Creepy Buildings That Keep You Up At Night

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, you have to agree that some buildings possess an eerie atmosphere. Maybe they are haunted, maybe their history is filled with death and tragedy, or maybe these buildings just look creepy. The buildings listed here are among the world's most frightening. BOO!

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Ennis House in Los Angeles, California

The Ennis House by Frank Lloyd Wright — Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Ennis House is one of Hollywood's favorite creepy places. It's where Vincent Price held his creepy dinner party in the 1959 film House on Haunted Hill. The Ennis House also appeared in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and in eerie TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twin Peaks. What makes the Ennis House so spooky? Maybe it's the pre-Columbian look of the textured concrete block. Or, maybe it's the years of weathering that put the the house on the National Trust's "Most Endangered" list.

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Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

Just about any medieval Gothic cathedral can seem scary, but a lavish cathedral like Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris can truly make you tremble. It's supposed to, with all those snarling gargoyles perched on rooftops and ledges.

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Breakers Mansion in Newport, Rhode Island

The Breakers Mansion in Newport, R.I. — Larry Myhre / Flickr / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The big Gilded Age mansions in Newport, Rhode Island are popular tourist destinations, and ghost stories have become a part of the promotional hype. Of all the Newport mansions, the brooding Breakers Mansion has the most compelling tale. Believers claim that the ghost of former owner Cornelius Vanderbilt wanders the lavish rooms. Or, maybe it's the spirit of architect Richard Morris Hunt, who was born on Halloween.

Funny Architecture and Weird Buildings

By Jackie Craven

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Lenin's Mausoleum in Moscow, Russia

Stark and inhuman, Russian constructivist architecture can seem scary enough. But go inside this red granite mausoleum and you get to see the corpse of Lenin. He looks a little waxy inside his glass case, but they say that Lenin's hands are faintly blue and horribly life-like.

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Boldt Castle in the Thousand Islands, New York

Stairs at Boldt Castle in upstate N.Y. lead to long, echoey corridors — Kevin Spreekmeester/First Light Collection/Getty Images

Boldt Castle is both romantic and haunting. Gilded Age multi-millionaire George Boldt ordered the castle built as a testimonial of his love for his wife, Louise. But Louise died, and the grand stone estate was abandoned for many years. Boldt Castle is restored now, but you can still hear the lovers' footsteps in the long, echoing corridors.

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The Amityville Horror House in Amityville, New York

Cream-colored siding and traditional shutters make this Dutch Colonial Revival home appear cheery and comfortable. Don't be fooled. This house has a horrific history that includes grisly murders and claims of paranormal activity. The story became famous in Jay Anson's best-selling novel, The Amityville Horror.

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Archbishop's Palace in Hradcany, Prague

Statue in Hradcany Castle, Prague of one man about to knife another, who begs for his life — Tim Graham / Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Welcome to Prague? The castle that appears so foreboding in the Tom Cruise film, Mission Impossible has towered over the river Vltava for a thousand years. It's a part of the Hradcany royal complex where Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo facades create startling juxtapositions. Moreover, the Archbishop's Palace is in Prague, home to Franz Kafka, the famous author of surreal, disturbing stories.

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Houses in Celebration, Florida

Neotraditional Home in Celebration, Fla. — Jackie Craven

Homes in the planned community Celebration, Florida are mostly neotraditional styles like Colonial Revival, Victorian, or Craftsman. They are attractive and, from a distance, they appear convincing. But look closely and you'll see details that will send a chill down your spine. Notice the dormer on this neotraditional house. Why, it's not a real dormer at all! The window is painted black, as frightening as Hitchcock's Bates Motel. One has to wonder who lives here?

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The Berlin Holocaust Memorial in Germany

A boy in a red jacket hops from one to another of the 2,711 stellae, concrete tombs that together make a Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe — Sean Gallup/Getty Images

"Chilling" is the word visitors use to describe Peter Eisenman's Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the Berlin Holocaust Memorial. Even if you did not know the horrific history that inspired the structuralist memorial, you would sense it as you wandered the labyrinth of pathways between massive tomb-shaped stone slabs.

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Graceland Mansion in Tennessee

Presley family memorial near the burial grounds at Graceland, Tenn., Elvis' home — Mario Tama/Gettty Images

Ever since the sudden death of rock 'n roll idol Elvis Presley, Elvis sightings have been reported all over the world. Some people say Elvis didn't really die. Others claim they've seen his ghost. Either way, the best place to catch a glimpse is Graceland Mansion near Memphis, Tennessee. The Colonial Revival house was Elvis Presley's home from 1957 until he died in 1977, and his body lies in the family plot there. Elvis was originally buried in a different cemetery but was moved to Graceland after someone tried to steal his corpse.

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Craven, Jackie. "Spooky Nightmare Buildings." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/buidlings-that-give-you-the-creeps-178518. Craven, Jackie. (2023, April 5). Spooky Nightmare Buildings. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/buidlings-that-give-you-the-creeps-178518 Craven, Jackie. "Spooky Nightmare Buildings." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/buidlings-that-give-you-the-creeps-178518 (accessed April 20, 2024).