HGTV’s A Very Haunted Renovation puts six designers inside Bihl Manor, an Ohio mansion HGTV bills as one of the most haunted homes in America, for a $50,000 renovation competition. It airs Tuesdays at 8|7c and streams the next day on HBO Max, four designers remain after two episodes, and TV listings put the finale on Oct. 20.
The designers live in the Fremont, Ohio, mansion for 31 days and face an elimination challenge in each episode as they renovate it room by room. “Bihl Manor is one of the most haunted homes in America,” said Anna Camp, the actress (Scream 7) who hosts the series. “Unoccupied, falling apart and on the verge of demolition, no one is brave enough to step foot inside—until now.”
How to Watch
New episodes of the six-episode season air Tuesdays at 8|7c on HGTV and stream the next day on HBO Max, where the first two episodes are already available. HGTV also runs a YouTube companion series, Would You Buy This Haunted House?, which started September 11 and follows psychic Steffi Hill through haunted homes on the market.
Episode Guide
- Episode 1, “Welcome to the Haunted House” (Sept. 15). The six designers move in and split into two teams of three for a four-day bedroom battle, with makeovers inspired by the spirits of Lizzie and Alvie Bihl, said to haunt the sleeping quarters.
- Episode 2, “Ghosts in the Gathering Rooms” (Sept. 22). The five remaining designers split into teams to revive the living room and the parlor.
- Episode 3, “Enter if You Dare” (Sept. 29). Four designers remain, and two teams take on the haunted halls on the first and second floors.
- Episode 4, “A Game of Haunts” (Oct. 6). The attic becomes a spooky speakeasy and a gothic game room.
- Episode 5, “The Exterior Exorcism” (Oct. 13). With three designers left, each one takes a separate part of the neglected exterior.
- Episode 6, “The Final Fright” (Oct. 20). The final two designers take on the dining room and kitchen, with $50,000 on the line.
HGTV lists the first two episodes. Titles, dates, and descriptions for episodes 3 through 6 are from TV listings.
The Designers and Judges
The six designers are SK Stokes Kennedy, Patrick Peel, John Ryan, Bershan Shaw, Logan Wright, and Diana Vogel. HGTV designer Michel Smith Boyd mentors and judges them alongside a celebrity guest judge each episode. The guest judges include Cassandra Peterson (Elvira, Mistress of the Dark), horror director Eli Roth, paranormal investigator Jack Osbourne, actor Billy Porter, production designer Hannah Beachler, and actress Lulu Wilson.
Diana Vogel and The Vogel Victorian
One competitor will look familiar to HAN readers. Diana Vogel runs The Vogel Victorian, the Victorian mourning experience HAN covered at Creep It Real OC, where she staged a guided walkthrough on death and mourning customs inside a historic house. On the show, she moved into a genuinely haunted one.
Bihl Manor’s History
Jerome Bihl, a Toledo native who owned a jewelry store and a piano shop in Fremont, built the house in the 1890s, across the street from the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library at Spiegel Grove, according to HGTV. The Bihl family moved to Minnesota in the 1920s and sold it to Clarence and Daisy Wolfe, who at times let it be used for funerals and memorial services. Clarence died in the house in 1942, and Daisy died in her bedroom there in 1966.
Lucas County Children’s Services later turned it into a children’s group home. After that closed in the 1990s, a couple ran it as a bed-and-breakfast until 2009. The family who bought it next lived there for about a year before moving out, for reasons HGTV says are still not known.
Its reputation comes from what visitors and investigators report, per HGTV. In the basement, two entities known as “Biter” and “Scratcher” have been encountered, and four men and four women have reported being bitten or scratched there. On the main floor, visitors report disembodied voices, footsteps, slamming doors, and a piano heard playing by itself. Shadowy figures have been seen on the second floor, and people report glimpses of a red-haired boy in the attic.
Can You Visit Bihl Manor?
Yes, for a paranormal investigation. According to the house’s website, you can rent all of Bihl Manor for $175 a night Monday through Thursday or $225 Friday through Sunday, for up to 5 people, with each extra person $30 on weeknights and $45 on weekends. Investigations run from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., and staying overnight until 11 a.m. is a $30 flat fee. A $100 non-refundable deposit holds a date, and guests must be at least 14 and with an adult. Booking is through hauntedbihlmanor.com.
For more of what is airing this season, see my Halloween TV specials 2026 guide.
