Rispin Mansion, Mansion in Capitola, California, United States
Rispin Mansion is a four-story, 22-room house of over 7,100 square feet (660 m2) built in 1921 in Capitola, California. Its 2012 repairs sealed all outside access, entombing the structure, and no further renovation is planned. The grounds are being converted into The Park at Rispin Mansion.
Henry Allen Rispin built this mansion in 1921 originally as a real estate showroom but lost his fortune during the Great Depression. Ownership later transferred and the building took on a completely different purpose.
The Oblates of St. Joseph bought the property and ran it as a convent until 1959, after the Rispin family's foreclosure sale to Robert Hays Smith. Locals call the building "cursed," a label tied to its later decades of abandonment, vandalism and graffiti. The Santa Cruz Ghost Hunters received city permission to film there overnight.
The City of Capitola manages the property and is currently developing plans to transform the surrounding grounds into a public recreational space. This makes the site more accessible for visitors interested in exploring the area.
The Santa Cruz Ghost Hunters received city permission to film overnight at the mansion, which locals and paranormal sleuths treat as a subject of fascination. A city council member once remarked that the property seems "cursed."
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