Hi! I debated whether or not to keep these numbered since the first couple of weeks have been so out of whack, but nah. I'm keepin' em. lol Today's--which is only slightly late lol--entry is about a number of haunted and/or mysterious homes that I've come across in articles. I saw a number of articles about different haunted homes, so I tried to pull names from different lists so that I wouldn't repeat the exact same lists I'd already read. I was going to make this a long entry, but one thing I wanted to do was learn how to make shorter lists and still provide a good amount of information. I'm aware that ATV has pretty much become a series of various lists, just on a number of subjects. I haven't quite figured out how to conquer that just yet because that wasn't my intention when I revamped the blog a couple of years ago and it still isn't, but I'm working on it. I'm also aware that my posts tend to run rather long, which is one reason why they're always late, and I'm working on that too. So the Octoberfest posts are a bit of a test run for a few things, so as always, bear with me.
Moving on, haunted houses are a Halloween staple, and one of my favorite things to explore during the fall season. Even though I consider it to be a cozy season, I also consider it a bit of a creepy one. I'm not as taken in by haunted houses during any other time of year, but the minute fall hits and it's about trying to learn about every haunted house ever. lol I know that the issue of haunted things are questionable anyway, but that's part of the fun in it for me. So I apologize if these 'haunted' posts aren't your can of coke. They're my can of coke, though, so I'm going to post them. lol Let's explore!
Fort Garry Hotel
Okay, so this technically isn't a house. But people sleep here and it's said to be haunted, so in my book it counts. lol Anyway, Fort Garry is a hotel in Manitoba, Canada, and is registered as a historic site. Many famous musicians and celebrities have stayed here throughout the years, and it is still open for business today. The hotel was originally known by another name, but it was changed to Fort Garry because of its proximity to Upper Fort Garry. Throughout the years, there have been reported ghost sightings and stories. Guests have reported seeing both men and women, as well as being able to feel the sensation of someone trying to crawl into bed with them. A woman reportedly committed suicide in one of the rooms, and has been seen floating above the bed and in the lounge. There has even been sightings of blood dripping down the walls, although I wasn't able to substantiate that claim. Most of the haunted stories revolve around seeing apparitions or unexplained electrical issues in the hotel during a guest's stay. PSICAN's Stu Finlay has letters from former guests detailing their experiences.
Research resources: 1 | 2 | 3
Manresa Castle
Manresa Castle has quite an interesting tale. The owner of the castle, Charles Eisenbeis, was an entrepreneur who capitalized on the growing popularity of Port Townsend, Washington as a shipping port and eventually became the town's first mayor. He and his son expanded the initial business into the real estate and construction industries, then Charles built his dream house, originally called Eisenbeis Castle, for his family. Unfortunately, his son committed suicide not long after the house was completed and Charles slid into a decline after that. Kidney failure caused his death five years later, leaving the entire house to his widow, Kate. When she remarried a few years after that in the early 1900s, the mansion stood empty for two decades, until a caretaker suggested making it a vacation home for nuns. That idea never took off, so two years later it was sold to Jesuits, who gave the home its current name of Manresa Castle. In the forty years the Jesuits owned Manresa, they expanded on the original design of the home and remained in it until the late '60s, when they sold it to a developer and it became a hotel. It is still open today.
Sounds pretty vanilla, right? Rumors have constantly followed both locals and ghostchasers alike that Manresa Castle has been haunted for a number of years. One of the most popular stories include the haunting of the castle by a woman named Kate, who jumped out of one of the room's windows after discovering her lover had perished at sea. Another popular story is that the ghost of Charles Eisenbeis himself haunts his former dwelling, as a few guests over the years have reported spotting a man watching them. One more popular tale is that a Jesuit monk who hung himself in the attic now haunts the house. The place was reported to be so popular for ghost activity that guest books were left in each room so that guests could record their experiences for others to read later. This backfired when guests began requesting to stay in other rooms after reading some of the guestbook entries.
The rub about all of that is the hotel's former manager came out and debunked the entire thing, saying that he personally never experienced any sort of disturbance in his tenure at the hotel, but that unexplained occurrences did tend to happen from time to time. A former bartender was given credit for creating the stories behind Kate and the Jesuit monk because guests were so eager to hear something creepy. For every guest review stating that they'd had a paranormal experience at Manresa Castle, there is another one who experienced nothing during their stay. Despite such a mixed reaction, various travel and paranormal shows have still featured the hotel, trying to provide proof to the reports. The hotel's front desk manager said something that I feel can probably be applied to any experience with 'haunted' places in general. When guests ask her if the hotel is really haunted, she asks them in return if they want it to be haunted. It goes to show that whether you're a paranormal believer, skeptic or complete non-believer, experiences like this can really be anything you'd like them to be. Manresa Castle may or may not be haunted, but I think the experience of finding out would be worth it.
Research resources: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
The Sallie House
The Sallie House in Atchison, Kansas, is deemed to be one of, if not the most, haunted homes in America because the things experienced here are on another level from many other famed haunted homes. I believe the house is vacant now but the story that gave the house its name comes from the early 1900s, when a doctor lived in the home. A frantic mother brought her daughter Sallie to the doctor's house late one night, and according to legend, Sallie died not long after. One story said that she'd needed an appendectomy, but a botch during the operation cost the little girl her life. From then on, the house was said to be haunted, presumably by Sallie.
But things were taken to a completely new level when the Pickman family moved into the house in the early '90s and quickly began experiencing all kinds of weird things. The normal phantoms that are usually associated with a haunted place, i.e. flickering lights, smells, scratching sounds or thumps, etc., were present during this time, but things also turned physical. The father, Tony, was attacked on a number of occasions by a malicious entity. His arms would end up scratched, welted and a few of those times, the scratches even drew blood. Tony received the worst of those physical attacks, but others who visited the home also came away with unexplained scratches, welts or cuts. The family eventually moved out and I believe there were a few more residents of the home before they moved out as well, leaving the house standing vacant as it is today.
The Sallie House has been featured a number of times, most notably on a paranormal-based show called "Sightings." Multiple psychics, mediums and paranormal investigators have visited the home over the years with various equipment, trying to understand more about the spirits within the house. EVP has captured a number of voices, ranging from multiple children to multiple adults, both male and female. The general consensus seems to be that this house is well and truly haunted, as multiple things have happened to a pretty wide range of people who've entered the home over the years. Study Paranormal's Fiona published an interview with Tony's wife Debra about her thoughts throughout the Sallie House experience.
Research resources: 1 | 2 | 3
Llancaiach Fawr
Llancaiach Fawr Manor is located in South Wales and is by far the oldest house on the list. The house was originally built back in the 1500s and about a century later, a family by the name of Pritchard moved in. They extended the house, added some modifications, and restored anything that had been deteriorating due to its age. The Local Authority now owns the house, and they've restored it back to its 1645 appearance. It is now considered a museum, and tours are available most days year-round.
Now on to the haunted part. Llancaiach has become infamous for the various phenomena that permeate the home, which is why there are now ghost tours of the manor as well. Numerous things have been reported at the manor over the years, including (but not limited to) three former residents of the manor. Edward Pritchard has been known to wander around the home, a housekeeper who died in the home can be heard upstairs, and a little boy who fell to his death can be felt pulling at the sleeves and skirts of visitors who come to the manor. Various ghost shows have profiled the manor in the past, and they've all come away with reports of unexplained sounds, sights and smells. So whether you're a skeptic or a history buff, I'd still recommend checking out Llancaiach Manor. How many homes of that age are even still around? It'd be worth the trip for the manor alone, but the idea of it being haunted does sweeten the pot a little. lol
Research resources: 1 | 2
Villisca Ax Murder House
The Villisca Axe
(or Ax) Murder House is the location where eight people in Villisca, Iowa, were brutally bludgeoned to death as they slept. This case still has people talking today, some 103 years later, because it is still considered unsolved. The Moore family consisted of six people, parents Joe and Sarah, and their four children, Herman, Katherine, Boyd and Moore. Two of their neighbors' children, Ina and Lena Stillinger, were staying the night at the Moore household. Someone took Joe's axe and with the blunt end, battered everyone's skulls. The first promising lead came in the form of a traveling pastor, who left Villisca the morning after the murders and told some of the passengers that there were 8 dead in Villisca, even though nobody knew yet that the family was dead. The reverend seemed the most likely to have been the murderer, which was further validated when his history of mental illness and odd behaviors was made public. He later confessed to the murders, only to recant it once the trial began. He was later acquitted and nobody else was tried, so officially, this is an unsolved case. But as police dug deeper into the Moore's lives, a few more suspects began to come to light. Despite that, nobody else was ever tried, the case itself was bungled from the beginning by a nosy public, incompetent investigative skills, and most evidence from that time is gone. A very thorough rundown of events, from the morning the murders were discovered to a breakdown of all of the prime suspects, can be read at
Prairie Ghosts. The home, which was once facing the possibility of being demolished, is now registered as a historic site.
Because such a horrific crime was committed here, it's only natural to believe that the house is possibly haunted now. Ghost tours, both daytime and overnight, are conducted year-round by the home's owner, who painstakingly restored the home
(which had brought up to modern-day standards for the tenants who'd moved in the house throughout the years) with her late husband back to its 1912 appearance and amenities, which included no electricity or running water. The house has become a national attraction for both tourists and ghost hunters alike, which is a source of contention between the owner and certain locals, who'd like to put the event behind them. Childrens' voices are often reported as being heard from both the day and night visitors, as well as banging across the house, fallen objects and mysterious voices from different parts of the house. This
YouTube video search page from the official Villisca website is full of videos from people who've visited the house and believe it is haunted, but as is the case with many haunted homes, there are also people, including former tenants, who don't believe the house is or ever was haunted.
Banff Springs Hotel
Banff Springs is a Canadian hotel that, like Fort Garry, was built as one of Canada's railway hotels and is now a registered historical site in the country. There are whisperings that all of the grand railway hotels are haunted. Over the years, the building has been renovated multiple times, so today's Banff Springs Hotel is quite different from the original design. The hotel is still in operation year-round.
There are quite a few stories in circulation about the haunting of Banff Springs as well. Not long after the construction on the original building was finished, a family was reportedly murdered in one of the suites. The room was then closed off to the public and a wall was erected to make it look like no room ever existed, but guests have spotted apparitions outside of where the room used to be. A popular story (that even made the hotel's Wikipedia page) is that a bride was walking up the staircase when her wedding dress snagged one of the candles lining the stairs. The dress caught on fire and in the bride's panic, she ended up falling down the stairs and breaking her neck. Multiple guests have spotted an apparition in a wedding gown during their stay. Taxi Mike has a page full of experiences from different guests throughout the years, some of which include photos. It's a pretty thorough read.
Research resources: 1 | 2
Lemp Mansion
Lemp Mansion is one of the most haunted places in the country, with weekly tours all year, and after reading about it, I can see why. This St. Louis home was once the residence of the Lemp family, and in the case of multiple members, is also the place where they died. The Lemp family was at the forefront of American-made beer companies in the mid and late 1800s, with patriarch William Sr. taking over from his father. William took the company to a new level of success and hoped to pass it on one day to one of his four sons. His youngest, Frederick, had undetected health issues and passed away soon after the turn of the century. This affected William Sr. deeply, and for the next three years his condition slowly deteriorated, until his best friend died on New Year's Day of 1904. A month and a half later, William Sr. shot himself. In 1920, the youngest child, Elsa, shot herself in bed at the home she shared with her husband. William Jr., or Billy as he was known by, took over the brewery until Prohibition shut it down. The brewery was sold and in December 1922, Billy shot himself to death in his office. In 1931, the second oldest son, Louis, died of natural causes. Almost two decades later, the third Lemp son, Charles, also shot himself in his bedroom. The only surviving member of the Lemp family was Edwin, who was not married, had no children and died in 1970 of natural causes.
Any item that would have been considered valuable was destroyed per Edwin's will, so all paperwork, valuable artwork and other family heirlooms were burned when he died. The family home became a boarding house the year after Charles' death, but is now run by the family that helps conduct the ghost tours. They also hold comedy murder mystery events throughout the year. A number of popular ghostcatcher shows have featured the Lemp Mansion over the years, and there have been a number of accounts stating various strange things that occur in the house. A popular urban legend is that one of the spirits in the house is named Zeke and is either William's son or brother that he had locked away in the attic due to either illegitimacy or a birth defect.
All kinds of reports have been recorded from those who have gone to the Lemp Mansion. Some report experiencing strange things all night, while others only have one or two creepy instances throughout their stay, and others still have become so spooked by the experience that they'll refuse to stay the night. Your Ghost Stories has a story submission from someone who went to the Lemp Mansion in efforts to make contact with Charles. If you want a more thorough history on the Lemp family as well as a pretty good collection of anecdotes about what goes on in the house today, check out Paranormal Activity Investigators.
Research resources: 1 | 2 |
So that does it for me today. It was quite difficult to find haunted homes that actually had a backstory; while I was trying to find homes there were quite a few that were just rumored to be haunted but didn't have a lot of info. Since haunted houses are such a signature of Halloween though, most searches yielded those kinds of haunted homes unless I was specific. I went outside of the States for a couple of them because I noticed that a lot of the homes I wanted to choose here overlapped with other lists and I wanted something a little different. Even if these homes aren't truly haunted, I'd still like to check some of them out. I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you soon!
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