Would You Live in a Haunted House?
Readers chime in on buying a spooky home and share their unexplained experiences living in one
I’ll be honest: I don’t believe in ghosts. I’ve never experienced anything close to supernatural. But I don’t doubt that people believe they have experienced unexplainable phenomena, especially when it comes to their household. And the experiences can be highly consequential for some who perhaps are more sensitive to these murky matters.
We asked readers if they would ever buy a house that was rumored to be haunted. For the most part, people would not. We collected a few of their comments and stories of their own haunted experiences, and then organized them into a few general categories, from the practical to the questionable to the bizarre. And in true scary-story fashion, we saved the best for last.
We asked readers if they would ever buy a house that was rumored to be haunted. For the most part, people would not. We collected a few of their comments and stories of their own haunted experiences, and then organized them into a few general categories, from the practical to the questionable to the bizarre. And in true scary-story fashion, we saved the best for last.
Yes, But …
nosoccermom: “Yes, because I don’t believe in ghosts. However, I wouldn’t want to live in a house where a crime took place because it would be me imagining what had happened.”
leslieap10: “Yep, but I’d have a priest over ASAP.”
nosoccermom: “Yes, because I don’t believe in ghosts. However, I wouldn’t want to live in a house where a crime took place because it would be me imagining what had happened.”
leslieap10: “Yep, but I’d have a priest over ASAP.”
More Questions Than Answers
Anglophilia: “If I loved the house, I’d buy one where a mass murder took place, assuming that all signs of such had been removed.”
LynnNM: “Yes, because I’ve lived in this one that’s haunted for 24 years now. It’s not a big deal most of the time.”
justerrilynn: “It depends on if the house needed to be gutted. Ghosts don’t always stay after a complete gut job.”
dedtired: “Actually, I could use the company.”
Anglophilia: “If I loved the house, I’d buy one where a mass murder took place, assuming that all signs of such had been removed.”
LynnNM: “Yes, because I’ve lived in this one that’s haunted for 24 years now. It’s not a big deal most of the time.”
justerrilynn: “It depends on if the house needed to be gutted. Ghosts don’t always stay after a complete gut job.”
dedtired: “Actually, I could use the company.”
The Money-Conscious
yogacat: “It would depend. On the purely pragmatic side, the reputation might mean that you could get a property you love at a low price, which would be great if you were to live there a long time. On the other hand, it might be hard to sell or get a reasonable price when you sell — especially if you don’t stay long.”
GN Builders: “I would first find out from neighbors what the previous owners were smoking or what kinds of psychedelic mushrooms they [had] been popping before they started spreading ghost stories about the house, and after that bring down the price and buy it.”
ninigret: “Well, I would buy a house that was haunted, but I’d expect a price reduction to be built in, since the house comes with tenants already.”
yogacat: “It would depend. On the purely pragmatic side, the reputation might mean that you could get a property you love at a low price, which would be great if you were to live there a long time. On the other hand, it might be hard to sell or get a reasonable price when you sell — especially if you don’t stay long.”
GN Builders: “I would first find out from neighbors what the previous owners were smoking or what kinds of psychedelic mushrooms they [had] been popping before they started spreading ghost stories about the house, and after that bring down the price and buy it.”
ninigret: “Well, I would buy a house that was haunted, but I’d expect a price reduction to be built in, since the house comes with tenants already.”
Been There, Done That
anele_gw: “My uncle was a chemist, but he also had otherworld encounters. He told me once of being in a boardinghouse overnight, and being awakened with the feeling that someone was staring at him. He opened his eyes to see a man in a pilot outfit hovering over his bed.
“In the morning, he told the woman who ran the boardinghouse what had happened. She said her husband had been a pilot in WWII.”
anele_gw: “My uncle was a chemist, but he also had otherworld encounters. He told me once of being in a boardinghouse overnight, and being awakened with the feeling that someone was staring at him. He opened his eyes to see a man in a pilot outfit hovering over his bed.
“In the morning, he told the woman who ran the boardinghouse what had happened. She said her husband had been a pilot in WWII.”
The Best for Last
patriceny: “An ex-boyfriend and I were alone in his parents’ house. The family had just moved into the house recently. Parents were gone on a weekend trip. The house was built in the late 1800s. The local lore says it was built by a wealthy factory owner. His former factory was actually visible from the second floor of the house. We know he died in the house, which isn’t all that uncommon in an older house.
“It was maybe 9 or 10 p.m. We were watching a movie. We’d been in the house for hours — had made dinner and been upstairs and downstairs, all over that house. I know there wasn’t anyone else in the house with us, except for their Siamese cat.”
“The three of us (ex-boyfriend and the cat) were in the family room watching TV. All of a sudden, we very clearly heard footsteps on the hardwood floors in the second-floor hallway above. I’m not talking about the sound of old wood ‘creaking.’ I’m talking a very distinct, clear-as-day sound of hard shoes walking down the hallway above us.
“The hair on the back of my neck literally stood up. The cat — who had been sleeping in a chair in the same room with us — flew out of the chair and went straight to the door asking (screaming!) to go outside.
“I am a generally pretty calm, science-based person. Up until that point in my life, I’d never considered ‘ghosts’ as a real thing. There was a second or two pause. The footsteps only went on for maybe two or three seconds, and they had stopped almost exactly over our heads.… The only sound was the cat basically screaming at us to let her outside.”
patriceny: “An ex-boyfriend and I were alone in his parents’ house. The family had just moved into the house recently. Parents were gone on a weekend trip. The house was built in the late 1800s. The local lore says it was built by a wealthy factory owner. His former factory was actually visible from the second floor of the house. We know he died in the house, which isn’t all that uncommon in an older house.
“It was maybe 9 or 10 p.m. We were watching a movie. We’d been in the house for hours — had made dinner and been upstairs and downstairs, all over that house. I know there wasn’t anyone else in the house with us, except for their Siamese cat.”
“The three of us (ex-boyfriend and the cat) were in the family room watching TV. All of a sudden, we very clearly heard footsteps on the hardwood floors in the second-floor hallway above. I’m not talking about the sound of old wood ‘creaking.’ I’m talking a very distinct, clear-as-day sound of hard shoes walking down the hallway above us.
“The hair on the back of my neck literally stood up. The cat — who had been sleeping in a chair in the same room with us — flew out of the chair and went straight to the door asking (screaming!) to go outside.
“I am a generally pretty calm, science-based person. Up until that point in my life, I’d never considered ‘ghosts’ as a real thing. There was a second or two pause. The footsteps only went on for maybe two or three seconds, and they had stopped almost exactly over our heads.… The only sound was the cat basically screaming at us to let her outside.”
“Ex-boyfriend and I were looking at each other on high alert. At that point, I think I was thinking/wondering there was a human being upstairs. Which in and of itself is a pretty creepy thing, but this was in a small town with no real crime to speak of.
“This house had a rather grand old staircase in the middle of the house. The hallway above us had a few twists and turns before it would lead you to the top of that staircase. If someone was walking it, you could/would hear their footsteps traveling down the hallway until they would get to the top of the staircase in the foyer, which was on the other side of the formal dining room.
“So there was this two- or three-second pause of footsteps, and we’re staring at each other, and the cat is screaming, ‘Let me out of here!’ — when all of a sudden, we heard footsteps again, but this time, it was on the other end of the second-floor hallway, at the top of the steps of the staircase.
“I now know where the phrase ‘made my blood run cold’ came from because my body went into a state of panic. We bolted across the room, opened the door, and the three of us went flying outside into the driveway. The cat disappeared into the night. We jumped in my car, and I turned it on, backed out of the driveway, and we sat there in the street and stared at the house.
“We saw nothing unusual. The second floor was dark. We decided we’d spend the rest of the night at my place. Neither of us would even go back in to shut the TV off or lock the door.
“So when his parents came home the next day, we were telling them this story. And his dad got such a weird look on his face. Dad was a respected doctor, not really given to flights of insanity. His dad said a week or so prior, he had been using the bathroom upstairs when he thought he was in the house alone, and he heard footsteps coming down that hallway too. His first thought was, ‘Damn, I forgot to shut the bathroom door!’ So he yelled out, ‘I’m in the bathroom,’ and the footsteps just stopped. He yelled out, ‘Who is there?’ and no one answered.
“So as he was sitting on the throne, pondering his next move, there was a stack of moving boxes in the corner with a stuffed animal sitting on the top. And he swears that stuffed animal was thrown at him, from across the room. He said it did not just tumble down off the top; it was thrown at him from about 10 feet away and landed at his feet.
“I honestly don’t know what to make of all of this. Again, I’m not some superstitious weirdo. I’m a science girl. The ex-boyfriend’s dad was a calm, rational guy. I knew them for years, and I believe him that this happened.”
More
Houzz Quiz: What’s Haunting Your House?
Houzz TV: Beyond the Ghost Stories of the Winchester Mystery House
“This house had a rather grand old staircase in the middle of the house. The hallway above us had a few twists and turns before it would lead you to the top of that staircase. If someone was walking it, you could/would hear their footsteps traveling down the hallway until they would get to the top of the staircase in the foyer, which was on the other side of the formal dining room.
“So there was this two- or three-second pause of footsteps, and we’re staring at each other, and the cat is screaming, ‘Let me out of here!’ — when all of a sudden, we heard footsteps again, but this time, it was on the other end of the second-floor hallway, at the top of the steps of the staircase.
“I now know where the phrase ‘made my blood run cold’ came from because my body went into a state of panic. We bolted across the room, opened the door, and the three of us went flying outside into the driveway. The cat disappeared into the night. We jumped in my car, and I turned it on, backed out of the driveway, and we sat there in the street and stared at the house.
“We saw nothing unusual. The second floor was dark. We decided we’d spend the rest of the night at my place. Neither of us would even go back in to shut the TV off or lock the door.
“So when his parents came home the next day, we were telling them this story. And his dad got such a weird look on his face. Dad was a respected doctor, not really given to flights of insanity. His dad said a week or so prior, he had been using the bathroom upstairs when he thought he was in the house alone, and he heard footsteps coming down that hallway too. His first thought was, ‘Damn, I forgot to shut the bathroom door!’ So he yelled out, ‘I’m in the bathroom,’ and the footsteps just stopped. He yelled out, ‘Who is there?’ and no one answered.
“So as he was sitting on the throne, pondering his next move, there was a stack of moving boxes in the corner with a stuffed animal sitting on the top. And he swears that stuffed animal was thrown at him, from across the room. He said it did not just tumble down off the top; it was thrown at him from about 10 feet away and landed at his feet.
“I honestly don’t know what to make of all of this. Again, I’m not some superstitious weirdo. I’m a science girl. The ex-boyfriend’s dad was a calm, rational guy. I knew them for years, and I believe him that this happened.”
More
Houzz Quiz: What’s Haunting Your House?
Houzz TV: Beyond the Ghost Stories of the Winchester Mystery House
JudyG Designs: “I don’t believe in ghosts. That said, no, I would not buy a haunted house, because I would be afraid I was wrong.”
Shaun Ma: “No. Nope. Nuh uh. Not because I believe in ghosts but because of my overactive imagination. Like some others said, once the idea is there, it’s hard to let go of.”
mcg910: “Hell no. I would skip the perfect house in a heartbeat if anyone thought it was haunted.”