Halloween Haunted House 2014: Top 7 Most Famous Haunted Places In The United States [PHOTOS, VIDEOS]

Haunted houses are just one facet of Halloween fun. But what about real homes in America that are supposedly inhabited by spirits all year round? Below is a list of the top 7 most haunted places in the United States.

1.) LaLaurie Mansion -- New Orleans

LaLaurie Mansion located on Royal Street in New Orleans might have a beautiful exterior but the building has a sinister history. Some might remember Kathy Bates’ “American Horror Story” character Madame Delphine LaLaurie, who was based off of Marie Delphine LaLaurie.

When a fire broke out in the mansion 1834, it was discovered that the owner tortured and mutilated a number of slaves she owned, which resulted in their deaths. She fled to Paris where she reportedly died in 1842. The building remains in New Orleans as a landmark. People have reportedly seen apparitions and heard strange noises and groans.

2.) The Amityville House -- Long Island

The Amityville Horror House is arguably one of the most well-known haunted houses in the nation. The terror that reportedly took place in the house has been in inspiration for movies and songs.

In 1974, Ronald DeFeo murdered six members of his family. A year later, the Lutz family moved in to the Ocean Avenue house, only to quickly move out after alleged paranormal activity. They claimed that they smelled strange odors, felt cold drafts, and saw an apparition of a demonic pig-like creature.

3.) The Lemp Mansion -- St. Louis

The Lemp Mansion is a 33-room home built in the 1860s, CBS News reported. It has been many different things—an office space, a residential home, a boarding house, and now restaurant/theater/inn.

William Lemp bought the mansion in 1876. Things went awry for the family when his son Frederick died young of heart failure in 1901. Shortly thereafter, Lemp walked into his home office and shot himself in the head. Nearly 20 years later, Lemp’s daughter Elsa committed suicide the exact same way after she reportedly had marital problems. After William Jr.’s business went bankrupt, he killed himself in the same manner as his father and sister in 1922.

The three dead family members can reportedly be seen in the building, along with William Jr.’s wife Lillian and his “secret” son Zak, who is known as the "monkey face boy who reportedly lived in the attic. Guests and staff claim glasses fly, the piano plays by itself, tools disappear and random sounds can be heard.

4.) Myrtles Plantation -- St. Francisville, Louisiana

Myrtles Plantation is believed to be the site of 10 murders, even though only one has been confirmed. Gen. David Bradford built it in 1796. Ghosts of former slaves appear, footsteps can be heard and a grand piano reportedly plays by itself. To make the plantation even spookier, it was reportedly built on an ancient Tunica Indian burial ground. Thrill-seekers can now devour some bacon and eggs at the site since it has been turned into a bed and breakfast.

5.) Franklin Castle -- Cleveland

A German immigrant named Hannes Tiedemann built the home in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood in 1865. He and his wife lived there peacefully until their daughter Emma died in 1881, when she was 15. Three more Tiedemann children died at Franklin Castle before 1888.

The house was later sold to a different family, who reportedly sold it to a German socialist organization with rumored ties to the Nazis. Franklin Castle has four floors, more than 20 rooms and a number of secret passageways. The socialist group reportedly murdered 20 of its members in those secret tunnels.

Since then, children have reportedly talked to an imaginary friend, and footsteps and voices can reportedly be heard.

6.) Lizzie Borden House -- Fall River, Massachusetts

Lizzie Borden’s story became famous because of the rhyme her crime inspired: “Lizzie Borden took an ax and gave her mother 40 whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father 41.” Borden, who became the subject of a Lifetime movie, was acquitted for the murder of her father Andrew and stepmother Abby in 1892.

Now, for people who want an ax murder with their breakfast, the home is a functioning B&B that offers tours. Five ghosts reportedly haunt the property: Andrew, Abby and Lizzie Borden, plus the spirits of Borden housemaid Bridget "Maggie" Sullivan and her beheaded cat, according to HauntedHouses.com.

7.) The Whaley House -- San Diego

The Whaley House is located in the heart of Old Town. It was built in 1857 by Thomas Whaley and was named most haunted house in America by Life magazine in 2005, UT San Diego wrote. It is supposedly inhabited by various ghosts, including an executed man known as Yankee Jim, Whaley himself, Whaley’s wife, a little girl and one of Whaley’s children who died from scarlet fever, according to HauntedHouses.com. Tours are offered for people who hope to get a ghoulish scare from one of the spirits in the home.

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