Haunted houses, ghostly voices and mysterious happenings. This may sound like something out of a horror film but there are also places around the world that send out chills, even in real life. Today we'll show you some of the haunted and cursed houses alleged to have their long-deceased owners still roaming there.
The Winchester Mystery House
This impressive mansion was built in 1881 by Sarah Winchester - the wife of the owner of a firearm company. After his death Sarah visited a medium who convinced her that a curse hung over the family and that the souls of all those killed by Winchester guns would come after her. The only way to rid herself of them and save her life was to move out West and start building a house.
Sarah listened to the advice of the medium and soon invested her entire inheritance and personal finances into constructing one of the strangest homes in the world. The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California is a labyrinth of corridors, bedrooms and staircases. Among the strange features of the house are doors that lead to nowhere and windows built into the floor.
Among the eccentric mysteries of the house are also the dwelling ghosts. The property is now a museum, while visitors and employees claim to have encountered paranormal activity on numerous occasions there. Ghostly voices often echo throughout the rooms of the mansion, while some swear to have seen the door handles being pressed, as if someone were trying to enter. Others claim that the ghost of Sarah Winchester herself wanders everywhere about the house.
The Monte Cristo Homestead
A man by the name of William Crawley constructed this historical 2-story house in Australia back in 1884. After Crawley's death, his wife left the house just twice during the remaining 23 years of her life. Shortly after she passed away, rumors began spreading about the property.
It was believed that the ghosts of both of them still lingered there since unusual things kept happening. Some claim that a boy with a mental disability was chained to the wall of the barn his entire life and that another burned under mysterious circumstances. One of the most intriguing claims of paranormal activity in the house are the unexplained bright lights that come from the yard and blind anyone that approaches it. Phantom footsteps are also often heard on the balcony, while ethereal voices constantly reverberate all around the house.
But perhaps the most fascinating are the frequent visions of bodies there. Witnesses claim they've seen women dressed in white roam about all the rooms of the home.
The Congelier House
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, an old Victorian home once had a terrible past. Charles Wright Congelier was the initial owner of the home. He lived there with his wife Lyda in the 1800s. Things were going great for the Congeliers until 1871 when Lyda discovered that Charles was having an affair with the maid. In a bout of fury she murdered her husband, then cut off the head of the ungrateful servant woman.
After this incident the house was left uninhabited until 1892, when it was renovated to house workers of the ever expanding railroad. But they did not stay there long, complaining that they heard inexplicable wailing and the screams of an invisible woman.
The house was left empty another few years until Dr. Adolph C. Brunichter purchased it in the early 1900s. Neighbors though Brunichter to be strange but harmless. They were wrong. On August 1, 1901, they heard a bloodthirsty scream issuing from the house. What happened after is disputed but one of the neighbors claimed to have seen bright red lightning coming from the house as the earth began to tremble. When the police arrived, Dr. Brunichter was nowhere to be found. All that was found was the decomposed body of a young girl tied to his bed.
Further investigation revealed the beheaded bodies of more women, buried in the basement. In 1920, Thomas Edison visited the haunted house, which inspired him to create a machine for communicating with the dead. Unfortunately the device was never finished, as Edison passed away.
The mansion is no more but researchers claim that paranormal activity can still be felt there. It was destroyed during a natural gas explosion nearby.
The White House
The White House in the District of Columbia, US, needs no historical introduction. Of course it's the home of the sitting president of the United States. However, the ghosts of many previous inhabitants of the White House still roam about. Supposedly, the apparitions of presidents Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Ronald Reagan, as well as of press secretary James Hagerty, still wander its halls. The ghost of Andrew Jackson still lingers in its old bedroom, now called the Pink Bedroom, while strange noises and loud hysterical laughter still come from it.
Most frequently seen was the ghost of president Abraham Lincoln, who appeared to be particularly active during FDR's term and tried to help Roosevelt in the nation's affairs. Among the other spirits who often roam the White House are those of president William Harrison, First Ladies Abigail Adams and Dolley Madison, as well as David Burns - the very first owner of the White House.
