Deep in the wilds of Alabama's rural Mobile County stands a Spanish Revival mansion with a fascinating tale to tell. Dating back to 1914, the grand Outlaw House occupies a secluded spot away from the hustle and bustle – a detail that would've been particularly attractive to the residence's one-time owner. 

While in recent years, Mother Nature has begun to encroach on the regal home's living spaces, it's clear to see from these images captured by Leland Kent how grand the property would've been back in its heyday. Around 1925, George Cabell Outlaw is said to have acquired the house in a poker game, but the intrigue doesn't end there...

While James Bond has gadgets and a catalogue of super-smart residences, Outlaw had his own state-of-the-art technology of the day – the house was the first in the area to have electricity, which was generated by a nearby dam. It appears as though George moved into the property shortly after he left the FBI, but during his time with the Bureau it seems he was on the frontlines of the fight against the Ku Klux Klan, investigating threats made by the white supremacist group.

Over on the East Coast in New York's scenic Catskill Mountains, this rundown residence is fascinating and frightful in equal measure. Documented by urban explorer and photographer Bryan Sansivero, it's one property we wouldn't like to happen upon on a dark night.

Insidious vines of ivy are fast reclaiming the home's impressive façade, with its double-fronted bays and ornate front porch. Built in 1925 in the Jacobean Revival style, it's not known why the property's final residents bid it a hasty goodbye. While it's been listed for sale over the years, no buyer has come forward. Cloaked in secrets, a new owner would certainly have to hold their nerve to take on this eerie estate.

An elegant estate left to languish, Lynnewood Hall is one of the most magnificent Gilded Age mansions still standing in America. While the neo-classical revival house is defined by its turbulent, tragic past, it's also hiding one or two secrets that are sure to leave you scratching your head.

Many of the ornate furnishings still adorn the dilapidated interior, including this regal guest room. However, tragedy once again struck the palatial property. Peter A. B. Widener was an early investor in the HMS Titanic, and in a cruel twist of fate, his eldest son George and grandson Harry perished in the waves during the ship's ill-fated maiden voyage. 

While the estate's sad history has been well-documented, it still harbours secrets that are only just coming to light. Photographer Leland Kent recently discovered a mysterious subterranean tunnel while he was touring the property. Delving deep underground beneath the mansion and branching off in a maze of passageways, it doesn't appear to have been recorded before and it's not clear exactly what it was used for...

Sarah's renovations became nonsensical, from labyrinthine passageways that meet dead ends to staircases to nowhere, the mansion's architecture is a riddle. In fact, when illusionist Harry Houdini visited in 1924, he declared it 'The Mystery House'. But why go to these baffling lengths? According to legend, Sarah may have been haunted by the ghosts of those killed by the rifles her family produced. The chaotic corridors and false doors were reportedly intended to confuse the spirits that pursued her.

Possibly the strangest house in America, one of the mansion's most extreme features is a door on one of the upper storeys that opens out onto an eight-foot-high drop, while elsewhere there's a room with a window set into the floor and even a room without a floor altogether. Whether the house was a never-ending project to quell her heartache after her husband's passing or a maze to confuse malevolent spirits, we'll never know for sure.

Sometimes the most intriguing mysteries are those hidden from the eye, as is the case with this next estate in Georgia. Rockwell House, with its elaborate columned pediment and sprawling grounds, was built in 1838 for Colonel Samuel Rockwell, an attorney and slaveholder. Its construction was a staggeringly costly project, with every piece of wood hand-cut for the imposing structure.

It's not every day you come across a red turreted castle on the side of a road in New York. The unusual structure was built in 1871 for Samuel and Jane Laurie, who'd emigrated from Scotland a few years previous. The couple moved to Auburn when Samuel accepted the position of superintendent at the Auburn Woolen Company – the firm built the castle, which overlooked the factory, as a gift for their new employee.

Designed by Nelson Hamblin to resemble a Scottish manor, stockholders spent a reported $7,000 (£5k) on the three-storey castle – a not insignificant sum in those days. Stretching 7,000 square feet, the reception rooms would've been regal spaces for entertaining. While this kitchen is a forlorn shadow of its former self, the wood panelling gives a hint of its former grandeur.

Posed on a bank in Auburn as though plucked from the Highlands, the 19th-century castle is something of a perplexing sight for those travelling through the city. Who knows if there's any credence to the rumours of its ghostly guests – perhaps the new owner has managed to unlock the secrets of this mysterious mansion. 

At first glance, this neo-Gothic structure looks like something straight out of a fairytale, with its towering turrets, lancet windows, battlements and sweeping archways. However, shrouded in intrigue and ghostly goings-on, there's no happily ever after to be found at this unsettling estate, known locally as the Castle of Sorrow.

According to local legend, the ghost of Josephine Wurts-Dundas is rumoured to wander the castle and its grounds. It's even said that on a full moon, the ponds on the acreage turn to blood. Whatever the truth behind the tragic tale of this abandoned stately home, we can't say we'd want to hang around for long.

While some spaces, like this cavernous, crumbling attic room, are in need of more remedial work than others, preservationists at the time said the house would be relatively straightforward to revive. So why the dirt-cheap price tag? Prospective buyers speculated that the property may come with one or two ghostly houseguests given its storied history. We wonder if the new owner has encountered any friendly phantoms...

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