If you want to spend the night in a haunted house, we have the list for you. Ghosts, ghouls, spirits, and spectres await you! Or so believers have claimed. Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures have featured some of these places during paranormal investigations. Others simply have a long history of haunted activity. All of them will scare your socks off, so be prepared.
Here’s a list of 20 haunted houses open to the public for overnight stays and ghost hunts. Check it out!
Spend the Night at the Haunted Villisca Axe Murder House in Iowa
The Villisca Axe Murder House is located in Villisca, Iowa, and visitors believe the family killed there still haunts the house. See, this haunted house was the site of a grisly murder.
The Villisca Axe Murders saw a killer stalk through the house on the night of June 9, 1912. He murdered a family of six and two visiting kids in cold blood. Ever since the house opened to the public in the ‘90s, guests have reported paranormal phenomena. Children play with invisible spirits. Unexplainable fogs move through the house, and investigators catch odd happenings on their devices.
Read more about the Villisca Axe Murders here!
Nowadays, the house serves as a sort of museum and haunted attraction. The owners provide tours, paranormal investigations, and – you guessed it – overnight stays. For the right price, you can rent the entire house for a night. Individual rooms are much cheaper though. To make things better, the Villisca Axe Murder House supplies the gear you’ll need to search for the spirits involved in the house’s tragic history. So, if you want to spend the night in a haunted house in Iowa, this is the place.
Pennhurst Asylum: Spend the Night in a Haunted House – Asylum???
Pennhurst Asylum offers overnight ghost hunts that are sure to leave you shaking. Even if you don’t believe in ghosts, you’ll find it hard to keep your cool when faced with the asylum’s sordid history. So, if you want to spend the night in a haunted house, why not try a haunted asylum instead?
Before Pennhurst Asylum closed down in 1987, the facility served as a home for the disabled. Though, this wasn’t the type of home you’d want to stay at. Nearly half of the patients died due to the conditions at Pennhurst some years.
Abuse and neglect were as much a part of the institution as the mortar between its bricks. Those within the paranormal community believe the traumatic lives and deaths of Pennhurst’s patients imprinted on the building. Staying overnight at this asylum would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, to say the least.
An Overnight Stay at the Famed Lizzie Borden House
Lizzie Borden was charged and acquitted of murdering her father and stepmother with what authorities believed was a hatchet in 1892. The scene was gory, with each victim taking at least ten chops of the weapon. Historians still consider Lizzie the prime suspect in these deaths.
The house where the family lived and died is known as the Lizzie Borden House, and it’s become a tourist attraction over the decades. They host tours of multiple kinds and book overnight stays for those who want to test their mettle. According to guests, doors open and objects move on their own in the house. Multiple people have reported run-ins with spectral figures as well. But the ghosts aren’t the only odd thing about this place.
The Lizzie Borden House may be the most twisted bed and breakfast in the United States. First, you’ll spend the night in a haunted house where two people were brutally butchered. Then, the staff will feed you the same breakfast the Borden family ate the day of the murders.
Spend the Night at a Haunted House - The Whaley House
The Whaley House claims to be “America’s most haunted house,” so it’ll be a great place for enthusiasts to spend the night on a paranormal investigation. As with most of the places that sell overnight investigations on this list, the Whaley House will provide all of the gear. All you have to bring is yourself and a rare sense of courage.
The site where Whaley House now stands was also the site of Yankee Jim Robinson’ public execution. Robinson was a famous horse thief in the mid-1800s, and legend states he still haunts the property.
The Whaley family built their home on the site where Robinson died anyway. They weren’t concerned with its history. Time would move forward, and the Whaleys would live out their lives, dying in the house. Even in those days, the superstitious reported that the ghosts of Whaley family members infested the residence. One of whom was 18-month-old Thomas Whaley.
The paranormal community now believes that this haunted house holds a menagerie of ghosts. And, overnight hunts start at $94.05.
Spend the Night in Groups at the Haunted Hill House
This haunted Hill House isn’t the one from the Netflix show. The haunted Hill House we’re discussing is located in Mineral Wells, Texas, and is built on land connected to a hidden mine. Or so the rumors say.
Indigenous peoples inhabited the land before the builders erected the house. We’re not suggesting that mines and Indigenous people cause hauntings, but others believe these factors add to Hill House’s mysterious nature.
During a portion of the house’s history, it served as a speakeasy. Legend says many were murdered at Hill House during this time period. The owners of the house suggest this may be the root of its haunting. Regardless, the house is now open to investigations at all times, and they say there’s more than enough convincing evidence. Moving objects, spirit orbs, apparitions, electronic voice phenomena (EVP), electromagnetic field anomalies (EMF), and just about everything paranormal investigators use to determine spirit activity.
To book an overnight investigation at the haunted Hill House, you’ll have to fork over $550 of your hard-earned money. That being said, the price covers a group of eight, so it’s actually rather cheap for the experience.
Spend the Night at a Haunted House — Well, the Haunted Sallie House
The Sallie House in Atchison, Kansas, is famous enough that TV shows and movies have been inspired by it. The myth states that the spirit of a 6-year-old girl named Sallie who died in the house while undergoing surgery in the 1800s haunts the Sallie House. Some say the doctor involved was malicious. Others, however, think the situation confused the young girl as she died during her medical procedure. Whatever the case may be, the last owners of the house allegedly experienced dangerous and violent paranormal activity.
Supposedly, an invisible entity randomly has set fires all over the house and thrown objects at the male owner. The spirit, they say, scratched the owner and attacked him at every turn. Since the doctor performing Sallie’s operation when she died was a man, this ghost targets men. Even if this isn’t true, you’ll have to sign a waiver of liability if you want to spend the night in a haunted house as violent as Sallie House.
Franklin Castle: Spend the Night in a Haunted House Designed Like a Castle
Yes, you can spend the night in a haunted house that looks just like a miniature castle. Franklin Castle is a mansion in Cleveland, Ohio, with a brighter history than most on this list. Mr. Hannes Tiedemann first built the house in 1883 as a family home large enough to accommodate friends and relatives. The family lived out its days in the Franklin Castle, and more people would call it home as the house continued into the present.
Allegedly, the Tiedemann family dying in the house is the root of the paranormal happenings. Then, somewhere along the lines, people began to suspect that Mr. Tiedemann was the one haunting Franklin Castle. When new owners purchased the house in 1968, they had a priest perform an exorcism to halt the unexplained phenomena they experienced.
You can investigate the premises yourself on one of their overnight stays. So far, investigators have claimed to hear screaming and footsteps and even to see apparitions
The Myrtles Plantation – Stay the Night in a Haunted House on an Old Plantation
The Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana, operates as a hotel and historic site. The original owners of the plantation built the house in 1796 in the heart of hoodoo country. It’s since had a grim history of slavery and rumors of murder. Though rumors claim the property was the site of at least ten killings, journalists and investigators have only confirmed one. That was the murder of William Winter. Even so, countless enslaved people likely died on the property. So, paranormal logic dictates that the foundation for hauntings still exists.
With a timeline predating the Civil War, it’s unsurprising that Myrtles Plantation draws paranormal enthusiasts. In fact, Unsolved Mysteries and Ghost Hunters both featured the property on their shows. So, if you want to spend the night in a haunted house with centuries of history, Myrtles Plantation is the place for you. Not to mention the paranormal recognition this place holds.
The Joshua Ward House: Spend the Night in a Haunted House Where George Washington Stayed
The Joshua Ward House, now known as The Merchant Hotel, is a historic mansion. The first owner was a retired merchant named – you guessed it – Joshua Ward. The mansion once housed George Washington in 1789, though this fact has no relation to the alleged hauntings. No, The Joshua Ward House is located in Salem, Massachusetts, and people believe it to be haunted by victims of the Salem Witch Hunts.
This property stands on the site of a jail where authorities interrogated, tortured, and killed the accused during the witch trials. Sheriff George Corwin, who carried out the witch hunts, roams the halls of the Merchant, according to popular stories. His victims may be present as well, locked in an endless cycle of torment. And for under $500, you can rent a room and try to spot these spirits yourself.
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Lemp Mansion: A St. Louis Haunted Mansion Worth Staying At
The Lemp Mansion in St. Louis, Missouri, is another Victorian-era mansion people claim is haunted. In fact, CNN included it on their Top 10 spookiest buildings around the world list. Since several members of the Lemp family died by suicide in the house, the building has been allegedly rife with odd happenings. Doors open on their own, objects move, and things break. The staff of Lemp Mansion claim to see spiritual figures and hear disembodied voices as well.
Today, Lemp Mansion is a restaurant and a bed and breakfast. They’re involved with ghost tours, and they act as a venue for assorted events. Since they’re not terribly overpriced, ranging a little over $200 per night, Lemp Mansion makes an ideal place to spend the night in a haunted house if you’re on a budget.
Spend the Night at the Haunted John Bell House and Bellwitch Cave
The John Bell House, located in Adams, Tennessee, is a bit different than other haunted houses you can stay at on this list. The haunting of this house doesn’t originate in the house at all, but rather in a cave on the property known as “Bellwitch Cave.” According to the owners of the John Bell House, the cave is one of the most haunted places in America.
Thirteen years after John Bell and his family moved onto the farm in Adams in 1804, they began to hear strange noises coming from their cabin. They’d see unexplainable animals on the property that they believed were unnatural. In time, things got worse. The sounds turned to voices, and invisible entities began physically beating John’s daughters, or so legend states.
The Bell family later attributed the happenings to an unseen witch who supposedly lived in the cave on the property. This includes John Bell’s demise and the mysterious vial of liquid left next to his deathbed. These stories may just be stories, but the Bell Witch Cave website invites paranormal investigators to spend the night and find out for themselves.
Biltmore Estate: Stay the Night in a Fancy Haunted Estate
Though the prices are what you’d expect from a nice hotel, Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, comes with the added benefit of ghosts. At least, that’s what the paranormal buffs claim.
Biltmore Estate sits on a massive property, roughly 8,000 acres, in the mountains of North Carolina. The facilities there, though mansion-esque, are now a luxury resort. There’s a primary hotel and several cottages – all for rent.
This resort began as the home of a 19th-century elite named George Washington Vanderbilt. It’s Vanderbilt and his wife who people claim wander the premises, but they’re not the only ones. Stories of a headless orange cat walking the property abound, as do those of an old compound in the forest filled with specters.
Stay the night in a haunted house while living in luxury at Biltmore Estate, an experience most will never have. Just don’t step on the headless cat.
Camp Out in a Haunted Civil War Farmhouse in Gettysburg
When you’re looking for haunted places to stay, Airbnb isn’t a place you’d think to check. The website lists this Civil War farmhouse in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, so spending the night in this haunted house should be as easy as a single click. What may not be easy is sleeping among the specters.
David Stewart Farmhouse served as a field hospital during the Civil War and is literally soaked in the blood of Union soldiers. Legend says the house is haunted by the fighting spirits of the war. Though some may claim to see ghastly soldiers in the night, many have stayed with no paranormal experiences at all. Ghost Detectives has investigated the house, however, so don’t get discouraged. If nothing else, you can spend the night in a haunted house that’s steeped in American history.
Elizabeth Thompson House – Another Haunted Bed and Breakfast You Can Spend the Night At
There’s no better place in the United States for paranormal enthusiasts than Savannah, Georgia, known as the most haunted city in the country. The Elizabeth Thompson House, a bed and breakfast that embraces its paranormal reputation, is located right in the heart of Savannah’s historic district. Even if no haunted history was tied to this building, countless people believe this area is a paranormal hotspot.
Joseph Thompson built the Elizabeth Thompson House just before the Civil War in 1847. Being tied to this time period, urban legend claims you can spot Confederate soldiers through the house’s windows. Rumors likewise speak of a girl in a white dress who walks the halls of the bed and breakfast. But don’t worry, you can still spend the night in this haunted house without fear. Nobody has yet to report a spiritual attack with this haunting.
Hotel Metropolitan: Spend the Night in a Haunted House with a Diverse History
Though Maggie Steed technically built Hotel Metropolitan in Paducah, Kentucky, as a hotel, we’re including it on this list because it’s not much different from a house in size and shape. Steed built the Metropolitan during a dark stain in United States’ history: segregation. But this piece of culture doesn’t come with the traumatic history one envisions when imagining haunted houses. Rather, it was a sanctuary for Black American travelers.
Notable names stayed at the Hotel Metropolitan. Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Thurgood Marshall, and more each called this place home for at least a night, and people say you can still hear their footsteps throughout the building. Likewise, the music from countless musicians who stayed at the Metropolitan plays from the famous Purple Room if you listen closely. Though the spirits legend says occupy this hotel aren’t the vengeful type, you may still find it a little eerie to spend the night in a haunted house with so much activity.
Berkeley Plantation Ghost Hunt: Spend the Night in the Most Haunted House In Virginia
Berkeley Plantation, located in Charles City, Virginia, claims to be the most haunted house in Virginia. So, if you’re looking to spend the night in a haunted house, this is your opportunity to go big or stay home.
The plantation is a three-story mansion, steeped in the twisted history of American Slavery, the Civil War, and the Revolutionary War. The age itself is enough to give you an idea of the lives lost on the plantation’s grounds, and those deaths started early. In 1744, a lightning strike killed a man and his two daughters on the plantation. The Union also used the cellar as a jail during the Civil War. More tragedy than we can list occurred at Berkeley Plantation, and, allegedly, the multitude of ghosts on the property reflect it.
Jump on an overnight ghost hunt to see for yourself!
Spend a Night at the Haunted Bellamy Mansion
Bellamy Mansion’s owners provide the drinks, snacks, equipment, and ghosts as a courtesy during one of their overnight paranormal investigations. Architect James Post built the mansion in Wilmington, North Carolina, over the course of three years, finishing it in 1861. This was the home of plantation owner Dr. John Bellamy, his family, and the enslaved people who worked his property, and it’s these people who urban legend says haunt the mansion’s grounds.
The Bellamy children inhabit the top floor, while other ghosts lay claim to the rest of the house. Disembodied noises and banging are commonplace, along with phantom winds that blow papers around. If the hauntings aren’t enough to bring you to Bellamy Mansion, the house itself might be. How often do paranormal enthusiasts get a chance to spend the night in a haunted house with iconic antebellum architecture?
Spend the Night in a Haunted House at Ashmore Estates
Ashmore Estates operated as the Coles County Poor Farm from 1857 to 1869. Located in Loxa, Illinois, it’s now a tourist attraction for those wanting to perform paranormal investigations, and yes, you can spend the night in a haunted house at Ashmore Estates, performing all the ghost hunting your heart desires.
The interior of the house is about as eerie as it gets, filled with old artifacts and chipping paint. This is allegedly the most haunted house in Illinois, and many claim to have experienced paranormal activity here. With a cemetery on the property, hundreds of dead bodies are buried close by. If the paranormal truly exists, you’ll be sure to find it here.
Prospect Hill: Room and Board While You Spend the Night in a Haunted House
A major of the Union Army built the Prospect Inn in 1889 as his personal residence. It has since become the Prospect Hill Bed and Breakfast, located in Mountain City, Tennessee. Locals claim this location houses several ghosts, capable of producing phantom smells, such as muffins and cookies, as well as the sound of footsteps walking through the halls.
The list of paranormal phenomena at Prospect Hill is long. The disembodied sounds of a crying infant may make it hard to spend the night in a haunted house like this one, but the chance to see Civil War-era soldiers marching in translucent form may override the fear. Regardless, you’re sure to have experiences you can write home about if you have the courage to brave an overnight investigation here.
Unfortunately, Prospect Hill is currently closed. We’ll report back when we learn if and when the haunted house plans to reopen.
Spend the Night in a Haunted House at Farnsworth House Inn
John McFarlane built the Farnsworth House Inn in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in 1810. The current name is to commemorate Union Brigadier General Elon John Farnsworth. This house was once occupied by Confederate soldiers after serving as a hospital during part of the Civil War. The amount of history this house has built up over the past 200 years has many paranormal buffs convinced it’s one of the most haunted places in Gettysburg.
The Shultz family, who currently owns the house, claims it’s the home of 16 ghosts. The odd happenings include figures of Confederate soldiers and an 8-year-old boy who died in the house, along with disembodied sounds and smells. The list goes on, but one thing about the Farnsworth house is certain: if you were to spend the night in a haunted house filled with this much history and myth, you’d certainly get your money’s worth.
And if these haunted houses won’t do, here are more scary places to spend the night!
