Six Haunted Celebrity Houses
By Emily Tatti on 21 Feb 2014
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It seems even the rich and famous aren’t safe from visitors that go bump in the night.
Several Hollywood celebrities claim they have fallen victim to hauntings after purchasing million dollar properties, suggesting ghoulish figures aren’t selective about where they choose to rattle their chains.
Of course, celebrities have the money to take drastic measures if they feel threatened in their home, and some of the folks on this list have spared no expense ridding themselves of their problem – hiring bodyguards, extra security staff and even Catholic priests.
Whether you’re a skeptic or a believer, here are six celebrity homes considered haunted by their owners.
The former convent Adele calls home
Photo: The Daily Mail
Adele – Sussex, England
Poor Adele spent £7 million (AU$12.96 million) on a former convent in Sussex, England, before discovering it might be haunted.
Shortly after she moved into the 10-bedroom mansion, which contains a private chapel as well as two swimming pools and a helicopter pad, Adele started hearing odd noises in the middle of the night.
The Grammy-award winning singer quickly hired a full-time female bodyguard for protection, and two additional security guards to patrol the mansion’s grounds.
“She is convinced it is haunted,” a source told The Sun. “She knows about its religious history – and it’s a big place to be in on your own in the dead of night.”
LaLaurie House, the most haunted property in New Orleans
Photo: The Haunted Internet
Nicolas Cage – New Orleans, USA
Unlike some of the other celebrities on this list, Nicolas Cage willingly sought out a haunted house, though it’s really no surprise when you consider his oddball movie choices.
In 2007, Cage purchased the renowned LaLaurie Mansion for $3.45 million. The French Quarter landmark, which is considered the most haunted property in New Orleans, features heavily in the third series of cable drama American Horror Story due to its gruesome history.
During the 1830s a socialite called Delphine LaLaurie kept a torture chamber in the attic, where she brutally mistreated her slaves.
“Nicolas Cage willingly sought out a haunted house, though it’s really no surprise when you consider his oddball movie choices.”
She was chased out of the country by an outraged mob, and since that time, the property has been a high school, a conservatory of music, a bar and a luxury apartment building. Though most of its residents have fled within months due to strange occurrences, Cage was drawn to the property for this very reason.
“You know, other people have beachfront property; I have ghost front property,” Cage once said during an interview on The Late Show With David Letterman. Funnily enough, the actor never actually had the courage to sleep in the house.
Cage offloaded the mansion in 2009 when he ran into financial trouble with the IRS. The current owner, a wealthy oil tycoon from Texas, has since given the property a modern makeover, and it remains a popular tourist attraction with visitors to the city.
Brevard House in New Orleans
Photo: Francesco
Anne Rice – New Orleans, USA
The eccentric author of Interview With a Vampire once occupied Brevard House, an 1850s Greek Revival home also located in New Orleans.
The historic property, located in the beautiful Garden District, was built by a wealthy merchant called Albert Brevard, who shot himself on the front porch after running into money troubles.
It is said an eerie figure can be seen lurking there on moonless nights.
Though Rice used the home as the setting for her novel The Witching Hour, its spooky qualities proved too much even for her, and she sold it to a private buyer in 2010.
Matthew McConaughey’s home in Los Angeles
Photo: Splash News
Matthew McConaughey – Los Angeles, USA
After purchasing a 1963 Los Angeles property, Matthew McConaughey was visited by the ghost of an 80-year-old woman he calls Madame Blue.
“The first night I’m hearing noises, I’m hearing bass sounds, wood moving and coyotes, but then I hear this sound like a dime dropping from 10 feet off the ground onto a glass table,” he said in an interview with TeenHollywood.com.
Apparently the elderly visitor has appeared to him since, but he manages to appease her by walking around naked.
“She’s a cool ghost,” he said. “Maybe me being nude all the time is why we get along!”
Olivia Newton-John’s Plantation-style home in Florida
Photo: Real Estalker
Olivia Newtown-John – Jupiter, USA
After a contractor took his life inside her $5.6 million Florida mansion, Olivia Newton-John decided to take special measures to ensure buyers would still be interested – by flying in a Catholic priest.
According to reports, the Grease star requested an exorcism when fellow actor Rosie O’Donnell pulled out of buying the home.
“…Newton-John decided to take special measures to ensure buyers would still be interested [in the property] – by flying in a Catholic priest.”
During the ceremony, which was attended by Newton-John and her husband John Easterling, the priest said some prayers and sprinkled holy water around several rooms.
A local real estate agent agreed that this strategy was necessary. “Unfortunately there is a grim notoriety to the house and people are put off by that.”
Dan Aykroyd’s former haunted house
Photo: Iamnotastalker
Dan Aykroyd – Los Angeles, USA
Ironically, Ghostbusters actor Dan Aykroyd once lived in a haunted house.
The actor, who has a well-known fascination with the paranormal, claims he was visited by the ghost of Mama Cass of The Mamas and The Papas when he lived in her old Hollywood Hills mansion.
According to Aykroyd, Cass would turn on his exercise machine, move jewellery around on his wife’s dresser and even climb into bed with him.
“I’m sure it’s Mama Cass because you get the feeling it’s a big ghost,” he told iVillage.com.
The property, which has previously been home to other famous residents such as Natalie Wood and Ringo Starr, features five bedrooms, five bathrooms, a luxurious pool and high paparazzi-proof fences.
Aykroyd had some difficulty trying to find a tenant when he listed the home as a rental back in 2007. It remained on the market for more than 450 days, before he finally managed to sell it for $4.2 million, leaving the new resident to inherit its ghostly presence (we just hope he disclosed that little issue before selling!)
