homes with origin stories
More recent stories
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Solving the case of 221B Baker Street, the ‘real’ home of Sherlock Holmes
by Ioana Neamt November 25, 2022
There is no way that anyone reading this right now has not heard of Sherlock Holmes. Whether you’ve read the stories published by Arthur Conan Doyle, or discovered this character from series like Sherlock, Elementary, or Hollywood blockbusters like Sherlock Holmes. We’re not even going to get into a debate on who was the best […] More
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What happened to Michael Jackson’s house, Neverland Ranch?
by Georgie Mihaila November 7, 2022
Highlights Many, many years after its famous owner, the King of Pop, stopped calling it home, the sprawling property once known as Neverland Ranch finally found a new resident. Billionaire Ron Burkle, a one-time associate of the late pop star and co-founder of the investment firm Yucaipa Companies, paid $22 million for the 2,700-acre property […] More
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Behind the evil eyes: The (Real) story of the Amityville house
by Ioana Neamt October 18, 2022
Highlights The Amityville Horror House is real, and you can find it in Long Island, NY — though its now-infamous 112 Ocean Avenue address has changed to 108 Ocean Ave. Its tragic history started in 1974 when Ronald DeFeo Jr. killed his entire family (father, mother, two brothers, and two sisters) DeFeo’s brutal murders inspired […] More
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The Breakers mansion in Newport, the Vanderbilt summer estate
by Ioana Neamt October 12, 2022
Gilded Age mansions are a living reminder of a time long past when America’s richest families — like the Astors, Vanderbilts, Carnegies, and Rockefellers — used their sprawling estates to assert status and give everyone a visual representation of their vast family fortune. And nobody did it better than the Vanderbilt family. The Vanderbilts were […] More
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Snow White’s cottage in Los Angeles is every Disney lover’s dream
by Sheela Joseph September 13, 2022
Since its inception in 1923, Disney has always made us believe in all things magic. There may be a few skeptics and naysayers, but as it turns out some fairytales do come true. Just take a look at this breathtaking cottage reminiscent of the one from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and you will […] More
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Publishing tycoon W. R. Hearst’s castle in San Simeon, the inspiration for Citizen Kane’s Xanadu
by Jenny Schafer June 3, 2022
One of the most magnificent mansions in all of California, Hearst Castle has a rich history that captivates audiences just as much as its striking architecture. Built more than a quarter mile above the Pacific Ocean, the California castle that was formerly known as La Cuesta Encantada (Spanish for The Enchanted Hill), is a historic […] More
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5 New York Castles That Will Make You Feel Like You’ve Traveled to Europe
by Ioana Neamt April 1, 2022
Who amongst us hasn’t wondered at some point what it would be like to live in a castle? Whenever we visit a castle, we think of what it must have been like to live there, and imagine ourselves as king (or queen) of our domain. Then we unfortunately snap back to reality and go about […] More
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Spotlight On: Graceland, Elvis Presley’s House in Memphis
by Jenny Schafer March 25, 2022
Ranked as the most-visited privately owned home in the United States, Graceland attracts 650,000 visitors a year. Rivaling some of the most famous homes in the entire country, such as the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, Hearst Castle in California, and the White House in Washington, D.C., Graceland is a stately 13.8-acre estate in Memphis, […] More
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Sharon Tate’s house at 10050 Cielo Drive and its sordid past
by Ioana Neamt October 15, 2021
As the 50-year anniversary of the terrible events at 10050 Cielo Drive approaches, we look back at the house’s dark history, and its rebirth. More
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The Story of Taylor Swift’s Holiday House — Home to “the Last Great American Dynasty”
by Georgie Mihaila October 11, 2021
Taylor Swift’s 2020 album, Folklore, came as a surprise to everyone — including the artist’s celebrity friends, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, who had cautiously guarded the name of their third daughter since she was born, only to have Swift’s album reveal the name in a track named after her. But imagine our surprise when […] More
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The Barbie Penthouse Where the Real Barbie and Ken Grew Up
by Georgie Mihaila August 18, 2021
A one-of-a-kind penthouse with a playful backstory is now up for grabs. The iconic Barbie Penthouse, once owned by Mattel founders Ruth and Elliot Handler and later heavily customized to match its moniker was listed for sale asking $9,999,888. Current owner Nicole Sassaman, a well-known real-estate flipper, designer, and television host, bought the condo directly from […] More
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Is It Real? The Creepy Neibolt House in Stephen King’s ‘It’
by Ioana Neamt April 22, 2021
With more than 350 million copies sold, Stephen King is by far the biggest best-selling author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels in the U.S. — if not the world. His work has spawned countless movie adaptations and bone-chilling TV series, each earning more praise than the other. With an impressive […] More