Halloween 2016: The 10 Best Haunted Houses In The US

You know what they say: real life is stranger than fiction. The idiom surely applies to these ten real-life haunted houses, where countless mysterious deaths gave way to their legends. Enter only if you dare...

The White House

America’s most well-known address and the residence of President Obama is haunted? You heard that right. The ghost of Abraham Lincoln has been spotted roaming around the grounds, and several previous presidents, first ladies and White House staff have reported paranormal activity.

Myrtles Plantation

Deep in Louisiana, Myrtles Plantation, with its centuries-old oak trees and sweeping veranda, practically begs for a ghost sighting. It's here that General David Bradford, also known as "Whiskey Dave"of the Whiskey Rebellion, lived to avoid arrest. Since 1794, it has allegedly been the site of at least 10 murders.

The Amityville House

Best known as the house from “Amityville Horror,” this Long Island home was the site where Ronald J. DeFeo Jr., the 23-year-old killer, fatally shot his parents and four siblings. Curiously, the house went up for sale in June, probably to a few unsuspecting buyers.

The Joshua Ward House

This house in Salem, Massachusetts where George Washington once laid his head was the home of notorious witch hunter Sheriff George “The Strangler” Corwin lived. The Federal-style brick home is said to be haunted by women persecuted by Corwin.

The LaLaurie House

The grisly tale of the LaLaurie House would give even the most seasoned haunted house pro chills. Dr. LaLaurie and his wife, a well-to-do couple in New Orleans, were discovered to have been torturing a number of slaves.

Franklin Castle

Cleveland's most haunted house belonged to a German immigrant Hans Tiedemann. The stately 20-room home soon became the site of several deaths including his fifteen-year-old daughter Emma, then several other of Tiedemann's children.

Winchester Mystery House

This mansion in San Jose, California was once the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester. Ghosts of the people Mr. Winchester’s guns killed are said to roam the sprawling property.

The Octagon House

The second most famous haunted house in D.C. (the first being the White House) is the Octagon House, built for Colonel John Tayloe III in 1799. By far the most intricate and popular of ghost stories connected with the Octagon is that of the deaths of the Tayloe's’ daughters, who both fell to their death from the spiral staircase.

Villisca Ax Murder House

The name kind of says it all. In Villisca, Iowa in 1912, six members of the Moore family and two houseguests were found bludgeoned in their home. All eight victims, including six children, were found with axe wounds to their heads. The murders were never solved.

William Kehoe House

The home of irish immigrant and prominent businessman William Kehoe was previously the Goette Funeral Home, giving rise to its creepy reputation. Not only that, but two of Kehoe’s 10 children were rumored to have died in the house.