Top 10 Haunted Houses in Movies Based on Real Life Houses

“The Haunting in Connecticut” (2009)
In 1986, the Snedeker family rented a home in Southington, Connecticut, and from the first night, Philip Snedeker knew there was something wrong. This case inspired several movies, documentaries, books, and TV shows. But the most well-known is “The Haunting in Connecticut.” Several details of the real case made it into the movie including that it was a former funeral home, and the family regularly encountered violent entities. Philip really was suffering from cancer and the family needed to move closer to his treatment clinic. The parts where the film veers off from the truth are the seances, the bodies in the walls, and the fire at the end. Despite elements of sensationalism, we’re convinced this house was all kinds of evil.

“Girl on the Third Floor” (2019)
In 2016, film producer Greg Newman purchased a house at 207 Center Road in Frankfort, Illinois, intending to rehab and resell. But as he learned more about its lore, he was inspired to make a movie instead. Built-in the early 1900s, the house was rumored to have been a bordello where two girls tragically died. Sarah allegedly died of yellow fever in 1909. Eight years prior, 12-year-old Sadie was murdered. Both girls died in the same third-floor bedroom, where people have reportedly heard a young girl crying. Other ghostly encounters include the girls giggling, singing, and appearing in windows. Though the “real” spirits don’t seem to be as violent as the ones in the film, we still wouldn’t take our chances.

“The Banishing” (2020)
In the 1940s, psychic researcher Harry Price dubbed Borley Rectory as “the most haunted house in England.” He lived there for a year documenting paranormal phenomena. Allegedly, the Rectory has been haunted since it was built in 1862, spawning reports of ringing bells, footsteps, and lights appearing in windows. The ghostly nun and the carriage driven by headless horsemen are the real showstoppers, though. It was demolished in 1944, five years after it was badly damaged in a fire. The story’s revived in “The Banishing,” which is loosely based on the Foyster family who moved into the Rectory in October 1930. Though Marianne Foyster later admitted to fabricating the paranormal occurrences, and Price was accused of the same, this place still gives off spooky vibes.

“Lizzie” (2018) / Various
Lizzie Borden took an axe, she gave her mother—well, you know the rest. Most are familiar with the infamous crime that spawned this factually inaccurate rhyme, but did you know the house is supposedly haunted? The Lizzie Borden House is now a bed and breakfast that hosts tours and ghost investigations. You can see the rooms where Abby and Andrew Borden were brutally murdered on August 4, 1892, complete with crime scene photos. Actress Chloë Sevigny stayed at the house and was inspired to make a movie. “Lizzie” focuses on her possible relationship with their maid, Bridget. It may be a macabre romance, but Sevigny’s performance as the titular accused murderer reminds us that the whole Borden story and the house still give us chills.

“The Changeling” (1980)
In 1969, composer Russell Hunter moved into the house at 1739 East 13th Avenue. The Henry Treat Rogers Mansion sat in Cheesman Park, which is itself said to be haunted since it was built on top of a cemetery. That’s right — a cemetery. Hunter began hearing loud banging noises, and the walls would shake violently. He found the journal of a 9-year-old boy and uncovered the dark history of its prior residents. If this sounds familiar, it’s because Hunter’s experiences inspired one of the scariest movies in horror history. Yes, that iconic scene with the red ball really happened to Hunter, or at least he says it did. The real mansion has since been torn down, but “The Changeling” remains a horror staple.

“The Conjuring 2” (2016)
The sequel to the wildly successful “The Conjuring” details the Enfield poltergeist, one of the scariest cases of poltergeist activity in the UK’s history, and a case Lorraine Warren admits is the most terrifying of her career. From 1977 to 1979, the Hodgson family was tormented by the ghost of Bill Wilkins, the former owner of the home at 284 Green Street. The family reported loud knocking, furniture moving on its own, objects flying all over the house, and the kids repeatedly pulled out of their beds. The film shows it all, but seeing Bill’s ghost is definitely the scariest part. In real life, paranormal investigators reported being hit with toys. Yeah, the ghost is terrifying, but getting pelted with Legos is no joke.

“The Conjuring” (2013)
This iconic house inspired a franchise that now has its own cinematic universe. The Perron family moved into the Old Arnold Estate in the 1970s, a colonial farmhouse sitting on 200 acres. Andrea, the oldest of the five Perron daughters, recounts their frightening experience in her book trilogy “House of Darkness House of Light.” She details how she and her family witnessed both harmless and sinister spirits for 10 years in a “portal disguised as a farmhouse.” In the film, Bathsheba, a baby-killing witch from the 1800s, is the most prominent entity in the home, though, in real life, her crimes and involvement with the occult are just speculations. The current owners say it’s still haunted to this day.

“The Axe Murders of Villisca” (2016)
Just after midnight on June 10, 1912, the Moore family and two overnight guests were murdered in the small town of Villisca, Iowa. The bodies of two adults and six children were found in their beds. While the film shows flashes of the 1912 killing, the story itself is centered on teens out for a night of ghost hunting. In the film, Reverend George Kelly is depicted as the killer. In real life, Kelly was the main suspect, and was tried twice in court — the first ending in a hung jury, the second in an acquittal. It’s been 109 years, and the murders remain unsolved. Given the home’s gruesome history, we’re not surprised a few ghosts are around.

“Winchester” (2018)
In 1884, Sarah Winchester, widowed heiress to the Winchester fortune, began constructing one of the strangest houses in the world. Stairs leading to the ceiling, doors opening to nowhere — one giant puzzle. The San Jose mansion has 161 rooms, 47 fireplaces, six kitchens, and three elevators. Construction continued until her death in 1922. While it’s not confirmed that the real Sarah reported any ghost sightings, the film shows the many souls who died from Winchester rifles haunting the mansion. One version of the story says that the reason for the bizarre layout was to confuse the ghosts trying to attack her. Whatever the reason, it’s a beautifully unusual house… that may be home to a slew of angry ghosts.

“The Amityville Horror” (1979) & “The Amityville Horror” (2005)
When the Lutz family moved into this waterfront home at 112 Ocean Avenue in 1975, they had no idea what was in store. The year before, Ronald DeFeo Jr. went room to room shooting and killing his parents, two younger sisters, and two younger brothers while they slept. During the four weeks the Lutz’s resided in the home, they claimed the walls oozed green slime, their daughter befriended a demonic entity she called Jodie that looked liked red-eyed pig, George woke up every morning at 3:15 AM (the time the DeFeos were killed), and several other terrifying experiences. The movies may have amped up the story for the big screen, but, according to the Lutz’s, they had one hell of a time in that house.