Creepiest Homes With Insanely Disturbing Backstories

A derelict house of horrors built at the top of a lonesome cliff face hides a dark tale of illness and suffering. The history of that isolated mansion is fraught with pain, but it’s far from the only example. From an abandoned townhouse populated by moving mannequins to an old mausoleum with a chilling secret, let's investigate the dark histories of some of the creepiest places in the world.

Abandoned Mountainside La Huasteca House

Deep within the Mexican state of Nuevo León, nestled high among the mountains, leers a crude monument many view as a testament to misery. La Huasteca House juts painfully from the side of a sheer cliff face, and a single glance tells you it’s got bad vibes. Why would anyone build a house there? Who would want to?

The story is even stranger than it seems. Back in 1955, an esteemed scientist named Eduardo Aguirre Pequeño commissioned the three-storey mansion to live in with his family. He claimed he needed somewhere isolated to conduct some important research but what that research was, was less clear.

Regardless, five years later in 1960, the house was finished and he and his family moved in. Days turned to nights, weeks turned to months, sun turned to storm, and still Eduardo remained in his house doing. Supposedly, locals reported hearing agonized screams echoing down the cliffside, had the scientist gone mad? Were his family okay?

It turns out, those pained wails weren’t theirs, they were Eduardo’s. Shockingly, after he’d settled into the isolated abode he’d infected himself with a rare and dangerous tropical disease called Pinta, in an effort to learn more about it. Pinta causes itchy, painful lesions all across the body, and if those stories of echoed screams are anything to go by, Eduardo had it really bad.

How long the tortured scientist remained in the mountains, suffering in the name of science, we can’t be entirely sure. We do know he made a recovery at some point though and eventually left the house along with his family. Maybe the memories of his suffering had left it feeling less like a home and more like a prison.

Ultimately, the house of pain would be expropriated by the government in the ‘80s. There were plans to turn it into a museum of some kind, but that never came to pass, leaving nothing but a ghostly shell. Now at the mercy of the elements and the antics of daring urban explorers, the derelict Huasteca House has been left to rot.

Minxiong Haunted House

This next house might look like somewhere Voldemort would hide one of his horcruxes, but it’s actually a real place and it’s much scarier than any fiction.

That is the Liu Family Mansion, a long abandoned, overgrown structure in the vast countryside of Minxiong, Taiwan. But it’s better known by another name, the Minxiong Haunted House. Urban legends abound about the ruined building, and students from nearby universities frequently trespass as a test of courage. But why?

Built in 1929, the house was originally designed to be the home of a wealthy businessman and his family. Yet, by the 1950s, it was totally abandoned. Nobody really knows what happened to the family, or why they fled. But something terrible happened in that 20 odd year period.

Some say that the maid had an affair with the head of the Liu family, and when his wife discovered the betrayal, she became incensed and attacked her. According to those people, the maid ultimately drowned in the well outside, and her spirit still haunts the grounds.

Apparently, if you visit today there’re what looks like ashes in the bottom of the well. And it’s not just kids that tell those spooky stories, Taiwanese soldiers who camped in the area reported strange goings-on too. What exactly, we don’t know, but supposedly the shrill howling of ghosts can be heard in the middle of the night.

If for some twisted reason you think that sounds like a good time, some intrepid entrepreneurs set up a café nearby. So after a day of ghost hunting you can unwind with some chamomile tea which sounds a little more pleasant. After all, if the souls of the damned really walk our mortal coil, people may as well make a profit off it!

Villa De Vecchi, The House Of The Witches

Just east of Lake Como, in the Italian commune of Cortenova, looms a decrepit old mansion. Completed in 1857 for the head of the Italian National Guard, Count Felix De Vecchi, within just a few years it saw such horror that it earnt a dark nickname Casa Delle Streghe, or The House of Witches.

The first sign of things come to happened before the house was even finished, when the villa’s architect, Alessandro Sidioli, passed away. Despite that, the work was finished and the count and his family enjoyed years of good memories together. Then, in 1862, everything changed. One day, the count returned home and stumbled upon a horrific sight.

Before him lay his wife or what remained of her. Distraught, the count shouted out for his daughter and soon found out that she was gone without a trace. With both of the people he loved the most taken from him by some unknown assailant, the count spent the rest of his years waging a desperate search for his missing child but to no avail. Eventually, it all became too much for him.

Some believe the tragedy was the result of a home invasion, or some form of revenge. Others hold the more far-fetched belief that the count’s daughter herself was the culprit. Unfortunately, the truth was never uncovered. The house stayed within the Vecchi family until the Second World War when they left for good. Other owners tried to live in it after but by the 1960s it had been abandoned entirely probably due to its sordid history.

These days, the villa has been left to rot, its aching halls gloomy and its rooms littered with graffiti. The last few decades haven’t just seen vandals though occultists have allegedly spent nights within the crumbling villa’s walls, and tales of ritual sacrifice and further loss of life followed. Of course, that hasn’t stopped urban explorers from making the trip and many of them say they experienced an unshakeable feeling of being watched while inside.

The Brown Lady Of Raynham Hall

But our next seemingly unassuming home hides some dark secrets. In December 1936, Country Life magazine published the astonishing photo below, an image of the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall, one of the most notorious ghost photographs ever captured.

It was taken by a photographer of the magazine on a routine assignment to snap some nice pics of the manor, they got far more than “nice”. Supposedly, the spirit is Lady Dorothy Walpole, sister to the first English Prime Minister, Robert Walpole. She lived in the manor in the 1700s alongside her husband, though their relationship wasn’t so rosy.

Because Dorothy was having an affair, which her husband found out about. There are several stories about what happened next. One of the most popular, and haunting, goes that when he discovered the transgression, he locked her away in one of the rooms of Raynham. There she remained, prisoner, separated from her children for the rest of her life until she finally passed away in 1726 at just 40 years old.

True or not, we do know she never made it past 1726. Officially, it was ruled as smallpox, but the rumors of foul play never ceased. In the years since, the Brown Lady has been seen stalking the halls on many occasions, searching for her long-lost children.

Even the former King George IV saw the ghost! While staying at the house, he awoke one night to see an unfamiliar woman in old-fashioned clothing leering at the foot of his bed. Terrified, he fled, shouting “I will not spend another hour in this accursed house, for tonight I have seen that which I hope to God I never see again”.

As for that photo? There’s never been any reliable evidence to say whether it’s true or a hoax. Some claim that the lady could actually be a smudge on the lens, or someone moving quickly in front. Would a respected photographer really create a fake ghost picture though? Maybe, that's up to you to decide.

Moving Mannequins Of John Lawson House

Named after the man who built it, 80 miles north of New York City, the mysterious John Lawson House sits in the quiet village of New Hamburg. For such a small town, the area has seen its share of tragedy. In 1871, a train collision caused a colossal explosion just 200 feet from the house yet the house itself escaped unscathed.

And in 1877, a huge fire ravaged the area, destroying buildings indiscriminately, all except for the John Lawson House. Fast forward to 2016 and locals began noticing something very odd. Strange mannequins had appeared on the front porch wearing old-timey clothing. Nobody had seen anyone moving them there, and the house had long been abandoned.

So who was responsible? Nobody knew. Time passed, but things only got stranger. The mannequins were spotted in different positions and clothing day to day, yet still no one ever saw the person moving them. The more superstitious locals speculated that they were possessed by the souls of the lives lost in the tragedies years before. Others assumed it was just a prank.

But what about a third option? What if some deranged local with an obsession with dolls had been setting them up day in, day out, for reasons unknown? The dedication there makes me think that was much more than a prank. Unfortunately, any answers seem beyond our reach. Just as quickly as they appeared, the mannequins vanished. Will they ever return? We’ll have to wait and see.

Haunted Hospital

Hospitals are nasty places at the best of times, but abandoned hospitals are downright spine chilling. Meet the Newsham Park Hospital in Liverpool, England. Opened in 1874, it was originally an orphanage but the children who lived there were subject to the draconian Victorian rules and regulations of the time.

Particularly cruel, on the top floor there’s an attic lined with cupboards that misbehaving children would be locked inside. That lasted until 1954, when it was transformed into a hospital specializing in mental health. Then, in 1992, a nearby lunatic asylum was closed, forcing all the patients there to relocate to Newsham. It’s unclear how well they were treated, but with such an influx of them I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t well.

Officially closed in 1997, the halls have been left to rot ever since. But the story is far from over. Since its abandonment, Newsham has been rumored to be incredibly haunted. As such, it’s become a popular spot for ghost tours and on one of them, the snap in the post below was taken.

According to everyone there, whoever that is, they weren’t one of the group. Indeed, the photographer insists he’d only noticed the eerie figure the next day. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, it's hard to think of a less enjoyable night out.

Carleton Island Villa, The Abandoned New York Island Mansion

In upstate New York sits the crooked Wyckoff villa or by its more pleasant nickname, “The Demon Mansion.” Erected in 1894 as the dream vacation home of one William O. Wyckoff, it would turn out to be more of a nightmare. Within months of the house being built, Wyckoff’s wife had a sudden heart attack and never even got to see it.

Still grieving, Wyckoff himself went to spend some time at the mansion but then he had a heart attack too after just a single night. Wyckoff’s son inherited the mansion, but the effects of the Great Depression forced him to sell the place in 1930. Following that, contractors were allowed to enter, and they stripped the once opulent mansion of its doors and windows before abandoning it.

For 70 years, The Demon Mansion sat eerily empty. Despite being put on the market, its tragic past meant nobody wanted to buy it. But a colossal price drop in 2022 led to Floridian real estate investor Ronald Clapp finally making the purchase for $300,000. As of writing, Clapp plans to fix up the creepy castle and open it as a bed and breakfast.

The Burning Town Of Centralia, Pennsylvania

The movie adaptation of the iconic Silent Hill franchise reworks the origins of the titular town slightly. In it, Silent Hill is situated above an eternally burning underground fire, with smoke rising from the earth and ash filling the air. Turns out, that change was inspired by a real place Centralia, Pennsylvania.

In 1962, the town built a 50 foot landfill to tackle the problem of illegal dumping. It worked, but the landfill itself then needed to be cleared out. Residents came to a seemingly obvious solution, burn the trash! So, that’s exactly what they did.

The fire department safely burned the garbage and doused the flames. Except, a few days later, the flames came back. Then, a few days after that, they came back again. What was going on? To find out, the town excavated the landfill and realized they’d made a huge mistake.

The thing is, Centralia is built upon a vast network of coalmines and a small hole at the bottom of the pit had provided a direct route to them. Essentially, burning trash had been forced through the hole down into the coalmines below and the fire had spread like an infectious disease.

And because of the coalmines, that was no ordinary fire, poisonous carbon monoxide was being thrown up into the air around the town. All the mines were shut down, and Pennsylvania authorities tried desperately to put out the fires but nothing worked. Yet, people refused to abandon their homes and lived on in the poisoned town. It took around 20 years before they felt the fire’s effects in earnest.

Citizens began passing out in their homes, foliage died, roads collapsed it was clearly no longer safe to live there. The final straw came in ’81, when a 12 year old boy nearly fell to his doom when a 150 foot deep sinkhole opened right underneath him. The town was evacuated but amazingly, some people still refused to leave. At the time of this article’s writing, there are still a handful of people living in Centralia amidst the barren scenery and toxic fumes.

Sanatorio Duran

Costa Rica, 1918. Carlos Duran Cartin was a doctor and politician, whose daughter was suffering from tuberculosis. Desperate, he opened a hospital in hopes of treating the disease. That is Sanatorio Duran, and rather than a haven, it became known as one of the most haunted places in Costa Rica.

Despite Carlos’ best efforts, he ultimately lost his daughter. The sanatorium stayed in use until the sixties however, staffed almost entirely by nuns looking after patients with tuberculosis and mental health issues. Then it was converted into an orphanage, and later a prison. As if to end the suffering, in the 1970s, a nearby volcano erupted and ruined parts of the complex, leading to its closure.

These days, the place is abandoned but if locals are to be believed, it’s far from empty. The spirits of the nuns that worked at the facility and the patients who suffered there supposedly walk the halls. In fact, a Costa Rican newspaper published a photo of an apparent ghost sighting at the sanatorium. It's up to you to decide if the image is a real-life ghost caught on camera or if somebody just had a friend stand at the end of the hallway.

Chateau Miranda

Tucked away in the wooded Belgian hillside overlooking the small town of Celles sat an unexpected sight, Chateau Miranda, a grand gothic castle that was erected back in 1907. The building was commissioned by Count Liedekerke-De Beaufort as a home for his family, but despite living there happily for many years, the good times wouldn’t last.

The Second World War dawned, and the Liedekerke-De Beauforts were forced to flee as Belgium was invaded by the Germans and ravaged by their occupation. Chateau Miranda was overtaken by the invaders and became a camp for the German military. The grounds even saw a portion of the Battle of the Bulge, one of the most famous of the conflict.

After the war, things got a little better when the castle was converted into an orphanage, and then a summer camp for kids. But it was run by strict disciplinarians and, according to some children, they were subject to horrific abuse. The camp was shut down in the 1970s and from there the once grand castle steadily decayed. That didn’t stop urban explorers from paying a visit though.

Some reported hearing the screams of ghostly children echoing through the dilapidated buildings, while others claimed to have seen the spirits. Could some children have lost their lives there but remained forcefully tethered to the castle? It seems unlikely, but we can’t say for sure. Regardless, the crumbling building was eventually demolished in 2017, we can only hope the ghosts vanished with it.

The Queen's House Ghost Of The Tulip Stairs

Let's delve into one of the most iconic and convincing ghost photos ever taken. The spinetingling snap below was taken inside Queen’s House, an opulent building in Greenwich, England, with a rich and spooky history.

Queen’s House was built between 1616 and 1619 by King James I as an apology to his wife. As, he’d committed the heinous act of swearing at her after she, shot his dog. Unfortunately for her, it wouldn’t be completed until 1630, long after she was gone.

So could the ghost be her, enjoying in death what she couldn’t in life? It’s not quite so simple. During the English civil war, the building was used to house prisoners, and afterwards, it became an orphanage, a hospital school and finally a museum. So, there’s plenty of opportunity for it to have picked up a ghostly guest!

The infamous photo was taken in 1966 by one Reverend Ralph Hardy, who’d been visiting the museum. He was totally alone, and only saw the specter when he had the photo developed. Shocked, Hardy sent the snap to Kodak to have it analyzed, and they concluded that the image hadn’t been tampered with. It looked like the figure is desperately clawing its way up the stairs.

The picture caused a media storm and a group of paranormal enthusiasts even held a séance in the house in an attempt to contact the spirit. As far as we're aware, it was unsuccessful. But who was it? Some say that a maid was once thrown over the staircase, and others claim to have seen her ghost, mopping up blood at the base of the stairwell. Could it be her? Is the image even real at all? Whatever the truth, you probably won’t be sleeping tonight.

Bobda Mausoleum

Mausoleums are creepy places at the best of times. The Bobda Mausoleum in Romania however is something else entirely. Completed in 1908 and constructed by the wealthy Baron Gyula Csávossy, it was once a beautiful piece of architecture. Just three years after the mausoleum’s completion though, it was already needed. Both the baron and his wife passed away in 1911 and were buried in the crypt beneath the structure.

Far from being over however, the Csávossy family’s troubles had only just begun. Their huge fortune was taken and divided between the village community. Jump forward to the 1950s, and the new Communist mayor of Bobda desecrated the mausoleum crypt in search of precious objects to nationalize.

Then, in something straight out of a horror movie, a group of teenagers broke inside and played soccer with the remains of the baron and his family. The remains were moved to avoid another grisly event, but the mausoleum was left to be ravaged by nature. These days, it’s a mess all that’s left to show of a once great family.

Abandoned Hilltop Mansion

One chilly day in the Fall of 2022, Ontario adventurer RiddimRyder was out hiking when he discovered the carcass of a battered house, crooked and alone on an otherwise barren hilltop. The dilapidated home stuck out like a sore thumb against the tranquil surroundings.

Out of curiosity Bravely or stupidly Ryder checked the door, it was unlocked. Then, he stepped inside. Dirty animal cages were everywhere, the ceiling was caved in, and all the walls were lined with filth. But at the same time, there was a relatively modern TV, and dozens of half empty drink bottles covering the tables. Ryder immediately got out of there and started to do some research.

Absolutely SHOCKING Abandoned Hilltop Hoarder Mansion! (UNBELIEVABLE FINDS) by Riddim Ryder

Months of graft later, and all that studying led him to the truth! The house had once belonged to a strange man who was obsessed with breeding dogs. The animals were kept in horrendous conditions and horribly neglected, existing only for the breeder to sell for a quick buck.

Rumors swirled in the area about the man being dangerous, and the dogs he sold weren’t much better. The horrid environment they were raised in left them with terrible dispositions and extreme behavioral issues. Then, one day in 2013, the mysterious breeder fell of the face of the Earth. To this day, nobody knows where he went, or why he disappeared.

Redman-Hirahara House

The Second World War was the single most destructive conflict in human history. But the frontlines were far from the only place that felt its horrors. Meet the Redman-Hirahara House south of Watsonville, California.

Purchased by the Japanese American Hirahara family in 1940, the family barely lived there two years before disaster struck. In December 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and as a result President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a drastic executive order. Japanese Americans were viewed as a national security risk and to be forcibly removed from the West Coast and sent to internment camps.

It wasn’t long before the Hiraharas too were rounded up and forced out. It’s hard to imagine how traumatic that must’ve been. Thrown out of their stunning mansion, they were sent off to a depressing, sparsely furnished barracks and kept trapped inside with barbed wire.

Thankfully, come the end of the war in 1945, the Hiraharas were freed and returned to their family home, which was luckier than many. There they stayed until 1989, when an earthquake forced them to leave again. The Redman-Hirahara House has sat abandoned ever since. Now, it sits in lonely tatters as a monument to the historic suffering endured by Japanese Americans. And that’s scarier than any ghost.

The Mausoleum Demon

Deep within the woods of Poland sits a lone mausoleum that no-one should enter. One Emil Becker, the prior owner of the area, was laid to rest there after his death in 1891. Since, strange things started happening. The mausoleum was looted of all its valuables and Becker’s body was even supposedly dug up and posed in different positions around the building.

But it’s not just the past that haunts that place, within its bowels lives a terrifying entity and it’s been caught on camera. Brace yourself, because this is the demon of the mausoleum.

It isn’t really a monster but it’s still super creepy. The disturbing statue lurks menacingly within the mausoleum walls, waiting to jump scare any unaware visitors. But why is it there? Some sort of devil worship? It’s actually a prop left over from the filming of a 2017 horror movie named Redwood.

Regardless of the quality of the movie, the prop sure is effective. So much so, it’s become a popular attraction in the area. Sadly, vandals took it upon themselves to destroy the statue, and although it was rebuilt, they returned and set fire to it, scorching the entire mausoleum at the same time. Unbelievably though, they couldn’t quite finish the job, the remains of the demon still stand tall.

I hope you were amazed at these creepy homes with insanely disturbing backstories! Thanks for reading.