There’s something uniquely eerie about abandoned places. This is especially true about abandoned homes, which were at one point, a family’s most private and personal safe space. And you know what’s arguably even creepier than an abandoned house? An abandoned mansion. Though they used to be worth millions and represent grandeur and wealth, they’re now lying empty and in disrepair. (Unless you count ghosts, and I’d bet my night light that most of these still have plenty of ghostly inhabitants lurking around…) But aside from being creepy, abandoned houses and mansions also usually tell important stories with valuable lessons—even if there aren’t any mortal occupants roaming the grand halls anymore. Ahead, discover the most compelling abandoned mansions around the world and prepare to be thoroughly creeped out by their backstories.
The full story of the Lucy Murder House is featured in an episode of House Beautiful’s podcast, Dark House. Subscribe here.
This once-beautiful Greek Revival mansion in Uniontown, Alabama looks like it’s being swallowed up by the earth, and its tragic past certainly lives up to the haunting aesthetic. In January of 1994, the remains of 13-year-old Allan Lucy were found buried beneath the front porch of the Hardie-Coleman House—or, as it’s better known online, the Lucy Murder House. Allan, who lived in the home with his adoptive parents, Phillip and Margaret Lucy, disappeared without a trace in May of 1985. In the months that followed, Jason Lucy, Phillip and Margaret’s biological son, told classmates that his father killed Allan and buried him in the backyard.
For years, no one believed Jason’s story, even though rumors about the Lucy family swirled around town long before Allan disappeared. Decades after Allan Lucy’s murderer was brought to justice, the house has still not recovered—largely due to environmental injustices that have driven many residents out of Uniontown and left those who remain fighting for justice of their own
