OK, this isn’t exactly haunted real estate, but it’s a related genre and we are almost at Halloween – a holiday for all sorts of boys and ghouls, sweet and scary costumes. So let’s digress today and check out a real estate site that is featuring set locations for horror films, Wrong Move (part of the WhatHouse.co.uk website).
All Hallows Estatein England sounds like the ideal place for vacationers wanting to avoid the sun. Seems to be the home of Eddie Kruger – I don’t watch horror movies myself but getting that Nightmare on Elm Street vibe:
Enclosed by forest and situated under the shadow of Mount Hood, the estate is often shrouded by a cloak of fog and darkness and receives far less sunlight than the national average. This unique location is perfect for families and couples who enjoy the outdoors. All Hallows Estate has been commended for its picturesque Lake of Eden and currently holds the record for the world’s largest graveyard.
Off on the right sidebar, find loads of links to other set locations of creepy films sure to keep you from sleeping peacefully at night.
The first “haunted tours” in the U.S. happened in scenic Savannah, Georgia – a place I’ve wanted to visit forever but haven’t yet been able to see. Someday soon, I hope! Meanwhile, I’ll do some armchair traveling and invite you to join me in doing so. . . .
This morning I got a nice email from a writer at Zerve, Emily Morris, who enjoys this blog and wanted to call my attention to an article of hers on their site: Celebrate Halloween by Discovering Your Town’s Spooky History. Have a read and check out the other links for spooky tours around the country. You’ll want to put Savannah on your “must see” list too!
Today, Realtor.com, the leader in online real estate, operated by Move, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOVE), released the results of its Haunted Housing Report, which ran on Realtor.com® from Sept. 25 to Oct. 1 and explored consumer sentiments around haunted real estate. Survey results from nearly 1,400 respondents reveal consumer thresholds for purchasing haunted houses for sale, past experiences with spooky homes, popular “warning signs” of a haunted home, expected discounts when buying haunted houses for sale and intolerable scary occurrences.
“When purchasing a home, buyers want to know what they are getting into and that includes anything potentially spooky. Our data reveals that while the majority of consumers are open to purchasing a haunted home, many buyers conduct research on a home’s history to be aware of any weird incidences,” said Alison Schwartz, VP of corporate communications for Move. “Additionally, realtor.com® data finds that while some respondents are willing to purchase a haunted home at a discounted price, many say levitating objects, ghost sightings and seeing objects move from one place to another would deter them from purchasing a home.”
Sentiment regarding a haunted home purchase:
26 percent of respondents indicated that theywouldconsider purchasing a haunted house for sale;
36 percent shared that they mightconsidera haunted home purchase;
38 percent revealed that they would not consider a haunted home purchase.
Is your idea of a great vacation one in which you stay in a haunted hotel room? It’s not mine – I don’t actually want to sleep with ghosts – but apparently many of my readers love the idea! So today’s your lucky day, if that’s your goal. There’s a wonderful resource for finding haunted hotel rooms: http://www.hauntedrooms.com.
A quick look at the site reveals an intuitive layout (would you expect less for something related to the paranormal?). The visitor can use a quick search tool by city or state, or instead navigate a map to located the ideal haunt.
Additionally, if you are the proprietor of a spooky site, you may also add your abode to the directory.
Right now there are over 100 hotels listed, with more coming online all the time.
Finally, this site is an expansion of another one in Great Britain, so for those of you who really want to go the extra mile, have a look at this website too: www.hauntedrooms.co.uk .
Realtor.com ran a consumer survey Oct 1 – Oct 3 2012 regarding home buyers and their interest in purchasing haunted real estate. Surprisingly, 29% would buy a home with a reputation of being haunted – but only if they got a substantial discount in the price, 20% or more off from an otherwise normal house. For a small minority, the property would be worth more if haunted (just 2%).
Of the approximately 1900 people polled, 35% said that they would not consider purchasing a home which was said to be haunted, 32% said they would consider it and 33% said they might. In the U.S. today, about half of all Americans believe in ghosts – an interesting point to factor in. It is not surprising that people who do not believe in spooky spirits would be willing to live in a house or condo with a haunted reputation; what is more surprising is that a third or so of those who do believe are willing (or interested) in living in a haunted habitat, and that any of them would pay more for it!
A lovely old Victorian house in the historic Almond Grove District of Los Gatos at 230 Tait Avenue is said to be haunted, according to its owner. The area is filled with homes which are more than 100 years old and I’ve often wondered how many of them are haunted. At Halloween most of them look exceedingly spooky!
This house is in the middle of a zoning and use controversy in Los Gatos. The town does not permit Bed & Breakfasts (I think that’s a shame – it’s really almost ideal for that use) or short term rentals, but this house was being advertised as such for at least a couple of years – I noticed because links to one of my blog posts on my Live in Los Gatos blog was getting cited.
The website for the Los Gatos rental includes a page about the haunting which states that the
friendly Ghost has been heard many times by Lynley and her children and seen only once, by someone else, since Lynley bought the home in 2003
If you have any additional information on it, please share here!
Someone on Facebook shared the link to this article from the humorous blog cracked.com, and I thought my Haunted Real Estate readers would enjoy it too.
A house of horrors is the real lead character in the new FX suspense drama “American Horror Story,” which, in early episodes, finds its owners trying to illegally unload their haunted house without disclosing its dark, dark past. (Reprint this story for free with limited copyright restrictions.)
Good luck with that.
“American Horror Story” revolves around the Harmons, a family of three who moved from Boston to Los Angeles in order to reconcile a dark past and end up with a home that has some baggage of its own.
There’s unfaithful Ben Harmon, a shrink; Vivien Harmon, Ben’s pregnant wife and their teens-will-be-teens, pot-smoking daughter Violet Harmon. They are joined by Constance, the Harmon’s gun-wielding, spooky neighbor; Tate Langdon, one of Ben’s patients; Larry Harvey, who doesn’t seem bothered by the spooks; the Harmon’s housekeeper, both in her past sultry mode and in her present guise as a real come-on bitch. (more…)
A friend on Facebook shared with me this YouTube Channel by Ghostwatching and it’s really quite good! Below is one video, but if you visit the link you’ll see a wealth of these sorts of films!
Who is this cool person who’s shared so many neat movies and clips with the ghost-and-paranormal obscessed public? Ghostwatching’s description of herself as “a Connoisseur of History the Victorian era and all things of a mysterious and spooky nature”. Looks like this is simply a labor of love and not a profit center (exactly like this site, the Haunted Real Estate Blog). Also looks like some of her content has been swiped and plagiarized at times – so if you do visit this cool site, please be respectful and don’t “pinch” anything!
Statistics vary, but up to about half the American population believes in ghosts – or at the very least, the possibility that they exist.
A CBS poll in 2005 found that 48% of those asked said that they believe in ghosts and 45% said they didn’t. The same query revealed that 56% of women did believe in them. Surprisingly, 22% of those polled (not just of the set that believe) said that they had personally seen or felt a ghost. That’s huge!
A Pew Research poll in 2009 found smaller numbers but that 18% felt that they had had some sort of experience with a deceased person.
Scientific American calls these “grief hallucinations” and states that 80% of the elderly have them within a month of the passing of a close loved one. This is, of course, a surprising conclusion that the otherwise very respectable magazine failed to prove, but instead merely asserted.
Whether real experiences of the dead or, as Scientific American unscientifically claims, why is it that so few people ever talk about it?
No one wants to be labeled as crazy, nuts or disturbed. In casual conversation, friends and relatives (even if they believe and have experienced something themselves) are never going to ask, “so have you seen a ghost or felt the presence of a deceased loved one recently?” So it’s a self-imposed “don’t ask, don’t tell”.
How do you get past that so that people will share with you?
But, if for some reason they are made to feel safe in discussing it – say, if you verbally open that door – you might be surprised at the outpouring of stories. I get them all the time, often weekly. People I don’t know will call or email me about their experience because with this blog they know that they will gain a receptive ear.
You can also find a MeetUp group in your area for ghost hunters. Most of them will have a very good, personal, compelling reason for being there. And they won’t be nervous about sharing their experiences with you, either.
So if in this Halloween season you want to hear some “real ghost stories”, be daring and bring the subject up or put. Don’t make a verbal avalanche of it, but warm up to the topic a little. “This is a really interesting old house. Are there any stories associated with it?” Or volunteer something true in your own life, like “after my pet died, I really felt her presence for awhile afterward…” Or even, “my relative said that after his wife died…” The more closely it’s connected to you, personally, the safer it will be for others to share their stories and experiences with you in turn.
Yes, some people will think you are a little off but most likely you will find someone out there with a story that he or she is just dying to tell. So to speak.
OK, this isn’t exactly haunted real estate, but it’s a related genre and we are almost at Halloween – a holiday for all sorts of boys and ghouls, sweet and scary costumes. So let’s digress today and check out a real estate site that is featuring set locations for horror films, Wrong Move (part of the WhatHouse.co.uk website).
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