Forget all those pointless amusement park rides. Real haunted houses may be found all around the United States.
We’re talking about actual, terrifying-as-all-get-out haunted houses.
Locals claim to hear voices in the homes where accused serial murderers abandoned their victims. Murders and suicides frequently occur in the same places where legends of entire families dissolving into thin air are claimed to have started.
Photographer Seph Lawless braved these collapsing and rotting ruins for his latest picture book, “13: Hauntingly Beautiful,” to express how uncomfortable these sites are. The captions for the photos include information from various news sources, as well as folklore and anecdotes Lawless has heard about the properties portrayed in the photos.
On Halloween night, Lawless will spend the night in one of these abandoned houses and livestream the event online. His Instagram followers will vote on which house will be chosen.
Seph Lawless, a photographer working under a pen name, is well-known for his dark and threatening photos of desolate structures.
His images have a strange, unearthly quality to them.
To promote his new picture book, “13: Hauntingly Beautiful,” Lawless has provided us with photographs of true haunted houses from throughout America.
While some are the sites of actual killings, others are where bodies have been discarded. They’re all creepy.
Our journey begins at the Haught Mansion in Brush Park, Michigan, which flourished as an elite brothel in the 1940s.
Some dead bodies were discovered in the basement several years after it had been shuttered. The torsos and chests of the victims were marked with beautifully round circles
This run-down estate in Michigan served as Bruce Wayne’s residence in the 2016 film “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.”
A film assistant noticed it while looking through Lawless’ photographs.
In Detroit, ghost stories abound, notably on Temple Street. Three priests are said to have been murdered in this dilapidated Victorian mansion in 1942.
Neighbors across the street believe they heard eerie rustling in the recently demolished house because it was haunted.
This derelict house in East Cleveland was identified as the last resting place of a serial murderer by ABC News in 2013.
Three female victims were found in the residence. The murderer had wrapped one of the victims in plastic bags and positioned her in the fetal position.
In 1958, Benjamin Albright inadvertently murdered his son at his Nova, Ohio, home. He afterwards murdered both his wife and himself.
Since then, the house, known as the Nova House, has been unoccupied. Some of the Family’s belongings are still inside.
This mansion in Milan, Ohio, is supposed to be the site of local witchcraft rituals.
The original owner, the Milan Witch, is supposed to be buried beneath the front porch.
Donald Caters, the sheriff of Buffalo, New York, committed suicide when his residence went into foreclosure.
The home has been uninhabited since the suicide in 1968. The surrounding neighborhood claims to hear voices.
Lawless believes that slaves were held on this Mississippi farm. The writing on numerous of the walls seems like something a prisoner might doodle to pass the time.
According to Lawless, photographing this house was “emotionally draining.”
This route in Texarkana, Arkansas, was utilized by the “Phantom Killer” to transfer his victims. His actions are commonly referred to as the Moonlight Killings.
Although the Phantom Killer was never captured, some believe the Zodiac Killer committed his crimes before him.
The creepy Bailey Mansion inspired the first season of FX’s “American Horror Story.”
Lawless took this shot of a home built in 1892 in the center of McKeesport, Pennsylvania, the day before it burned down due to fire.
It’s scary, and even thinking about it gives Lawless shivers.
He states that “the creepiest house I saw was packed with mannequin heads nicely exhibited on shelves together with rusty rusting medical gear,” despite the fact that “the creepiest property I visited was filled with mannequin heads neatly placed on shelves along
Locals report that a little child committed suicide in these Louisiana row houses. According to Lawless, many gradually deserted the row homes out of fear.
Lawless claimed to have overheard strange and mysterious noises at the Old Hickory Tavern in Coudersport, Pennsylvania.
Franklin Castle, located near Cleveland, Ohio, is one of the most haunted houses in the United States. According to local legend, the home has been the site of several murders. Individuals have also claimed ghost sightings and unexplainable noises.
He once saw “shadowy figures” while reviewing and retouching his photographs. He claims that these were most likely “abandoned properties.” It’s also frightening to think that they were spying on me without my awareness.”
Despite the fact that his book has been published, Lawless continues to visit abandoned buildings.
His Instagram followers will vote to determine who wins.
