Could you elaborate on the “…the house has a sinister local reputation for spooky paranormal goings on” part? I don’t believe in ghosts in any way, but I’m picturing young punks vandalizing or pranking the house.
Does anybody besides me remember The Mad Scientists’ Club story about the “haunted” house?
Otherwise I would have no problem with buying the house.
When the realtor told me that there’d been a murder in the house, I’d say, “Yeah, you know how long I’ve had to look to find a good murder-house? The rituals just won’t work without the right conditions.”
I voted Other. I’d snatch that baby up in a heartbeat.
The house I own now is only 56 years old and two of the previous three owners have died in it, but I haven’t had any spooky goings on.
All the typical signs of a ghostly presence, random cold spots, unexplained noises, objects falling off shelves, doors randomly opening and closing, moving shadows in the corner of ones eye.
Nothing to convince a sceptic, but it’s got the current owners spooked enough that they want out.
Facetious Answer: It would depend on the temperament(s) of the ghost(s). If they were chill and just wanted to make their presence known, I’d tolerate it. If they were evil (even passively-aggressively evil) I’d probably pass.
Serious Answer: I’d jump on it. If weird shit that I couldn’t explain started going down, I’d take comfort in the fact that just because I don’t know the explanation for something doesn’t mean there is no explanation.
I opened the thread thinking I would say yes, but as I read other responses I decided that I probably wouldn’t go through with it. My issue isn’t ghosts, and it isn’t really resale, though that would be part of it. I think what would trouble me would be a nagging knowledge that a person isn’t really completely safe, even at home. Of course that’s no more true in a murder house than any other house, but right now I only think about it when I watch too much Investigative Discovery on Sunday afternoon. In a house where it actually happened, and not that long ago, I would probably think about it too much. More so if the house has enough of a reputation that people ask about it.
Different circumstances, and I’d be all about a ghost house. Heart attacks, accidents, self defense killings, and even suicides, I don’t think I’d have a problem. Maybe even a different sort of murder and I’d be fine. A drunken fight between friends that ends in a shooting or anything that happened a hundred years ago, and maybe I wouldn’t care. I don’t want a constant reminder of a domestic murder or home invasion, though. For me, it’s not the ghost–it’s the murder.
How DISAPPOINTING!
~VOW
I know right!! I don’t know about the third owner. If they died in the house, I’ll have hit the trifecta (actually the 4-fecta as the first owners were the couple who built it, but I don’t know about the disposition of the man). Of course, I probably should be a little worried about that.
I had a friend who bought a house in which someone had been homicided on the second floor. I thought it was cool as hell. I hope I’m lucky enough to own a murder house some day.
Decline. I’m not worried about hauntings or karma or vapors or ectoplasm or banging pipes or TV static or even what’s in the bath tub in room 217. I just know I’d think about and I’d rather not.
I voted other because if it were up to me, I’d say yes, but The One Who Must Be Obeyed would say no, even though she claims to not believe in such silliness.
Bummer, because if it really could be proven to be spooked, you could collect the million from Randi.
Check the expiration dates on your foods OFTEN!
~VOW
I’d me more concerned if the previous owners dies in mysterious circumstances, because that might suggest a lethal gas leak or something (although I imagine that would show up on the coroner’s report).
Murder? Pfft.
I’m now wondering what my personal limit of murders is. A house where 50 people were killed might make me briefly pause, because that might signify that it was a bad neighbourhood, or it was featured on a “Best places to murder people” website or something.
If I didn’t have my kids living with me, I’d snap it up in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, my kids got half of their mother’s genes. To quote my 16 year old daughter, “We are very in tune with the psychic world”. So it would freak them out too much.