An 1872 Italianate villa where security guards report a woman's apparition on the balcony and paranormal investigators concluded it was 'without a doubt haunted.'
100 Mill St, Waco, TX 76704
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Admission fee for house museum tours; check Historic Waco Foundation for current pricing.
Access
Limited Access
Multi-story Victorian home with interior stairs; limited accessibility for upper floors.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1872 · Built 1872 by John Wesley Mann — prominent Waco cotton merchant and real estate developer · Italianate villa design is among the most distinctive surviving examples of the style in Central Texas · Managed by the Historic Waco Foundation as a museum property
John Wesley Mann arrived in Texas from Tennessee and built his fortune in cotton trading and real estate in the years following the Civil War. In 1872, he commissioned the East Terrace House at 100 Mill Street in Waco — one of the most ambitious residential projects in McLennan County at the time. The Italianate villa design, with its distinctive bracketed eaves, central tower, and wraparound veranda, was unusual for the Texas interior and reflected Mann's wealth and Tennessee origins.
Mann and his family occupied the home through the late nineteenth century. After his death, the property passed through several hands before the Historic Waco Foundation acquired it and opened it as a house museum. The interior retains much of its period character, including original woodwork and some furnishings from the Mann family era.
The Baylor Lariat documented the house's paranormal reputation in 2017, reporting accounts from night security personnel who had observed a female figure on the exterior balcony — a figure that disappeared when approached. Tour guides working the property have also described finding objects moved between the evening's close and the morning's opening, consistent accounts that have persisted across multiple staff members over the years.
The Central Texas Paranormal Society conducted a formal investigation of the property and reported their conclusion publicly: the house is, in their assessment, definitively haunted, with the primary entity identified as the wife of one of Mann's sons.
Sources
The dominant account at East Terrace House involves a woman seen standing on the balcony after closing hours. Multiple night security personnel, working independently over different time periods, have described the same image: a figure in period dress, visible from the exterior, that vanishes when they approach or when the lights are checked. The consistency across accounts — different staff, different seasons — is what drew formal investigation interest.
The Central Texas Paranormal Society's investigation of the property generated findings they described as unambiguous. Their public conclusion identified the spirit as the wife of one of John Wesley Mann's sons, though the specific family member was not named in the reporting. The investigation employed standard paranormal investigation equipment and documented anomalous readings in the upper rooms nearest the balcony.
Tour guides working regular daytime programming have separately described a pattern of objects — small items from displays, period accessories — found in different positions than their previous placement, without any plausible overnight explanation. The accounts date to at least 2010 and have continued under successive guide staffs.
Notable Entities
Guided tours of the 1872 Italianate villa built by John Wesley Mann, covering the home's architecture, furnishings, and the Mann family history. The paranormal accounts associated with the house — reported by night security guards and tour guides — are part of the interpreted history.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Macon, GA
Built between 1855 and 1859 for businessman William Butler Johnston at a cost of approximately $100,000, the Italian Renaissance Revival mansion at 934 Georgia Avenue has been called the 'Palace of the South' and is a National Historic Landmark. The Felton family held it through the Civil War period; Confederate general Henry Gray Felton occupied it during the war. The Hay family acquired the house in 1926 and donated it to The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation in 1977.
Indianapolis, IN
Hannah House is an 1858 Italianate mansion at 3801 Madison Avenue on the south side of Indianapolis, built by Alexander Hannah, an Indiana businessman who returned wealthy from the California Gold Rush. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Charles City, VA
Benjamin Harrison IV built the current mansion at Berkeley Plantation in 1726, making it the oldest three-story brick structure in Virginia. The plantation became the birthplace of President William Henry Harrison in 1773 and the ancestral seat of a family that produced a signer of the Declaration of Independence and two U.S. Presidents. During the Civil War, General McClellan used the mansion as his headquarters and the cellar held Confederate prisoners.