What is the scariest house in the world

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American Horror Story: Coven reignited interest in this famous French Quarter haunt. In the series, Kathy Bates plays Madame Delphine LaLaurie, a real-life socialite and serial killer who orchestrated a torture chamber for enslaved people at the Royal Street mansion in the early 1830s (before responders to a fire uncovered her dark secret). LaLaurie's victims are said to haunt the property to this day—from the street, pedestrians have heard shouts, moans, and weeping, while some even claim to have seen ghostly faces in the upstairs windows. Even still, the house's ghastly history hasn't stopped wealthy buyers. Before losing the home to foreclosure in 2009, actor Nicolas Cage owned it, and today a wealthy oil tycoon is said to hold the deed.

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2. The Castle | Beaufort, SC

Beaufort's most recognizable antebellum mansion is also one of the South Carolina town's most haunted. Though construction began in the 1850s, the house was only partially finished when it was commandeered in 1861 as a Civil War military hospital. An outbuilding behind the house served as the hospital's morgue, and bodies are rumored to be interred on the home's extensive grounds. After the house finished construction following the war's end, supernatural sightings began; among the spirits occupying the property is Gauche, a French dwarf jester that came to the area in the 16th century. In the past, he reportedly joined a young girl who lived in the home for tea parties, and wandered the grounds in full sight of gardeners and visitors. If you want to see it for yourself, the castle is privately owned but occasionally opens for tours and events.

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3. Lizzie Borden House | Fall River, MA

Some say a ghostly face appears in the cellar over the sink where bloody clothing may have been washed right after the 1892 hatchet murders of Andrew and Abby Borden. The possible perp? Andrew's daughter Lizzie, who was acquitted at the trial of the century, perhaps by the jury's error. She, Andrew and her stepmother Abby are said to linger in the house, along with children who roll marbles on the attic floor, victims of a drowning by their mother in the basement well next door. If you’re dying to see the Lizzie Borden House, aim for the anniversary reenactments every August.

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6. The Sallie House | Atchison, KS

At one of the most haunted houses in America, the bad energy allegedly stems from a botched appendectomy—the six-year-old girl who haunts the house died during a desperate procedure without anesthesia 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.

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7. Bell Witch Farm | Adams, TN

It's the age-old tale of neighbors at war: a woman named Kate Batts believed her neighbor, John Bell, cheated her out of some land. Lying on her deathbed in the early 19th century, she swore she would haunt him forever. The result was mayhem for the Bell family, which said they experienced physical attacks and heard chains dragged across floors and noises in the walls. They even claimed to see odd-looking animals on their farm, like a dog with a rabbit's head. You can now tour the Bell Witch Cave and the replica of John Bell's log cabin from May through October. 

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9. Lemp Mansion | St. Louis, MO

All the beer in the world won't lead to happiness. So is the case with the Lemp family, purveyors of Lemp Brewing Company, a stalwart in St. Louis before Prohibition hit. Four members of the family killed themselves between 1904 and 1949, three of them inside the 33-room Victorian mansion where they allegedly still reside and haunt guests. It has since been turned into a restaurant and inn where you can explore the Gothic arched underground tunnels and even partake in a ghost tour—just go a little easy on the beer during your stay, okay?

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11. Winchester Mystery House | San Jose, CA

Sarah Winchester's husband developed the "gun that won the West," a decision that would come back to haunt her: literally. After losing her husband and young daughter, the widow consulted a spiritualist who alleged the family was being haunted by Native Americans, Civil War soldiers, and others killed by her husband’s famous Winchester rifle. It was recommended that she use her $20 million inheritance to build a home to appease the spirits. What began as an eight-room farmhouse was added onto for 26 years between 1886 and 1922, becoming a 160-room mansion with 2,000 doors: all in an effort to confuse pursuing spirits. If you take a tour, bring your compass.

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12. Ferry Plantation | Virginia Beach, VA

Built on Native American hunting grounds, this home's got a raft of ghosts, from passengers of a shipwrecked ferry to a boy who fell from a window. Docents have watched the ghost of an enslaved man walk across the room and tend a long-boarded up fireplace. Another paranormal presence is Grace Sherwood, accused of witchcraft in the 1700s and found guilty by 'ducking' (a process in which she was bound and dropped in deep water; drowning would mean she was innocent). Thankfully, after seven years in prison she was released, and in 2006 she was officially exonerated. Book a $20 tour or stay overnight.

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18. Lynnewood Hall | Elkins Park, PA

A Gilded Age manor with a Titanic connection? That looks like a state capitol meets Jane Austen’s boyfriend’s house? Check and check. At 70,000 square feet, this home has a lot of floor space for ghosts to ramble (its ballroom can hold 1,000 people). Although the home is abandoned, it’s in fairly intact shape, despite peeling paint, thanks to a caretaker and guard dogs. So who haunts this ‘last American Versailles’ which once held literal furniture from the Parisian palace? Apparently tycoon Peter A. B. Widener who built it, and his son and grandson who sank with the famous ship.

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20. Boldt Castle | Alexandria Bay, NY

Do you love 1,000 Island salad dressing? If so, you are sure to love Boldt Castle on its own heart-shaped island in St. Lawrence Seaway’s 1,000 Islands. Underway as a summer home for a millionaire’s wife, the castle’s construction was not yet complete in 1904 when she died of heart failure. The heartbroken Mr. Boldt walked away and the castle was abandoned until its 1977 rescue. Strange lights are said to come on in the castle, and some have even seen Mrs. Boldt haunting the home that death robbed from her. (Bonus for salad lovers? Mr. Boldt was proprietor of New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, where Waldorf salad was invented).

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21. The House of the Seven Gables | Salem, MA

Immortalized in the novel of the same name by Nathaniel Hawthorne (who changed his surname from Hathorne to avoid connection to his ancestor who had served as a Salem witch trials judge), this 1668 seaside house was built for a hat and shoe merchant. Check out the bonus eighth gable as well as the secret staircase replete with stair-climbing ghost, the giggling ghost boy in the attic and a woman who peers out the windows, said to be Hawthorne’s cousin Susannah.

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