We thoroughly researched every detail regarding the location of Woodstone B&B.
We love those grand, old country houses, so you know, the vibrant, hit CBS sitcom Ghosts is a perfect fit for us.
Based on the British series of the same name, the American version of Ghosts stars Rose McIver and Utkarsh Ambudkar as Sam and Jay, a couple who escape city life to become owners of a sprawling vacation home nestled in the rural Hudson Valley of New York.
There’s just one problem. Besides most of the Woodstone mansion, which Sam inherited from an aunt, need urgent repairs, the house is also haunted. After a fall down the stairs, Sam gains the ability to see spirits – and Sam and Jay’s lives will never be the same again.
But is the house used in the show actually a real house?
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The American version of Ghosts was filmed in… Canada
Although the CBS series Ghosts is set in Upper New York and incorporates many local details, filming took place on set in Montreal, Quebec, and the surrounding area.
“Everyone knows that we [the actors] all love each other, and we’re lucky because we live so close together, not just as characters permanently trapped in this house, but as a group of actors who all have to put their own lives on hold,” Rebecca Wisocky, who plays Hetty, told Country Living. “We filmed in Montreal, so we were all stuck there together.”
According to a fan website, the house used as the stone facade for Woodstone Mansion is located about an hour’s drive from Montreal and was built by a Belgian family in the 1940s. If you look closely at the aerial photos of that location posted on Reddit and the behind-the-scenes outdoor photos McIver posted on Instagram, you can notice matching architectural details.
During the production of season 2 in July 2022, a local source reported that the Ghosts cast and crew were filming at Morgan Botanical Gardens in Montreal’s West Island area.
The Victorian-style interior of the Woodstone mansion is modeled after a house in California.
During Entertainment Tonight’s 2022 behind-the-scenes tour of Ghosts, Ambudkar, who plays Jay, revealed that the pilot episode was filmed at a real house in Los Angeles, near the University of Southern California. When the pilot episode was selected, the house’s interior was meticulously recreated inside a Montreal studio for the rest of the series. The studio also included many real antiques.
Sharing about the meticulous set design, Wisocky told Country Living magazine: “I like to think of that house as the eleventh main character in our show, and it holds so much story. There’s so much going on within those walls and on that land. And our production designer, Zoë Sakellaropoulo, is a genius. It’s the most detailed and beautiful set I’ve ever worked on.”
Can you visit the house featured in the “Ghosts” movie?
Neither the California house that appeared in the pilot episode of the American version of Ghosts, nor the Quebec house that served as the stone facade for Woodstone Mansion, are open to the public. However, you can visit Baker Mansion in Altoona, Pennsylvania — while not a filming location, it served as inspiration for the American version of the series. The mansion is open for guided tours from Memorial Day weekend until mid-December.
If you’re a fan of the original BBC “Ghosts” series and planning a trip to England, you can visit the English “Ghosts” house: West Horsley Place in Surrey.