10 Mansions Haunted by Dead Celebrities

Can you imagine that our future generations will peek into history books to see the Kardashians as much more memorable than today’s presidents and political figures? Who would have predicted that the Kardashians are more recognized around the world than Barack Obama? (It’s true!)

For this article, we decided to honor the celebrities who have made a massive impact on the progression, evolution and growth of the Hollywood entertainment industry, who are no longer with us. And we decided to do that by taking a look inside their former mansions.

Let’s take a look at our modern day legends:

Bob Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a legendary comedian and actor who appeared in Vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel.

Words can’t describe the majestic and historical piece of architecture which was the largest private residence designed by John Lautner for Bob and his wife Dolores Hope. The enormous 23,000 square foot home sits on a stunning 6 acre lot and boast 10 bedrooms and 13 baths.  The property has entertained VIP’s from all over the globe and is viewed by many as one of the most iconic pieces of architecture in the world.

The house was built to resemble a volcano, featuring a concrete roof with a hole in a center that lets light into a central courtyard. But it’s also been compared to a spaceship and a giant mushroom. The house features six bedrooms, a putting green, and two swimming pools.

In recent years, this unusual futuristic home in Palm Springs, California was the most expensive house ever put on the market in the area, at an asking price of just under $25 million.

The actress and former wife of rock n’ roll king Elvis Presley lives in this Beverly Hills mansion that her former husband purchased in 1967 for $400,000.  Today, the 1.17 acre property is worth an estimated $30 million. It is located in the one of the most exclusive zip codes in Beverly Hills and has panoramic city-to-ocean views.

Set behind gates, a long driveway and four-car motor court, the luxurious estate has been recently renovated. Priscilla Presley, a Hollywood actress, businesswoman, and mother of singer-song-writer Lisa Marie Presley, has stated that the property is very dear to her as it reminds her of her only true love. Elvis and Priscilla divorced in 1973, but the two remained good friends and the kind of rock n’ roll would frequently visit her at this location where she raised their daughter.

The man who created Thriller, also known as the King of Pop, was renting this house for $100K a month at the time of his death back in June of 2009. The property has been on and off the market since that time with a price tag of around $38 million. There’s certain mystique and intrigue about owning the house where one of the most famous entertainers in the world spent his last days.

The 17,171 square foot faux French chateau sits on a 1.26 acre lot and has a total of 7 bedrooms, 13 bedrooms, 12 fireplaces and a 7-car garage. The Richard Landry designed dwelling on North Carolwood Drive is currently owned by Roxanne Guez and her husband Hubert Guez, who is the CEO of the clothing manufacturing company responsible for the obnoxious Ed Hardy brand.

Prior to moving to Beverly Hills, Jackson resided at the legendary Neverland Ranch. During his residency there, Jackson brought groups of children and their families to the facility as day visitors. He also hosted various children overnight, a practice which came under scrutiny when Jackson was accused of sexual misconduct with minors at the ranch, first in 1993 and again in 2003.

Jackson said in 2005 that he would not return to the property, saying he no longer considered the ranch a home, feeling the 70 police officers had “violated” it in their searches. In 2006, the facilities were closed and most of the staff were dismissed, with a spokesperson stating that this was the reflection of the fact that Jackson no longer lived there.

After his untimely death, Michael Jackson was buried at the Holly Terrace Mausoleum at Forest Lawn in Glendale, CA.

The $50 Million Beverly Park celebrity estate that Prince was renting at the time of his death belongs to Vanna White’s ex-husband George Santo Pietro. The amazing Italian Villa was designed by renowned architect William Hablinski. Superbly located on two plush acres in Beverly Park, this 9 bedroom, 14 bath villa features a grand screening room, wine cellar in the basement and many other remarkable features. The grand scale living, dining & family rooms & gourmet kitchen make it ideal for entertaining guests & dignitaries. Outdoor luxuries include a sand volleyball court, and herb & spice garden.

The iconic pop star was found unconscious in an elevator at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen City in Minnesota. He was only 57 years old.

The late Academy Award-winning actor and comedian passed away here. He was found unconscious at around 11:55 a.m. PDT on August 11, 2014, and was pronounced dead at 12:02 p.m. His death was a suicide by asphyxiation.

Prior to moving to his San Francisco Bay area residence, the Academy Award winning actor had a home in Los Angeles, where he resided in the 1990’s and 2000’s. The comediam sold it off in 2006, around the time when he started construction on his winery in Napa Valley. 

Villa Sorriso, the 640-acre estate commissioned by the late comedian Robin Williams in the early 2000s. The residence has five bedrooms, six full bathrooms and additional six half bathrooms, an oak-paneled library and, of course, a tiered-seating home theater – the perfect place for watching “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Good Will Hunting.” As an added benefit, the mansion is located in the middle of a working farm with 18 acres of olives and grapes, the estate has both a climate-controlled wine cellar and a horse barn. Other outdoor features include a 65-foot infinity pool, a wading pool and a spring-fed pond for bass fishing.

And if you were a San Francisco resident back in the 1990’s, you maybe familiar with Robin Williams’ famous Dinosaur House. The frequent neighborhood visitors nicknamed it after a dinosaur shaped hedge that is visible from the street.

Distinguished by a gigantic topiary dinosaur peering over the wall in this tony Sea Cliff neighborhood. On Halloween Robin Williams usually handed out light-sticks instead of candy.

Whitney Houston, the 80’s and 90’s pop legend, was found dead in her Beverly Hilton hotel room on Saturday, February 11, 2012. The shocking news came on the night of music industry’s Grammy Awards weekend.

Just a few weeks earlier, her $1.75 million mansion in New Jersey was taken off the market.  Houston had lived in the house with ex-husband Bobby Brown, and it’s where the activities that led the talented musician to her downfall happened.

In addition to the hotel-like master bedroom suite, the house has 5 bedrooms and 4.2 baths.  According to the listing, it is set on a little “over 5 acres in a haven of lushly landscaped privacy” and includes a number of “outstanding features”, including “curved window-walls, domed skylights, a gracefully flowing floor plan, and a walk-out lower entertainment level allowing for contiguous enjoyment of superb tiered terraces and lawns”.  Sounds fancy, right?

Whitney Houston was buried at the Fairview Cemetery in Westfield New Jersey on February 19, 2012. The service was held in private with family and invited guests only.  According to Hollywood Life, the ceremony brought dozens of A-listers together to pay tribute to the star. The invitation only guest list consisted of close celebrity friends like Alicia Keys, Tyler Perry, Clive Davis, Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Kim Burrell,Rickey Minor, Donnie McClurkin, Marvin Winans and Cece Winans, L.A. Reid, Brandy and Ray J.

After his time in office as the president of the United States, Ronald Reagan lived in this Bel Air mansion with his wife Nancy Reagan, until he passed in 2004. The 7,200 square foot house has 17 rooms including three bedrooms and six bathrooms.

Reagan’s wife and former first lady still owns the property according to public records.

When Joan Rivers passed away in September, 2014, she left behind millions of adoring fans, millions of decided non-fans, and millions upon millions of dollars’ worth of real estate.

Ms. Rivers was the proud owner of this 25,000 square foot penthouse in a historic Manhattan limestone mansion. Once a single residence, the house was built in 1910 by Horace Trumbauer, a Gilded Age architect known for building overly ornate residences for America’s early 20th century elite. In 1930, the house was divided into apartments, and the writer Ernest Hemingway was said to have lived in one.

Ms. Rivers made several attempts to sell her palatial home. In 2009 she listed it for $25 million, with plans to move closer to her daughter, Melissa Rivers, on the West Coast. With no takers, she listed it again in 2012 for an even higher $29.5 million. She was again unable to sell, and took it off the market in 2013. In 2009 the infamous Libyan revolutionary Muammar Gaddafi offered to rent the penthouse for $200,000 per week. Forbes quoted Rivers as saying she considered the offer, and joked that she would use half the rent “to have an exterminator come and clean the apartment when he was done.”

The penthouse served as a gathering spot for her daughter Melissa Rivers and the River’s closest friends following the September 7th funeral. Melissa prepared the home with flower arrangements and a blaze of candles for the intimate dinner party. The guests included Blaine Trump, Cheri Kaufman, and writer Nancy Collins.

Steve Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was the co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple Inc.  He has served as Apple’s CEO since 1997. Jobs’ net worth is upward of $10 billion. His family’s estate includes this 5,000-square-foot, 4 bedroom mansion where the legend passed away in 2011. It is located in Palo Alto, California.

Jobs also previously served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios. He became a member of the board of The Walt Disney Company in 2006. He was credited in the 1995 movie Toy Story as an executive producer. Jobs’ history in business has contributed much to the symbolic image of the idiosyncratic, emphasizing the importance of design and understanding the crucial role aesthetics play in public appeal.

Aaron Spelling was a Hollywood entertainment mogul and creator of the popular television hit ‘Beverly Hills 90210’. When Aaron Spelling and his wife Candy initially purchased the 4.7 acre Holmby Hills property in the mid-1980’s, there was already a beautiful mansion, which had once belonged to Bing Crosby. People were outraged when the Spellings demolished it to the ground and began the 4-year, $12 million construction project that resulted in a mansion which literally dwarfed the sizeable mansions that surrounded it.

Aaron Spelling’s former house was constructed in a classic French chateau style, and within the 55,005 square feet of the main house, you will find 123 rooms, 25 of which are bedrooms, 29 bathrooms, 4 bars and 3 kitchens. The property also boasts a 6,000 square foot guest house. At the time, it was easily the largest private residence in Los Angeles County.

Additionally the Spellings were one of the first to build a private bowling alley on their property, just down the hall from the doll museum, where Mrs. Spelling showcases her extensive collection of porcelain dolls from around the world.

Spelling died in his massive home, in 2006 from complications related to a stroke, at the age of 83. At the time, his widow vowed not to sell the home where she and her husband had made such pleasant memories. However, the house proved to be too much for her to manage, so she listed the property for $150 million, in 2009, making it the most expensive piece of real estate in US history.