At first, it might just look like a beautiful old house, but look closer, and you’ll realize that something seems strange about the Lapham-Patterson House in Thomasville, Georgia.

The home is a marvelous example of Victorian architecture, with fish scale shingles, a double-flue chimney, intricate floors and fretwork, and a magnificent porch and balcony.
Wikimedia Commons/Ebyabe
Have you spotted what's strange about it yet? You might have noticed that it's completely asymmetrical, and that's true. Not a single room or closet in the entire 19-room house is a perfect square.
Wikimedia Commons /Ebyabe
But that's not the strangest part. From some views of the house, it seems to have more doors and windows than wall space. In fact, there are 50 exits (24 doors) in the home in total.
Wikimedia Commons/Ebyabe

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The reason for this is that the home's builder, a businessman named C.W. Lapham, survived the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, which wiped out a 3-mile square of the city and killed up to 300 people.
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Understandably, Lapham became a bit of a pyrophobe, or someone with an intense or abnormal fear of fire (beyond what is normal). Ironically, the floors were all beautiful flatwood-pine, making the house very susceptible to fire. Pictured is Lapham's spirit portrait, a common Victorian practice.
Facebook/Lapham-Patterson House
A couple of other unique little details include the roof reminiscent of a fireman's hat and some exterior fretwork over the balcony that casts shadows in the third-floor billiard room during the springtime and fall. These sillhouettes take the shape of six-pointed stars and a cow's head. Some have speculated that this is meant to represent Mrs. O'Leary's Cow, the legendary cause of the Great Chicago Fire. 
Facebook/Lapham-Patterson House

In a sad twist of events, Lapham’s business dwindled, and he separated from his wife. She moved to Arizona and later died in a fire caused by a kerosene lamp. One of the couple’s children did pass away in the home at a young age, and the Lapham-Patterson Home is rumored to be haunted by her ghost. Haunted or not, this house is a fascinating glimpse into one man’s life and mind.

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