The American Horror Story House | Rosenheim Mansion

Posted: 11.22.2024 | Updated: 02.05.2025

The City of Angels may be known for its glitz, glamor, and celebrities, but beneath every sparkling surface lies a sinister past. The Historic and cultural Rosenheim Mansion may be known for being the stage on which American Horror Story’s first season was set, it also contains a unique and fascinating history. 

Los Angeles’ Rosenheim Mansion is a sprawling and stunning residence. It contains many decadent finishes, including Tiffany stained glass, a gold-leaf ceiling, six fireplaces, six bedrooms, and a solarium. The grand home has made many appearances on the small screen, having been depicted in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Bones, The X-Files, Dexter, and most famously, American Horror Story: Murder House.

This century-old home was constructed in 1908 by the architect Alfred Rosenheim to be his personal residence. He built this massive structure atop a hill in the Country Club Park neighborhood amongst the homes of many other influential California names. Little did he know what history would have in store for his decadent home near Billionaire Row.

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Is the American Horror Story House Actually Haunted? 

According to its current owners, the Rosenheim Mansion is more than just a spooky backdrop for the television industry. Not only is the house subject to unwanted attention by fervent fans of AHS who have attempted to break in and enact other mayhem — but the house harbors at least two ghosts as well.

How did these spectral residents come to haunt the American Horror Story house? Read on to peek behind the curtain and unmask the odd entities who dwell within this famous residence. 

Rosenheim Mansion History: From Private Residence to Convent

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, architect Alfred Rosenheim relocated to Los Angeles in the early 1900s to design the Herman W. Hellman Building. Rosenheim would go on to craft many other notable LA establishments, including the Cameo Theater, Eugene W. Britt House, and the Hamburgers/May Company Department Store. Yet, only one of his designs appears to be haunted.

Since Rosenheim’s time, the house has had multiple occupants. The Rosenheims sold the house to mining mogul A.J. McQuatters, who occupied the house. After this, it was home to character actor Edward Everett Horton. Finally, in the 1930s, it was purchased by the Sisters of Social Service, who used the home as a convent and added a chapel in the 1950s.

The nuns kept the house for many decades, only selling it in 1994 after it suffered damage in an earthquake. Its most recent owners are Angela Oakenfold and Dr. Ernst von Schwarz, who bought the house for a modest $3.2 million in 2015. Unfortunately, their purchase came with more than a few uninvited guests.

The pair sued the brokers who sold them the home, claiming they were not told how many devoted spectators regularly visited the house due to its American Horror Story fame. Reportedly, these extreme fans would trespass and try to break in, among other nuisances. In addition to this plague of fans, the owners also began to experience unusual occurrences. 

Oakenfold believes the house is haunted. Her acquaintances have spotted a ghostly butler ascending and descending the stairs and a nun in a rocking chair. 

Yet, in a strange twist of fate, the two ended up embracing the spooky atmosphere of their newfound property. The pair decided to monetize the home’s macabre potential, allowing fans to watch live streams of seances inside the renowned house.

Manifold Entities Haunt the Rosenheim Mansion

Oakenfold found the house stunning upon first seeing it. Little did she know what strange and unsettling incidents would follow. 

The unusual activity began the very first night they slept in the house. The couple leapt out of bed after hearing a loud banging in the room below around 1 am. This was followed by a dragging sound. The event occurred two more times that night before the new homeowners called the police. 

Police examined the property, walking through the house, but found nothing. More peculiar events occurred as workers installed utilities in the home’s basement. Workmen experienced strange feelings and a sense of evil, and one worker even claimed to have been touched.

Oakenfold’s husband has also experienced being tapped on the shoulder and then observing a misty female entity that evaporated. Oakenfold had heard whispers and footsteps when alone with their children at night and called her husband to come home early out of fright.

In addition to these odd events, visitors have also encountered mysterious sounds. Some have heard a young girl’s cries, and others have perceived marching. The daughter of the previous owner recounted seeing a butler on the staircase, as have more recent visitors to the mansion. 

Oakenfold has also reported her young child speaking to the air and babbling away at unseen things. Unsurprisingly, the current owners no longer live in the house full-time due to these unexpected happenings. 

Who, or what, might be responsible for this uncanny phenomenon? 

Ghostly Nuns and an Unsuccessful Exorcism

A history of strange situations has beset the Rosenheim mansion, from its spooky history as a nun’s convent to macabre AHS fans holding satanic rituals outside the home. What dark past might this house harbor inside its beautiful walls?

Oakenfold discovered more information about the home’s ghostly occupants after advertising for an office assistant. One applicant she spoke to was no stranger to the Rosenheim Mansion. She had volunteered there in the 1990s when the house was used as a convent.

In those days, she recounted, the strange sounds in the night were usually credited to the home’s many nuns, so often went unnoticed. After Oakenfold spoke to one of the sisters, she heard a somewhat different story. 

It was said that when the nuns first came to the residence, an unusual encounter occurred. A mover, carrying in a rocking chair, returned outside in a rush, declaring he had seen an apparition appear in the rocking chair. In response, the nuns went in and, upon seeing the same sight, claimed the apparition to be that of a fellow nun who had passed on.

Even stranger, the current occupants say they once discovered a Bible in a secret compartment inside one of the dining room cabinets. Inside the Bible, they found a note handwritten in what appeared to be Latin. Upon having it translated, they uncovered something terrifying. 

The note read: “The exorcism didn’t work.”

What entity might these nuns have attempted to exorcize during the home’s time as a convent? Was it a person or the house itself that they desired to cleanse? Most importantly, might the energy lurk here still—perhaps in the home’s dark corners or its menacing basement?

Haunted Los Angeles

Located at 1120 Westchester Place, the Rosenheim Mansion is nothing short of marvelous. The house was briefly listed for rent on Airbnb in 2016 for a whopping $1,450 a night but is no longer offered for rentals. Today, it is a private residence — and the ghosts would very much like to keep it that way. 

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Sources:

• https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/rosenheim-mansion
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