The eccentric mansion of one the most popular horror authors of modern times.

A typical "Old South" manor, once owned by author Anne Rice, served as the setting for several of her witchcraft sagas.

A little piece of Paris in the sultry south of the U.S.

This symbolic piece of New Orleans architecture is also home to a few ghastly stories.

The second oldest continuously operating bar in Louisiana.

A priceless collection of the Nation's cryptologic history.

Once one of the world's great cities, Cahokia was a place of religious worship, trade and mass human sacrifice before being mysteriously abandoned.

A monument marks the location of the first successful steamboat demonstration.

Remnants of a storybook amusement park hidden behind a strip mall.

A local farm's collection of unusual structures from a now defunct storybook amusement park.

The Denver airport is guarded by a 32-foot-tall sculpture of a demonic horse.

A 400-square foot model of historic Quebec is the playing field for a state of the art light and sound show.

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.

An elaborate gift from Claus Spreckels is now a piece of San Francisco history.

Golden Gate Park's historic collection of plants.

A huge musical instrument played by the ocean.

A collection of 20th-century automata, penny arcade games, and musical contraptions.

Not merely a museum – but a whirring powerhouse that offers a subterranean peek into the heart and soul of cable car operations.

Northern Ireland's Brobdingnagian stepping stones.

Dublin's "Dead Zoo" serves as a window to Victorian museum design.

The gorgeous library at Trinity College is home to remarkable treasures of Irish identity.

Electrical pylon in the shape of Disney's beloved mouse.

A Circus legend leaves an unexpected endowment.

Manatees congregate around a power plant's discharge canal where the water is especially warm.