Let’s go a little off topic today. Friday the 13th is a date marked as a bad day for hundreds of years. The fear of this day is so spread that it has a name: friggatriskaidekaphobia.
Where does the superstition around Friday the 13th come from? There are a lot of theories. For example, did you know that the Last Supper’s 13th guest was Judas, who betrayed Jesus whose crucifixion was the next day, a Friday? This is just one of the coincidences that are used as an explanation for the fear of Friday the 13th.
So Home Design Ideas has a challenge for you! In this post I’m going to present to you seven mysterious and abandoned mansions! The question is simple: Would you spend this night on one of these places?
Muromtzevo Mansion, Russia
Russian architect P.S. Boitzov built many French-style medieval castles in the 19th century–but Muromtzevo Mansion is by far the most spectacular of them. Looking as if it was taken from a fairy tale, this mansion stirs our mind with all sorts of stories – enchanting and mysterious.
Sutton Scarsdale Hall, England
Sutton Scarsdale Hall may be a shadow of its former self, but its impressive ruins leave no doubt that it was once one of the finest stately homes in northern England. Located in Derbyshire, the abandoned mansion was commissioned in 1724 and owned by the Arkwright family for almost 100 years. In 1919 a group of local businessmen asset-stripped the building, selling its grand internal fittings to the highest bidder. The ruins of Sutton Scarsdale are now managed by English Heritage, while some of its treasures have now found their way to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Villa de Vecchi, Lake Como, Italy
Located in the mountains east of Lake Como in Italy, this wonderful abandoned Baroque mansion is known locally as “Villa de Vecchi”, or the Ghost Mansion. The building has been derelict for years and according to urban legend, was the scene of a murder or suicide. While an effort is underway to save and restore the abandoned mansion, its future remains uncertain.
The Ruins, Philippines
Known as “The Ruins”, this striking structure in the Philippines is the skeletal remains of the home of young sugar baron Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson. Located in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, the grand house was reportedly set alight by US forces during World War Two in a bid to prevent the Japanese using it as a headquarters. Dating to the 1900s and beautifully preserved as a tourist attraction, the completely see-through Ruins is arguably one of the most wonderful and compelling abandoned mansions in the world.
Callert House, Scotland
Callert House, an abandoned Georgian Mansion on the shores of Loch Leven in Scotland, has been unoccupied since the 1940s. Built for Sir Duncan Cameron of Fassifern in the 1830s to replace a previous structure that burned down, the house stands completely derelict. Reports of hauntings persist in the area, including a mysterious ball of fire that’s said to manifest near Callert House and vanish into the loch.
Pidhirtsi Castle, Pidhirtsi, Ukraine
This castle, built between 1635 and 1640, was once richly furnished, but during World War I, Russian soldiers destroyed the lavish interior. Later, the castle belonged to prince Roman Sanguszko, who removed some of its valuable furnishings in 1939 and took them to Brazil. After WWII, the Soviets reopened it as a Tubercolosis sanitarium, but in 1956 the old castle caught fire and burned for three weeks, destroying the last of its interior beauty. The Lviv Gallery of Arts is trying to restore the building, but at present, there aren’t any visible changes.
Château Miranda, Celles, Belgium
Château Miranda was built in 1866 by an English architect for the Liedekerke-Beaufort family. The family lived there until World War II, when it was taken over by the National Railway Company of Belgium. It’s empty since 1991, in part because the family refuses to turn it over to the municipality of Celles.
So…would you spend tonight on any of these abandoned houses? They sure are beautiful but very mysterious. Have a nice Friday the 13th. Enjoy
images: Cidades Fantasma, Wikimedia Commons, Urban Ghosts, Scotianostra.tumblr, Devian Art, David Barker Photography
