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Discover the supernatural at these spine-chilling historical haunts as we journey through the most haunted houses in America.
There's plenty of places out there that claim to experience otherworldly bumps in the nights and strange going-ons. Hotels, restaurants, museums, old schools, the list is endless but nothing inspires fear like finding your own home is haunted. And America boasts some of the most terrifying haunted houses the world has ever seen. You've all heard of Amityville but that doesn't even scratch the surface of the terror that can be found in the pages of history and across homes throughout the United States.
To give you an idea for what's lurking out there in the vast American landscape, here's a list of some of the most bloodcurdling horrors that happened just a little too close to home.
1. The Sallie House
Location: 508 North Second street, Atchison, Kansas
This is one of the scariest hauntings you've probably never heard of. Not only do native Kansas-dwellers consider this the most haunted building in the state, but many claim it's the most haunted house in the country. This house was built in the mid 19th century and has been home to many families, but one stands out among the others thanks to the death of their daughter, Sallie, who was the victim of an appendectomy gone wrong. In the 90s, then-owners Tony and Debra Pickman sought the help of paranormal investigators after Tony experienced attacks and mysterious poltergeist activity around the house seemed to escalate. Turns out, not only is little Sallie still around, but the angry spirit of a middle-aged woman was found to be responsible for the attacks.
2. The Kreischer Mansion
Location: 4500 Arthur Kill Rd, Staten Island, New York.
It's said some houses are cursed. That certainly seems the case for the Kreischer Mansion in Staten Island where tragedy and murder seem to be part of the very fabric of the building. Built in the late 1800s for Edward Kreischer by his father, when the family business failed, Edward took his own life in his home. Although the ghosts of Edward and his distraught wife are often sighted haunting the hallways, a more grisly event took place at the mansion in 2005. Joseph Young was working as the caretaker at the property but was also involved with the Bonnano crime family. They ordered a hit on Robert McKelvey, and Young was elected to execute it. After luring McKelvey to the property, Young then stabbed and drowned him in the pool. After chopping up the body he then burned it in the furnace under the house. Eventually, Young was sentenced to life in prison, but the ghosts of the Kreischer mansion remain to this day.
3. The Winchester Mystery House
Location: 525 S Winchester Blvd, San Jose, California
The Winchester Mystery House has been the subject of many documentaries since it was built in the late 19th century. The house originally belonged to Sarah Winchester, the widow of William Wirt Winchester, famous for his Winchester Rifle "the gun that won the west." After his death, Sarah was told by a psychic that the souls of those who were killed by her husband's rifles would haunt her and she had to build a house to outsmart them. The house, which had no master plan or blueprint, began construction in 1884. The result was a topsy-turvy home of staircases to nowhere, rooms within rooms, doors that opened to nothing, and zigzagging hallways, among other curiosities. In fact, the home was never finished. Sarah continued to work on the house until she died, to never sleep in the same room twice, and was said to routinely hold séances with spirits for guidance. Strange noises are still said to be heard in this home and it was the location of the only investigation never completed by the crew of Ghost Adventures when they were forced to be released early our fear for their safety.
