The Scariest Haunted Houses in America

So, you say you don't scare easily, huh? That you're big and brave enough to stomach the most intense Hollywood horror movies, the wildest roller coasters, and any number of other frights that shake lesser people to their core? Well, what about visiting some of the country's most famous and infamous haunted houses? How do you think you would hold up there?

We aren't talking about the fake haunted houses either, like the kind that pop up every October, just in time for Halloween. No, we're discussing the homes that hosted some of the most gruesome real life (or at least rumored and legendary) murders imaginable. The kinds of places with dark basements where innocent children met horrible ends, or even the backwoods houses where multi-headed incubi are said to have committed unspeakable atrocities against entire families.

OK, so that last example may be a bit much from a credibility standpoint, but you get the picture: The U.S. is littered with places where really messed up shit went down, and where the echoes of those messed up things can still be heard today. You may have heard of some of these, like the Lizzie Borden House in Massachusetts or the house that served as the basis for The Amityville Horror. And I hope you've heard of the White House, but did you know that is also rumored to be haunted?

Beyond the recognizable, there are plenty of other homes and buildings from coast to coast where the undead are alleged to roam, that may be able to claim the title of the country's scariest haunted house, in towns like Salem, MA and New Orleans—places that have long been associated with the occult—and seemingly quaint and picturesque cities—like San Francisco and West Palm Beach—that may be hiding a dark, mysterious underbelly.

Still not scared? Well, go ahead and check out our collection of the scariest haunted houses in America. Just don't tell your rommates it's our fault that you want to sleep with the lights on tonight.

Pittock Mansion

50. Pittock Mansion

Address: 3229 NW Pittock Dr.

City: Portland, Ore.

Website: pittockmansion.org

A 22-room French chateau in the hills overlooking downtown Portland built in 1922, the Pittock Mansion was the site of only two deaths (original residents Georgiana [1918; age 72] and Henry Pittock [1919; age 84]) and one political scandal (Pittock was able to get a water line installed to the mansion at the city's expense, despite the property being outside city limits), but since being opened to the public in 1965, it's been host to a number of ghost sightings, including floating old ladies, boots walking without legs, portraits moving of their own accord, windows opening and shutting themselves, and, perhaps most improbably, a tree with a face in it. The Mansion was also where the 1982 slasher film Unhinged and Madonna's 1993 answer-to-Sharon-Stone's-Basic-Instinct clunker Body of Evidence were filmed.

Farnsworth House

49. Farnsworth House

Address: 401 Baltimore St.

City: Gettysburg, Pa.

Website: hauntedhouses.com

This fully operational bed and breakfast has plenty of horror stories of its own—but just in case, the establishment's current owners have trucked in plenty more to help scare the bejesus out of the paying tenants.

Built in 1810, the house was taken over by Confederate soldiers during the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. The Rebs shot and killed one Jennie Wade, age 20, who became the only civilian casualty of the nearly 8,000 dead during the three-day battle. The Farnsworth House Inn now houses a replica Victorian funeral parlor in its basement, as well as a Lincoln Room (adults only) that features a replica of the chair Lincoln was sitting in when he was assassinated and newspaper clippings of his funeral procession. Oh, and there's also a Custer Room for those who feel like they need to make a last stand.

Myrtles Plantation

48. Myrtles Plantation

Address: 7747 U.S. Hwy 61

City: St. Francisville, La.

Website: myrtlesplantation.com

Plantations start out as pretty comprehensively fucked up places to begin with (that whole forced human bondage thing), but the Myrtles Plantation takes fucked up to a whole other level. Originally built in 1796 (allegedly on an Indian burial site), the property was significantly renovated in the 1850s by a family with nine children (five of whom died before reaching adulthood). A later owner (whose own child died from typhoid fever) was murdered on the porch, and, to top it all off, there's the Legend of Chloe, the possibly apocryphal story of a slave who was forced to become her owner's mistress, had her ear cut off for spying on him, and baked a poisoned cake for said asshole—only to have it eaten by the master's wife and two children, who died. Whereupon Chloe was either hanged or tossed in the Mississippi River.

Houghton Mansion

47. Houghton Mansion

Address: 172 Church St.

City: North Adams, Mass.

Website: houghton-mansion.tripod.com

Now a Masonic Temple (which, let's be honest, makes it pretty haunted from the jump), the Houghton Mansion was home to North Adams' first mayor, A.C Houghton. According to legend, Houghton, his daughter Mary, and Mary's friend were being driven to Vermont by the family's chauffeur, John Widders, when the car went off an embankment, killing Mary and her friend. The next day, Widders was found dead on the Mansion grounds with a self-inflicted gunshot wound (he and Mary are alleged to have been in love), and Houghton himself died nine days later. The two Houghtons and the chauffeur are said to haunt the house to this day (presumably Mary's friend haunts her own damn house). Dead, dead, all dead.

Rispin Mansion

46. Rispin Mansion

Address: 2000-2005 Wharf Rd.

City: Capitola, Calif.

Website: vaughns-1-pagers.com

This Prohibition-era dwelling was originally built as a show property by Henry Rispin, a wealthy real estate investor who was hoping to drum up interest in nearby resort holdings. It fell into disrepair during the Depression (as did Rispin, who was eventually buried in a pauper's grave in nearby San Francisco) and was converted into a convent before becoming the home to squatters in the '60s (many of whom were reported to scare off new "visitors" by acting as ghosts). It was the site of an extensive fire just last summer, and studies are underway to see if the structure is salvageable. We reckon its soul is not.

Croke Patterson Mansion

45. Croke Patterson Mansion

Address: 420-428 East 11th Ave.

City: Denver, Co.

Website: n/a

According to legend, Thomas B. Croke built the house in 1892, entered it once, and was so scared he sold the place two years later. Throughout the 20th century, it changed hands frequently. While being converted to office space in the 1970s, workmen reported having their previous day's work undone; they left two Doberman Pinschers to guard the place, only to find the dogs dead the next day after either jumping or being thrown from a third-story window. Workers subsequently reported growling (of course) and typewriters working of their own accord. A seance held in the house to explain the phenomenon revealed that a young girl had been entombed in the basement. Excavators found a secret passage and room that was mysteriously filled with sea sand—but no body was found.

Joshua Ward House

44. Joshua Ward House

Address: 148 Washington St.

City: Salem, Mass.

Website: n/a

Joshua Ward was a wealthy shipping captain, but the man who occupied the house that occupied the land that the Joshua Ward House currently occupies was Sheriff George Corwin, one of the ringleaders of the Salem Witch Trials. It was Corwin who attempted to get Giles Corey to admit to a role in the witchery by crushing him with large stones. Corey refused and, as happens to people when they have a bunch of large stones placed on them, he died. Corwin died five years later and was buried in the basement (i.e. what would become the foundation of the Ward House). Corwin was eventually moved to Broad Street Cemetery, but both his and Corey's ghosts are said to inhabit the Ward House. Word to Arthur Miller.

Berkeley Castle

43. Berkeley Castle

Address: Highway 9W

City: Berkeley Springs, W.Va.

Website: n/a

This 20-room castle overlooking the town of Berkeley Springs was built in 1885 by railroad magnate Samuel Taylor Suit as a gift to his young bride, a local resident, named Rosa. Sam kicked the bucket in 1888, and Rosa repaid her husband's largesse by partying her way through his money (entertaining Ulysses Grant and Rutherford Hayes, among others), before having to sell the estate in 1913. Rosa's ghost is said to still inhabit the property though, and the replica of the Berkeley Castle in England was most recently bought in 2005 by a group of paranormal investigators intent on monitoring the ghostly goings on.

Summerwind/Lamont Mansion

42. Summerwind/Lamont Mansion

Address: Highway B and Helen Creek Rd.

City: Vilas County, Wisc.

Website: summerwindmansion.com

Built in the early 20th century as a fishing lodge, Summerwind was first visited by paranormal activity in the 1930s when U.S. Commerce Secretary Robert Lamont was said to have tried to shoot a ghost with a pistol. In the '70s, Arnold and Ginger Hinshaw moved in with their four children. After workers refused to stay on the job, the Hinshaws attempted to renovate the house themselves. Within six months of taking residence, Mr. Hinshaw had a mental breakdown and Mrs. Hinshaw attempted suicide. In 1988, the long-abandoned mansion was struck repeatedly by lightning and nearly burned to the ground.

Walker House

41. Walker House

Address: 1 Water St.

City: Mineral Point, Wisc.

Website: n/a

An imposing inn originally built in 1836, the Walker House has been the site of numerous paranormal claims since the 1960s, including disembodied voices and the personage of one William Cafe, a local man sentenced to death for murder. According to legend, Cafe was conveyed to his own hanging (held in front of the Walker House) in a wagon, sitting on his own coffin. He then may (or may not) have been accidentally decapitated during his hanging.

Barclay House / McLoughlin House

40. Barclay House/McLoughlin House

Address: 719 & 713 Center St.

City: Oregon City, Ore.

Website: mcloughlinhouse.org

Dr. John McLoughlin stood 6'5" tall; he was one of the most important settlers of Oregon County, in addition to being a sizable man. in the 1970s, his and his wife's graves were moved and a tall ghostly apparition started to appear on the property (which was named a National Historic Site in 1941). Over the years, the house has been used as a hotel, a boarding house for Chinese immigrants, and a brothel before being abandoned to vagrants. There's a ghost for each of these periods. We're heading to the prostitute haunted room. If we're going to die by the supernatural, at least give us the opportunity to get some spectral rocks off.

Morris-Jumel Mansion

39. Morris-Jumel Mansion

Address: 65 Jumel Terrace

City: New York

Website: morrisjumel.org

Once headquarters to General George Washington, the Morris-Jumel Mansion is the oldest house in Manhattan. It was the home to Stephen and Eliza Jumel (allegedly a former prostitute) in the early 1800s; after Stephen's death, Eliza married former Vice President Aaron Burr. During a seance, Stephen Jumel allegedly revealed that he was a very angry ghost and that his wife had killed him by pulling off his bandages and letting him bleed to death. All three members of this tryst are said to frequently show themselves to guests and visiting schoolchildren.

Dakota Co-op

38. Dakota Co-op

Address: 1 West 72nd St.

City: New York

Website: n/a

Most famous as the glowering apartment building where John Lennon lived and was murdered in front, the Dakota also gets haunted points for at one point being the home of Boris Karloff (Frankenstein) and Judy Garland (Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and noted alcoholic/basket case).

Billop House (aka Conference House)

37. Billop House (aka Conference House)

Address: 7455 Hylan Blvd.

City: Staten Island, N.Y.

Website: n/a

Originally built by Christopher Billopp (two "p"s) in the 17th century on a Lenape Indian burial ground, the house became the property of his great-grandson Christopher Billop (one "p") in the 18th century. A vehement loyalist during the Revolutionary War, Billop (one "p") was also noted for his temper and for killing a servant girl he thought was an American spy by throwing her down a set of stairs in the house. After the war, the house was confiscated by the State of New York and is said to still be haunted by Billop, the loyalists he housed, and the servant he killed.

Redd Foxx House

36. Redd Foxx's House

Address: 5460 Eastern Ave.

City: Las Vegas

Website: n/a

In 1989, the IRS took possession of the famous black comedian's house for back taxes (the second time that fate would befall a Foxx abode). Not surprisingly, Foxx would never forgive them (they also took seven cars, $12,000 in cash, and 12 guns). Foxx died of a massive heart attack two years later, but subsequent inhabitants of his house have apparently suffered (metaphorical) palpitations as well, what with their sliding glass door (both the original and replacement) opening and closing of its own accord. A psychic was hired to mediate and relay Foxx's wishes, and now classic Foxx recordings are played nightly and the haunting has ceased.

Bliss mansion

35. Bliss Mansion

Address: 710 West Robinson St.

City: Carson City, Nev.

Website: n/a

In the 1870s, lumber millionaire Duane Bliss had a dream house in mind, bought some land to build it on, and had a cemetery moved, along with the all the bodies (WHEN WILL PEOPLE LEARN?). Amazingly, Duane Bliss himself did not suffer the wrath of those displaced corpses; the house thrived in the Bliss family until the beginning of this century. However, both Bliss and those aforementioned displaced bodies are said to haunt the house's current bed and breakfast incarnation. Where is Craig T. Nelson when you need him?

Latta Plantation

34. Latta Plantation

Address: 5225 Sample Rd.

City: Huntersville, N.C.

Website: lattaplantation.org

Another haunted plantation, the Latta residence is said to be occupied by ghost children who play in the attic, doors that slam by themselves in the main house, and a clutch of cabins on the property that are all said to be inhabited by various and sundry shadowy figures. The plantation's second owner was James Latta, who at one point owned 34 slaves. We'd like to put it on record that we're glad he's dead; we'd also just like to point out that the person who wrote the slight understatement on the Historic Latta Plantation website ("These Latta slaves contributed greatly to the success of the plantation") should probably have the shit scared out of him or her. Literally.

Lemp Mansion

33. Lemp Mansion

Address: 3322 Demenil Pl.

City: St. Louis

Website: lempmansion.com

A home built with proceeds from the Lemp family's 19th century beer empire, this house was the site of four family suicides in a 50-year span (the last Lemp shot his dog, too). The last Lemp died at the age of 90 but was so scarred by his family history that he had his caretaker burn all family heirlooms. The house is now said to be haunted by multiple members of the family (we hope the dog gets in on the action, too).

LaLaurie Mansion

32. LaLaurie Mansion

Address: 1140 Royal St.

City: New Orleans

Website:

The French Quarter home of Dr. Louis and Delphine LaLaurie, the LaLaurie Mansion was the site of some of the most gruesome torture seen in America. The LaLauries were notoriously cruel slave owners—one story has Delphine chasing a child slave to her death off the mansion's roof. After a fire swept through the property in 1834, a torture chamber was found in the attic with more than a dozen bodies, many of which evidenced signs of human experimentation. A mob chased the original LaLauries off the property soon thereafter; the building is now a series of luxury condominiums said to be haunted by both Delphine and her victims.

Hannah House

31. Hannah House

Address: 3801 Madison Ave.

City: Indianapolis

Website: thehannahmansion.org

Built by Indianapolis civic leader Alexander Hannah in 1858, the Hannah House was a secret waystation in the Underground Railroad, and the site of tragedy when a group of slaves hiding out in the property's basement died in a fire started by a knocked-over oil lamp. Their remains were buried on the spot to conceal them, and visitors have claimed to see ghosts of the deceased.

Barton Mansion

30. Barton Mansion

Address: 20 Nevada St.

City: Redlands, Calif.

Website: n/a

Built in the 1800s over an Indian burial ground, the Barton Mansion went on to achieve the haunted house trifecta, being the site of both an insane asylum and a jail. It's now been renovated into industrial office space. Hopefully the previously reported "yeti-like monster wearing a robe and carrying a lantern," was removed as part of said renovations. If not, you know, don't die around the water cooler or anything.

Thornewood Castle

29. Thornewood Castle

Address: 8601 North Thorne Ln. SW

City: Tacoma, Wash.

Website: hauntedculbertson.org

Finished in 1911 after four years of construction, Thornewood was the lakeside dream home of Chester Thorne, a Tacoma banker who was one of the founders of the Port of Tacoma. At some point, the grandchild of a former owner drowned in American Lake, and now guests have seen the apparition of a young child standing by the lake. In slightly less spooky sightings, ol' Chester himself is said to go around unscrewing lightbulbs. Oh, Chester, you old joker!

Crenshaw House, Hickory Hill, The Old Slave House

28. Crenshaw House, Hickory Hill, The Old Slave House

Address: 4301 Crenshaw Ln.

City: Junction, Ill.

Website: n/a

The home of John Crenshaw served as a "station" on the reverse Underground Railroad, where Crenshaw was responsible for the kidnapping and illegal trafficking in freed or escaped slaves to work the salt mines. The third floor attic was constructed with tiny cells to house the slaves; moans, chains dragging along the floor, and the singing of spirituals are still said to be heard onsite. In an act of reprisal, Crenshaw lost his leg after being attacked with an axe by one of his "slaves."

Stranahan House

27. Stranahan House

Address: 335 SE 6th Ave.

City: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Website: stranahanhouse.org

Located on former Seminole Indian lands, the Stranahan House was built as a trading outpost in 1902. In 1927, Frank Stranahan committed suicide, allegedly by strapping a large iron gate to his ankle and jumping in the nearby Intercoastal Waterway. His wife, Ivy, remained at the house until she died in 1971, and both of their spirits are said to remain on the premises, now in the shadow of downtown Ft. Lauderdale. Your spring break just got a lot shittier.

Old Stone House

26. Old Stone House

Address: 3051 M Street NW

City: Washington, D.C.

Website: nps.gov

Said to be haunted by no fewer than 11 ghosts, the Old Stone House is the oldest standing building in Washington D.C., dating back to 1765. It was used as a bordello in the 1930s, and apparently one of the ghosts (he calls himself George) picked up some bad habits, as he's known for groping and shoving any females he comes across. Were there no bouncers back then to break his fingers and arms?

Whaley 'the gallows' House

25. Whaley "The Gallows" House

Address: 2476 San Diego Ave.

City: San Diego

Website: whaleyhouse.org

Built in 1857, the Whaley House is one of only two structures to be designated a "Haunted House" by the United States Chamber of Commerce. The property served as a gallows site before Thomas Whaley built his family home there (the first ghost is said to be hanging victim James "Yankee Jim" Robinson), and four members of Whaley's family died on the premises as well. All are said to haunt the property. Gov't approved ghosts.

Atherton House

24. Atherton House

Address: 1990 California St.

City: San Francisco

Website: noehill.com

George Atherton was a submissive young man living with his domineering mother and wife in San Francisco in the early 20th century. He decided to sail to Chile to get away from the hags in his life, only to develop a kidney condition and die. He's said to haunt his former home—along with the ghosts of the more than 50 cats who lived there with their mistress, Carrie Rousseu.

Magnolia Mansion

23. Magnolia Mansion

Address: 2127 Prytania St.

City: New Orleans

Website: magnoliamansion.com

Completed by Alexander Harris in 1858, the Magnolia Mansion was the home of hunky dory happenings—until 1869, when Alex and his brother Aaron died within a 24-hour period, both apparently of yellow fever. The house then passed through three other owners (including the American Red Cross) until it was bought in 2001 by Hollie Diann Vest, who's reported various hauntings, including oily substances dripping down the walls and 300-pound doors slamming shut by themselves. It's now a functioning bed and breakfast whose guests also report frequent paranormal activity. You're just just trying to smash on your NOLA honeymoon and the ghosts are throwing off your sex game by sliming lube down the walls. Or maybe they just want to help?

Riddle House

22. Riddle House

Address: 9067 Southern Blvd.

City: West Palm Beach, Fla.

Website: n/a

Built as a funeral parlor, Riddle House's original foundations were across from nearby Woodland Cemetery and may or may not have served as a waystation for grave robbers. After the structure was moved and became the home of Karl Riddle, it was said to have been the scene of a suicide by a disgruntled employee of the owner. Said employee reportedly still "visits" the property. Reportedly, he's not "happy."

Whispers Estate

21. Whispers Estate

Address: 714 West Warren Street

City: Mitchell, Ind.

Website: whispersestate.net

In 1899, Dr. John and Jessie Gibbons purchased this home as a place to live and adopt unwanted/abandoned children. One of those, a 10-year-old girl named Rachael, set a fire in the front parlor and was killed. A 10-month-old infant died in the master bedroom, as did Jessie Gibbons from a bout with pneumonia. The house is said to be visited by members of the Gibbons family (as well as patients Gibbons treated over the years), and in 2006, psychics detected a "pit-grave" in the backyard containing amputated limbs, internal organs, and aborted fetuses.

Hull House

20. Hull House

Address: 1030 West Van Buren St.

City: Chicago

Website: hullhouse.org

Built by real estate magnate Charles Hull in the 1850s, Hull House became a home for the poor and indigent in the late 19th century. It's said to be haunted by Hull's late wife, as well as a baby who was brought to the house for treatment after it was born with pointed ears, horns, scales, and a tail (the kid's father is alleged to have said he'd rather house a devil than an image of the Virgin Mary; he then got his wish, apparently). After a baptism was unsuccessful in "curing" the child, it was reportedly locked in the attic and haunts the property to this day.

Winchester House

19. Winchester House

Address: 525 South Winchester Blvd.

City: San Jose, Calif.

Website: winchestermysteryhouse.com

Sarah Winchester (the widow of Winchester rifle manufacturer William Winchester) commenced work on her home in 1884... and work went on around the clock for the next 38 years. Sarah was under the impression that the ghosts of people killed by her husband's guns were following her and could only be appeased by continuous construction on her house—the result makes M.C. Escher look like a realist. Sarah died in 1922 and construction finally stopped, but the hammering has not (not surprisingly, visitors still report paranormal activity).

Disneyland's Haunted Mansion

18. Disneyland's Haunted Mansion

Address: 1313 South Disneyland Dr.

City: Anaheim, Calif.

Website: disneland.disney.go.com

In a case of real paranormal life imitating art imitating supposedly fake paranormal life, the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland is now said to be haunted, in particular by "the man with the cane"—a pilot who, in the 1940s, crashed into a lake near where the current Disneyland stands today. There are also the crying boy (his mom erroneously interpreted his final wish and spread his ashes within the Mansion) and the "man in a tuxedo."

Vortex

17. Vortex

Address: 4303 Sardine Creek Rd.

City: Gold Hill, Ore.

Website: n/a

Said to be called "Forbidden Ground" by local Native American tribes, the Oregon Vortex has been studied extensively in the 20th century for its various optical illusions (or paranormal activity, as the case may be). Basically, spatial perspective is seriously thrown the fuck off there (buildings appearing to roll uphill, people's height changing depending on where they stand), which may be explained by something called a "forced perspective" (or, again, more creatively, by a bunch of friggin' ghosts).

Connecticut House/Hallahan Funeral Home

16. Connecticut House/Hallahan Funeral Home

Address: 208 Meriden Ave.

City: Southington, Conn.

Website: n/a

Built in 1916, this suburban residential home was used as a funeral home from the 1930s, until it was purchased by the Snedeker family of Upstate New York in 1986. Upon moving in, the Snedekers found various mortuary items (coffin handles, a blood drainage pit) and the plague of supernatural phenomena showed up next. They moved out two years later, but not before their eldest son had to be removed from the house and was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Poltergeist House

15. Poltergeist House

Address: 4267 Roxbury St.

City: Simi Valley, Calif.

Website: n/a

Even before the 1982 horror film that gives the house its name was filmed, the area around this Simi Valley home may have been cursed. In 1959, a little-known incident at the nearby Santa Susana Field Laboratory caused a release of radioactive gas into the area's atmosphere, believed to be the single worst nuclear accident in U.S. history. The house is prone to both earthquakes and wildfires, and during filming, countless unexplained phenomena occurred. No fewer than four of the original film's cast died early deaths, including child star Heather O'Rourke.

Villisca Ax Murder House

14. Villisca Ax Murder House

Address: Lot 301

City: Villisca, Iowa

Website: villiscaiowa.com

In June 1912, eight people (the Moore family plus two sisters who were friends of the four Moore children) were found bludgeoned to death by a neighbor. The case was never solved, though suspects included a state senator and a traveling preacher. Accordingly, apparitions of a man with an axe are said to haunt the house, appearing at the foot of the bed in the master bedroom, and children can supposedly be heard crying in the rooms above. This shouldn't stop you from plopping down $400 for an overnight stay (with up to six of your friends!) or five bucks for a packet of Love Lies Bleeding seeds from the plant grown in the yard.

Franklin Castle/Hannes Tiedemann House

13. Franklin Castle/Hannes Tiedemann House

Address: 4308 Franklin Blvd.

City: Cleveland

Website: franklincastleclub.com

German immigrant Hannes Tiedemann built this four-story Gothic sandstone in 1865, and in a four-year period from from 1881-1885, four of his children and his mother died in the estate. In order to cheer up his wife, Tiedemann began renovating the house, adding hidden passageways, tunnels, concealed rooms, false fronts, gargoyles, and sentry turrets. Eventually his wife and niece died on the premises, and Tiedemann sold the house, but not before rumors of murder and odd sexual proclivities began to follow him. A family that lived in the house in the '60s reported seeing ghosts before moving out in the mid-'70s.

Lizzie Borden House

12. Lizzie Borden House

Address: 92 Second St.

City: Fall River, Mass.

Website: lizzie-borden.com

In 1892 Andrew and Abby Borden were found hatcheted to death in their Fall River home, and suspicion immediately fell to Andrew's daughter (Abby's stepdaughter), Lizzie. Lizzie was charged with the double murder but ultimately acquitted, receiving the bulk of her father and stepmother's inheritance. The case inspired the children's rope-skipping rhyme: "Lizzie Borden took an axe/And gave her mother forty whacks/When she saw what she had done/She gave her father forty-one" (sort of a precursor to "One, two, Freddy's coming for you.") The whole thing might've been caused by a bad case of "that time of the month," as Lizzie was said to have suffered petit mal seizures while she was menstruating.

Harlow House

11. Harlow House

Address: 9820 Easton Dr.

City: Beverly Hills, Calif.

Website: n/a

In 1932, 42-year-old Hollywood producer Paul Bern married 21-year-old Hollywood starlet Jean Harlow; two months later, Bern died under mysterious circumstances in the couple's home. After crime scene tampering from high level studio execs, his death was ruled a suicide (due to his alleged despair over his impotence), though suspicions fell on a previous common-law wife who committed suicide a day after his death. Harlow would die five years later of renal failure, and the Easton Drive house was later the home of Sharon Tate, who claimed to have seen Bern's ghost on the grounds. Tate, as you might now, was savagely murdered by members of the Manson family, though not in this home.

Sprague Mansion

10. Sprague Mansion

Address: 1351 Cranston St.

City: Cranston, R.I.

Website: cranstonhistoricalsociety.org

The Spragues were once the wealthiest family in America, but that didn't stop patriarch Charles ll from choking to death on a bone during breakfast in the kitchen. Then, in 1843, scion Amasa Sprague was found murdered near the home. The (entire) family of a local Irish pub owner was framed for the crime, with one member, John Gordon, convicted and hanged for the crime. Gordon was later proven innocent, with speculation pointing toward the involvement of Amasa Sprague's brother. The house was said to be haunted by Amasa's ghost (not, strangely, Gordon's) and was slated to be demolished in 1967, only to be rescued by a local historical society.

Smurl House

9. Smurl House

Address: 328 Chase St.

City: West Pittston, Pa.

Website: n/a

You've gotta give Jack and Janet Spurl credit for being resilient. Or stubbornly stupid and masochistic. The couple lived in this split house built in 1896 on an abandoned coal mine, and beginning in 1974, they and their four daughters were reportedly tormented by evil spirits. For the next 15 years, the Spurls were plagued by everything from exploding televisions to something that levitated and threw the family's German shepherd to an incubus that repeatedly raped various members of the family (said incubus variously taking the form of a scaly half-girl/half-woman and a half-man/half-pig. After repeated church-sanctioned exorcisms only served to piss off the spirits even more, the family moved out. And then the next person to live in the house died of a drug overdose. Fairy-tale ending.

Amityville Horror House also known as High Hopes

8. Amityville Horror House (aka High Hopes)

Address: 112 Ocean Ave.

City: Amityville, N.Y.

Website: amityvillerecord.com

In 1974, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. shot and killed his mother, father, two sisters, and two brothers in the family home. Just 13 months later, the Lutz family moved into the house and started reporting instances of paranormal activity (including, but not limited to: swarms of flies in the winter, the sound of a "German marching band tuning up" downstairs, massive cloven pig hoofprints in the snow outside the house, and 5-year-old daughter Missy developing an imaginary friend named "Jodie"—who (of course) was a demonic pig with glowing red eyes). The Lutzes moved out after 28 days, and although many of their claims have been debunked, they nonetheless started a veritable horror movie/book cottage industry.

Edgar Allan Poe House

7. Edgar Allan Poe House

Address: 203 North Amity St.

City: Baltimore

Website: eapoe.org

There are Poe Houses in Philadelphia, the Bronx, and Richmond, and all are said to be haunted—but for the most bang for your buck, hit up the one in Baltimore where the poet first moved in with, and subsequently married, his teenage first cousin (he was 27, she 13). Even in Poe's time this was considered a bad neighborhood, and now it's located next to B'more's first housing projects, the fittingly named (in more ways than one) Poe Homes. Decayed animal bones were found in the Poe House when it was renovated in the '30s; of course, these may not be the only bones found in local abandoned residences.

White House

6. The White House

Address: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

City: Washington D.C.

Website: whitehouse.gov

After his 11-year-old son Willie died of typhoid fever in 1862, Abraham Lincoln is said to have suffered aural and/or visual hallucinations wandering the WH halls, and his wife Mary Todd held seances in an effort to speak to her dead son (only to be visited by Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson instead). After Lincoln's assassination, Ulysses S. Grant continued that tradition and believed that he had contacted the ghost of Willie. Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Jacqueline Kennedy (among others) claimed to have seen Abraham Lincoln's ghost, and most recently Michelle Obama reported being awoken in the middle of the night by strange sounds.

Dudley House

5. Dudley House

Address: Address extinct, Dark Entry Forest Rd.

City: Dudleytown, Conn.

Website: legendofdudleytown.com

Bringing a little "family history" with him (an English relative beheaded for plotting against the King, a colonial governor relative rumored to have killed non-Puritans), Gideon Dudley settled here in 1747, on land that was once Mohawk Indian tribal ground. The surrounding forest was named Dark Entry (II); many people are said to have vanished into the forest, and many others who have lived there have gone insane. Visitors to the area have had the sensation of being pushed by unseen hands, scratched, and witnessed orbs. Now owned by the mysterious-sounding Dark Entry Forest Association, it is heavily patrolled by state and local authorities who warn that anyone caught visiting the site will be arrested.

Novarro House

4. Novarro House

Address: 3110 Laurel Canyon Dr.

City: Los Angeles

Website: n/a

Silent film actor Ramon Novarro was beaten to death here on Devli's Night 1968. Two prostitutes (who also happened to be brothers) he'd hired tortured him for hours (including reportedly sticking an art deco sculpture up his rectum), demanding a large sum of money they thought was in Novarro's possession before leaving with a mere 20 dollars. Novarro choked to death on his own blood.

Cameron House

3. Cameron House

Address: 920 Sacramento St.

City: San Francisco

Website: cameronhouse.org

The Chinese Exclusion Acts of the 1880s excluded almost all female Chinese immigration into the U.S., prompting a booming trade in illegally smuggled Chinese girls (many of whom were kidnapped from Canton or sold into prostitution by their own families). Missionary Donaldina Cameron set up a safe house for girls who escaped captivity, complete with secret doorways and sealed passages to hide the women from police raids. Unfortunately, a fire struck the house in 1906, and a still-unknown number of women were trapped in the basement and died in the blaze. From 1947-1977, the house (after being rebuilt) served as a mission for Chinese boys, led by F.S. "Dick" Wichman—who sexually abused 18 children in the same basement.

10050 Cielo Drive

2. 10050 Cielo Drive

Address: 10050 Cielo Dr.

City: Los Angeles

Website: cielodrive.com

In 1969, the LSD-frazzled followers of a certain hirsute, diminutive hippie broke into director Roman Polanski's house and murdered his 8-months-pregnant wife Sharon Tate and four of her friends. Perhaps you've heard of the aforementioned hippie? Goes by the name Charles Manson? Polanski himself dabbled in the occult, both personally and professionally; he was rumored to be a member of a Hollywood witches' coven, and LSD parties and seances were held in the house. House guests (and future victims) Abigail Folger and Voytek Frykowski confessed to seeing a blazing pig's head in the fireplace. Later, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails moved into the house and built a recording room, naming it "le Pig Studios" in reference to the "Pig" that was written on a door in the house with Tate's blood (the studio was plagued by electrical problems). After recording the album The Downward Spiral, Reznor moved out and entered his own downward spiral, battling depression and drug addiction for the next five years.

House of Death

1. House of Death

Address: 14 West 10th St.

City: New York

Website: n/a

Mark Twain stayed in this 19th century brownstone in Greenwich Village, but it's the 22 people who died within the home's walls who are said to haunt the house (okay, they say Twain makes an appearance now and again, too). Most recently, lawyer Joel Steinberg beat his illegally adopted 6-year-old daughter to death while in a crack cocaine-fueled rage in 1987 (as dramatized [twice] on Law & Order).