Top 10 Most Haunted And Ghost Houses In The United States

Rosemary October 20, 2021 | 14:06

Are you curious to know what houses are the most haunted in the US? Travel and Leisure has suggested a list of top 10 most haunted and ghost houses in the US.

Top 10 Most Haunted Houses In The US. Photo KnowInsiders

Anyone can claim a house is haunted. But as more and more creepy occurrences pile up, it gets harder and harder to deny that some homes really are cursed. There are haunted and ghost houses in the USA with stories so gripping and gruesome (murders, suicides...sometimes both) they’ve inspired movies, countless documentaries, and serious cult status.

From the country's most famous tales of death and mayhem (ahem, like the home of Lizze Borden, the little axe murderer from Massachusetts) to lesser known haunts across the country, these houses are wicked all the way from their peaked attics to their dark, dark basements.

The List of The Top 10 Most Haunted and Ghost Houses In The US

1.The Whaley House Museum: San Diego, California

2.House of Death: New York City, New York

3.Winchester Mystery House: San Jose, California

4.Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast: Fall River, Massachusetts

5.Villisca Axe Murder House: Villisca, Iowa

6.Bell Witch Cave: Adams, Tennessee

7.The White House: Washington, D.C.

8.The Sallie House: Atchison, Kansas

9.Franklin Castle: Cleveland, Ohio

10.Biltmore: Asheville, North Carolina

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1.The Whaley House Museum: San Diego, California

Photo iStock

When most folks think of San Diego, they picture gorgeous beaches, beautiful weather and cultural and artistic attractions. But for those who have an affinity for the paranormal, San Diego beckons investigation, with its rich and dark past, haunted spots, spiritual encounters and inexplicable events. The most haunted of all San Diego places is without a doubt, the Whaley House. Read on to learn more about this famous house and why it’s known as The Most Haunted House in America.

The First Death

It wasn’t long after the Whaley family moved into the home that sadness and despair were thrust upon them. First, their young son Thomas, who was only 18 months old, died of scarlet fever inside the house.

Then, a few months later, a fire raged within the home, destroying the general store. Soon after, Thomas decided to move the family to San Francisco.

Several years later, in 1868, the Whaley Family, which now included Thomas, his wife and their five children, returned to the home.

Once the family returned, the Whaley House was again bustling with activity. It became the headquarters for the city courthouse, San Diego’s first theater troupe, a general store and more. But in 1870, local merchants began to move to the newly established New Town, which is now the Gaslamp Quarter, abandoning Old Town and leaving it eerily quiet.

Thomas Whaley was not ready to give up and continued to live in his home.

In 1871, when Thomas was away on a business trip, a group of armed men held Anna Whaley at gunpoint as they seized the courthouse records from the home. This, many say, was a turning point for the family and the house.

The Suicide

Several years later, two of the Whaley daughters got married inside the home. Violet, the younger of the two, married George Bertolacci and although she gave it her best effort, the marriage was unbearable, leaving Violet divorced and full of despair. She was so wrought with depression that she decided she could not live with the shame and shot herself in the chest on August 18, 1885.

The Spirits

Over the years many descendants of the Whaley family lived and died in the house, including Thomas, Anna and their children Lillian, Thomas, Violet and Francis. During its restoration periods, which took place several different times throughout the home’s history, workers and visitors began to notice strange and mysterious sounds, sights, aromas and encounters. The first and most well-known ghost that lingered within the house and on the grounds was that of Yankee Jim Robinson – as he had died right on the spot where the home was built.

2.House of Death: New York City, New York

Photo FrightFind

This beautiful townhouse on quiet West 10th has been called the most haunted building in New York, with as many as twenty-two ghosts calling it home, earning 14 West 10th Street the sobriquet “The House of Death.” Mark Twain lived here from 1900 to 1901 and claimed that he himself had experienced supernatural incidents. Throughout the twentieth century, 14 West 10th was the site of several gruesome incidents, including a murder-suicide and the beating death of six-year-old Lisa Steinberg at the hands of her adopted father, prominent attorney Joel Steinberg, in 1987. The specter of Twain himself—white suit and all—has been seen ascending the staircase.

3.Winchester Mystery House: San Jose, California

According to legend, the rambling Victorian mansion that sits on a busy street in San Jose, California, is haunted by the ghosts of everyone killed by a Winchester rifle. That's undoubtedly a lot of spirits, and in order to appease them, the house's owner, Sarah Winchester, the heir to the Winchester rifle fortune (and the founder's widow), added room after room to the house to add more space for the dead.

Winchester didn't simply add rooms, though, she created a labyrinth filled with halls that lead nowhere, cut-off staircases, sloping floors, and a rabbit warren of chambers. According to ABC News, the house has "10,000 windows, 2,000 doors, 47 fireplaces, 40 staircases, 13 bathrooms, and nine kitchens." Since Winchester died in 1922, the home has hosted tours for those willing to walk among the Winchester ghosts.

Tours of the house are now open, with new health and safety guidelines in place.

4.Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast: Fall River, Massachusetts

Photo Country Living Magazine

The Lizzie Borden House, in Fall River, Massachusetts, is the site of one of the country’s most infamous crimes. Even if you don’t know much about New England history, you’ve probably heard the rhyme about the ax and the forty whacks. Andrew and Abby Borden were murdered with an ax in 1892, and Andrew’s daughter (Abby’s step-daughter) Lizzie was tried and acquitted of the crime. The trial became one of the most widely circulated news stories of the day, and even though Lizzie was set free, she was never truly forgiven by the public as they suspected she was the true killer.

5.Villisca Axe Murder House: Villisca, Iowa

Photo HorrowObsessive

Guests have the opportunity to stay overnight at the Villisca Ax Murder House, but only if the stories don't scare them.

The brutal 1912 murders of six children and two adults in the home of J.B. and Sarah Moore were never solved. All members of the Moore family and their two guests were found in bed with an ax wound to the head -- and very little other evidence was ever found. To this day, paranormal investigators and novices report hearing the sounds of children crying, lamps falling, ladders moving and doors slamming on their own.

There were several suspects, including an Iowa state senator, but no one was ever charged with the bloody crime. Over 100 years later, their ghosts are said to remain in the house, yearning for justice. Visitors eager for a taste of the supernatural can book tours of the site, while the bravest can spend the night and see what goes bump.

The house is currently open with health and safety measures in place and is even offering overnight experiences.

6.Bell Witch Cave: Adams, Tennessee

In the early 1800s, John Bell bought a tract of farmland along Tennessee's Red River. Bell and his family thrived on the farm until they started to see strange-looking animals around the property, most notably a dog with a rabbit's head.

From that point on, the family was beset upon by unseen forces, largely targeted at Bell and his daughter Betsy. They experienced physical attacks, heard unexplained noises, and even spoke with the "entity," who, in at least one account, identified herself as the Bell's former neighbor, Kate Batts, who was exacting revenge from beyond the grave for some unknown slight.

The entity is rumored to have prevented Betsy's marriage to a local boy and is believed to have killed John. According to one Bell Witch website, the haunting is backed by plenty of evidence, including "eyewitness accounts, affidavits, and manuscripts penned by those who experienced the haunting first hand."

The farm and cave are back open and offering regular tours.

7.The White House: Washington, D.C.

Photo White House

The White House may be home to the president, but it is also rumored to house many illustrious ghosts within its storied walls. President Ronald Reagan reportedly entertained dinner party guests with stories of his dog barking at invisible specters and his daughter, Maureen, waking to a transparent figure looking out the window of the Lincoln Bedroom. It may have been President Lincoln himself, returning to his former home in the hopes of reuniting with his wife or son. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill reportedly encountered Lincoln's ghost too, while he was stepping out of the bathtub.

Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd, held seances in the White House, according to Mental Floss, in hopes of contacting their son, Willie, who died of typhoid, presumably from contaminated water pumped into the White House. They never contacted their son, but they did claim to get in touch with President Andrew Jackson, who was loitering in his former bedroom.

According to The White House Historical Association, President William Henry Harrison, the first president to die in the White House, continues his stay there. It's not just former presidents who haunt the halls of the highest office in the U.S. — Dolley Madison, wife of President James Madison, is said to visit the gardens she helped plant, and Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams, is known to do her laundry in the East Room.

The White House is back open for tours, and now it even includes a glimpse of the President's personal movie theater.

8.The Sallie House: Atchison, Kansas

At one of the most haunted houses in America, the bad energy allegedly stems from a botched appendectomy—the girl who haunts the house died during a house call at the turn of the century. In the 1990s, a family who lived in the Sallie House documented their experience on the TV show Sightings, which spoke of flying objects, frequent apparitions, and a mix of scratching, gouging, and shoving (all mainly directed at the male owner). The home is now vacant but it’s a popular pick for paranormal researchers, and even regular folks can book the house to stay the night for about $100 per person.

9.Franklin Castle: Cleveland, Ohio

Photo WKYC

On Cleveland's Franklin Boulevard, locals still whisper rumors about the original owner of the 20-plus-room, 19th-century dwelling. In just a few short years in the 1890s, the mansion became the place of death for four of Hannes Tiedemann's adolescent children and also his wife. Though Tiedemann was never found guilty of any wrongdoing, today some people claim he hung his 13-year-old illegitimate daughter and made it appear like a suicide, and killed his mistress in a secret passage. Known as "the most haunted house in Ohio," the castle is rumored to have been visited by ghosts ever since.

Among the many people who would suddenly lose their lives in the house were Emma, Tiedemann's daughter, who apparently died due to complications with diabetes. Then, Teidemann's mother and three more of his children died. Tiedemann's wife, Louise, also passed away, apparently due to liver failure, but many rumors circulated that Tiedemann was actually responsible. It's also rumored that he murdered other members of his family, including his niece, a possible illegitimate daughter, and possibly his mistress. Tiedemann moved away from the house shortly after his wife's death.

10.Biltmore: Asheville, North Carolina

George Washington Vanderbilt II built this stately vacation home in the 1800s. Since then, it has gained a reputation for being one of the most haunted places in the state and the country.

While nothing completely nefarious seems to have happened on the estate, the home's former owners seem to remain very active, even in the afterlife. After Vanderbilt died in 1914, his estate passed on to his children, who decided to open the home up to the public. That's when the activity apparently began.

Visitors have claimed to hear a woman's voice, possibly Vanderbilt's wife, Edith, calling his name, and some say they've spotted some ghostly apparitions. The estate also features a number of hidden doors and passageways, adding to the home's overall spook-factor.

Today, anyone can tour the estate either on their own or with a guide, according to the estate's website. There are also winery tours and places to stay nearby if you're hoping to get a nice, long trip out of it. However, there is no dedicated ghost tour.

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