The Most Haunted Mansions in the U.S.

collaborative guest post

It’s a vision from the Golden Age of horror movies. A stately manor stands tall against a full moon, its windows dimly lit by the flicker of dying candles. Chains rattle and phantoms howl as a chorus of frights echoes in the still of night. Haunted mansions are a staple of eerie fiction, their halls playing host to fantastical spirits and phantasms. However, the concept of the haunted mansion isn’t merely a Hollywood fable. Dotting historic cities, real spooky estates spin nightmarish legends rooted in grim and dark reality.

Casting tall shadows across locations like the mystical streets of New Orleans and the tainted grounds of Salem, ominous mansions beckon the living with their haunting tales. More so than their architectural wonder, these properties are known for the ghostly legends spurred by grisly murders, brutal torment, and terrible tragedies. Only the bravest souls with a curiosity for the macabre will want to seek out these most haunted mansions in the U.S. 

LaLaurie Mansion, New Orleans

During the mid-19th century, the presence of Madame Delphine LaLaurie cast a dark shadow over the Big Easy. Though her body count may be significantly lower than Louisiana’s worst hurricanes, her unspeakable acts plague the lively city. Her former mansion on Royal Street was at the heart of her vicious acts, absorbing every pained cry from her many victims. 

On April 10, 1834, after a fire broke out within the socialite’s home, her sins came to light, exposing New Orleans to the horrid acts that stained the mansion’s attic with blood and bile. As firefighters rushed into the attic, they discovered seven slaves in various states of mutilation and malnourishment. Between 1830 and 1834, 12 slaves had died while under the madame’s servitude, and now the city had learned why. Her cruelty knew no bounds. 

A heavy air still circulates within the mansion, the anguished spirits of those tortured by Madame LaLaurie bound to the attic, as if imprisoned for eternity. The darkness brought misfortune to the estate, leading to claims of a demonic presence, one mysterious murder, and assault by an unseen brute.        

Houses of the Seven Gables, Salem

A facade of black wood gives the House of the Seven Gables a distinct appearance, one that seems fitting for a city known for death, religious persecution, and ties to witchcraft. The 17th-century trials of innocent settlers left a thick cloud of lost souls and malicious entities, though there’s something peculiar about the former Turner Mansion. Though vengeful phantoms and whispers of devilish fiends may plague Salem, the House of the Seven Gables is home to a playful young boy.

Legend has it that during the trials, the mansion’s owner, John Turner Jr., built a hidden staircase near the fireplace. Turner feared for the children of Salem and hoped to hide them from the bloodthirsty persecutors actively executing their fellow settlers. Though only one child died during the trials, the infant daughter of accused witch Sarah Good, the residual energies of the trials have drawn many spirits back to the old settlement. Who the boy is remains unknown, but he may have been a child that Turner kept safe, and his spirit is reliving a memory within the sprawling mansion. 

Buckner Mansion, New Orleans

The pristine white of New Orleans’ Buckner Mansion is a stark contrast to the darkness within. A past tied to pre-Emancipation South lends to the stories of horror and trauma at the root of the building’s most active haunts. Shadows dance across tall windows as at least one former resident fulfils her role as an eternal servant bound to the familiar setting. 

Over 150 years before the mansion’s facade graced televisions on American Horror Story: Coven, Henry Sullivan Buckner developed a plan to upstage his former business partner, Frederick Stanton. His home would outshine Stanton’s 14,000 square foot Mississippi mansion, sprawling across 20,000 square feet in New Orleans’ Garden District. Each inch carried the weight of their rivalry, but even worse, funding for the estate was primarily generated by Buckner’s slaves.

Among the property’s most devoted servants was Miss Josephine. The former midwife and governess was so devoted, she remains behind today to watch over the mansion. Miss Josephine’s ghost is a fixture of the estate and a victim of Buckner’s spite. Even when the mansion was converted into the Soule Business College, her presence was identifiable by the fresh scent of lemons and the faint sound of a broom scraping against the flooring.

Make sure to hop on a New Orleans ghost tour if you want to explore Salem’s haunted side!

Lizzie Borden House, Fall River

The lore of Lizzie Borden feels as rooted in urban legend as the Hookman serial killer or Bloody Mary. Her poem is spoken as if to summon some grisly myth. But Borden is no stalking shadow waiting to strike. She’s a flesh-and-blood figure with a rather gruesome past, and all that which basks her character in darkness unfolded in the aptly named Lizzie Borden House.

On August 4, 1892, the 3,000-plus square foot Fall River home was soaked in the gore of Borden’s father and stepmother. Their bodies, left in a nauseating display by their killer, were struck by an axe, though not as many times as the old school-yard rhyme suggests. In the wake of the murder, Borden became the primary suspect, but her acquittal left the murders unsolved and her innocence a heated topic of debate.

From the viciousness of the attacks on Andrew Borden and Abby Gray to the lack of closure, it’s not a surprise that the Lizzie Borden House is among the nation’s most haunted homes. It’s believed that Andrew and Abby remain anchored to their murder site, waiting for justice to be served. Some even believe a group of children, thought to be victims of an 1848 murder, found their way to the Borden residence.