Hay House

Known as "The Palace of the South," this 18,000-square-foot Italian Renaissance mansion was built between 1855-1859. The four-level home became a National Historic Landmark in 1974 and has been featured in Architectural Digest.

The Hay House, also known as the Johnston-Felton-Hay House or "The Palace of the South," is an 18,000 square foot Italian Renaissance masterpiece built in the late 1850s by William Butler Johnston and his wife Anne Clark. Inspired by their European honeymoon, the Johnstons created one of the most modern buildings in antebellum Georgia, complete with running water, electricity, an in-house kitchen, speaking tubes, and a ventilation system with a heater.

The four-level mansion stayed in the family for generations. William's youngest daughter Mary Ellen inherited it with her husband William H. Felton. The Felton heirs sold the house in 1926 to Parks Lee Hay, founder of Banker's Health & Life Insurance Company. It became a museum in 1962 and a National Historic Landmark.

Half a dozen spirits are said to haunt these halls. The most frequently seen is an elegant elderly woman in an 1800s dress wandering the 18,000 square feet of hallways - believed to be Mary Ellen Felton, who loved the house so much she never left. A board member once witnessed her ghost looking through a chest of drawers.

Visitors report cold spots, disembodied voices, and mysterious doors slamming. Some feel someone breathing over their shoulder. Moaning sounds emanate from the master bedroom. The Johnstons' children apparently still play here - their playful spirits taunt staff and contractors. Tools and objects go missing, only to be slid across the floor by unseen forces.

During a 2010 paranormal investigation, researchers captured full-bodied apparitions on camera. The museum now offers ghost tours where guests can experience the supernatural activity that fills this magnificent Southern mansion.