# Haunted house question
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [January 29, 2020, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157 "2020-01-29T10:54:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2020, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157/41 "2020-01-30T23:56:14Z")
> [@Declanium](#):
>
> Ghosts aren’t real.
You better hope the Old Wench never reads this; the name she was born with is Geist and she would correct the error of your thinking. 😃
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### Author:  [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2020, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157/42 "2020-01-31T01:15:05Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#):
>
> When I went house hunting, one house I looked at could have been haunted. It was a ranch style one-story, a distant drive from civilization in a cul-de-sac. One of the bedrooms had a single prison-style mattress and a miniature black & white TV. The previous occupants had lined the hall and living room with strip lighting. The work shed had a concrete table that had been painted industrial green, and the top had been scratched off, as if somebody had been cutting up cattle-sized carcasses. There was a little sliding door on the back wall that opened outside. It must have been how the harvested organs were discretely picked up.
>
> I didn’t buy the house.
My first thought was they were amateur filmmakers and turned their house into a set.
Might not even have been a deliberately premeditated idea so much as sequential. “Oh, we need to film X let’s just do that here.” “Hey if we put weird lights in Y room we could finish that last damn scene we still need.” Etc.
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### Author:  [@Nightfall1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightfall1)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2020, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157/43 "2020-01-31T01:36:47Z")
Isaac Asimov
“Don’t you believe in flying saucers, they ask me? Don’t you believe in telepathy? — in ancient astronauts? — in the Bermuda triangle? — in life after death?
No, I reply. No, no, no, no, and again no.
One person recently, goaded into desperation by the litany of unrelieved negation, burst out ‘Don’t you believe in anything?’
‘Yes’, I said. 'I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement, and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I’ll believe anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be.”
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### Author:  [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2020, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157/44 "2020-01-31T03:02:43Z")
Does _caveat emptor_ not apply in the States?
I don’t disclose my religion to perspective buyers.
I don’t disclose for the sake of argument that I conduct satanic rituals in the spare bedroom.
I don’t disclose that say in times of heavy precipitation the sewer pipes back-up.
I don’t disclose my reason for selling the property.
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### Author:  [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157/45 "2020-01-31T03:14:39Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#):
>
> Does _caveat emptor_ not apply in the States?
>
> I don’t disclose my religion to perspective buyers.
> I don’t disclose for the sake of argument that I conduct satanic rituals in the spare bedroom.
> I don’t disclose that say in times of heavy precipitation the sewer pipes back-up.
> I don’t disclose my reason for selling the property.
It doesn’t apply completely in house (and some other) sales and not disclosing 3, at least in my state, would be grounds for the buyer to get some kind of recompense.
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### Author:  [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2020, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157/46 "2020-01-31T03:17:25Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#):
>
> …
>
> So I’m not trying to claim that ghosts _are_ real, just that there’s a lot of middle ground between “Ghosts are for-sure demonstrably real” and “Ghosts are for-sure demonstrably not real.”
Ghosts are for-sure demonstrably not real. There’s no middle ground. Full stop.
The ignorant and the fools of the world may _think_ so, but that’s different.
Also note, most or all the disclosure laws talk about people dying in the house, not if it’s haunted. The stupidly superstitious may take it to mean the same thing. The former is a factual (if irrelevant) point, the latter isn’t.
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2020, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157/47 "2020-01-31T03:18:44Z")
> [@garygnu](#):
>
> Ghosts are for-sure demonstrably not real. There’s no middle ground. Full stop.
Okay, what’s the demonstration?
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### Author:  [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2020, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157/48 "2020-01-31T03:47:33Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#):
>
> Does _caveat emptor_ not apply in the States?
>
> I don’t disclose my religion to perspective buyers.
> I don’t disclose for the sake of argument that I conduct satanic rituals in the spare bedroom.
> I don’t disclose that say in times of heavy precipitation the sewer pipes back-up.
> I don’t disclose my reason for selling the property.
In California at least, the law requires a home seller to fill out an itemized disclosure form informing the buyer of any “material defects” in the property known to the seller. Failure to do so can void the sale. In my experience, sellers tend to go overboard just to be safe, and disclose all sorts of minor things. In the link below it says that in California deaths in the house which occurred more than three years prior to the sale date do not need to be disclosed. It’s not clear to me whether that means that deaths that occurred within the last 3 years DO need to be disclosed.
> **[Selling a California Home: What Are My Disclosure Obligations?](https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/residential-home-sellers-california-your-disclosure-obligations.html)**
>
> Here's how home sellers in California approach the task of preparing state-mandated disclosures to buyers about the home's condition.
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### Author:  [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2020, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157/49 "2020-01-31T04:00:05Z")
Thank you **OldGuy** and **markn+** , interesting
Over this side of the puddle _caveat emptor_ is why you get a professional to conduct a presale building inspection and search the council and/or strata property notices before putting a bid in.
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### Author:  [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2020, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157/50 "2020-01-31T04:11:12Z")
Presale inspections are pretty universal in the US too, but inspections won’t catch everything. For example, if the roof leaks but it’s not raining the day of the inspection, the inspector likely won’t find anything. But if the seller doesn’t disclose it, they will have a hard time trying to later claim that they didn’t know that it leaks. The exception is things like estate sales, where the seller may have inherited but never lived in the house.
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### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2020, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157/51 "2020-01-31T05:56:52Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#):
>
> Does _caveat emptor_ not apply in the States?
>
> I don’t disclose my religion to perspective buyers.
> I don’t disclose for the sake of argument that I conduct satanic rituals in the spare bedroom.
> I don’t disclose that say in times of heavy precipitation the sewer pipes back-up.
> I don’t disclose my reason for selling the property.
_Caveat emptor_ is not the current policy, at least in my state.
A seller of non-commercial property is not \*required \*to fill out a Disclosure Form, but I would advise they do. This form shows, in considerable detail, what the seller _knows about defects_, although the seller isn’t expected to be an expert on them.
If the seller \*knows \*the roof leaks, but doesn’t disclose this to a buyer, and the buyer finds out, he has grounds for a suit. If the seller DID disclose such, the buyer has no grounds for a suit. So disclosing defects is in the seller’s interest.
Note that religion (which would include satanic rituals) is a protected class, and should have no part in a real estate transaction.
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### Author:  [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157/52 "2020-01-31T14:04:39Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#):
>
> My first thought was they were amateur filmmakers and turned their house into a set.
>
> Might not even have been a deliberately premeditated idea so much as sequential. “Oh, we need to film X let’s just do that here.” “Hey if we put weird lights in Y room we could finish that last damn scene we still need.” Etc.
It could certainly have inspired a horror movie set, but it didn’t look like it was done on purpose. The realtor who showed it to me said it looked like Lowe’s had a sale on strip lighting.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2020, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157/53 "2020-01-31T14:42:30Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#):
>
> I don’t disclose for the sake of argument that I conduct satanic rituals in the spare bedroom.
Let’s say that you do, and that everyone in town knows it. The Thule House is known far and wide as the site of black magic and people reflexively cross the street rather than pass directly in front of it. Kids avoid it on Halloween, except for the older ones who show their courage by throwing eggs at it. And so on.
If I, as an out-of-towner who knows nothing about these sorts of things, buy the house at a price that does not reflect the stigma that the house bears, I might have grounds for a lawsuit because the value of the house has been impacted by these rumors.
It doesn’t matter if they’re true or false. It doesn’t matter if religion is real or fake. It doesn’t matter if ghosts exist. The value of a house is impacted by people’s perception. I will have lots of trouble selling the Thule House to anybody who isn’t an ignorant outside like I was.
To put it another way - if it makes sense that a house can be worth more if it is famous, it makes sense that a house can be worth less if it is infamous.
If nobody knows that you practice your rituals and the house has no stigma? No need for a disclosure.
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### Author:  [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157/54 "2020-01-31T14:50:47Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#):
>
> The value of a house is impacted by people’s perception.
>
> To put it another way - if it makes sense that a house can be worth more if it is famous, it makes sense that a house can be worth less if it is infamous.
I wonder if that’s something that would be included in the appraisal of a home or would even be legally required to be in the appraisal.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2020, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157/55 "2020-01-31T16:25:07Z")
According to [this (pdf warning).](https://www.iaao.org/library/2017_Intangibles_web.pdf)
> [@](#):
>
> For example, the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City may sell for a premium because of its historic significance. Some might argue this historic premium represents intangible value. However, the hotel cannot be sold without its his-toric significance in place, so the historic significance is not an intangible asset that can be valued separately from the real estate. Instead, it is an attribute of the real property and should be included in the assessment. The same is true for other real property attributes that are intangible in nature, such as view, proximity, prestige, appeal, and potential. All these are intangible in nature but cannot be sold without the real property, nor can the real property be sold without them. These attributes/influences can enhance the value of the real property, but they do not have a value of and to themselves. They contribute to the over-all value of real property but cannot be transferred separately from it.
I can’t imagine why the opposite wouldn’t be true for negative intangibles.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2020, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157/56 "2020-01-31T19:10:05Z")
> [@kanicbird](#):
>
> Is this a religious view? Some assumed truth? It’s certainly not a statement is not based on facts.
Can science prove that ghosts are real? I only put my faith in scientific evidence. There is no verifiable objective proof that ghosts exist.
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### Author:  [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157/57 "2020-01-31T20:53:26Z")
I think you can compile data showing some sort of phenomena has occurred. You can set up cameras and other recording devices that often pick up strange pictures, sound, or EM data.
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### Author:  [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2020, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-question/847157/58 "2020-01-31T21:46:40Z")
> [@DCnDC](#):
>
> Depends where you are. In New Orleans, it’s often a selling point.
Indeed, even if your New Orleans home isn’t known to be haunted I’m pretty sure it won’t sell unless you present some sort of evidence that it is.
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