Scariest House in America crowned a Harrisburg Victorian built in 1868 — wet footprints, a former nursing home and a $150,000 makeover included.
By The Recapper — CelebnMusic247
Scariest House in America has its Season 3 champion, and even the renovation crew wanted to leave early. The winner, revealed in the Oct. 23 finale on HGTV, is the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania entry nicknamed “Whose Footprints Were Those?” — a 4,032-square-foot Victorian, originally built in 1868, that once served as a nursing home, per HGTV and Entertainment Now.
Twenty Houses, Five Regions, One Very Bad Vibe
Host Retta toured 20 properties across five regions for the six-episode season, which premiered Sept. 18. The finalists were a haunted-house all-star team: the 1751 Massachusetts home “Where They Whistle & Hum,” the Beeson Mansion in Niles, Michigan, the “Shook, Rattle & Skull House” in Barstow, Florida, the “Dilapidated Den” in Helena, Arkansas, and Harrisburg.
Harrisburg took the crown with what Retta called “a large, creepy Victorian with bad vibes,” per Entertainment Now. Owners Greg and Erin told her they once found wet footprints on a bathroom floor beside a dry bathtub in an empty house, and that the home’s last two owners died there — including one who fell down the stairs.
Alison Victoria’s Oldest House Ever
The prize is a $150,000 renovation from designer Alison Victoria, who called it the oldest home she has ever worked on. Over six weeks she repainted and landscaped the exterior, modernized the kitchen, transformed the family room and turned the primary bedroom into an ensuite, per Entertainment Now. HGTV.com’s winner gallery adds that she reconfigured the layout, refreshed the daughter’s bedroom, renovated the bathrooms and gave the family a new sauna out back.
The house, however, reviewed the renovation in real time. Flooring specialist Max, working alone overnight, reported a footprint on a wall and footsteps on the stairs, and left. Painter Jared later heard footsteps on the stairs while working alone, too — and also left until someone could join him. The crew finished anyway. Braver than us, every single one of them.
The Finalist Now Asking Fans to Stay Away
Winning was not the only finale fallout. Kathryn Greer, whose Midwest-winning Beeson Mansion lost the national title, wrote on the mansion’s Facebook page on Oct. 24 that the family was “officially released from all NDAs” — and that attention from the show has forced them to shut down all events and tours and reconsider whether they can stay, per Entertainment Now. “We did not win the remodel,” she wrote, while calling the Midwest title “a pretty good Win.” It is a sobering footnote: a scary-house title is fun on TV and considerably heavier when strangers start treating your home like an attraction.
The finale episode, “From Frightening to Fabulous,” is streaming on HBO Max, per the coverage.
The 247 Take — Harrisburg earned this title the hard way: it scared the professionals hired to fix it, twice, on the stairs. Alison Victoria may have outdone herself with the makeover, but the smartest design choice in that house will always be a clear path to the front door.
More reality TV news at CelebnMusic247.com.
Sources: Entertainment Now — Season 3 winner revealed and Beeson Mansion fallout; HGTV.com — Season 3 winner renovation gallery.
