Powel House
Built in 1765 and bought in 1769 by Samuel Powel, Philadelphia's last colonial and first post-independence mayor, this Georgian Society Hill mansion hosted George Washington, John Adams, the Marquis de Lafayette and Benedict Arnold at the Powels' famous parties. Saved from demolition in 1931 and run today as a museum by the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks, it is often called the most haunted house in the city. Its most frequently reported apparition is Peggy Shippen Arnold, Benedict Arnold's wife, described in a beige-and-lavender ball gown drifting through the second-floor drawing room. Visitors and guides also report ghostly Continental Army soldiers in formal dress ascending the grand staircase, sometimes seeming to walk straight through the front door. Lafayette's spirit is said to linger from the parties he loved. Caretakers have long described unexplained cold spots and a strong sense of not being alone.
📍 244 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, Philadelphia, PA · Get directions