'Possibly Haunted' Mansion Can't Find A Buyer At $9.5 Million

LAKE FOREST, IL — More than two years after its asking price was dropped from $12 million to just under $10 million, the allegedly haunted Schweppe Mansion in Lake Forest has seen another price cut.

But, coming with a potential mortgage payment of roughly $50,000 a month, it's still out of the price range of most buyers, even with its price reduced another half million dollars to a mere $9,450,000.

Also known as Mayflower Place, the historic 28-room home was built in 1917 for Laura Shedd and Charles H. Schweppe as a wedding present from Shedd’s father, chairman of the Marshall Field & Company. With 12 beds and 12.5 baths, the 21,600-square-foot estate lies on a more than five acre lot and features a highly ornate interior with direct views of the lake.

Formerly part of a much larger estate, the Frederick Wainwright Perkins designed property is said to have entertained royalty on multiple occasions.

When Mrs. Schweppe died in 1937, she left a mere $200,000 of a $10 million fortune to her husband, who committed suicide in 1941. The precise motivation for his suicide is uncertain, but his death (and subsequent reports of "ghosts") has contributed to the notion the place is haunted.

Mayflower Place stayed empty for more than 45 years after that, and the home has only had one owner since.

A couple bought the house in 1987, carried out more than a million dollars worth of careful restorations but later divorced.

For the next two decades, the homeowner preserved the property in its original grandeur, using it to host and entertain local civic groups for events, before her 2011 death.

There was additional report of a ghost sighting on the property that same year, according to the Lake Forest College library archives.

That same year Palatine-based First Bank & Trust Co. took possession of the property in 2011 after filing a 2009 foreclosure lawsuit against that owner, and the bank's affiliates have been trying to unload it ever since.

Chicago Magazine produced a video tour of the property:

• Address: 405 N Mayflower Rd, Lake Forest, Illinois
• Price: $9,450,000
• Square Feet: 21603
• Bedrooms: 10
• Bathrooms: 11 Baths
• Built: 1917
• Features: One of Illinois' most architecturally-significant estates on Lake Michigan, the Schweppe Estate, was restored to perfection in 1987 and 1988 by 70 craftsmen and European artists/stonecrafters. Over 440-foot of lake frontage, 28 rooms, 12 bedrooms, 12.5 baths, marble fireplaces, intricate limestone molding and plaster relief ceilings. Exquisite dining room with beveled mirror panels and handsome library with spectacular detail. Fabulous gardens and grounds. For more information on this property, contact the listing agent, Lyon Martini Group at (847) 828-9991 or alyon@koenigrubloff.com.

This listing originally appeared on realtor.com. For more information and photos, click here.