Every house is as much a reflection of its past as its present. Spirits seek a place to feel secure and their former homes provide that. Many haunted houses have been the site of violence or tragedy. There may have been a brutal murder, suicide, or a disaster such as fire or sickness that claimed the lives of residents. Although most ghosts choose to haunt the home they lived in the longest, others choose to haunt a home where they had their happiest times, however brief.
Ghosts also have a tendency to haunt certain rooms that meant the most to them. Children like to haunt their playrooms, while musicians will haunt the conservatory or wherever the piano or other beloved instruments may be kept. Some ghosts will haunt attics or basements, which is usually because these rooms often serve as storerooms for family heirlooms, scrapbooks, photos, and other keepsakes.
Haunted houses seem to have a profound effect on animals. Dogs will bark at empty rooms and into deserted corridors. Cats will dart around and seek out hiding places. Children are most commonly the ones who interact with spirits. Sometimes they will be afraid to enter certain rooms or they may have nightmares. On the other hand, they may suddenly develop an imaginary friend.
While many hauntings can be brought about by the presence of children, emotional events such as depression, violence, illness and even pregnancy can awaken spirits. Many stories are told of strange things happening during construction or remodeling of a house.
Whatever the reason for the haunting, there is no shortage of haunted houses in this world and who knows -you might even be living in one…
Here are a Few of Our Featured Haunted Houses:
Old Firestone House, St. Augustine, Florida
The Old Firestone House in St. Augustine, Florida has such a reputation for being haunted that people passing by usually walk on the other side of the street. For years there have been reports of tables rocking and tipping over, lights going on and off by themselves, objects disappearing and then reappearing in strange places, doors opening and closing, and beds shaking.
Lemp Mansion – St. Louis, MO
The Lemp Mansion is reputedly one of the 10 most haunted places in the United States. In a November 1980 LIFE magazine article, the Lemp Mansion was named as “one of the most haunted houses in America”.
Located in St. Louis, Missouri, the mansion was owned by the Lemp family – a family beseeched by tragedy. Four of the members of this beer-brewing dynasty committed suicide; three of them actually ended their lives inside the mansion.
Old Purefoy House, Furman, AL
In this backyard of this house is a buried well that is said to be haunted by the spirit of a black man who died while he was digging it. In the early 1800’s, the owner of the house, Dr. John Purefoy was having a new well dug when the wooden rigging collapsed and buried a worker under tons of sandy soil.