Creaking floors, inexplicable cold drafts and eerie sounds usually don’t top the list of dream house features.
Unless, of course, we’re talking about dream haunted house features.
It’s October, and we’re forgoing the usual roundup of eye candy in favor of some cobweb-draped places most people wouldn’t dare put a down payment on.
Tales of horror, glimpses of ghosts and a bevy of cobweb decor — it’s all here.
Click here to see the haunted mansions >
Winchester House: San Jose, CA
It’s as if original owner Sarah Winchester wanted her home to be haunted.
The eccentric widow of William Winchester, founder of Winchester rifles, held nightly seances to gain guidance from spirits and her dead husband for the home’s design.
The end result? A maze-like structure that took 38 years to build and includes twisting and turning hallways, dead ends, secret panels, a window built into a floor, staircases leading to nowhere, doors that open to walls, upside-down columns and rooms built, then intentionally closed off — all to ward off and confuse evil spirits.
Gardette-LaPrete House: 716 Dauphine St, New Orleans, LA
This Greek revival home was the site of the one of the grisliest murders in New Orleans‘ history.
A Turkish merchant, renting the home, was buried alive in the backyard and his harem entourage murdered.
Years later, the French Quarter home is still said to be the site of the merchant’s wanderings, and on certain nights, exotic music and incense from ancient parties waft from the home.
Hampton Lillibridge: 507 E Julian St, Savannah, GA
This historic home was moved to its current location in Savannah by a local restoration expert.
As work began on the house, workers reported odd noises and a male presence.
Early on, they discovered a crypt on the building site half filled with water and covered it.
Despite the rumors of hauntings, the home was finished and was last on the market for $2.2 million in 2011. Although it’s off the market now, there’s no word of a buyer.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider