Chilling Facts About The Mansions Of Disturbed Minds
Nightmare Houses
Some people have too much money and too little sense, but these mansions, castles, and stately homes take that maxim to a deranged level.
Whether it’s a tragic love story, a secret obsession, or a paranoid urge, each and every one of these buildings built by the rich and reckless has a bizarre origin story.
1. This Ain’t No Fairy Tale
"Mad" King Ludwig II of Bavaria was a recluse, somewhat unhinged, and had tons of money at your disposal. Time to make an enormous fairy tale castle, right? Ludwig thought so, anyway. The beautiful, daunting Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany is his beloved brainchild—but it has a very dark history.
2. Theatre Kid
Ludwig was obsessed with the mythical operas of Richard Wagner and built the castle as a shrine to the nationalistic composer.
Accordingly, the king designed all the architecture and décor in a medieval style, as if he was a knight in his very own storybook. Then he took the whole thing up a notch.
Pixabay
3. Wink-Wink, Nudge-Nudge
Ludwig wrote to Wagner and dropped the not-so-subtle hint that he wanted Wagner to stay in the castle with him as a cherished friend. In his words, “You know the revered guest I would like to accommodate there.” Sadly, it was all doomed to a heartbreaking end. Wagner died in 1883, and never actually visited Ludwig’s monument to him.
4. Can You Say: Iconic?
Neuschwanstein’s romantic architecture inspired Disneyland’s famous Sleeping Beauty Castle.
