Real-Life Haunted House Stories

1)Ackley House in Nyack, New York

Nicknamed “Ackley House” after its one-time occupants, the Ackley Family, this classic Queen Anne sits on the Hudson River across from Sleepy Hollow, New York. The many ghosts who roamed the halls of 1 La Veta Place were nothing but friendly, though they were active enough to inspire the matriarch, Helen Ackley, to write a national article about them in Reader's Digest. The article gained enough momentum that the house became a regular stop on local ghost tours, which ended up having some not-so-great ramifications when it came time to sell the home in the late 1980s.

After some time on the market, the Stambosvky family put down a down payment and were ready to relocate from Manhattan, when a contractor made a passing comment about the home's haunted reputation. The Ackleys then found themselves entangled in a legal battle over whether or not they should have disclosed the haunted "nature" of the house. In a landmark decision now referred to as “The Ghostbusters Ruling,” Ackley House was deemed haunted by the New York Supreme Court, and the buyers were able to pull out of the sale while also getting half of their down payment back. 1 La Veta Place has since been home to several celebrities, including musician Ingrid Michaelson.

2)Mercer-Williams House in Savannah, Georgia

Located across from one of Savannah, Georgia's, most famous and pristine squares (Monterey Square in the city's historic district), the Mercer-Williams house dates back to 1860. In the 1970s, famed preservationist and antiques dealer Jim Williams restored the home to its former glory after years of neglect.

This Italianate revival played host to three untimely deaths, including that of 11-year-old Tommy Downs when he fell off the roof in 1969, the 1981 fatal shooting of Danny Hansford by Williams, and Williams himself, when he died in the same room as Hansford less than a year after being acquitted of Hansford's death in a fourth trial. If the story sounds familiar, it's probably because you recognize it from the bestselling book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Much like the rest of the city, the home was supposedly built right on top of unmarked graves. Rumors about the crime and ensuing ghost stories continue to swirl to this day.

3)Grey Gardens in East Hampton, New York

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The grand East Hampton estate known as Grey Gardens has a fascinating history with many ups and downs. The four acres of land the home now sits on is in the Georgica Beach section of East Hampton, one of the most expensive regions in the world, and it was purchased by a wealthy couple in 1895 before the home was built in the early 1900s.

By 1913, it was sold to the president of a coal company whose wife, Anna Gilman Hill, imported ornate concrete walls from Spain to enclose the garden. The house was called Grey Gardens because of the color of the dunes, the cement garden walls, and the sea mist. Later, in 1923, the home was sold to Edith Bouvier Beale—the parental aunt of Jackie Onasis Kennedy and Lee Radziwill—and her family.

After a series of misfortunes and financial losses, the home fell into disrepair and was overrun by cats and raccoons (and perhaps something else not of this realm?), partially because Big Edie Beale and her daughter, Little Edie Beale couldn't afford to maintain the mansion on their own. The women's story (and star power!) was made famous in a 1975 documentary by Albert and David Maysles.

Big Edie held onto the property until her death in 1977, and her spirit is said to remain at Grey Gardens, watching over the house. Among the believers is author and journalist Sally Quinn, best known for her column in the Washington Post, who purchased the home from Little Edie in 1979 and she swears that it’s haunted.

4)The Lemp Mansion in St. Louis, Missouri

Starting strong with a very scary house: The Lemp Mansion in St. Louis, which is known to be one of the most haunted places in America due to a tragic history.

The 33-room home was built in the 1860s by William Lemp, a successful brewery owner who ended up killing himself in 1904 after the youngest of his four sons, Frederick, died. A few years later, his wife also died of cancer in the house. Then, in 1922, William Lemp Jr., shot himself in the same room William Sr. killed himself.

As if that weren't enough tragedy for one place, in 1949, Charles Lemp—William's third son—shot his dog in the basement of the home and then killed himself in his room. That same year, the house was sold and transformed into a boarding house, where reports of hauntings began. According to Destination America, witnesses have experienced burning sensations and slamming doors.

Today, the Lemp Mansion is a restaurant and inn that also holds events. On Sunday night, the inn hosts a Murder Mystery Dinner.

5)The Villisca Axe Murder House in Villisca, Iowa

On June 10, 1912, Josiah and Sarah Moore were bludgeoned to death inside of their home in Villisca, Iowa. Their four children—and two friends who were spending the night—were also killed, and to this day, the crime remains unsolved. Their home is considered one of the most haunted houses in the country, and guests are drawn to it. People even pay $400+ to stay for one night.

"Tours have been cut short by children's voices, falling lamps, moving ladders, and flying objects," says the Villisca Axe Murder House website. And, in 2014, a paranormal investigator stabbed himself after spending the night. "Skeptics have left believers," adds the website.

6)Jean Harlow House in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is one of the best destinations for haunted-house hunting, and this Bavarian-style home in Beverly Hills has a particularly gruesome history. In 1932, it was home to the iconic actress Jean Harlow and her abusive husband, Paul Bern, who shot himself in the head while standing in front of the mirror. Their butler discovered him and called MGM instead of the police, so there were tons of rumors that it wasn't actually suicide. Many suspected Bern's ex-girlfriend, a suspicion exacerbated by her jumping off a boat to her death a couple of days later. Jean moved out after his death but died only a few years later at the age of 26.

But wait—it gets creepier. In 1963, celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring bought the home and lived there with his girlfriend, Sharon Tate, until she left him for Roman Polanski. They were still friends and remained so until both of them were murdered by the Charles Manson cult. Tate was the same age as Harlow when she passed.

But back to when the couple lived in the Harlow House. Tate told several friends of creepy occurrences in the home and even mentioned it in interviews. For example, once, when she was sleeping in the master bedroom alone, she saw a "creepy little man." Her friends say she believed it to be Paul Bern's ghost. She was so freaked out when she saw the alleged ghost that she ran out of the room and then saw a hanging shadowy corpse with its throat slit in the hallway. There are also stories about two other people dying in the swimming pool over the years.

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