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The 99-Door Mansion (Caledonia House)

Whenthe 1840s (built)
Died7 June 1948 (John St Maur Ramsden killed)
WhereCaledonia House, Penang, Malaysia
DoorSomewhere You Can Go
Our judgementObscurity 6 of 7

Caledonia House, an abandoned mansion in Penang, Malaysia, built for the Ramsden family and rumoured to be haunted since John St Maur Ramsden was shot dead there in 1948.

The 99-Door Mansion (Caledonia House)
Vnonymous, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

TheSmartLocal Malaysia says the house dates from the 1840s, when it was built for the Ramsden family, wealthy British East India Company figures who also managed large estates in Malaysia. Its original name was Caledonia House, and locals call it the 99-Door Mansion.

John St Maur Ramsden ran the Penang Rubber Estates Group as managing director. Wikipedia gives his birth as 26 April 1902 and records that he married in 1935 and left a daughter, and that he met a violent death in Malaysia on 7 June 1948. TheSmartLocal says he was shot twice on the mansion's staircase by someone never identified. Some have suggested a jealous rival or Communist guerrillas, but the killing was never solved, and TheSmartLocal says it gave rise to the haunting rumours.

TheSmartLocal reports that the house is privately owned and has been left to decay since the 1960s, with plants now covering much of it.

From the primary source
"John St. Maur Ramsden, born 26 April 1902, married 20 February 1935 Lady Catherine Mary Clementina Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby (1906–1996), and was killed in Malaysia on 7 June 1948, leaving a daughter:"
Wikipedia, Sir John Frecheville Ramsden, 6th BaronetRead the source →
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