Boo! Moving Into a Haunted House Have You Spooked?

Fewer Americans think so than ever before.

Watching a poltergeist, possessed doll, ghost of a serial killer, or other ethereal, evil-minded entity terrorize a family at home gets a pretty consistent reaction from me.

“Why are they not packing their bags, selling the house, and moving already? Seriously, I wouldn’t spend another hour in the place,” I emphatically tell my husband. “They are just asking to get chopped to bits in the basement, and, then, there goes the resale value.”

Luckily, a poltergeist has never pushed me to test the veracity of my beliefs – unless you count the occasional strange noises, a menacing shadow or two, or simply mistaking my bathrobe for an ominous invader. So, in a purely empirical standpoint, I don’t know what I would do if I thought my house was haunted, but, according to a 2013 survey by Realtor.com and Move.Inc, 35 percent of respondents revealed they have lived in a haunted house. More than 1,400 respondents shared their experiences with spooky incidents, common “warning” signs, and expected discounts for haunted property.

Shockingly to me at least, 62 percent of respondents said they were perfectly fine – not a problem at all – with purchasing a haunted house.

“Survey data reveals that while the majority of consumers are open to purchasing a haunted home, many buyers conduct their own research on a home’s history to be aware of any weird incidences,” said Alison Schwartz, VP of corporate communications for Move in a Huffington Post article. “Data also 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.”

Apparently, there are some “common” signs people on the market for a new abode can look to for an indication of whether their new dream house will turn into a nightmare, according to the Realtor.com survey. For instance, if the house is built on a cemetery, it could be haunted, which is like, “well duh” in my mind. Other signs include:

• If the house is more than 100 years old,
• If the house repeatedly and quickly attracts and loses new owners,
• If the house is selling for significantly below market value,
• Or if the house is near to an old battlefield site.

Even if a house meets all the above criteria, some people are willing to sign on the dotted line. Others need a little financial incentive, with 34 percent of survey respondents needing a nudge of up to 30 percent discount. The slightly-wiser minds among us – 19 percent – need a little bigger financial incentive of up to 51 percent or more.

Perhaps you are on the other end and trying to sell a house that gives you goose bumps in the night? Well, this isn’t something you can necessarily keep under your hat, even if your spook manages not to levitate a lamp or close a door. While laws vary by state, most require people who are selling a house to notify potential buyers of past traumatic events. This includes if someone is murder or commits suicide on the property and, most likely, encompasses supernatural events.

Of course, if the movies have taught us anything, there are a few steps you can take to rid your space of unseen influences. The Catholic Church springs to mind but, if the local priest is just a tiche too busy to perform an exorcism or if you aren’t a parishioner, there are professionals you can call, such as Tracee Dunblazier, a spiritual empath and long-time ghostbuster. Tracee, whose been helping spirits move on since 1996, says a spiritual infestations often are a result of a multiple influences, such as a receptive person moving into an area with spiritual energy attached.

“If people die in an abrupt or accidental or traumatic way, their spirit doesn’t always transcend,” said Tracee (@traceedunblazier). “It will attach to wherever it can find the most energy. Sometimes that’s a person, a house, or even a neighborhood.”

“That’s when you get things moving or lights flickering on or off,” said Tracee. “Often times, grandma who just passed away doesn’t really have the spiritual force to do those sort of things, but they can tune into a loved one’s grief, especially if it is a focused grief. This keeps them from moving on.”

Tracee, working in person or long distance, uses crystals, energy portals, and her experience as a grief counselor to help turn a “rich” house, or one with lots of spiritual energy, into a more mundane location.

Have you ever experienced a haunted house in your living room? Would you buy a house if it had a reputation for creeping its occupants out? If so, you are braver than I am, so kudos to you. For me, I’ll keep my hauntings to the horror movies, ones that I make sure to watch in the middle of the afternoon with the lights on and peering through my fingers.

Hey, I keep watching.

Author Name

Ellena Fortner Newsom