DuPont Mansion Bed and Breakfast

This elegant Italianate mansion in Old Louisville was once home to the prominent DuPont family. Alfred Victor DuPont, known as "Uncle Vic," was the patriarch who oversaw the family's Louisville operations in the late 1800s.

The DuPont Mansion rises three stories above Old Louisville, a neighborhood that has earned the title of "the most haunted neighborhood in America." This magnificent Victorian-era Italianate-Renaissance "palatial town home," built by the famous DuPont family in 1879, now operates as an upscale bed and breakfast—where guests share their accommodations with at least one very persistent ghost.

The mansion was constructed to house DuPont relatives from Delaware who came to Kentucky to run the family's various business ventures. The DuPonts were already one of America's wealthiest and most powerful industrial families, and the Louisville mansion reflected their status with ornate woodwork, grand staircases, and elegant parlors. But tragedy would mark the family's history here.

According to local lore, the mansion is haunted by the ghost of Alfred DuPont, whose violent death has apparently kept him bound to his former home. Reports claim that after Alfred DuPont was murdered by his pregnant mistress, his ghost returned to the mansion—and he has never left. The spirit, sometimes called "Uncle Fred," makes his presence known to guests and staff alike.

Male entities have been particularly active with female guests. Women have reported feeling someone goosing them or blowing hot breath into their ears, only to turn and find no one there. The experiences are consistent enough that they've become part of the mansion's reputation. One interior decorator, hired to help restore the mansion, was descending the main staircase when she felt a presence beside her. Then came the sensation of hot breath being blown directly into her ear—but she was completely alone.

Paranormal author David Dominé, who has documented over 100 cases of allegedly true hauntings in Old Louisville, has written extensively about the DuPont Mansion. The phenomena he's recorded include objects moving on their own, unexplained footsteps through empty hallways, and the occasional whiff of cigar smoke in rooms where no one has smoked.

The cigar smoke is a recurring element. Visitors walking past the mansion and nearby Central Park report the distinctive smell of cigars lingering in the air, attributed to Uncle Fred enjoying an eternal smoke. Some have caught glimpses of a ghostly figure in period clothing near the property.

The mansion fell into disrepair over the decades until the Warrens purchased it in 2000. After extensive restoration that earned them the Louisville Historical League's Historic Preservation Award in 2002, they opened it as a bed and breakfast. But the restoration work may have stirred up more than dust—paranormal activity seems to have increased as the mansion returned to its former glory.

Today, the DuPont Mansion embraces its haunted reputation. They offer a special package that includes an autographed copy of David Dominé's bestseller "Ghosts of Old Louisville" and tickets to the "America's Most Haunted Neighborhood" guided tour. Guests are warned that they may not be sleeping alone—and many have left convinced that Uncle Fred came to check on them during the night.