LaLaurie Mansion, New Orleans

If you're seeking thrills, a fan of "American Horror Story", or intrigued by dark and gruesome history, this place is a perfect fit. The only drawback is that you can't enter, but the exterior alone is enough to send shivers down your spine, whether it's day or night.

Part mansion and part nightmare, this dwelling is known as one of the most haunted locations in New Orleans. It most famous occupants were Madame LaLaurie and her husband, a doctor, both wealthy Creoles who committed unspeakable acts of cruelty against their slaves. Eventually, one desperate slave set fire to the house in a bid to escape the torment, and upon their sadistic acts being exposed, the LaLauries bribed the police and fled to New York and then France, leaving behind a trail of dead and dying former servants. When news of the abuse became widely known, a mob of local citizens attacked the residence and "demolished and destroyed everything upon which they could lay their hands". A sheriff and his officers were summoned, but by the time the mob departed, the property had sustained major damage, with "scarcely any thing remaining but the walls."

Nicolas Cage, the most eccentric actor of his generation, bought the house in 2007 for a rumored $3.4 million, having figured "it would be a good place in which to write the great American horror novel". He didn't get far with the novel and allegedly lost the house to the IRS.