New England's Scariest Houses: 8 Places With Chilling Stories

New England does not need a fog machine to make an old house unsettling. Sometimes the real history is enough. Sometimes it is a winding staircase, an empty upstairs room, or a story that has followed a building for generations.

These eight houses offer different kinds of chills, from documented tragedy to ghost folklore and atmospheric architecture. This is an editorial selection, not a scientific ranking of hauntings. Ghost stories are stories, not proof of supernatural activity, and the New Hampshire stop is included for its historic atmosphere rather than a verified haunting tradition.

Cover: AI-generated editorial illustration of a fictional New England house, not a photograph of any property listed below.

The 30-second version

• For unsettling real history: the Lizzie Borden House in Fall River.
• For an elaborate Victorian setting: the S.K. Pierce Mansion in Gardner.
• For a Halloween museum visit: the Mark Twain House in Hartford, which lists October 2026 ghost tours.
• For an overnight stay with folklore attached: The Merchant in Salem or the Nathaniel Lord Mansion in Kennebunkport.
• Do not plan a walk-up visit to The Conjuring House. Its current visitor page says public tours are closed while restoration work is underway.

1. Lizzie Borden House, Fall River, Massachusetts

The most chilling part of this house is not a ghost story. Andrew and Abby Borden were killed here on August 4, 1892. Lizzie Borden was tried and acquitted in 1893, a distinction worth remembering before a nursery rhyme becomes a substitute for history.

Today, the house operates as an inn and museum. Its operator offers historical tours and separate paranormal experiences, recounting haunting stories attributed to guests. The appeal is the proximity to a real, unresolved crime, not evidence that spirits inhabit the rooms.

Make it work: Reserve the experience you actually want. A history tour and an overnight paranormal stay are different outings. The subject matter includes homicide, so this is not automatically a gentle family Halloween stop.

Sources: house tours and visitor information, C-SPAN classroom material on the trial.

2. S.K. Pierce Mansion, Gardner, Massachusetts

An ornate Victorian house can do most of the work before anyone tells a story. Completed in 1875 for chair manufacturer Sylvester Knowlton Pierce, this Gardner mansion has the architecture for a classic haunted-house evening.

Its operators recount reports of footsteps, disembodied voices and moving doors. Those are claims made by the attraction, not independently verified paranormal events. The mansion also carries some inaccurate local lore: reporting by The Gardner News has challenged the often-repeated claim that it once operated as a brothel.

Make it work: The operator advertises guided tours, investigations and overnight experiences. Book through the current official site and read the terms for your chosen visit. Do not rely on a video or an old event listing for availability.

Sources: official mansion website, operator history and haunting accounts, The Gardner News on rumors and misconceptions.

3. Joshua Ward House, Salem, Massachusetts

Now home to boutique hotel The Merchant, this elegant house was built around 1784 for merchant Joshua Ward. Its site had previously belonged to George Corwin, the sheriff associated with the Salem witch trials. George Washington stayed at the house in 1789.

Commercial ghost-story tellers have attached Corwin and tales of invisible hands to the property. That folklore is not proof of a haunting. The documented connection to Salem's witch-trial history is unsettling enough without treating later supernatural accounts as established fact.

Make it work: This is a working hotel, not a public haunted-house attraction. A room reservation is the appropriate route to an interior stay. No public house-tour program was verified for this guide, and non-guests should not assume they can enter or wander through the building.

Sources: Salem State University architectural history, The Merchant's current hotel website, Ghost City Tours' folklore account. The ghost-tour account contains outdated access information; use the hotel website for visiting details.

4. Belcourt of Newport, Newport, Rhode Island

Belcourt is a mansion-sized answer to the question: what if the house itself already looked like a gothic story? Designed by Richard Morris Hunt for Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont in the 1890s, it offers a different kind of Halloween atmosphere from a rural farmhouse.

Former resident Harle Tinney recalled a hooded apparition and unsettling antique armor. Her accounts belong to Belcourt's folklore, not its verified architectural history. A 2017 Newport Daily News report also described changes to the collections and displays, so readers should not expect every object from an old ghost story to remain on view.

Make it work: The current official site advertises guided tours. Check its booking options, but do not assume a standard tour is a ghost tour or that a particular allegedly haunted furnishing is still displayed.

Sources: Belcourt history, current visitor information, Newport Daily News on Tinney's recollections and changing displays.

5. Mark Twain House, Hartford, Connecticut

Samuel and Olivia Clemens built this richly decorated house in 1874 and raised their three daughters here. It is a major literary landmark, but it also has a seasonal supernatural side.

The museum's ghost tours explore paranormal investigations, Victorian séances and Twain's interest in the supernatural. That makes this a good choice for readers who want a curated evening in an extraordinary old house rather than a promise that they will encounter a ghost.

Make it work: The official calendar lists ghost tours for October 17, 23, 24, 30 and 31, 2026. A listed date does not guarantee remaining tickets, so check the museum directly. Ordinary interior visits also require a guided tour.

Sources: museum admission and house history, official 2026 ghost-tour calendar, ghost-tour description.

6. Damm Garrison House, Dover, New Hampshire

Not every eerie house needs a resident ghost. The Woodman Museum identifies the Damm Garrison House as a 1675 building and Dover's oldest house. Its surviving historic interior and Colonial-era collections offer a more grounded encounter with the region's past.

This is the atmosphere pick on the list. We did not establish a reliable named-ghost tradition for the house, and the museum's past paranormal events are not evidence that the building is haunted.

Make it work: Visit through the Woodman Museum and check its current visiting information. Accessibility is limited in its historic houses. The museum's October 9 and 10, 2026, Night at the Museum event has already passed; an older event page should not be mistaken for an upcoming Halloween booking.

Sources: Woodman Museum history, current visiting information, dated 2026 Night at the Museum listing.

7. Nathaniel Lord Mansion, Kennebunkport, Maine

This Federal-style house dates to 1812. According to Maine's Historic Preservation Commission, Lord employed ship carpenters idled by the War of 1812 to build it. That is the documented history behind an imposing coastal home now used for lodging.

Popular local retellings attach the mansion to an apparition identified as Lord's wife, Phoebe, said to wander the halls. A 2022 Maine radio-station article repeats that account. It is folklore, not an official historical finding or proof of a haunting.

Make it work: Formerly marketed as Captain Lord Mansion, the property is now part of the Kennebunkport Captains Collection. If this is the house you want, book lodging specifically in the Nathaniel Lord Mansion. No public ghost-tour access was verified.

Sources: Maine Historic Preservation Commission, current collection information, WJBQ's 2022 folklore account.

8. Wilson Castle, Proctor, Vermont

Turrets, stained glass and shadowy rooms give this elaborate nineteenth-century residence a strong head start. Radio engineer Herbert Lee Wilson purchased the estate in 1939 and opened it for tours in 1962, according to the castle's history page.

The operators recount spirit stories and advertise paranormal investigations and candlelight tours. Their supernatural explanations should be understood as the operators' beliefs, not verified findings. The architecture and setting are the dependable part of the experience.

Make it work: Check current historical-tour availability or contact the castle about a privately arranged investigation. Its tour page mentions selected September and October candlelight evenings without confirmed 2026 dates, so do not build an itinerary around an assumed night.

Sources: Wilson Castle history, tour and investigation information.

What about The Conjuring House?

The Harrisville farmhouse in Burrillville, Rhode Island, is among the region's best-known alleged haunted homes. The 2013 film dramatized experiences reported by the Perron family, not independently established supernatural events.

It is not included above as a visitable stop. At the time of this guide, a website presenting itself as the property's official site says the house is not currently open for public tours while restoration work is underway. Future tours are described as plans, not an announced reopening. 1

Regional reporting documents a December 2024 closure after the entertainment license was not renewed, followed by ownership developments in 2026. Neither an old booking page nor a change of ownership establishes current public access. 4

Do not enter the grounds or driveway without permission. Wait for confirmed visitor arrangements rather than treating a famous address as an invitation.

Going with kids?

Choose the subject matter before choosing the house. A museum history tour can be very different from a murder-focused visit or an overnight investigation.

For a less intense starting point, consider a daytime historical visit to the Mark Twain House, Woodman Museum or Wilson Castle. Ask the operator whether the specific tour is suitable for your child's age and comfort level. These are suggestions about format, not verified age ratings or guarantees that every tour avoids frightening material.

If your child wants costumes, candy and predictable jump scares, a staffed seasonal attraction may be a better match than a historic house. This guide covers historic properties, not staged haunted attractions.

Before you go

• Book with the current operator. Old ghost-tour articles frequently outlast the business arrangements they describe.
• Respect working hotels and private grounds. A haunting story does not give anyone permission to enter.
• Check access needs. Historic stairs and narrow interiors can limit accessibility.
• Keep history and folklore separate. An acquittal, a building date and a reported apparition are different kinds of claims.

Visitor information checked October 17, 2026. Availability can change. New England Press has not independently verified paranormal claims or personally inspected these properties for this guide.