{{Short description|Estate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}} {{Use American English|date=September 2025}} {{Infobox house | name = Baleroy Mansion | image = Baleroy Mansion 2026 jeh.jpg | caption = | location = West Mermaid Lane, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | coordinates = {{coord|40.0659|-75.1995|type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-PA|display=inline,title}} | pushpin_map = Pennsylvania | size = 22,088 ft. (land)<br /> 5,904 ft. (living) | completion_date = 1911 (added to in 1925) | number_of_rooms = 33 | architect = | architecture = | refnum = | mpsub = }}
The '''Baleroy Mansion''' is a 32-room estate located in the historic and affluent Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It has obtained the title of "Most Haunted Home in America"<ref name="Coulombe">{{Cite book| title=Haunted Places in America: A Guide to Spooked and Spooky Public Places in the United States |last1=Coulombe| first1=Charles A. | year=2004| publisher=Globe Pequot | isbn=1-5992-1706-6| page=184| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b-KzM4ZQi-sC |access-date=2013-12-16}}</ref> The name "Baleroy" was chosen by its owner George Meade Easby,<ref name="Avery">{{cite web |title= 'Squire' Revels in Domain: Baleroy's Items Are Lent to White House and Museums |url= http://articles.philly.com/1991-07-26/news/25783342_1_silver-tea-white-house-heirlooms |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141221085935/http://articles.philly.com/1991-07-26/news/25783342_1_silver-tea-white-house-heirlooms |url-status= dead |archive-date= December 21, 2014 |first= Ron |last = Avery |date= July 26, 1991 |access-date = 2013-12-16 |publisher=Philadelphia Media Network}}</ref> great-grandson of General George Meade (hero of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War). The estate's name was likely derived from Balleroy in France.
==History== The mansion or its separate carriage house was originally built in 1911. The first owner was a carpenter who is said to have murdered his wife inside the main house. It was purchased in 1926 by the Easbys, "a family that traces its roots to Easby Abbey in 12th-century Yorkshire, England; that crossed over to America in 1683 aboard the ''Welcome'' with William Penn, and that counts among its descendants three - 'at least three that I know of,' says Easby - signers of the Declaration of Independence."<ref name="Wiegand"/> Baleroy housed many antique pieces that were handed down by famous historical people, including Napoleon of France, U.S. General George Meade, Thomas Jefferson, and others.
After the Easbys moved into this large and spacious estate in 1926, George Meade Easby and his younger brother May Stevenson Easby, Jr., were playing one day in the courtyard of the mansion and laughing at their reflections in the main courtyard fountain, when Steven's reflection turned into a skull. George's reflection was normal. Steven died in 1931 from an undetermined childhood disease. This greatly devastated George and his parents, but they continued living in the mansion for the rest of their lives. They along with their housekeepers and visitors have experienced many hauntings throughout the years.<ref name="Nesbitt">{{Cite book| title=The Big Book of Pennsylvania Ghost Stories |last1=Nesbitt| first1=Mark| year=2008| publisher=Stackpole Books | isbn=978-0-8117-4017-3| page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780811740173/page/3 3]| url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780811740173 | url-access=registration |access-date=2013-12-17}}</ref>
George's mother died in 1962 at the age of about 82 and his father died in 1969, reaching about 90. Following their deaths Easby began to hire housekeepers to do general work in and around the mansion. However, none of the workers lived with him. In July 1992, Baleroy Mansion was burglarized by a very skillful thief. An estimated $202,000 worth of antiques were carefully stolen without ransacking or leaving a sign of forced entry. The police who were investigating the incident stated, "The thief seemed to know what he was looking for and where it was kept."<ref name="McGuire">{{cite web |title=A Murky Tale of Antiquity |url= http://articles.philly.com/1992-07-08/news/26027417_1_china-jewels-burglary |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131009003820/http://articles.philly.com/1992-07-08/news/26027417_1_china-jewels-burglary |url-status= dead |archive-date= October 9, 2013 |first= Jack |last = McGuire |date= July 8, 1992 |access-date =2013-12-21 |publisher=Philadelphia Media Network}}</ref> In an article dated April 3, 1999, in the ''Inquirer Magazine'', "Easby tells a chilling tale of waking up and feeling someone clutching his arm. When he turned on the light, no one was there."<ref name="Foti"/>
In July 2012, indie rock band The Walkmen shot a music video for their song "The Love You Love" at Baleroy. The band was looking for a unique location to support the surreal nature of the video and witnessed some unexplainable events while there.<ref name="UOBlog">{{cite web| last=Urban Outfitters Blog| title=UO Video Series: The Walkmen| url=http://blog.urbanoutfitters.com/features/the_walkmen| access-date=2 July 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717014542/http://blog.urbanoutfitters.com/features/the_walkmen| archive-date=17 July 2012}}</ref>
== Death of George Meade Easby == {{Main|George Meade Easby}}George Meade Easby died on 11 December 2005, at the age of 87.<ref name="Wiegand"/> On July 9, 2012, Baleroy Mansion was sold after all antiques were sold at auction or donated to local museums. Most of Easby's antique cars have been sold in recent years.<ref name="1935 Packard Super Eight Convertible Sedan">{{cite web |title=1935 Packard Super Eight Convertible Sedan (Engine no. 755611 - Vehicle no. 883-209) |quote=This Packard Super Eight, which the 18-year-old Easby purchased new on July 9, 1936, from Goldner Brothers, of Germantown, Pennsylvania. In many ways, the convertible sedan represented the ultimate eight-cylinder offering from East Grand Boulevard that year. Built on the 1205 chassis, it stretched 144 inches from axle to axle and was powered by a 150-horsepower, silky-smooth L-head straight eight, sending its power through an all-synchromesh transmission. Befitting a formal car, Easby's Packard was finished in a stately all-over black with green button-tufted leather upholstery and canvas top; only the door saddles were painted cream. In all likelihood, the top on this car has never been put down. Easby enjoyed a good drink more than he enjoyed the open air, and the top well behind the rear seat was fitted out with a well-equipped cocktail bar. With no space for the top to go down into, it was never lowered. The Packard was used regularly until 1947, and then it was put up on blocks in the carriage house at the Baleroy Mansion. Other expensive cars came and went in George Gordon Meade Easby's life, but the big Super Eight never left Mermaid Lane...| url=http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1063291 |access-date=2013-12-17}}</ref> They include the 1954 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith which was previously owned by Prince Aly Khan, husband of the American actress Rita Hayworth and father of Aga Khan IV,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.classicdriver.com/en/car/rolls-royce/silver-wraith/1954/135349 |title=1954 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith (1954 Short Wheelbase Style 7249 Tourer - LWVH114) |quote=The automobile reportedly then passed to the Ali Kahn, husband of Rita Hayworth, on its way to its very long term owner, George Gordon Meade Easby. |access-date=2013-12-16 |publisher=classicdriver.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217053513/http://www.classicdriver.com/en/car/rolls-royce/silver-wraith/1954/135349 |archive-date=2013-12-17 }}</ref> and Easby's first automobile, the 1935 Packard Super Eight which was sold for $110,000.<ref name="1935 Packard Super Eight Convertible Sedan" /> A number of other antique items belonging to Easby have also been sold through auctions.
==Hauntings==
Another claimed ghost is an unknown elderly woman that reportedly walks the upstairs hallway with a cane. Family members and guests were toyed with by the spirits, and it was never uncommon to hear knocking and unexplained footsteps. A respected minister was hit by a flying antique pot that flew like a missile. Electrical fields in the house also attract lightning, and the electricity would go off for no reason. People, including family members, housekeepers, visitors, and even renovators, claim to have seen these ghosts.<ref name="Ronan Sims">{{cite web |title= George Gordon Meade Easby, 87 |url= http://articles.philly.com/2005-12-14/news/25422157_1_george-gordon-meade-easby-inquirer-grand-lifestyle |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141221091748/http://articles.philly.com/2005-12-14/news/25422157_1_george-gordon-meade-easby-inquirer-grand-lifestyle |url-status= dead |archive-date= December 21, 2014 |first= Gayle |last = Ronan Sims |date= December 14, 2005 |access-date = 2013-12-17 |publisher=Philadelphia Media Network}}</ref><ref name="People">{{cite magazine |magazine=People |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20104250,00.html |title=Spirited Welcome |quote=Guests at George Easby's Historic Philadelphia Mansion Discover They May Not Be Alone |date=October 31, 1994 |access-date=2013-12-16}}</ref> Others have allegedly seen or heard 1930s phantom cars that drove up the long and narrow driveway into the estate's parking area,<ref name="Foti">{{cite web |title= Chestnut Hill's Baleroy Mansion's Many Ghost Stories |url= http://chestnuthill.patch.com/groups/around-town/p/chestnut-hill-s-baleroy-mansion-s-many-ghost-stories |date=October 31, 2011 |access-date=2013-12-16 |publisher=chestnuthill.patch.com}}</ref> but when they went to look there was nothing to see.<ref>{{Cite book| title=Haunted Pennsylvania: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Keystone State |last1=Nesbitt| first1=Mark| author2=Patty A. Wilson| year=2006| publisher=Stackpole Books | isbn=0-8117-3298-3| page=23| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1C6ZYGLFfYUC |access-date=2013-12-20}}</ref>
===Blue room and the chair of death=== In the infamous blue room of the mansion, a 200-year-old blue chair known as the "chair of death" is said to be cursed.<ref name="Wiegand"/> It has been said that when someone sits in it, the person dies. About four people are said to have died, and Easby then banned people from sitting in the chair.<ref name="Foti"/><ref name="Wiegand">{{cite web |title= A Haunting Tale of Blue Blood and Red Tape |url= http://articles.philly.com/1990-12-03/news/25921712_1_spanish-port-spanish-government-debt |archive-url= https://archive.today/20131216043953/http://articles.philly.com/1990-12-03/news/25921712_1_spanish-port-spanish-government-debt |url-status= dead |archive-date= December 16, 2013 |date=December 3, 1990 |access-date=2013-12-16 |publisher=Philadelphia Media Network |author=Ginny Wiegand}}</ref> The chair was said to be owned by Napoleon. It has been said that the chair is haunted by the ghost of Amanda,<ref name="Adams">{{Cite book| title=Philadelphia Ghost Stories| last1=Adams| first1=Charles J. III| year=1998| publisher=Exeter House Books| isbn=1-8806-8312-1| pages=[https://archive.org/details/philadelphiaghos0000adam/page/190 190]| url=https://archive.org/details/philadelphiaghos0000adam/page/190| access-date=2013-12-16}}</ref> a red mist that is said to kill people who sit in the chair. The chair is said to have been made by an evil warlock in the 18th/19th century.
==Tours== Although Baleroy was once open to tours showcasing its large collection of antiques, the antiques have been removed and the property is now a private home. Public tours are currently unavailable.
==See also== * Reportedly haunted locations in Pennsylvania
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.deadblack.net/ParallelWorlds/site/docs/baleroy.shtml The Baleroy Mansion] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130911030209/http://www.delcoghosts.com/baleroy.html Baleroy Mansion - Chestnut Hill, PA] * [http://www.trademarkia.com/baleroy-73260937.html BALEROY By: Easby; George G. Meade] {{Ghosts}}
Category:Houses in Philadelphia Category:Reportedly haunted locations in Philadelphia Category:Residential buildings completed in 1911