11. Baleroy Mansion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Baleroy Mansion, located in Philadlephia’s Chestnut Hill, was originally owned by the carpenter who built it and according to local legend murdered his wife in the house. Reported hauntings in the mansion, which contains more than thirty rooms, include the ghost of Thomas Jefferson, who has been reported to have been seen standing near a grandfather clock, though why Jefferson would choose to haunt a building which was erected more than eighty-five years after his death is unexplained. Other ghosts include that of a long-time owner’s brother, who died as a child and whose portrait has been known to fall several feet from where it was hanging, landing undamaged. A woman from the Victorian age – which also predated the house – has also been identified and her presence confirmed by a psychic.
A chair in the mansion’s Blue Room, said to have been manufactured by a warlock and once owned by Napoleon, has been called the “Chair of Death” by its owners, since anyone who sat in the chair died. This led the owner to ban anyone from sitting in the chair. It seems that the chair itself is not malevolent, but is used by an evil spirit named Amanda, who has appeared in the form of a reddish mist and lures its victims to sit in the chair. The ghosts of housekeepers (who died in the house) former occupants, and of course Mr. Jefferson have been reported, and paranormal specialists and ghost hunters have confirmed their presence as well as others, within the house and grounds. Called the most haunted house in the United States (a title claimed by many others) Baleroy Mansion is a private residence.