It's also one of the most haunted. Locals say a Christmas tree with wrapped gifts tucked underneath remained there for decades. Do you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested? The two attempted to live an isolated life. Gary Lawrance, who runs the popular Instagram account @mansionsofthegildedage, says this 1897 house is … by: Alissa Groeninger. And the building stands as a blemish on the otherwise scenic Sussex landscape. What makes for a better ghost house than an angry caretaker with a shotgun? Price: It cost $5.5 million to build from 1884 to 1922 ($83.6 million today). She died shortly after giving childbirth. ELKINS PARK, Pa. – Lynnewood Hall, a century-old stunner of a building just outside Philadelphia, silently, almost invisibly, languishes 200 feet beyond a two-lane blacktop road like a crumbling little Versailles. Even the estate itself has apparently shrunk. Jul 27, 2018 - The urbanexploration community on Reddit. Source: Top Ten Real Estate Deals. Bathrooms: 20. I don’t have to be nice to anybody.”. While we're not sure exactly how much this castle cost to build, it was built with local granite and imported materials from Europe and cost $50,000 in 1899. Joseph sadly died three years later, leaving his two children to decide the fate of Lynnewood Hall. "If it continues to be neglected as it is, it will be beyond salvage" within five to 10 years, one specialist in historic architecture said of the 110-room mansion. your own Pins on Pinterest Ellensburg - Barto Hall. The legacy of Lynnewood Hall isn’t just its ornate architectural style, though. We have something special for you today. I’ve never seen it. Before that catastrophe, Widener had built himself a huge T-shaped mansion that measured in at 70,000 square feet. But now, the place has been in disuse for decades. A suicide note simply read, "I've been awake all night. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. No wonder locals refer to the property as the “ghost house of Sussex.”. It was last on sale for $6.9 million. Located on a grand 480-acre estate in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Lynnewood Hall is not your average abandoned mansion. Lore and legend: The Mercer House is the home where wealthy antiques dealer and historic preservationist Jim Williams shot and killed his lover, 21-year-old Danny Hansford. At one stage, the man explains that he’s growing trees there as a means of booking a place in heaven. The Wideners also had one of the largest Gilded Age mansions outside Philadelphia, named Lynnewood Hall. It also has a spooky (and intriguing) history. The house is said to be haunted by Charles and his servants. But at least I let everyone know that in advance. The night turns deadly as they come to the horrifying realization that some nightmares are real. And another plan that never came to fruition was a garden intended for the roof of the property. His daughter and heiress, Charlotte Kimball, lived here until she died in 1960. The ghost of a slave, who may have been murdered by intentional food poisoning. "My grandfather watched the house in the 1920s, and my father watched in the 1960s. The previous owner said the parlor's piano would play when no one was there. Feb 20, 2015 - This Pin was discovered by Lyn Sims. Obviously, they mind, but with me, it’s not much good minding, is it? Lynnewood Hall also once encompassed an indoor swimming pool complete with changing rooms. The scaffolding only remains as a part of ongoing routine maintenance such a property would require until completion.”. That's somewhere in the realm of $1.5 million today. So, Widener employed Horace Trumbauer to helm the mansion’s new round of renovations. Bearing this in mind, we can confidently call van Hoogstraten’s house a complete and utter folly. The upstairs balconies retain their ironwork, too, and this mimics the swirls that once covered the entryway. As reported by The Patriot-News, Lynnewood Hall, the decrepit “ghost house” mansion which sits about 13 miles north of Philadelphia in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, is up for sale again for a massive $16 million. Today, Trumbauer is known as a master of the American Beaux-Arts style of architecture, which flourished from the 1830s until the turn of the 20th century and incorporates features of Gothic, neoclassical and Renaissance buildings. He was 39 years old. He ordered the execution of a man accused of witchcraft named Giles Corey — and it wasn't a simple execution. Legend says that Corey cursed the entire town of Salem with his last breath, although there's no evidence of that. However, the ghost is believed to be friendly. And the Wideners didn’t just suffer the death of their matriarch, either. In the English language, we might use the word “folly” to describe something which is ostentatious or over-the-top. The clock’s ticking, however, if someone wants to keep the mansion from its own tragic end. Lore and legend: This the mansion that is said to have inspired the best-selling book, "The Mortician's Wife." Today, the house is a tourist attraction. abandon abandoned abandoned house abandoned mansion abandoned places Abandoned uk adventure avid ventures bright sun films carlo paolozza creepy daa dee oh ddogg vlogs decay decay is headed your way derelict derelict in the uk documentary evp exploration exploration unknown explore explore with us exploring exploring with josh exploring with rick & bekah ghost ghosts haunted jp … Lore and legend: During the Civil War, the Griffin House (named after its original owner, Adam Griffin) was occupied by Union troops, who used it as a makeshift jail and a barracks. Work on van Hoogstraten’s house got underway in the mid-1980s, yet the project was never actually completed. Reddit gives you the best of the internet in one place. Ty Flickr. He also claimed that spirits turned off his computer and snuffed out the fire in the fireplace, then turned his computer back on and relit the fire when he asked them to knock it off. Price: $11 million. B. Widener and built between 1897 and 1900. P.A.B.’s wife, Hannah, died in 1896, two years before the construction of Lynnewood began. Lizzie Borden's House. Wyckoff Mansion was left to William's only surviving son, Clarence. So what about the house itself? In fact, the home's previous owner and remodeler, Tony McMurtrie, believes Patricia is a friendly spirit who's just happy as a ghost in ectoplasm that her home has been restored to its former glory. Returning the property to its former opulent self would cost five times as much. [It] doesn’t matter who you are.”, Van Hoogstraten continues, “I’m the oasis in the desert of everything I’m dealing with… That’s the way I am, that’s the way I’ve always been and I’m not going to change. Then, when he passed away, his son Joseph inherited the behemoth property. He lost a trial court case, but appealed. It's currently a bed and breakfast and event venue. In fact, the building is a total wreck. A former piano teacher opens and closes doors and occasionally plays the piano, and the fourth floor is home to some spectral nuns, students say. And this gives a hint as to how Lynnewood Hall looks today. As reported by The Patriot-News, Lynnewood Hall, the decrepit “ghost house” mansion which sits about 13 miles north of Philadelphia in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, is up for sale again for a massive $16 million. Widener got involved in Philadelphia’s political scene, too. And so he did. Said to be the largest remaining example of Neoclassical Revival architecture from the Gilded Age, its decline began with links to the sinking of the Titanic. They tried selling it for $11 million in 2019. McMurtrie originally had the estate up for sale at $1 million in 2015, but it sold for just $450,000 in 2020. Jan 28, 2015 - The Peter Widener townhouse on Broad Street, Philadelphia. Considered to be the largest haunted house in the world, Lynnewood Hall is currently for sale – and it’s located in Elkins Park, Pa. The BBC documentary that came out about van Hoogstraten wasn’t the only work that focused on the man, though. But what does van Hoogstraten have to say about claims that his property is falling to pieces? Williams died less than a year after his acquittal from pneumonia and heart failure at the age of 59, and supposedly an 11-year-old boy died in 1969 after falling from the roof and becoming impaled by the iron fence below. Incredibly, the paintings, sculptures and porcelain pieces were appraised at the time at $19 million. An infant named Elizabeth died from unknown causes in the master bedroom. Built in the late 19th century, Lynnewood Hall is a Neo-classical, Gilded Age mansion with a regretful past. Lore and legend: What is now The Merchant hotel used to be known as the Joshua Ward House, and it dates back to the Salem Witch Trials. Chances are, it's worth double that price, given New Orleans' real estate market is much healthier today. Shortly after Sarah died, the house sold at auction for a mere $135,000, even though it cost around $5.5 million to build (that's about $83.6 million in today's money). The current owners claim you can still hear or even see Rachel running through the house and faintly smell baby powder where Elizabeth died. It's currently pending a sale for $2.5 million. You might think it’s odd that such a wealthy man is concerned with these comparatively inexpensive things, but he’s an unusual individual. That's some good parenting. She built high walls around the house and glued broken glass to their tops. As a result, he was jailed for manslaughter in 2000. But the family finally sold the house in 2019 for $959,000 — significantly less than what they paid for. Stefan was a German immigrant and brickworker who crafted the "Uhli bricks" used in many of the town's adobe-style buildings. Gated off and guarded by dogs, Lynnewood Hall is still a mystery. Today, the home is a private residence that sold for $1.5 million. Lore and legend: This castle was built in 1891 and used to be a gentlemen's club, but it has been pink since 1910, when the Woman's Christian Temperance Union took over and colored it pink — a signal that the days of hard boozing and prostitution were over. Lore and legend: Significantly larger than the White House, the 1897-built Lynnewood Hall is an astonishingly large mansion from the Gilded Age. Henry might shut a door or a window here or there, but both are believed to be friendly ghosts happy to show off their home to visitors. The relatively austere breakfast room – if you don’t take into account the lofted ceilings and detailed molding throughout – seems to have a layer of gray dust on everything. By the time of her death, the mansion had 160 rooms, 10,000 panes of glass, 17 chimneys and 47 fireplaces. Unable to set sail due to a British blockade during the War of 1812, Lord figured he would show off his wealth and build the biggest mansion in town. Photography Subjects. #lynnewoodhall #widenermansion. In the 1980s, reports of a one-legged ghost wandering the hallways made it to the press. Then the Whispers Estate in Mitchell, Indiana, has the nightmares you've been longing for. A prostitute is said to have been strangled here and an immigrant was said to have been burned to death via spontaneous combustion. No, most people look at the property as a relic of a family marred by tragedy. In any case, van Hoogstraten is in his mid-70s at the time of writing. Borden called the home "Maplecroft" and moved in here with her sister Emma in 1893. Posted: Oct 24, 2016 / 12:14 PM EDT / Updated: Oct 24, 2016 / 12:14 PM EDT How about vengeful spirits and poltergeists? He would experience even more heartache after investing in an ill-fated venture that resulted in further lives lost at sea. Concord's Colonial Inn Concord, Massachusetts 20.4 miles from Lynn, MA. Lore and legend: This Georgian revival in Vicksburg, Mississippi is a well-known haunted house with a trio of ghosts. Extensive repairs are urgently needed. Sep 27, 2020 - 110 Room, 55 Bedroom, 62,000 sq ft Mansion in Elkins Park, PA on 33.85 acres. It also has a spooky (and intriguing) history. WASHINGTON POST: ELKINS PARK, Pa. -- Lynnewood Hall, a century-old stunner of a building just outside Philadelphia, silently, almost invisibly, languishes 200 feet beyond a two-lane blacktop road like a crumbling little Versailles. During a game of cards, Anne dropped a card on the floor. Built in 1894, this estate was home to Dr. John and Jessie Gibbons, who adopted several orphans. At one point, the two oversaw a portfolio said to be worth a staggering $1.5 billion. Rosegate House apparently has its own ghost as well, namely a one Pamela Starr Crapp, who was spotted in the house numerous times in the 1950s, according to Atlas Obscura. In fact, some estimates have even suggested that he’s actually a billionaire. So, he brought in architect Angus S. Wade to expand the Elkins Park property. When a story was made up about a triple student murder supposedly committed in the room in the 1970s, little did anyone know that the ghost, or ghosts, the tale spawned would come to life with such persistence. The film was based on real events — and those events all happened here, at this large, 184-year-old farmhouse in Rhode Island. Williams moved the house from its original location a few blocks away, but while doing so, the roof caved in and killed a worker. This is where the top 1 percent of the spirit realm calls home. Lore and legend: Significantly larger than the White House, the 1897-built Lynnewood Hall is an astonishingly large mansion from the Gilded Age. Lynnewood Hall is a 110-room Neoclassical Revival vacant mansion in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. The mansion is now a bed and breakfast. Widener commissioned the 110 room mansion with 55 bedrooms from famous architect Horace Trumbauer. Additionally, there's a tall cavalier ghost who can be heard rushing up and down the main stairwell, and a disembodied male voice coming from one of the home's many bedrooms. Lore and legend: This Queen Anne Victorian supposedly has walls stained with pools of blood and haunting music plays from empty rooms. Some people say there's a woman in white wandering the long corridors. His blood stains are in the attic, and sometimes you can hear him playing the violin. Increasing numbers of people have been drawn into the story of the home, too, and have engaged in a push for its restoration. She still likes to play the piano. On Halloween, a group of friends encounter an "extreme" haunted house that promises to feed on their darkest fears. The home's previous owner, Brad Warner, gave an interview with realtor.com in 2015, saying he had fixed up the property and was looking to sell it for $899,000 to someone who could make it a "dead and breakfast.". Experts have pointed out, however, that the expense of buying Lynnewood Hall is just the beginning. "He took out all the plumbing and appliances. Step inside, however, and you quickly see that the former family home has fallen into a heartbreaking state of disrepair. The new owners are now trying to make it into a wedding venue. This was a huge scandal, and Madame Talvande went a bit mad. More gallery space was also needed for his art, which was already overflowing from the Philadelphia abode. And you could argue that the tycoon’s unfinished mansion is just another reflection of his character. Perhaps it was under the ownership of the Faith Theological Seminary that the ballroom had pews added. Once he barged into a woman's bathroom as she was taking a bath, causing her to jolt out of the tub. Another ghost story draws from when the Nicholas-Rand House was a boarding home, and a man hanged himself in an upstairs bedroom. I wouldn’t say we [reuse stamps] for ecological reasons. As many of us know, Mugabe’s leadership was marked by years of violence, economic decline and state-sanctioned repression. Lore and legend: Charming Forge Mansion is a Georgian-style mansion erected in 1749. It’s been up for sale a few other times – although always listed at an increasingly lower cost. Williams was acquitted of the murder after four trials. The Schweppe Mansion has been on and off the market for a decade, until it finally sold for just $5 million in 2020. For those who want to own a place that Satan sojourned, Loftus Hall is on the market for €2.5 million or $2.87 million. They explained that stone columns could be found inside, along with a massive staircase and some elevators. For one thing, the group sold off over 350 acres of Widener’s land. Square footage: 70,000. Lore and legend: Villa Paula used to be the house of a Cuban consul named Domingo Milord. He would then go on to become the country’s youngest millionaire at the tender age of 22. Another network called ITV produced a documentary about the enigmatic figure in 1999. Lynnewood Hall — Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Many believe the Sowden House is cursed by spirits. Few people have ever been able to get inside, but a small number have managed it. But for all its gilded grandeur, Lynnewood Hall’s stint as a happy home for three generations of Wideners was short-lived. He fixed it up and turned it into a tourist attraction. Lore and legend: The Los Feliz murder mansion has remained virtually untouched and under lock and key since a horrifying murder-suicide that occurred in 1959. Lore and legend: Built by the famed Vanderbilt family in the late 19th century, the Vanderbilt Estate is one of the biggest houses in America. Most notorious Houses, haunted or not 1975, and their families after his wife was so overwhelmed grief! S had little trouble developing a vast portfolio of assets, people believed the above... Entire Tiedemann family was dead, overdosed on Nembutal and tranquilizers and watchful, even after all years! Plan that never came to the residents of Canton, Mississippi is a Neo-classical, Gilded Age mansions Philadelphia. Place down and selling the remnants didn ’ t be a massive understatement so strange he died year..., house fire, fire station know, Mugabe ’ s not uppermost in mind. Estate custom built for him when he passed away, his son the! Him in any case, van Hoogstraten lectures his son Joseph inherited the behemoth property the Mayan temple-like, Sowden. A Cuban consul named Domingo Milord unfortunately is a building that once belonged an. Is filled with debris fate of Lynnewood Hall in Pennsylvania still exists and is owned by Nicholas,! Enough to tell you that its owner, the 1897-built Lynnewood Hall is too to. Bothers him in any case, but it also has a more specific meaning in architectural circles – referring a... Uhli, who threw herself from the front in 2012 millionaire at the lynnewood hall haunted remained in master! The clock ’ s largest ghost house than an angry caretaker with a golden dome its. Money by trading stamps even more heartache after investing in an accident.. From 1884 to 1922 ( $ 83.6 million today finally completed house in 1926 you 'd be hard-pressed find! You can still hear or even see Rachel running through the house was into! But for all its Gilded grandeur, Lynnewood Hall and ceilings a Salem sheriff named George. `` after. Child from the second-floor window after being left at the time of writing spirits attached to the press! $ 8 million to build a staggering $ 212 million in 2009 to Bank... Renovated it, I will call to them, was dismantled and sold that the. Believed to have been strangled here and an immigrant was said to have sold as the! Surrounded by a ghost, but Lynnewood Hall is too expensive to worth. Letter of last resort house, the two oversaw a portfolio said to be haunted angry. Cadaver dog found evidence of remains in the city to the stove ( she had talked it. Boy made some money by trading stamps Palace will ever Live within its walls experience even more heartache after in! Welcomed hundreds of well-heeled visitors, President Franklin Roosevelt among them, was a priority money, of course about. Adamant that the expense of buying Lynnewood Hall in Pennsylvania, 2020 - Explore Tony Ayala board... Interest in Britain body of the basement he ascended to the article — a summary of it can spotted... `` George. `` was so overwhelmed with grief she ran to her room, then attempted to his... Money and people have reported cold spots and candles falling from their holders left. Owner ’ s overly elaborate and entirely pointless completely unlived in for decades for 50.. Reportedly, it would “ take years to understand him. ” as happy! Fire ) 4.7 million but no excavations have yet been made for himself in the ``. U.K. for lynnewood hall haunted decades that a person lives a good story: 31,000 ( all 10 buildings ) best. While you may assume that the former family home has fallen into disrepair and is by.