Here are the wackiest mansions in LA – and the secret stories behind them

Los Angeles has never been shy about excess—but some of its homes take things way past luxury and straight into the bizarre.

From a “Jaws”-like mansion tied to murder lore to a flying saucer home perched on a single pole, these architectural oddities aren’t just eye candy.

These are the properties that make even jaded Angelenos do a double take—and the strange stories hiding behind their walls.

John Sowden House

Located in the heart of the trendy east side Los Feliz neighborhood, the John Sowden House is a Mayan revival fortress that is impossible to miss.

Built in 1926 and designed by Lloyd Wright (Frank Lloyd Wright’s son), it’s nicknamed the “Jaws House” because it features a jagged concrete facade that resembles a giant, gaping mouth that looks like it might bite you.

The house’s history is darker than its windowless exterior, though. In the 1940’s it was owned by Dr. George Hodel, a primary suspect in the infamous Black Dahlia murder.

Nothing was ever been proven in court, but Hodel’s own son, homicide detective, later claimed his father committed the gruesome murder of Elizabeth Short  right in the basement of the iconic house.

Inside, the house only adds to the mystique: a narrow, cave-like entrance opens into a hidden courtyard. It reportedly last traded hands for $6.16 million in 2022.

The Spadena House

Better known as the Witch’s House, this is straight out of a storybook, and completely out of place in Beverly Hills.

With its intentionally lopsided roof, tiny windows, and a moat filled with lily pads, it looks like a relic from the 1600’s—but it was actually built for a movie studio 1921, and was relocated to North Walden Drive in 1934. While it looks derelict by design, it’s actually a meticulously maintained private residence.

The home almost disappeared for good in the 1990s when it faced demolition, but preservationists stepped in. Today, it’s one of the most photographed homes in LA, and a favorite Halloween pilgrimage spot.

Chemosphere

Perched on a single twenty-nine-foot high, five-foot-wide concrete column over a 45-degree slope in the Hollywood Hills, this octagonal wonder looks like it landed from outer space.

Designed in 1960 by John Lautner, the Chemosphere was built on a near-impossible slope—so Lautner solved it by essentially putting the home on a pedestal.

It’s since become one of LA’s most iconic modernist homes, serving as the inspiration for the house in Charlie’s Angels.

But its past isn’t all that glamorous. A doctor named Richard F. Kuhn lived there in the 1970’s, and was reportedly murdered in his bedroom there in 1976 by Kuhn’s lover who was accompanied by an accomplice.

Mosaic Tile House

This Venice home isn’t just decorated—it’s completely consumed.

From the sidewalk, this almost looks like a normal Venice bungalow. Step inside the gate, and your retinas might explode.

Seemingly every square inch of the Mosaic Tile House—from the kitchen sink to the bathroom wall—is covered in a kaleidoscopic explosion of smashed tiles, glass, and pottery.

The Mosaic Tile House has been transformed over decades by artists Cheri Pann and Gonzalo Duran, who covered nearly every surface in hand-laid mosaic tiles.

Castle Ivar

If you spot turrets peaking through trees in Hollywood, it’s Castle Ivar.

Built in the 1920’s, it’s a sprawling storybook castle complete with a Jacuzzi on the roof and stone ramparts that looks like it belong more in medieval Europe than a mile from Hollywood Boulevard.

Over the years, it’s attracted actors and creatives like Prince and Idris Elba, drawn to its moody, gothic vibe. The medieval-style castle is now a 6-bedroom rental that you can book on Airbnb for a little over $2,000 a night.