THE STORY
Reported Haunting
The Rengstorff House is associated with reports of ghostly apparitions believed to be connected to former residents. Visitors have described phantom footsteps, mysterious voices, shadow figures, and unexplained cold spots throughout the Victorian home. It is regarded as Mountain View's best-known haunted historic house.
Rengstorff House was originally built by German immigrant Henry Rengstorff on Stierlin Road in the 1860s, but was moved to its current location to be restored and turned into a museum. The 16-room mansion with beautiful period furnishings, a widow’s walk and a garden was occupied by the Rengstorff family until 1959, but subsequent owners were often scared away by its ghost. Witnesses say the apparition of a sad a young lady, perhaps a teen, looks out an upstairs bedroom window and occasionally cries. Unexplained noises and cold spots also bothered owners in the night; the identity of the ghost girl is unknown.