Introducing LA’s quirkiest mansions and the secret stories behind them

Los Angeles has never been shy about excess. But some homes go beyond luxury and embrace the bizarre.

From Jaws-like mansions tied to murder legends to a flying saucer house perched on a single pillar, these architectural oddities are more than just eye candy.

These are the properties that make even jaded Angelenos do a double take, and the strange stories hidden behind walls.

john soden house

Located in the heart of the trendy Eastside Los Feliz neighborhood, the John Sowden House is a Mayan revival fortress and a must-see.

Built in 1926 and designed by Lloyd Wright (Frank Lloyd Wright’s son), the building is nicknamed “Jaw’s House” because its jagged concrete façade resembles a gaping mouth ready to bite.

But this house’s history is darker than its windowless exterior. In the 1940s, it was owned by Dr. George Hodel, the main suspect in the infamous Black Dahlia murders.

Although nothing was proven in court, Hodel’s own son, a homicide detective, later claimed that his father committed the gruesome murder of Elizabeth Short in the basement of this iconic home.

Once inside the house, its mystique increases even further. A narrow, cave-like entrance leads to a hidden courtyard. He was reportedly last traded in 2022 for $6.16 million.

The Spadena House

Best known as the Witch’s House, this building looks like something out of a fairy tale and is completely out of place in Beverly Hills.

Although the intentionally pitched roof, small windows, and lily pad-filled moat make the building look like a relic from the 1600s, it was actually built for a movie studio in 1921 and moved to North Walden Drive in 1934. Although it looks like a ruin in design, it is actually a private residence that has been meticulously maintained.

The house was threatened with demolition in the 1990s and almost disappeared forever, but preservationists intervened. Today, the house is one of the most photographed homes in Los Angeles and a favorite Halloween pilgrimage spot.

Chemosphere

Perched on a single 29-foot-tall, 5-foot-wide concrete pillar atop a 45-degree slope in the Hollywood Hills, this octagonal wonder looks like it has descended from outer space.

Designed by John Lautner in 1960, Chemosphere was built on a nearly impossible slope. So Lautner solved the problem by basically putting the house on a pedestal.

Since then, the building has become one of L.A.’s most iconic modernist homes and served as the inspiration for the house in Charlie’s Angels.

However, its past is not so glamorous. A doctor named Richard F. Kuhn lived there in the 1970s, but was reportedly murdered in his bedroom in 1976 by Kuhn’s lover, accompanied by an accomplice.

mosaic tile house

This house in Venice isn’t just decorated, it’s thoroughly used.

From the sidewalk, this looks almost like a normal Venetian bungalow. If you step inside the gate, your retina might explode.

Mosaic Tile House is where seemingly every square inch, from the kitchen sink to the bathroom walls, is covered in a kaleidoscopic explosion of crushed tile, glass, and ceramics.

The Mosaic Tile House was renovated over the decades by artists Cheri Pan and Gonzalo Duran, who covered nearly every surface with hand-laid mosaic tiles.

ivar castle

If you spot a tower rising through the trees in Hollywood, it’s Castle Ivar.

Built in the 1920s, this sprawling castle with a rooftop Jacuzzi and stone ramparts looks more like something you’d find in medieval Europe than a mile off Hollywood Boulevard.

Over the years, its moody, gothic vibe has attracted actors and creators like Prince and Idris Elba. The medieval-style castle is currently available to book as a six-bedroom rental on Airbnb for just over $2,000 a night.

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