Real Haunted Houses: Schweppe Estate
Tucked away just outside of Chicago in Lake Forest, Illinois, is a mansion in English Tudor style of magnificent size and splendor, that harbors a haunting story of loss. The Schweppe Mansion was built in 1917 as a gift to Laura Shedd from her late father – I wish I would get wedding gifts like this one – when she married her husband, Charles Schweppe (the reason why the mansion is dubbed the Schweppe Mansion).
Tragedy struck the young couple not long after their marriage. Laura Shedd died from a heart attack in 1937. Four years later, in 1947, Charles was found dead in his bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head. His suicide note read the chilling words: “I’ve been awake all night. It’s terrible.”
If that is not enough to give you the chills, then consider that after the deaths of Laura and Charles, the house sat empty for a staggering 50 years! For a place this undeniably beautiful, it is stunning to think it could be left vacant for this long.
Schweppe’s son-in-law eventually sold the house in 1987 to a couple (Howard Hoeper and Donna Denton) who did a massive renovation of the property, but got divorced a mere 2 years later. Be it from the headaches the renovations gave them, or the headaches the resident spirits gave them, we will never know. Schweppe Mansion was listed in 2007 for $18 million but was eventually sold in 2020 for $8.5 million.
With 12 bedrooms, 11 fireplaces and a private beach, a property like this seems to be well worth the $8.5 million for which it was sold. Perhaps the reduced asking price and the 13 years it took to sell the property was due to the ghosts of Laura and Charles, who are said to still haunt the place? Especially keep an eye out for the window pane that is allegedly kept free of grime by the ghostly hand of the mansion’s previous owners. There’s also a twisted footprint in the concrete floor of an upstairs room that looks deformed or maybe even inhuman.
Real Haunted Houses
Previously in this series:
- Real Haunted Houses: Franklin Castle
- Real Haunted Houses: Villesca Axe Murder House
- Real Haunted Houses: The Sallie House
- Real Haunted Houses: LaLaurie House
- Real Haunted Houses: The Bell Witch Farm
- Real Haunted Houses: Ann Starrett Mansion
- Real Haunted Houses: Sturdivant Hall
- Real Haunted Houses: Whaley House
- Real Haunted Houses: House of Seven Gables
- Real Haunted Houses: Woodruff Fontaine House
- Real Haunted Houses: Cedar Grove Mansion
- Real Haunted Houses: Sauer Castle
- Real Haunted Houses: The Pink Palace
- Real Haunted Houses: House of Death
- Real Haunted Houses: Joshua Ward House
- Real Haunted Houses: The Lemp Mansion
- Real Haunted Houses: Los Feliz Murder Mansion
- Real Haunted Houses: Winchester Mystery House
- Real Haunted Houses: Bliss Mansion
- Real Haunted Houses: Croke-Patterson Mansion
- Real Haunted Houses: Thornewood Castle
- Real Haunted Houses: Drish House
- Real Haunted Houses: Old Shelby Hotel
- Real Haunted Houses: Barker’s Slave Quarters
- Real Haunted Houses: Winter Place
- Real Haunted Houses: Sweetwater Mansion
- Real Haunted Houses: Oakleigh House
- Real Haunted Houses: Bragg-Mitchell Mansion
- Real Haunted Houses: Jemison – Van De Graaff Mansion
- Real Haunted Houses: Redmont Hotel
- Real Haunted Houses: Cedarhurst Mansion
- Real Haunted Houses: Gaineswood
- Real Haunted Houses: Kenworthy Hall
Enjoyed this article? Read Fractured!
When Piper discovers an old antique mirror on the attic of her new home, she has no idea what terror she unlocked.
Eerie shadows lurking in the night and estranged voices crying out for help are only the beginning. As Piper’s world comes crumbling down, she realizes everything that she believed was imaginary, might have been real all along.
Something is very wrong with that mirror. And if she doesn’t find out what, the mirror might end up killing her.
With some help of old and new friends, Piper tries to get to the bottom of the mystery. One thing is for certain: the mirror preys on the guilty. But what exactly is she guilty of?
Release Date: September 16, 2013
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