Haunted Houses - Do You Believe in Ghosts?

By
Real Estate Agent with DFW FINE PROPERTIES 0506509

"Penicillin cures, but wine makes people happy."

---Alexander Fleming (1881-1955),
the Scottish bacteriologist credited
with discovering Penicillin in 1928

 

HAUNTED HOUSES

If you click the link above from Texas REALTORS® there is only one question about Haunted Houses and it states:

"A tenant moved in and now says that the house is haunted. She wants to vacate. What is the best way to address the issue?"


Answer:
"Inform her that the landlord may exercise his default remedies under the lease. (The landlord must employ reasonable measures to mitigate any loss.) You might try to determine why she believes the house is haunted and see if there is a reasonable explanation for any mysterious circumstances. Also, ask the tenant to provide written explanations and requests for your record." Last updated 7/1/02004


I then checked to see what it says from the National Association of REALTORS® According to an article written on October 29, 2012, "Would You Buy a "Haunted House? 32% of Buyers say they would!"

Read the article! "17% of the potential home buyers say they'd expect a discount of 51 percent or more on the "haunted" home's market value, 19 percent say they expect 31-50 percent discount, and 18 percent say a 21-30 percent discount would suffice for them. Only 15 percent of those surveyed say they'd be willing to pay full market value for a "haunted" home."


Do you believe in ghosts? If you ever watched The Wizard of Oz, you may recall the scene when the Cowardly Lion was walking down the tunnel to meet the Wizard he convincingly repeated the words: "

I do believe in ghosts!
I do believe in ghosts!
I do believe in ghosts!


"Wine is the most civilized thing in the world."---Ernest Hemingway


Are you at least curious to know if ghosts exist?

David Farr, born in 1969, is a British Writer, theatrical director and associate director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. I love to read Shakespeare. Quoting David Farr, 'Hamlet" is a play of many strange parts, with ghosts and players, politicians and clowns. 

"Men are like wine - some turn to vinegar, but the best 
improve with age." ---Pope John XX111

Per the National Association of REALTORS®, the NAR "defines stigmatized property that has been psychologically impacted by an event which occurred, or was suspected to have occurred, on the property, such event being one that has no physical impact of any kind." Stigmatized properties can include:

  • Stigmatized properties have been psychologically impacted by events such as murder, suicide, alleged hauntings, or notorious previous owner.

  • Violent crimes and abandoned properties both have significant effects on property values and the surrounding neighborhood.

  • Some buyers are happy to overlook stigma in exchange for an affordable price.

  • Agents should be aware of their state disclosure laws around stigmatized properties. 

Gruesome events can stigmatize properties, such as what happened in Killeen, Texas. Fort Hood SRP Building 42003 was demolished where the MAJ Hasaan shootings occurred on February 18, 2014. 

Sellers Disclosure

Here in Texas, we say: Disclose! Disclose! Disclose! Sellers are required to disclose because it is better to disclose, than not disclose. Texas has promulgated forms to use for Seller's Disclosure. 

Under Texas Property Code 5008[c], "as law, a seller or seller's agent has no duty to disclose a death from natural causes, suicide, or an accident unrelated to the property's condition."

One caveat to duty to disclose is "if the death is related to the condition of the property, regardless of whether by accident or not, the seller has a duty to disclose." 

"Wine cheers the sad, revives the old, inspires the young,
makes weariness forget his toil." ---Lord Byron


Are Ghosts Real?

As for me, I consider myself a very rational person and never believed in ghosts until..... well, I have to say, when vacationing in Sardinia, Italy in recent years, and on a separate occasion in Tuscany, Italy, I do believe in ghosts because of two different personal, and close encounters, that I consider real ghost stories, from different times, locations, and years. And, I wasn't alone when it happened. However, here in North Dallas, Texas, I can say I never encountered a ghost when selling houses . No! I haven't, at least not yet. 

"When peoples of the Mediterranean began to emerge from
barbarism when they learned to cultivate the olive and the vine."
---Thucydides, Greek Historian, 5th century BCE

 

Other October Blog Posts You Might Enjoy:

Looking for a Night Out this Week in October?
Favorite Fall Movies and What Buyers & Sellers Need to Know
Fall Is The Time to Sow Your Seeds To Succeed
Fall Is The Time To Build Up Resiliency
Can't Help Falling In Love With TX Longhorns
Fall in Line & Do Your Part for Breast Cancer Awareness - Part 3
Why Schedule A Mammogram This Fall? Part 2
OCTOBER IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
Don't Fall Into Fall With A Fall
October Is Time For Work - Can You Dig It?
Why Fall in Love with Cats in October or Any Time?
Spice Up Your Life by Falling in Love with Fall
It's Time To Fall In Love
October Thrills! R U Looking for a Fun Place to Live?

Posted by

Texas Law requires all license holders to provide the Information about Brokerage Services form to prospective clients.

https://www.trec.texas.gov/sites/default/files/pdf-forms/CN%201-4-1.pdf

 

 dfw fine properties

 

DFW FINE PROPERTIES

                                        3575 Lone Star Circle, Suite 315
                                        Fort Worth, TX 76117
                                        Office: 817-748-4800/FAX: 817--748-4900

                                         Patricia (Peace without Panic) Feager (Faith without Fear)
                                                        Cell: 469-951-4758

                                                        Email: patricia.feager@gmail.com

 

MBA (University of Dallas)
BA
(Bachelors of Arts & Science)
Paralegal (Southeastern Career Institute)
Associates (3) (College of Lake County)
KU (University of Kansas)

CERTIFICATIONS

CRS (Certified Residential Specialist)
SRES (Certified Senior Residential Specialist)
PSA (Certified Pricing Strategies; Mastering the CMA)
CRS (Certified Military Relocation Specialist)
RENE (Real Estte Negotitions Expert)

"With self-discipline most anything is possible." --- Theodore Roosevelt 

 

 

 

  

Comments (28)

Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Good luck, Patricia, with the marketing and sales of the haunted homes in your area.

Your post reminded me a home that we did not purchase because Dolores had bad feelings about it.

Oct 13, 2022 08:24 AM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Roy Kelley - On many occasions I had an eerie feeling going into homes. Other buyers did too. I have not doubt that Dolores' feelings were real. 

Oct 15, 2022 05:14 PM
Ed Silva
Mapleridge Realty, CT 203-206-0754 - Waterbury, CT
Central CT Real Estate Broker Serving all equally

I once believed I lived in a haunted house, but once my ex got on her broom and flew away all the strange happenings disappeared

Oct 13, 2022 01:38 PM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Ed Silva - Your comment is a scream! You're  a lucky man to break free. Once the old black magic was gone, 'all the strange happenings disappeared!' 

Oct 13, 2022 04:28 PM
Andrew Mooers | 207.532.6573
MOOERS REALTY - Houlton, ME
Northern Maine Real Estate-Aroostook County Broker

I worked for Stephen King at a radio station he owned and he made a good living writing about spooks, spirits, demons and the "other side". His house in Bangor ME

stephen king bangor me home

 

Oct 13, 2022 06:01 PM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Andrew Mooers | 207.532.6573 - How interesting! I knew you did radio before but did not know you worked for Stephen King at a radio station he owned. That's amazing! I knew he lived in Maine, but never knew what city. I visited Bangor many times when my daughter went to band camp. If I knew, I would have driven by this house! Thanks for the picture!!!

Oct 14, 2022 05:17 AM
Paul S. Henderson, REALTOR®, CRS
Fathom Realty Washington LLC - Tacoma, WA
South Puget Sound Washington Agent/Broker!

I don’t have any preconceived doubts about any phenomena. Happy Thursday Patricia 😱

Oct 13, 2022 08:10 PM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Paul S. Henderson, REALTOR®, CRS - thanks for dropping by and for your honesty. I wish you a very happy Friday & weekend too! Have your grandkids picked out their Halloween Costumes yet?

Oct 14, 2022 05:19 AM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Patricia, when I was at USMA there was a cadet in the class of 1976 and he "saw a ghost" keep in mind we had an honor code, do not lie, cheat or tolerate those who do.... now with that said the poor guy took a lot of abuse and he stood by his "ghost" siting his name was O'Connor   I wonder if Mr Google marked him in his files?:)Hmmm

Oct 13, 2022 10:33 PM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Endre Barath, Jr. - what an experience you and the others had at USMA with that cadet. I never saw a ghost, but the presence of ghosts were with me in San Gimignano in Tuscany and the Airbnb in Sardinia. I didn't imagine it and neither did the people who were with me. We all sensed it and felt eerie. They had to be ghosts! And this was never on a tour to visit haunted places. 

Oct 14, 2022 05:23 AM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

p.s.: I must do a post about this very subject:)))Endre

Oct 13, 2022 10:35 PM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Endre Barath, Jr. - I can't wait to read all about it!

Oct 14, 2022 05:24 AM
Nick Vandekar, 610-203-4543
Long & Foster Real Estate Inc 610-225-7400 - Devon, PA
Selling the Main Line & Chester County

I had friends who lived in a house they claimed was haunted. I also held an antique show at a country club and the mansion was said to be haunted. I never saw a ghost, but after turning all the lights off one evening as I left I looked back and saw the lights on where I had just turned them off. The catering manager told me the next day, oh yes, the house has a ghost who turns lights on and off.

Oct 14, 2022 08:51 AM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Nick Vandekar, 610-203-4543 - I believe it! At the antique show in the mansion it sounds like maybe there were good, old fashioned, friendly ghosts!  Pranksters perhaps who got a good giggle at the public's expense. 

I once stayed at an old Victorian B&B with my daughter. The brochure published the place was haunted. Right around the time we shut off the lights and said goodnight, we heard chains, rattling, and someone trying to open the door! I screamed! My daughter got up and yelled - KNOCK IT OFF! I'M TIRED AND I'M NOT IN THE MOOD! LET ME GET SOME SLEEP! The noise stopped immediately - LOL!

Oct 14, 2022 09:08 AM
Anna Banana Kruchten Phoenix Broker
HomeSmart Real Estate - Phoenix, AZ
602-380-4886

Patricia same advice is given here in AZ - Disclose Disclose Disclose!   As for ghosts, yes I do believe and had an experience with a ghost that saved my life and that of a friend I was hiking with in Sedona.  Pretty sure I wrote a post about it quite awhile ago.  Albeit it is Halloween time so I might have to revive it!  Don't want it ghosting for ever!  And my other thought - yes to wine as well LOL

Oct 14, 2022 10:11 AM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Anna Banana Kruchten CRS, Phoenix Broker - How interesting that you had an experience such as one that saved your life and your friends. I don't recall reading about it; however, I would love to learn more. I had a similar mystical experience in Sedona. Not going into too many details, something happened to me in Sedona, which I could never disclose to anyone. I was in disbelief. I hiked back down to the bottom. There was an old woman (native) just sitting there making beads and seed necklaces, one long strand, no clasp. I found myself sitting next to her, where she wanted me to sit. Then she put this necklace on me. I gave her some money, which she didn't want, but I left it at her feet on some material she was sitting on. I was empowered, at peace, and enlightened but couldn't explain it. She spoke to me with her eyes. No. She wasn't a ghost but as close as I got to a Medicine (wo)man. It was then, I just knew, I had a mystical experience I simply couldn't explain. 

Oct 14, 2022 04:07 PM
Anna Banana Kruchten Phoenix Broker
HomeSmart Real Estate - Phoenix, AZ
602-380-4886

Featured in BananaTude!  Boo!

 

Oct 14, 2022 10:12 AM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Anna Banana Kruchten CRS, Phoenix Broker 

This is the necklace. I kept it. Thanks for the FEATURE in BananaTude! Boo! Please share your story, or at least as much as you can. 

Oct 14, 2022 04:09 PM
Debra Leisek
Bay Realty,Inc Homer Alaska - Homer, AK

Ghosts in the machine!  Thought provoking post as usual!! So many stories evolved from it in the comments too! I have a couple of ghost stories too, but it is the poltergeist who causes the most mischief!  

Oct 16, 2022 12:18 AM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Debra Leisek - I was so excited to read the additional stories via comments by other AR members too! Oh! the poltergeist... I hope I never encounter one of those!!! But, I would be interested in learning more about your own ghost stories! Do tell!!! I'll be waiting and watching to read your stories on ActiveRain.

Oct 16, 2022 01:04 AM
Sam Shueh
(408) 425-1601 - San Jose, CA
mba, cdpe, reopro, pe

Yes sir, I do.  More properly it should be like so:

In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. 

All the best,

Sam

Oct 16, 2022 07:54 AM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Sam Shueh - I was able to translate with no problem! I memorized that in Kindergarten and never forgot! What a wonderful world it would be if everyone believed. 

Thank you!!!

Oct 16, 2022 05:28 PM
Peter Mohylsky
PMI. Destin - Miramar Beach, FL

There seems to be a thread that travels mysteriously thru this post.  Boo. And hic.

Oct 16, 2022 05:29 PM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Peter Mohylsky - Ooooooooooooooo! I like your comment. Boo! to you! And thank you for your comment!!!!

Oct 16, 2022 05:37 PM
John Juarez
The Medford Real Estate Team - Fremont, CA
ePRO, SRES, GRI, PMN

I had to take Latin in high school. I don't remember the saying in Latin but I remember "Where there is no wine, there is no life."

Oct 16, 2022 07:47 PM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

John Juarez - Ubi non est vinum, nulla vita - I hope this helps: "Where there is no wine, there is no life."

Cheers!!!

Oct 16, 2022 09:20 PM
Debra Leisek
Bay Realty,Inc Homer Alaska - Homer, AK

You always make me smile Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP 

I should share a few ghost stories If we only had a campfire and smores!

Oct 17, 2022 12:01 AM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Debra Leisek - Okay, you asked for it! You need to read and add more to the story you started and anyone, yourself, Anna Banana Kruchten CRS, Phoenix Broker, Endre Barath, Jr., Michael Jacobs, Kat Palmiotti or anyone else could join in and continue the ghost story:

If I had been told our long overdue meet-up for ActiveRain  was at Stephen Kings' mansion in Bangor, Maine, the same building where Andrew Mooers | 207.532.6573 did his radio station, I would have been more prepared to protect myself from the witches and ghosts that came to haunt us as we began to tell stories around the campfire while eating smores! 

Expecting that it was going to be a fun and relaxing evening, who would have guessed  up the hill, halfway up mountain, near the Orono Forest pines that out of the big and oldest tree at the Jeremiah Colburn Area a ghost would come barreling out of 

Oct 17, 2022 01:39 AM
Debra Leisek

I would have to ponder on this awhile Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP 

Maybe Michael Jacobs the James Bond of Pondering could help us in our Ghost Busting quest

Endre Barath, Jr.  Always has a wise word with a spirited twist to add to a story 

Of Course Anna Banana Kruchten CRS, Phoenix Broker will bring good light-hearted humor for balance and Kat Palmiotti can top it all off with a Montana Mountain Mystery! 

 

 

Oct 18, 2022 12:25 AM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Debra Leisek - thanks for your comments! Are their ghosts in Alaska?

Oct 18, 2022 03:26 AM
Michael Jacobs

Debra Leisek - thank you for the mention in your thread.  Shaken and stirred are words that may be associated with Mr Bond for other reasons. For me, I wonder if they could be combined for additional meaning.  Hmm. . .    

Oct 18, 2022 04:33 AM
Kat Palmiotti

a porcupine's mouth. If I had to say what that ghost looked like, I'd liken him to a stinking no-good Montana Mountain Man. The kind of man who had no patience for anything he didn't have patience for. Now of course, he flitted past our gathering so fast I can't really swear that's what he looked like, but that's what I gathered from that split second view.

He headed straight for the parlor, where our host of the evening was...

Oct 18, 2022 05:09 AM
Debra Leisek

While Michael Jacobs and I ponder Kat Palmiotti gave us a great accounting of the no-good mountain man.... Kat is a team player!!

This has been fun Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP 

Oct 19, 2022 12:15 AM
Kat Palmiotti

haha Debra Leisek !

Oct 19, 2022 04:38 AM
Tammy Lankford,
Lane Realty Eatonton, GA Lake Sinclair, Milledgeville, 706-485-9668 - Eatonton, GA
Broker GA Lake Sinclair/Eatonton/Milledgeville

I don't share my ghost stories, but I do believe in "spirits" of the dead.  

I wouldn't buy a house with bad spirits and I have lived in one.  I can always feel them.  Have had clients tell me the same. The last time it was a child who told her parents (we can't buy this house).  They didn't.

Oct 17, 2022 12:44 PM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Tammy Lankford, - It would be difficult to live in a house where you felt bad spirits. Isn't that interesting that the child picked up on a vibe that caused her to tell her parents they could not buy the house. We do have to pay attention to what we feel.  

Oct 17, 2022 06:30 PM
Tammy Lankford,

Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP she actually said the spirit "pushed her" down the stairs (from the deck to the ground) getting her out of the house.  And I have to admit that house gave me the hebee gebees. 

I however have lived with a bad spirit before and while I would share that story it won't be on the internet as everyone in town knows the house it was I lived it.  I mean I've only lived in 5 places my entire life.

 

Oct 18, 2022 06:14 AM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Tammy Lankford, - "From the deck to the ground," WOW! That would have frightened me too. There really are creepy houses and unless a person has a ghostly experience themself, it is often hard to convince others. 

I knew a lady I worked with in Chicago. She was young, like me. Both my friend and I were about the same age and she was still newly married. When she finally came back to work after a long absence, we had lunch, she told me why she had all that time off.

She said, we went to bed and fell asleep. I woke up in the middle of the night because I heard my husband talking. I saw he was sitting on the edge of the bed talking to nobody but he was having a conversation with his father, who was deceased. She figured he was sleep talking or needed to get something off his chest, so she left him sitting there talking in deep conversation and fell back asleep. The next morning he was still on the edge of the bed and dead. Coroner said he died in his sleep and couldn't find anything wrong with him.

Through the years, I heard other similar stories like that from women I knew who also buried their spouses. I do believe in ghosts. None of those people knew one another. 

I can understand when you live in a small town, close knit community, and everyone knows you, you don't want to go public. You're a very smart woman and REALTOR. 

Oct 18, 2022 06:34 AM
Dave Halpern
Dave Halpern Real Estate Agent, Inc., Louisville, KY (502) 664-7827 - Louisville, KY
Louisville Short Sale Expert

I listed a house that the seller insisted was haunted. The gutters were full of cigarette butts. I wondered if there was a correlation, or if it was just the owner's teenager who would sneak out and sit on the roof smoking.

Oct 17, 2022 03:37 PM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Dave Halpern - butts in the gutter... that is crazy! I'll bet you are right about the owner's teenager. But then again, you never know!

Oct 17, 2022 06:31 PM
Beth Atalay
Cam Realty and Property Management - Clermont, FL
Cam Realty of Clermont FL

Hi Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP, I never felt the presence of a ghost, if I did, I don't know how I would react. If they're good ghosts, that would be OK but if they're mean, that would make me run the other way, certainly couldn't live in a home with ghosts. 
Years ago, when I lived in NY, a friend of mine and her husband decided to move to Canada. They rented a home, she said there was a ghost who would re-arrange the kitchen and do the dishes. It just sounded crazy to me. I wouldn't mind having a ghost like that!

Oct 18, 2022 03:14 PM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Beth Atalay - The strongest presence I felt with ghosts was in Sardinia, Italy. I was frightened and I was not imaging it either. When you're in a foreign country, no car, and you can't speak the language, you power through it and hope you survive! 

If a ghost came and re-arranged my kitchen and did the dishes I would happy!

Oct 20, 2022 08:00 PM
Buzz Mackintosh
Mackintosh REALTORS - Frederick, MD
“Experience, reliable, leadership”

Can't say I have ever encountered a ghost, but our office in Frederick, Md is said to be haunted and I have sold a couple of older homes that are known to having ghosts residing in them.

Oct 20, 2022 11:43 AM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Buzz Mackintosh - Have you ever gone on a tour of haunted house in Frederick, MD? I went a ghost tour like that in San Diego and thought it was just a gimmick to collect money. I do think older homes are more likely to be haunted with ghosts. If you find out more now or another time, please let me know! 

Oct 20, 2022 08:03 PM
Buzz Mackintosh

Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP  the only tour I have been on was in Hollywood when we were in California. Frederick, MD has a ghost tour and the high school I attended has many old ghost stories.

Oct 21, 2022 03:52 AM
Hannah Williams
HomeStarr Realty - Philadelphia, PA
Expertise NE Philadelphia & Bucks 215-820-3376

Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP  I actually worked with an agent who purchased a house that was haunted . It was documented in books and magazine articles. I asked him what he experienced they said smells of bread cooking, indentations on beds like someone had been sitting there, the smell of pipe tobacco, and the sounds of a rocking chair. These things were friendly and did leave after time 

Oct 24, 2022 10:19 AM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Hannah Williams - That is quite a bit of credible information that would convince me the house was haunted too! I'm assuming it was a very old house? I hope you have copies of the articles or the books just because it was so personal! How interesting that the owner could smell bread cooking. I was born and raised into a culture where women rarely, if ever worked outside of the home and moms like mine who stayed home always baked their own bread and made food from scratch. The only time I knew my mother bought a cake from the Bakery Shop was when I got married or my sisters got married. Indentions on the bed? The smell of pipe tobacco? How does one explain that??? Or the sounds of the rocking chair creaking back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. I would agree, the fact that it left after a period of time indicates a friendly ghost for sure. 

To this day, I wish I could get the historical background on the building I grew up in. I've always been curious about that house. Thank you, so much for sharing your ghost story!

Oct 24, 2022 12:25 PM
Hannah Williams
HomeStarr Realty - Philadelphia, PA
Expertise NE Philadelphia & Bucks 215-820-3376

Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP  Yes this house was documented very interesting 

Oct 25, 2022 10:41 AM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

Hannah Williams - that's really cool! It would make good reading every Halloween!

Oct 25, 2022 12:37 PM