WARNING: Morbid Topic

[caylene44]

We bought our first house at a good price
Owners ten month old son died in his crib and parents wanted to sell and move away

Second house we bought also had deaths in the house
Owner’s husband and father both died in
their bedrooms 6 months apart

Knowing that info above did not affect our decision in buying the houses

The infant deaths really get to me, so so sad

I wouldn't be too bothered to live in a house where someone died of natural causes. A violent death, that may be another story. I'd just not be able to not think about it. When I was little, my parents bought a big, gorgeous old home where both of the owners died in the house (many years apart, both of natural causes). It never bothered me a bit. However, when I started talking to the Lady of the House, my Mom had a problem with it and we sold that house faster than you can say Haunted Mansion.

Hahahaha. Yeah, I'd be that kind of mom too. Funny thing is I'm obsessed with old homes, but maybe not the best idea if I'm trying to avoid ghosts.

I agree.

When I was a child we moved into a new house with no deceased tenants. I used to get the creepiest feeling in the basement, and wouldn’t go downstairs unless the lights were on. I even had a nightmare one night that dismembered body parts were floating up the stairs and into the rest of the house. After we moved out, my mom told me that one day, while she was downstairs doing laundry, she felt like she was being watched. She turned around and there was a man standing there dressed in the style of the 1920’s. She just stood there, and after a few moments, he disappeared. She never saw him again. I don’t know what was on the property way back then, since it was rural until the neighborhood started in the late 1960’s.

Wow, that's spooky!

I live in the NE...the NE is full of very old towns with very old homes. Lots of houses in general have had people die in them. But most old houses could easily have had several people die in them. Of course, if it makes you feel any better, most of them have had several people born in them, too.

I think I like the idea of people being born in the homes much better ☺ I live in WA, so as a "young" state, there aren't a ton of old homes. I think the oldest homes here are early 1900's and I've only known a few people who have lived in them. Most people I know live in 90's or later homes so less chance for people to die in them. Our home happened to be 1949 so an older one for our area.

We used to pass a grand old house when I was young. It was huge and expensive, but for whatever reason, I always felt creeped out by it. I didn't share that feeling with anyone. One day as we passed it, I asked my mother who lived there and mentioned that they must have a lot of money to live in a house like that. She said they did have money, but she would never go in that house because it was built on top of a very old cemetery. My mother would be almost 100 if she was still alive, but she remembered headstones being mowed over when she was a child, so the house could be built. She said the cemetery had been very old even then, and that these people had so much money that no one told them NO when they decided THAT was the perfect spot for a mansion. Creepy feeling explained.

For my part, I'd never live in a house someone had died in, except for a loved one. We have built several houses, and are on site daily, so I think we are safe from mystery construction accidents. We only bought a used home once. But I researched it enough to learn that no one had died in it.

I didn't even realize it's permissible to build over cemeteries, that is crazy.

My house is 90 years old. We actually read in a book on our town's history that the original owner died here.

That's kind of cool! The original owner must have been important enough to make your town's history book.

 

[Moliphino]

I wouldn't be too bothered to live in a house where someone died of natural causes. A violent death, that may be another story. I'd just not be able to not think about it. When I was little, my parents bought a big, gorgeous old home where both of the owners died in the house (many years apart, both of natural causes). It never bothered me a bit. However, when I started talking to the Lady of the House, my Mom had a problem with it and we sold that house faster than you can say Haunted Mansion.

We looked at a gorgeous 1790s colonial earlier this year that inspired HP Lovecraft and I wanted it so bad. It was twice as big as we need and $50k over what we want to spend, though. It would've been fun to joke about having Yog-Sothoth in the basement.

 

[mrodgers]

Not in the house.

2 years after we bought the house there was a knock on the door. A suit introduced himself as detective so-and-so. Previous owner's wife had disappeared in the 80's. This is out in the country. She drove to the local town to the grocery store. Her van was found and she was never found. Because it was an open case, the detective visited every few years. Told him we recently moved in and he moved to Florida with his current wife. He asked us if we noticed any newer cement work in the basement so as the basement was empty, I invited him in to look if he wanted. He looked around and didn't see anything that caught his eye.

Another 2 years and a knock on the door. Same detective. He explained the State Police had a cadaver dog in the area and asked for permission to have it walk the property (2 acres.) Sure, that would be fun for the 4 year old. The detective explained a helicopter would do a fly-over of the area a few days before and then they would come out with the dog.

I get a text from my wife, she saw the helicopter fly over. Ok, what was that like? Well, apparently a helicopter with POLICE written VERY large on the side came down to treetop level and circled our house/property about 3 times. 2 days later I have the detective's car and 2 patrol cars in the driveway, 2 patrol cars out front with a K9 Unit van on the street and 8 uniforms and a suit walking around my property!

Nothing came of it, but the running joke for years every time I tilled up new ground for a garden, Wifey asked if I found the old lady.

 

[okeydokey]

At least here in California, a death in a home must be disclosed before escrow closes.......UNLESS the sale is a probate sale. My MIL died in her sleep in her home. Since it was a Probate sale, disclosure was not required. But not an issue, because the next door neighbor who found her deceased bought the house. Also were were exempt from disclosing information about structural modifications to the house because it was a probate sale.........but the buyer did ask for that info. Our response...."ask the person who did the work". My MIL had hired HIM to do the work.

I think you only need to disclose there was a death in the house if the death happened in the last three years. In California, not everywhere.

 

[cheryl.UK]

For short time I lived in a friend's apartment that had belonged to her aunt. I knew that the aunt had died there just a few months ago and some of the furniture was in fact hers. (I took my own bed). Her name was Jean and from day one, silly as it sounds, I talked to her. On my first day, I wandered round each room (There were 11!) and complimented her choices. I found an old photo of her and her husband so I put it up in the living room. Every day when I got home from work, I said " Hi, Jean", when I left for the day I said "See you later, Jean" and every night I said "Sweet dreams, Jean". I actually found it quite comforting as I lived alone. She was my invisible flat mate and I felt like I was looking after her home for her. Never once did I feel weird or freaked out.

 

[PurpleHaze]

In a similar vein, when the ex and myself were looking for our first house we saw a very nice affordable new construction. Standing in a room in the back of the house you could look out at the back yard which was medium size and the back of the yard sloped up about 6 to 8 feet fairly steeply and there was a wooden privacy fence at the top of the slope.

We go upstairs to the master bedroom and look out the window to the back yard to see a small cemetary on top of the slop on the other side of the wooden privacy fence. When we told the realtor lets move on she was like, "what thats a problem"... I couldnt imagine standing in that backyard at the bottom of that slope thinking potentially at this level just a few feet of dirt away...

 

[Diznotyzed]

In a similar vein, when the ex and myself were looking for our first house we saw a very nice affordable new construction. Standing in a room in the back of the house you could look out at the back yard which was medium size and the back of the yard sloped up about 6 to 8 feet fairly steeply and there was a wooden privacy fence at the top of the slope.

We go upstairs to the master bedroom and look out the window to the back yard to see a small cemetary on top of the slop on the other side of the wooden privacy fence. When we told the realtor lets move on she was like, "what thats a problem"... I couldnt imagine standing in that backyard at the bottom of that slope thinking potentially at this level just a few feet of dirt away...

The house I lived in while in Jr High/High was new construction on a hillside. The houses across the street had a small cemetery abutting their back yards. In my young teens I would babysit across the street where the family had their TV in their basement. It freaked me out to think I was sitting level with the burials.

 

[indimom]

I grew up on the family farm which has been in my family for generations. Yes, relatives died there including my great-aunt who passed from diphtheria at 8yo and who was laid out in the family room window so that the other schoolmates could say their goodbyes while the family was still under quarantine. We also bought a turn-of-the century home, so I wouldn't doubt that someone passed in this home as well. While both homes have some age-related creaks and quirks, I've never experienced anything unusual.
I'm a hospice nurse. Most of my patients pass in their homes. It's not creepy, it's a blessing.

 

[Imzadi]

Don't realtors have to disclose if someone has died in the house?

Some states do, others don't.

New York state even has a "Ghostbusters ruling" in which if the seller or realtor thinks/knows a house is haunted, they must disclose it to buyers:

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/...e-home-or-if-its-a-haunted-house/65-610011006

"There is at least one state that requires sellers to tell buyers a house is haunted. It's called the Ghostbusters ruling in New York State. But sellers are only required to disclose if they’ve shared this opinion to the public at large. Otherwise it’s for them to know and for you to find out."​

And this article mentions the haunted house laws in various states:
(Bolding mine.)

https://lindleylawoffice.com/blog/2016/10/26/haunted-house-law-the-duty-to-disclose/

Haunted House Law & the Duty to Disclose​

​

October 26, 2016​

​

It’s a tale as old as time: newlyweds visit an open house. They fall in love with the ancient ivied walls and quaint secret passageways, only to learn that a gruesome murder took place in the house years before and now the halls are haunted by a poltergeist that won’t leave the premises. According to the law, only some states require property owners to disclose whether they live in a “haunted house.” In other states, purchasers may discovery this after the sale when their only recourse is to hire an exorcist and hope for the best.​

​

Most states require sellers to make certain disclosures regarding material facts about a property’s condition. These disclosures include physical defects known to the seller. For example, an inoperable doorbell or foundational crack must be disclosed to potential buyers so they can make an informed decision about whether to purchase the property. In some states, physical defects are the only required disclosures. In others, sellers must also disclose “emotional defects.” Properties with these attributes are called “stigmatized properties” by real estate professionals. Emotional defects often include prior murders or suicides on the premises, nearby homeless shelters, reports of paranormal activity, and nearly anything else that may make the house less desirable.​

​

In Massachusetts, property owners are under no obligation to disclose “psychological defects.” In Virginia, emotional defects need only be disclosed if those defects also affect the property. For example, a friendly (or unfriendly) ghost wandering the halls would not need to be disclosed. However, bloody handprints that cannot be washed off a ceiling, or lights that inexplicably turn on every morning at 3:15 a.m., are defects that require disclosure. In some states, the manner of death affects disclosure requirements. Property sellers in Texas needn’t disclose non-violent or accidental deaths that took place on their property, but one or more violent deaths, like a massacre perpetrated with a chainsaw, would necessitate a mention. ​

​

California law requires emotional defect disclosures, but only if it has occurred in the past five years. So, the murder-suicide of star-crossed lovers that occurred in the 1920s need not be mentioned, but the fact that a black cat walks through bedroom walls every full moon should be addressed. Neither Pennsylvania nor New Jersey considers a prior murder or death in the house a “material defect” as it does not actually affect the flesh and bones of the house itself. Similarly, in North Carolina, though property owners are required to furnish a disclosure statement, there is no duty to disclose whether a property is stigmatized or not. However, when a prospective buyer asks about supernatural occurrences or whether the house is haunted, a seller cannot lie. ​

​

The most famous legal case regarding this issue was Stambovsky v. Ackley.[1] The dispute involved the sale of a Victorian home about 30 miles north of New York City. According to the facts of the case, the owner believed the house to be haunted, claiming she had seen ghosts in colonial clothing and the bed would shake on its own. She even listed it as haunted for the purposes of a haunted tour. However, when she put the house on the market, she made no mention of the alleged haunting. A man decided to buy the house and, after submitting a down payment, he was asked by a local resident, “oh, you’re buying the haunted house?” After which, he confronted the seller, who refused to admit wrongdoing and would not let him out of the sale. The man sued for rescission of the sale. The lower court dismissed the case, citing the principle of caveat emptor, also known as “buyer beware.” Nevertheless, the Court of Appeals reversed the decision, saying the fact that the house was reported to be haunted affected the value of the home and its potential for resale, regardless of whether the house had any actual supernatural activity. The Court concluded, “when a condition which has been created by the seller materially impairs the value of the contract and is peculiarly within the knowledge of the seller or unlikely to be discovered by a prudent purchaser exercising due care with respect to the subject transaction, nondisclosure constitutes a basis for rescission as a matter of equity.” As such, the sale was rescinded.​

​

For those buyers who are hesitant about purchasing a property that was the site of a death or haunting, they should be aware of their state’s laws concerning required disclosures, as most states abide by the caveat emptor philosophy. Sellers of psychologically impacted property would also do well to know the disclosure laws in their state and if they live in a state where stigmatized property must be disclosed, perhaps they can use it to their advantage in marketing their home.​

​

​

[1] Stambovsky v. Ackley, 169 AD 2d 254 (1991).​

 

[caylene44]

Some states do, others don't.

New York state even has a "Ghostbusters ruling" in which if the seller or realtor thinks/knows a house is haunted, they must disclose it to buyers:

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/...e-home-or-if-its-a-haunted-house/65-610011006

"There is at least one state that requires sellers to tell buyers a house is haunted. It's called the Ghostbusters ruling in New York State. But sellers are only required to disclose if they’ve shared this opinion to the public at large. Otherwise it’s for them to know and for you to find out."​

And this article mentions the haunted house laws in various states:
(Bolding mine.)

https://lindleylawoffice.com/blog/2016/10/26/haunted-house-law-the-duty-to-disclose/

Haunted House Law & the Duty to Disclose​

​

October 26, 2016​

​

It’s a tale as old as time: newlyweds visit an open house. They fall in love with the ancient ivied walls and quaint secret passageways, only to learn that a gruesome murder took place in the house years before and now the halls are haunted by a poltergeist that won’t leave the premises. According to the law, only some states require property owners to disclose whether they live in a “haunted house.” In other states, purchasers may discovery this after the sale when their only recourse is to hire an exorcist and hope for the best.​

​

Most states require sellers to make certain disclosures regarding material facts about a property’s condition. These disclosures include physical defects known to the seller. For example, an inoperable doorbell or foundational crack must be disclosed to potential buyers so they can make an informed decision about whether to purchase the property. In some states, physical defects are the only required disclosures. In others, sellers must also disclose “emotional defects.” Properties with these attributes are called “stigmatized properties” by real estate professionals. Emotional defects often include prior murders or suicides on the premises, nearby homeless shelters, reports of paranormal activity, and nearly anything else that may make the house less desirable.​

​

In Massachusetts, property owners are under no obligation to disclose “psychological defects.” In Virginia, emotional defects need only be disclosed if those defects also affect the property. For example, a friendly (or unfriendly) ghost wandering the halls would not need to be disclosed. However, bloody handprints that cannot be washed off a ceiling, or lights that inexplicably turn on every morning at 3:15 a.m., are defects that require disclosure. In some states, the manner of death affects disclosure requirements. Property sellers in Texas needn’t disclose non-violent or accidental deaths that took place on their property, but one or more violent deaths, like a massacre perpetrated with a chainsaw, would necessitate a mention. ​

​

California law requires emotional defect disclosures, but only if it has occurred in the past five years. So, the murder-suicide of star-crossed lovers that occurred in the 1920s need not be mentioned, but the fact that a black cat walks through bedroom walls every full moon should be addressed. Neither Pennsylvania nor New Jersey considers a prior murder or death in the house a “material defect” as it does not actually affect the flesh and bones of the house itself. Similarly, in North Carolina, though property owners are required to furnish a disclosure statement, there is no duty to disclose whether a property is stigmatized or not. However, when a prospective buyer asks about supernatural occurrences or whether the house is haunted, a seller cannot lie. ​

​

The most famous legal case regarding this issue was Stambovsky v. Ackley.[1] The dispute involved the sale of a Victorian home about 30 miles north of New York City. According to the facts of the case, the owner believed the house to be haunted, claiming she had seen ghosts in colonial clothing and the bed would shake on its own. She even listed it as haunted for the purposes of a haunted tour. However, when she put the house on the market, she made no mention of the alleged haunting. A man decided to buy the house and, after submitting a down payment, he was asked by a local resident, “oh, you’re buying the haunted house?” After which, he confronted the seller, who refused to admit wrongdoing and would not let him out of the sale. The man sued for rescission of the sale. The lower court dismissed the case, citing the principle of caveat emptor, also known as “buyer beware.” Nevertheless, the Court of Appeals reversed the decision, saying the fact that the house was reported to be haunted affected the value of the home and its potential for resale, regardless of whether the house had any actual supernatural activity. The Court concluded, “when a condition which has been created by the seller materially impairs the value of the contract and is peculiarly within the knowledge of the seller or unlikely to be discovered by a prudent purchaser exercising due care with respect to the subject transaction, nondisclosure constitutes a basis for rescission as a matter of equity.” As such, the sale was rescinded.​

​

For those buyers who are hesitant about purchasing a property that was the site of a death or haunting, they should be aware of their state’s laws concerning required disclosures, as most states abide by the caveat emptor philosophy. Sellers of psychologically impacted property would also do well to know the disclosure laws in their state and if they live in a state where stigmatized property must be disclosed, perhaps they can use it to their advantage in marketing their home.​

​

​

[1] Stambovsky v. Ackley, 169 AD 2d 254 (1991).​

Thorough research, thanks for that!

Just Googled it and WA state does not even require you to disclose murders I think you only have to if the buyer specifically asks so that's definitely on my list from now on.

 

[Southernmiss]

In a similar vein, when the ex and myself were looking for our first house we saw a very nice affordable new construction. Standing in a room in the back of the house you could look out at the back yard which was medium size and the back of the yard sloped up about 6 to 8 feet fairly steeply and there was a wooden privacy fence at the top of the slope.

We go upstairs to the master bedroom and look out the window to the back yard to see a small cemetary on top of the slop on the other side of the wooden privacy fence. When we told the realtor lets move on she was like, "what thats a problem"... I couldnt imagine standing in that backyard at the bottom of that slope thinking potentially at this level just a few feet of dirt away...

Reminded me that MIL has a family cemetery in her front yard. Right out the door.

It's from the 1800s. The land had been a cattle pasture. Cemetery was not disclosed. In construction, old illegible headstones were found. There was a stop work order until the matter could be cleared.

In laws put up a flagpole and a marker with the name of the cemetery and approximate years it was used. Rather respectful and tasteful. More so than a cow pasture.

My kids used to say they saw things.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

The dog was probably barking at small animals he heard or smelled in the wall.

Hospitals have had thousands of deaths happen at them, but they aren't spooky places.

The only issue here is your tendency for "drama". Don't worry.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

A house I lived in when I was a kid had a mother/baby die in the house like decades before. My parents found the house and it was a "great deal". My parents did not believe in haunting etc... so it was no big deal.

A lot of strange things went on in the house that cannot easily be explained. We also had the thing where the dog would also act very strange and protective. It would always happen at the same time of a night is what made it weird about the dog. (no it was not a bathroom schedule thing) I cannot sit here and tell you it was a ghost or ghosts. It was like 40 years ago, so my single digit age at the time could have caused my imagination to run wild. My parents were able to confirm some strange events, and they were also confirmed by people visiting the house.

My parents ended up selling the house (not because of the goings on). They did tell the buyers about the history, but the buyers did not care, they "did not believe in that nonsense". They were an older couple, they were happy with the house. They became family friends and kept in touch. They did say that there were numerous unexplained events that occurred. They just shrugged them off and went about their days.

I cannot tell you that ghosts and haunted houses exist. However, I cannot say they do not. Some things just cannot be explained easily. What I saw may or may not have been related to the tragic deaths at that location that happened so many years before.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

We bought a pre 1850’s house back in 1979. I’m sure there have been several people who have died in our house over the years but we have never had any “issues”.

 

[Kellykins1218]

I wouldn't like it either; would certainly never choose it and prefer not to know if it's happened in my current home. That's only one reason I'm uncomfortable with people dying at home. Take a couple for example - how do you continue to sleep in the bed in the room where your beloved spouse died?!? And if there are kids involved, it's NOT how I would want them to remember about the family home. This scenario took place recently with dear friends of ours. I 100% kept my trap shut (would never say anything to people who want this) but I shudder just thinking about it.

FWIW - this has nothing to do with ghosts or whatever; me and mine don't believe in any of that.

I was visiting my family while my Grandma was on hospice. They thought she had about a month left to live but she actually passed away about 4 hours after my Dad & I got there. By the end of the afternoon, hospice had picked up all of the equipment, my aunts and uncles had put her room back together, and they moved me in there. I was sad about Grandma but it didn't bother me at all to be her room.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

We live in the same house where I grew up. My grandparents purchased it in 1973; my mother and I moved in 3 years later, and I grew up with them. Grandpa passed away in a nursing home in 1998, but Gram passed in the living room in 2007. A few months later, I moved back in with my mother, and I took Gram's bedroom (painted and carpeted it to my taste, but kept her furniture...it's still there; yes, DH and I share my Gram's old bed!) I was in the bedroom one day, putting together a very unique flower arrangement, and I am 100% sure that I distinctly heard her voice, "Oh Elizabeth, I don't like this..."

We remodeled part of the downstairs in 2014 and my son was born in 2015. When he was a baby, we spent our evenings watching TV out in the old porch, where Gram used to sit and read books in the summer months. One night I noticed DS turning every few seconds to smile at a particular corner of the room; nothing there but his pack-and-play. After a few minutes, I remembered that that corner was where Gram's reading chair had been.

Then when DS was about 18 months old, one afternoon we were playing in the living room, near the sofa - which just so happened to be in the EXACT spot where the hospital bed was, the one in which Gram passed. DS started looking at the doorway, smiling and giggling. Finally he pointed at the door, smiled, and asked me, "Mama, who that is?"

I can't say I'm creeped out, probably because it was my own grandmother. I don't know that I'd be creeped out in another house where someone had passed, though; I would imagine that at some point, most homes are going to have a history of someone passing in it. I do think I'd feel sad if it were a child who died...having lost 3 of my own, if I knew that a little one died in my house, I'd most likely think about it every day.

 

[Lilsia]

We live in the same house where I grew up. My grandparents purchased it in 1973; my mother and I moved in 3 years later, and I grew up with them. Grandpa passed away in a nursing home in 1998, but Gram passed in the living room in 2007. A few months later, I moved back in with my mother, and I took Gram's bedroom (painted and carpeted it to my taste, but kept her furniture...it's still there; yes, DH and I share my Gram's old bed!) I was in the bedroom one day, putting together a very unique flower arrangement, and I am 100% sure that I distinctly heard her voice, "Oh Elizabeth, I don't like this..."

We remodeled part of the downstairs in 2014 and my son was born in 2015. When he was a baby, we spent our evenings watching TV out in the old porch, where Gram used to sit and read books in the summer months. One night I noticed DS turning every few seconds to smile at a particular corner of the room; nothing there but his pack-and-play. After a few minutes, I remembered that that corner was where Gram's reading chair had been.

Then when DS was about 18 months old, one afternoon we were playing in the living room, near the sofa - which just so happened to be in the EXACT spot where the hospital bed was, the one in which Gram passed. DS started looking at the doorway, smiling and giggling. Finally he pointed at the door, smiled, and asked me, "Mama, who that is?"

I can't say I'm creeped out, probably because it was my own grandmother. I don't know that I'd be creeped out in another house where someone had passed, though; I would imagine that at some point, most homes are going to have a history of someone passing in it. I do think I'd feel sad if it were a child who died...having lost 3 of my own, if I knew that a little one died in my house, I'd most likely think about it every day.

I think that is an amazing story about your son seeing your Gram. Every once in a while, just randomly, I can smell my grandpa's after shave that he used to wear.