Many of us have acted out of bitterness or spite at some point in our lives. Who hasn’t given a friend or loved one the “silent treatment” after a disagreement, for example, or gone out of their way to make a task more difficult for the other person? 

Some vengeful people have gone to extraordinary lengths to spite those they felt wronged by — even building entire houses meant to irritate the feuding party. These structures are usually ugly or situated in disruptive places and are called “spite houses.” Today, a few noteworthy historic spite houses throughout the U.S. serve as long-lasting symbols of defiance. For good reason, they tend to attract curiosity and attention from tourists and locals alike. 

The following people took the expression “love thy neighbor” and did the exact opposite. Check out the incredible and unusual houses they built out of spite.

O’Reilly Spite House – Cambridge, Massachusetts

This is one of several spite houses located in the great (but apparently vengeful) state of Massachusetts. In 1908, West Cambridge property owner Francis O’Reilly tried to sell his neighbor a narrow parcel of his land. The neighbor didn’t want to buy the property, so O’Reilly built a tiny house to block their view. 

The O’Reilly Spite House is only 37 feet long and 8 feet wide at its widest. Located at 260 Concord Avenue, the building now houses an interior design company. 

Tyler Spite House – Frederick, Maryland

A prominent ophthalmologist built this Federal-style house as an act of rebellion against the city of Frederick, Maryland. Dr. John Tyler owned several desirable lots in Frederick, which he’d purchased in an auction of confiscated property. 

In 1814, the city planned to extend an adjacent street directly through one of Tyler’s properties located on the courthouse square. The doctor didn’t care much for the idea, especially since his personal residence was right next door. Luckily, he discovered that a local law banned City Hall from developing any piece of land where a “substantial building” was already situated.

Dr. Tyler located a builder who was able to start construction immediately. The city sent its crews out the next day but to their surprise, there were workmen already pouring a foundation at the site. Tyler smugly watched the entire interaction. The finished house stands at the end of the street the city wanted to extend.

Subsequent owners have added to the house, including a third story and a swimming pool, and it was operated as a popular bed and breakfast for many years.

Alameda Spite House – Alameda, California

At the corner of Broadway and Crist Streets in Alameda, California, stands an eye-catching two-story Colonial Revival home. It’s an attractive building, but it’s impossible not to notice that it’s only 10 feet wide.

The true origin of this spite house is debatable. According to local lore, a Mr. Charles Froling is responsible for the slender abode, built in 1908 as a result of a dispute with the city of Alameda. The problem started when Froling inherited a parcel of land from a deceased relative. He intended to build his dream home there in the beautiful San Francisco Bay area. 

The city had other plans for Froling’s newly inherited property and annexed a large piece of the land to build what is now Crist Street. Froling asked a neighbor to help him fight the city but the neighbor declined to step into the fray, as their own house wouldn’t be affected by the new road. In response to this double insult, Froling erected a house he hoped would offend both the city and his unfriendly neighbor. 

The finished building stands 20 feet high and is 54 feet long, appearing completely normal from the front. From the side, though, the house looks like it’s been split in two. Froling’s spiteful creation sits as close as possible to each of the city’s designated property lines and to the neighbor’s home, blocking sunlight from reaching that side of the house.

Official records seem to back up this story. SFGate discovered that Froling’s neighbor, Annette Westerdahl, died by suicide just weeks after he built his revenge home. Additionally, a San Francisco Chronicle article from 1908 reported that Westerdahl “…had worried over the erection of a two-story dwelling but nine feet wide which was built by a neighbor…and shut out the sunlight from a part of the Westerdahl dwelling.”

However, Westerdahl’s tragic death could have been due to her unhappy marriage and dire financial circumstances. One of the spite home’s long-time owners, Jennifer Jacobson, doesn’t buy the prevailing story of this spite house. She told SFGate that Crist Street already existed in 1908, so the city wouldn’t have taken Froling’s land. Instead, Jacobson thinks a sibling rivalry over unfairly divided property instigated construction of the odd home. 

Additionally, Jacobson said she’s met descendants of Froling’s, who told her that he “simply built the house he could afford ($2,000). They say he loved this house dearly.” She does acknowledge that Charles Froling and Annette Westerdahl likely sparred over the house’s placement no matter the reason for its construction. “I haven’t been able to verify any of the stories, so I’m not sure what the real history is,” Jacobson told SFGate. “But it adds to the house’s aura.”

Montlake Spite House – Seattle, Washington

Located in a historic Seattle neighborhood, this tiny home was built in 1925. As is the case with many other spite houses, there is more than one story about how this wedge-shaped structure came to be. 

A popular local legend states that the person who owned this piece of land was approached by their neighbor, who wanted to buy the property to use as a garden for their home next door. They allegedly offered to buy it for an absurdly low price, which the landowner took as a personal affront. Enraged, the property owner erected a ridiculously skinny house on the lot to block the neighbor’s view.

Another commonly told background story about the Montlake house is a bit juicier and involves a messy divorce — one that ended with the husband taking the marital home and leaving his ex-wife just a skinny piece of land. She had the narrow Mission-style house built on the sliver of property in revenge.

Today, this pie-piece-shaped home is a highly desirable property worth nearly $750,000, according to a Zillow estimate. The house has plenty of curb appeal, looking pretty normal from the front but tapering down to a skinny 55 inches wide at the back door.

You can take a video tour of the house here.

Skinny House – Boston, Massachusetts

This skinny three-story house is one of the most famous landmarks in Boston’s North End and has the official distinction of being the narrowest house in the city. Located at 44 Hull Street near the historic Freedom Trail, the Skinny House was allegedly built as the result of a feud between two brothers during the 1800s. 

The siblings co-owned a piece of land they inherited when their father died. While one of the brothers was away fighting in the Civil War, the other constructed a large home that took up most of the property. When he returned from the war, the soldier discovered his brother’s egregious act and built a tall, narrow home on the small slice of land that had been left for him. The new home, four stories tall, completely blocked any views and sunlight from the larger house — a satisfying act of revenge against a scheming brother. 

Another, less popular, story about the Skinny House’s origin claims that it was built in reponse to a hostile neighbor situation. 

However, a Boston.com article found that neither of the above theories is likely true. According to this version, historical records indicate that the house was actually constructed before the Civil War and was half of a bigger home  — not a standalone building. The property was remodeled over the years but only the section now known as the Skinny House remains.

Today, the house is still a private residence. Since it’s located in a high-demand area, the 1,165 square feet home is pretty valuable, last selling for a pricey $1.25 million in 2021.

Miracle House – Freeport, New York

This two-story Victorian house at 146 Lena Avenue earned its nickname because it was built in just one day (or, at least framed in one day). Developer John Randall erected this home in 1902 to spite a business rival.

Randall owned property along Lena Avenue in the Stearns Park neighborhood. When he learned that another developer intended to extend Lena Avenue in order to maximize space for new lots, he took quick steps to thwart the road construction, believing it would limit the size of his own lots.

According to a local newspaper report, Randall insisted “that a straight line would reduce his frontage of land so as to make it worthless.” He also had the existing street extended on an angle to further prevent a gridded layout.

The Miracle House is still standing today and boasts a lovely wrap-around front porch with seven bedrooms and three baths. 

Hollensbury Spite House – Alexandria, Virginia

This distinctive blue structure is the narrowest historic home in the United States. The 7-foot 6-inch wide, 36-foot deep home is the most famous and the smallest of four spite houses in Alexandria. 

The most commonly accepted origin story of the Hollensbury house says a brickmaker named John Hollensbury owned a home on Queen Street that was situated next to an alleyway. He grew irritated by noisy loiterers and traffic in the passage. Even worse, wagon collisions were damaging the walls of his house.

By 1830, Hollensbury was fed up and did what many of us would dream of doing: bought the alleyway and built a tiny house there to prevent people from using it. “Whether that made somebody angry who thought they had a right of passage through that alley, it probably did,” Alexandria’s code enforcement architect, Al Cox, told The Washington Post in 2006. Cox added that this property is harder to definitively label as a spite house. “[the] story has an interesting appeal on a walking tour, but I think it’s probably a bit exaggerated.”

There are two more theories of this home’s construction. One involves a falling-out with a neighbor (very spiteful!) and the other is that Hollensbury built it as a playhouse for his daughter (not spiteful at all). 

The tiny building later housed a school, while it’s a private residence today.