John List House
CREDITS TO: morbidtourism.com
The John List House is located in Westfield, New Jersey. In November of 1971, John List killed his entire immediate family in their New Jersey home, including his wife, his mother, and three children. List shot his wife Helen in the back of the head in their kitchen. Then his mom was shot in her head as well. His 16-year-old daughter, Patricia, and 13-year-old son were shot in the back of the head. The eldest son, John Jr.was shot 10 times in the chest in an attempt of defending himself. Then, he lined up all the bodies (except his mother’s) in the ballroom. According to Lists’ confession note, it claimed that his family was distancing from the church, and he feared that this was the only way to save their souls. He also had run into some serious money issues and was afraid his family would have to go on welfare. The bodies of the five family members were not found for a month. Almost 20 years later in 1989John List was convicted on 5 counts of first-degree murder on April 12, 1990.
Villa de Vecchi, Italy
CREDITS TO: italymagazine.com
Located in the mountains east of Lake Como, Villa De Vecchi is more commonly called “Red House.”The property was owned by Count Felix De Vecchi. The family was only able to spend a few years there, as their lives were mired in tragedy right after it was built. The architect died a year after the villa was completed, and many would later view his death as the first ill omen. After a year of searching, he died by suicide. His brother then moved into the home and his family continued to live there until WWII. The grand piano once said to be played at night by a ghostly entity, has since been smashed to pieces, though some locals claim that music can still be heard coming from the house. Villa De Vecchi is truly a magnificent piece of architecture and a unique example of one man’s vision that surpassed typical McMansion standards.
Bannerman’s Castle
CREDITS TO: bannermancastle.org
Hidden on the island of Pollepol in the Hudson River, New York is a century-old castle remaining only with ruins. Francis Bannerman VI purchased the island in 1900 for use as a storage facility for his growing military surplus business. Francis Bannerman died in 1918, and the family business operated until 1970. In 1967, the family sold Bannerman Castle to New York State and, it was open to the public for tours for about a year. On the night of August 8, 1969, a raging fire of unknown origin destroyed all of the buildings, since then it falls and every winter it brings more and more destruction.
Derelict palazzo, Żebbuġ, Malta
CREDITS TO: sothebysrealty.com
This unique 18th century period property was designed as a hunting lodge under the order of Grand Master De Rohan. This historic palazzo has been left untouched for years,s. The garden has an area of approximately 3,000 square meters and features 300 orange trees, a majestic pine tree, a gravity-fed water irrigation system with the original stone troughs, and nine wells that are replenished with rainwater from the roof and street catchments. The estate has five entrances. One of these entrances way opens into a magnificent banquet hall that features four 15-foot high-embedded statues representing the four seasons
Elda Castle
CREDITS TO: scenesfromthetrail.com
A stone castle set on nearly 50 acres in Ossining, New York with a history dating to the 1920s sits empty and abandoned. The castle was built for David T. Abercrombie, co-founder of Abercrombie & Fitch, and designed by his architect wife, Lucy Abbott Cate, and she decided to name it after their four children, Elizabeth, Lucy, David, and Abbott.
After the completion in 1928, a series of tragedies struck the family: First, their daughter Lucy died in an accident at her dad’s factory, and then the elder himself passed away from rheumatic fever in the home, at which point Lucy Sr. moved with her eldest daughter until she died in 1955.
Mudhouse Mansion, USA
CREDITS TO: mentalitch.com
Mudhouse Mansion is an abandoned house located in Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. Nobody can seem to agree on when it was built, but it dates back sometime between the 1840s and 1900. The last resident was Lulu Hartman-Mast. It’s a very imposing, impressive place built into a hill, with several buildings surrounding it. As per the local legends tells o of Among the legends: after the Civil War, a government official still kept slaves, locking them up at night. With its empty windows and isolated location, Mudhouse Mansion practically screams haunted house. The home was demolished in 2015 by the property owners, the Mast family after not being occupied since the 1930s.
Lui Family Mansion
CREDITS TO: kathmanduandbeyond.com
Built-in 1929 in Baroque style, the Minxiong Ghost House (aka the Lui family mansion) is a freaky place with a heartbreaking history. Located in the Taiwanese countryside, it’s been abandoned since the 1950s when the family fled abruptly. Like all mysterious places, there’s plenty of lore around the family and why they left the once beautiful place.
Rumor has it that the family’s maid was having an affair with her employer, Liu Rong-yu, and when the secret became public, she died after jumping down a well (but since she did not live to speak tell the tale, it’s hard to know exactly what happened). A few years later, the property was occupied by members of the Kuomintang of China (KMT), many of whom were also thought to have died of suicide, which exacerbated its reputation as haunted.
Of course, there are also other, far less morbid narratives out there—like the idea that new business required the family to move closer to downtown.
