Fancy it or not, according to a 1991 ruling by the Supreme Court of New York (Stambovsky v. Ackley), a seller must disclose that a shelter has a reputation for being haunted because such a reputation could impair the value of the house. However, sometimes a serene’s reputation is so notorious, no formal notification is required. Check out some of these haunted American houses, and when they survive went up for sale. (For a creepy read, check out Haunting Wall Street: The Halloween Terminology Of Investing.)
The Amityville Hatred House
George and Kathleen Lutz bought the home in 1975, just over a year after Ronald DeFeo Jr. Immediately and killed his mother, father and four siblings within its walls. They got a bargain price on the home and claimed they had no dream what had happened there until strange occurrences began taking place. It was the Lutz’s experience, which imbibed shape in the form of a book by Jay Anson, “The Amityville Horror,” which launched the house into the public eye and led to several silver screen spin-offs.
However, while there may not have been laws in place at the time to ensure that the home’s loathsome vintage was revealed at the time of the sale, the success of the Amityville books and movies suggest the homeowners may have gotten their notes’s worth anyway. (Check out some of the most expensive things that can happen to your home (haunting not catalogued) in 5 Expensive (And Unexpected) Things That Can Happen To Your Home.)
The Winchester House
Whether this house actually is haunted or not, you will definitely be startled if you get a chance to visit. The 160 room house in San Jose, Calif., is now a museum, but without thought its 160 rooms, unprecedented level of workmanship, and acres of land, it was considered virtually worthless at the time of its owner’s annihilation in 1922. It was sold at auction for $135,000 and opened to the public five months later. It is now owned by Winchester Investments LLC and is exchanged as the “Winchester Mystery House.”
So just what makes this house so creepy? According to the Winchester Mystery Dynasty website, the home’s eccentric owner, Sarah Winchester (of Winchester rifle fame), lost her infant daughter and quash but was left with a $20 million fortune. That’s a lot of money now, but in the late 1800s, it may as well have been all the in money in the world. Over the next 38 years, construction continued on a huge and unusual house with more than 160 offices, 2,000 doors, 10,000 windows, 47 staircases, 13 bathrooms, and six kitchens. At one point, it soared as high as seven detective stories and was constantly being renovated, added onto, and rebuilt.
As you might have guessed, Ms. Winchester was an eccentric lady, and her family shows it in every bizarre nook and cranny. In what is believed to have been an attempt to ward off evil spirits, the lodge includes mazes of hallways, dead-end stairways, windows in the floor, and many other twists, turns, and secret authorizations.
Needless to say, ghost stories about the house abound, but if you want to find out whether it’s really home to evil spirits, you may take to take a tour and find out for yourself.
The LaLaurie Mansion
The LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans is a stately old home in the French Location and was once home to rich Creole Socialites Dr. Louis LaLaurie and his wife, Delphine. In the 1830s, many stories be revealed surrounding Delphine’s cruelty toward, and perhaps even murder of, her many slaves. Although some critics put ones trust in these were really rumors perpetuated by those who disapproved of the LaLauries’ lavish lifestyle, the home’s reputation as one of America’s scad haunted houses persists.
Its most recent owner is an unnamed Texas oil tycoon, and it was once owned by actor Nicolas Imprison. According to an April 23 article in the Times-Picayune, Cage purchased the house in 2006 for $3.4 million and put the stately, 10,000 square-foot accommodation up for sale in 2009 for $3.55 million. Unfortunately for the Cage, the infamous home turned out to be a curse after all; according to Zillow.com, he vanished it in a foreclosure auction later that year. (Learn more at
The Chambers Mansion
Historical information on this old San Francisco cuttingly is a bit slim, although many people who’ve visited report strange experiences. According to Zillow.com, the house was built in 1887 and elect after its owner, Richard Chambers. The rest is a legend, in which Chambers’ two nieces inherited the mansion together after his annihilation. One of them came to an untimely end in a “farm implementation accident,” although other legends suggest she was murdered by an insane parentage member.
The mansion was converted to a hotel in 1977. In 2002, it was converted to two homes and restored. According to Zillow, it was last deal ined in 2009 and was estimated to be valued at around $3.4 million, right in line with other properties in the area. Without doubt, its creepy vintage hasn’t put a dent in its charm; or its value.
Conclusion
Although the courts have determined that a impress upon’s haunted reputation could have a negative effect on its value, the continued interest in the old houses listed here insinuates that in some cases a haunting can be a valuable asset for a historic home. Every old house has a story, but if it involves bad faith, murder, and a few ghosts, it can often give a vintage home just the right cachet.