So what makes a haunted house look haunted?

We went down to the architectural crypt to find out what design features make a house go bump in the night. Then, we went haunted house hunting in Lexington to bring you a grisly, local look — just try not to scream.

There are few obvious architectural styles on a whole that tingle your spine and widen your eyes, namely Victorian-era styles, Adirondack architecture, and Gothic Revival — but to keep this scary story short, we’ve created a checklist with some skeleton key characteristics to look for this spooky season.

Haunted house checklist:

Mansard roof + widow’s walk — as seen on the “Beetlejuice” house
Rustic vibes, like heavy timber, natural stone + large fireplaces — like the Overlook Hotel in “The Shining”
Ornate gables, asymmetry, pitched roofs — like Disney's The Haunted Mansion ride
Prominent towers and turrets — as seen on The Pink Palace from “Coraline”
Mimic human faces — like “The Amityville Horror” house

With this list in mind, let’s step through the creaky front doors of these four haunted houses in LEX. Watch your head for cobwebs.

Architect Cincinnatus Shryock designed the Dowden House for Major William W. and Hulda Dowden between 1868-1870. | Photo by LEXtoday

Dowden House

Located at 429 N. Broadway St., this Second Empire-style home has all the haunted elements — a shingled mansard roof lined with a widow’s walk + a prominent, centered tower. Inside, the sprawling rooms, a notable feature of Victorian-era homes, are filled with original ornate woodwork and decorative wallpaper. If the Addams family lived in Lexington, this would absolutely be where they lived.

Ghost sightings: Supposedly, the ghost of Major William W. Dowden, who was elected county sheriff in 1866, is still hanging around.

Dinner guests are always around at the Elsmere Park house. | Images Created By: Pending Media, Design by: Blake Liles Minix with Liles Interiors

Elsmere Park Victorian

While this 3,868-sqft home has been entirely renovated, you can’t shake its spooky bones, especially when there are skeletons dining inside. Located on one of the oldest streets in downtown LEX, this Richardsonian Romanesque-style home built in 1892 most notably features a three-story turret — giving plenty of space for the ghouls to hang.

Inside, it has a grand staircase, original woodwork, pocket doors, and three fireplaces. It last sold for $735,000 in January 2023 + is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Ghost sightings: 0 confirmed

The Rackhouse Tavern is located in the historic Campbell House hotel that dates back to 1951. | Photo by LEXtoday

The Rackhouse Tavern

To the untrained eye, The Rackhouse Tavern on South Broadway is simply a bourbon barn with Southern charm. However, upon a closer look, this 4,900-sqft restaurant is a gussied up “Monster House,” with eyes and ears and mouth and nose, mimicking a human face, lending that eerie feeling. If only the 300-bottle bourbon wall could talk.

Ghost sightings: Multiple in the adjoining boutique hotel The Campbell House

Bonus: The pink and blue houses in Gratz Park aren’t particularly spooky, but they sure do remind us of the pastel homes in Tim Burton’s “Edward Scissorhands.”