Loomis-Wesson House, Springfield, Massachusetts

 

Taking on a house that's almost 150 years old can be a scary prospect, especially when the garden ivy isn't the only thing that's a little creepy. (And when there's a frightening mannequin on the 2nd floor, but we'll get to that.)

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This is the Loomis-Wesson house in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was built in 1874 for Frances Loomis, the widow of a cigar manufacturer. It cost around $25,000 to build. That's a lot of cigars.

It was designed by the same firm that designed Harvard's Memorial Hall, and there are some Victorian Gothic similarities between the two:

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The Loomis-Wesson house is slightly smaller, though, at 5,504 square feet. It has 8 bedrooms and 4.5 baths. It still has many of its original architectural features, like the foyer flooring and wall paneling:

All it needs is a fabulous Gothic bench and lots of hats -- from visitors that will never return to reclaim them. You know, since this is a spooky Halloween house and all.

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The hallway leads...

...to this living room, which in turn leads...

...to this sort of pre-conservatory, which served as a billiards room at one time:

Now, however, I can see it dressed more simply (and slightly spookily) like this:

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The pre-conservatory leads to the conservatory...

...which could serve as a beautiful gallery space:

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The real estate listing doesn't feature many rooms, but it does show the dining room...

...which used to look like this:

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We also get a glimpse of the kitchen and great views of the staircase.

Oh, yeah, and this bedroom photo with the frightening mannequin, to appeal to Halloween house hunters:

The listing also features a somewhat desolate side yard:

It could be a perfect outdoor dining space, complete with more scary statuary:

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Finally, there's a pool area:

It just needs some stately landscaping to fit with the Gothic architecture. Scary statues are optional.

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The house's second owner was Frank Wesson, the son of Daniel Wesson, as in Smith and Wesson. I suppose it's that firearms connection and the fact that the Wessons had their share of personal tragedies that might give the house a similar spooky vibe as the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. (Currently a Netflix movie starring Helen Mirren).

The house is located on Maple Street, which, until the 1960's, included another Wesson home built in 1898:

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But, in the spirit of Halloween, maybe I ought to show it to you this way instead:

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Maple Street still is home to many beautiful houses. If you'd like a neighborhood tour of old photos, go here. The Old House Dreams listing is here.