home of the famed Titanic Survivor Molly Brown and her husband
James Joseph (J.J.) This remarkable Victorian is now a house museum dedicated
to her Life. While the museum’s collection is certainly the main feature here,
the presence of spirits tends to draw a bit of attention as well. Both Molly
and her husband have been seen in the house, with the smell of J.J’s pipe and
cigars often reported. Another apparition commonly appears in the dining room
and occasionally likes to rearrange the chairs here. The couple seems to have a
child who died young and in this particular child’s room the blinds raise and
lower on their own. Molly’s mother as well as a former servant are also
frequently glimpsed.
I hope that you enjoy the stories my dears, these were just a few of the 38 haunted homes that I found...
love you all my friends, followers and viewers too.
WENDY
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