The Best Historic House Museums to Visit for Halloween Decor Inspiration
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Halloween is just days away—but there's still plenty of time to visit historic house museums that are decked out in the spookiest decor. Below, House Beautiful has rounded up a list of eight houses to visit in the lead-up to Halloween (or even after the holiday rolls around), including Lyndhurst Mansion, Heritage Square Museum, and Penshurst Place, to name a few. Safe travels and happy haunting!
Molly Brown House Museum
Location: Denver, Colorado
Margaret "Molly" Brown lived in what is now appropriately known as the Molly Brown House Museum—which is sometimes called the House of Lions—in Denver, Colorado. She was a socialite, philanthropist, and activist who survived the sinking of the Titanic.
Vanderbilt Museum
Location: Centerport, New York
Located on the North Shore of Long Island, the Vanderbilt Museum was once home to William Vanderbilt II and is known as Eagle's Nest. Built between 1910 and 1936, this Spanish Baroque-style home sits on 43 acres and was designed by Warren & Wetmore, one of two architecture firms responsible for creating New York City's Grand Central Terminal.
Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Located on what was once deemed Memphis's "Millionaire's Row," the Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum is a Second Empire Victorian home that was constructed in 1871. Carriage maker Amos Woodruff built the house, which was later purchased by businessman Noland Fontaine in 1883.
Merchant's House Museum
Location: New York, New York
The Merchant's House Museum—the only 19th-century home in New York City that is still intact—was built in 1832 by hatter Joseph Brewster. Today, it is the sole historic house museum in the Greenwich Village/SoHo/NoHo area of Manhattan.
Heritage Square Museum
Location: Los Angeles, California
The Heritage Square Museum is unique in that it includes numerous 19th-century homes on its property, including the Mount Pleasant House, the Longfellow-Hastings Octagon House, the Valley Knudsen Garden Residence (AKA the Shaw House), and the Hale House.
Old Bethpage Village Restoration
Location: Old Bethpage, New York
Through November 7th, you can visit the second annual Blaze: Long Island at Old Bethpage Village Restoration and see elaborate displays featuring pumpkins and jack-o'-lanterns, including an 80-foot circus train and a gigantic light-up spider web. And if you happen to be in the Hudson Valley, you can make a trip to Van Cortlandt Manor, where Blaze: Hudson Valley is on display for its 17th year.
Penshurst Place
Location: Penshurst, England
Located 32 miles outside of London, Penshurst Place was built in the 14th century as the home of the Sidney family. For Halloween, the crypt of Penshurst Place is decorated with pumpkin heads and lit up in a green hue.
Lyndhurst Mansion
Location: Tarrytown, New York
Built in 1838, Lyndhurst Mansion is a Gothic Revival-style former home that most notably belonged to railroad tycoon Jay Gould. As part of this year's Halloween decor at Lyndhurst, a crystal ball by Tiffany & Co. is on display, as is a British reproduction of the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
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