Could you live in a Haunted House?
I’m sure that most of us, at one time or another, have had the feeling that we are not alone at home! Maybe you are someone, like myself, that those little noises at night causes you to pull the bed covers over your head. You’ve spent the evening watching that ghostly horror movie, your senses in bed are on maximum alert, and you are sure you can make out shapes in the pitch darkness of the bedroom – Your dog growls or cat hisses for no reason and that’s it, you put the lights back on! How many of us have blamed that ghost in the house for when things go missing or been moved cause it was certainly not you who moved them…
When it comes to buying and selling of property then we do not ideally want to see the word haunted associated with things. Even the murmurings of ghost mentions can be a cause of concern for some and a put off to buyers. More often than not talk of apparitions in any form is usually reserved for larger, older property such as castles, manor houses, estates and similar – There will also be mentions of activity in gardens / forestry.
Haunted houses stay on the market for longer and sell for lower than market value usually thus the mentioning of aspirations, ghosts, haunting or even poltergeist isn’t advised. In the UK you have a legal obligation, as the property seller, to tell the buyer about any known to you defects. When it comes to ghostly problems then as this subject is simply nothing more that figments of ones imagination then how can you be held to account? Though over the waters to the USA and things are a little different in some states ie according to the Arizona Department of Real Estate, “Sellers are obligated by Arizona common law to disclose all known material facts about a property to the buyer.” A material fact is a piece of information important to making a decision and this would cover known hauntings within property. Further more to this, the famous case from New York City known as ‘the Ghostbusters ruling’ between Stambovsky v. Ackley saw a court case involving reclaiming of down payment and the refusal to move into a house that was discovered to be inhabited by ghosts.
Many readers will say that ghosts and the like are nothing more than myths and fiction so this is merely a non topic. Others will strongly disagree and have their own experiences to share and many more will be open to the fact that ghosts might exist. History tells us there is no firm evidence to support the subject, yet it is big business with big $’s spent via ghost tours, movies and merchandise – Please tell me at least that we all have a soft spot for Ghostbusters regardless to us being believers or not!
So, what about living in a haunted property? Well you could test run the concept with the countless options to attend events and even sleep overs at haunted property across the UK such as those organised by Haunted Rooms. We are all aware that the older the property then the more likely that deaths would have occurred within at some point including fatal incidents / accidents – Obviously if means that their spirits become an uninvited resident is up to debate.
“I do know of people that say they have a resident ghost, most times it is the friendly sort that merely taps now and then or involves the movements of doors / small objects and the temperature dips slightly if they are present. I have also been told the story of property where young children of the family have spoken of seeing a grey lady at night time that they speak to.”
If you are looking to purchase a haunted property or at least one with reported ghost sightings then they do appear every so often, keyword searches on property portals will help you track down such listings – Even Rightmove hosts such property and share updates this subject of spooky homes for sale.
People do live happily in haunted property – A recent article on the Daily Mail online quoted: Yes, you can live happily in a HAUNTED HOUSE.
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