Aerial survey · USDA NAIP · public domain1850s stone gatehouse named HGTV's 'Scariest House in America' in 2025
East Howard Street, Bellefonte, PA 16823
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
The gatehouse is a private residence and is not open to visitors. Union Cemetery is a public cemetery; the gatehouse can be seen from the public cemetery entrance road.
Access
Limited Access
Cemetery grounds with paved entrance road and grass
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1858 · Mid-19th-Century Cemetery Gatehouse · Former 1970s-80s Haunted Attraction · HGTV 'Scariest House in America' (2025)
Union Cemetery in Bellefonte sits in Centre County's seat, a burial ground that holds the graves of several Pennsylvania governors and of Evan Pugh, the first president of the institution that became Penn State. At its entrance stands a stone gatehouse built in the mid-19th century, originally as the home of the cemetery's caretaker.
The building's reputation grew during the 1970s and 1980s, when it operated as a walk-through haunted-house attraction with costumed actors and staged scare scenes. After that era it returned to use as a residence.
In 2025 the gatehouse drew national attention when it was selected for HGTV's 'Scariest House in America' and won, earning the owners a roughly $150,000 renovation led by designer Alison Victoria. Local coverage from WPSU and the Lock Haven Express identified the owners as Kat Momenzadeh, an English teacher at Bellefonte Area High School, and her husband, who reported a range of unexplained activity in the home.
The gatehouse is a private residence and is not open to the public. Union Cemetery itself is a public burial ground, and the exterior of the gatehouse can be seen from the cemetery's entrance road.
Sources
The reported activity at the Union Cemetery gatehouse comes mostly from its current occupants. In 2025 interviews tied to the HGTV feature, the owners described doors locking on their own, children's toys moving without explanation, whispering voices with no source, and footsteps walking up and down the staircase.
The building's spooky reputation predates the current family. Through the 1970s and 1980s the gatehouse ran as a walk-through haunted-house attraction at the edge of the cemetery, a setting that fixed its place in local lore. Its position at a cemetery entrance, holding governors' and historic figures' graves, gives the stories an obvious backdrop.
Because the gatehouse is now a private home, there is no public tour and no inside access. The legends are best treated as the residents' own accounts and local folklore, documented in regional news coverage rather than independent investigation.
Media Appearances
The stone gatehouse stands at the entrance to Union Cemetery and is now a private home. Visitors can view its exterior from the public cemetery road and walk the historic burial ground, which holds the graves of several Pennsylvania governors and Evan Pugh, the first president of the school that became Penn State. The house interior is private and not open to the public.
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