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Original poster

Buying a house where a tragedy happened

183 replies

Canistayinbed · 19/01/2024 06:10

Would you?

House near me is up for sale, in the 60’s a father murdered 5 members of his family then killed himself. I couldn’t even bring myself to view the house let alone buy it.

Houses that have had fatal fires, been renovated and ready for occupancy again. Nope.

Id be awake at night ruminating over things and never get any sleep, I know it seems stupid. Anyone else the same? Or do you live in such a place and aren’t bothered by it?

OP posts:
MissHavershamReturns · 19/01/2024 06:50

I wouldn’t buy, but not for any rational reason

DopeyS · 19/01/2024 07:01

There was a house in Derbyshire where four people were murdered and they demolished the house. I'm not entirely sure why though. Assume it was because of what happened.

MailMe1 · 19/01/2024 07:04

TW, a house has just been sold on a road near me where a father had killed himself. It was utterly tragic. The buyers got it at a very good price, no idea if they knew the background but it was relatively recently maybe a year ago.

INeedCharcoalPants · 19/01/2024 07:06

HelpMeGetThrough · 19/01/2024 06:41

or neighbours telling me repeatedly telling me about what happened in there.

They probably wouldn't. In the house behind us, the occupier killed herself in it, all neighbours know what happened, as all hell broke loose on Sunday night.

The person in there now, knows nothing about it and nobody has said a thing to him.

The person killed herself on Sunday and there's a new occupier already? Yikes that's fast

Urcheon · 19/01/2024 07:06

There was a well-known murder on the first-floor landing of our house many years ago. The house has been owned by several different people since, and it doesn’t appear to have impacted the price or saleability. And no ghosts walk the landing…

OssieShowman · 19/01/2024 07:06

60 years ago

Tortoise2go · 19/01/2024 07:07

Christmas202 · 19/01/2024 06:17

Nana lived in the house of a serial killer. He hid his victims under floor boards and in the walls. She used to hear noises.

Was that 195 Melrose Avenue?

HighQueenOfTheFarRealm · 19/01/2024 07:09

If youre sensitive to it then don't. It could play on your thoughts and emotions.
This is the reason I wouldn't even though logically, there's no reason.

wereonthemarket · 19/01/2024 07:09

Wouldn't bother me at all.

BrittleVeneers · 19/01/2024 07:17

Nope. I wouldn’t touch it, not because of ghosts or whatever, but because I’d be regularly thinking of dreadful thing that happened there. I couldn’t bear it.

And I think you’d have trouble reselling it too, for the same very reason you wouldn’t buy it.

YesThatsATurdOnTheRug · 19/01/2024 07:17

I wouldn't, for no good reason,
I would just worry that I'd end up feeling creeped out, or my kids would find out and be creeped out, not worth the risk of not feeling comfortable. But I'm easily creeped out!

CormorantStrikesBack · 19/01/2024 07:20

There’s a house near me where 30 years ago a burglar broke in and stabbed the woman to death. I drive past the house most days and have wondered before about the people who live there….do they know the history, etc. I’m not sure I could live there because it backs onto fields so I can see it has a higher risk for being burgled. But if I didn’t know of the history maybe it wouldn’t have crossed my mind.

Familiaritybreedscontemptso · 19/01/2024 07:22

BrittleVeneers · 19/01/2024 07:17

Nope. I wouldn’t touch it, not because of ghosts or whatever, but because I’d be regularly thinking of dreadful thing that happened there. I couldn’t bear it.

And I think you’d have trouble reselling it too, for the same very reason you wouldn’t buy it.

Yes this for me too. It would just make me sad to think about it and I wouldn’t want to be reminded of it all the time.

BumpheadParrotfish · 19/01/2024 07:26

I was once considered putting an offer on a terraced house where the owner had made a massive speech about what a lovely quiet area it was.

Until I googled and found there had been an arson attack on the adjoining house, where a mother and her teenage daughter were murdered.

I couldn't proceed, but probably more that the buyer was shifty declaring so loudly what a peaceful area it was. I wondered what else she'd lie about

TheseLegsDefinitelyUsedToBeLonger · 19/01/2024 07:27

I wouldn't knowingly buy a house like that - but we live in a 200-year-old house now, so yes, absolutely, something could have happened here, someone could be buried in the garden for all we know or bricked up in a chimney... we'd never know unless we discovered something by accident. Interesting topic though.

DustyLee123 · 19/01/2024 07:27

Absolutely not. There’s one house I walk past where an absolute tragedy happened. I didn’t know them, but I think about her and her children every time I pass the house.

LargeSquareRock · 19/01/2024 07:32

My uncle was brutally murdered in his home by strangers 15 years ago. On the rare occasions I am in his hometown, I drive past his house. The new owners have lovely flowers growing and when I went past one Christmas, they had Christmas decorations up, including a god-awful inflatable Santa. It makes me happy. Hope that helps!

LlynTegid · 19/01/2024 07:33

I'd be concerned about so-called 'grief tourism' and people turning up to look at the property.

Think of all the people who visited Soham after the two murders there.

Hobbesmanc · 19/01/2024 07:34

Before the NHS most people would have died at home so most older homes would have witnessed sadness. Child mortality was much higher.

I'd not want a home that might attract ghoulish souvenir hunters to be honest but I'm not a believer in the supernatural so I'd not worry about ghosts

NigelHarmansNewWife · 19/01/2024 07:35

PickledPurplePickle · 19/01/2024 06:16

In the 60's is 80 years ago

We are buying a house where someone shot themselves around the same time. Haven't given it a second thought

Er - maths not your strong point?!

Yozzer87 · 19/01/2024 07:52

Yes I probably would unless it was very recent. Another way of looking at it is that one of my family members was involved in a murder at home. He found peace by going to view the house when he saw it up for sale. He said he knew he could never live there again as it held too many bad memories for him, but to anyone else, it was just a house.

Vacant12 · 19/01/2024 07:54

I wouldn't just because I know I would think about it often and it would make me feel sad....I'm not superstitious in the slightest but surely it would mar the experience a bit?

Edit to add - I don't think people dying under normal circumstances is the same as an entire family being murdered

Mindymomo · 19/01/2024 07:54

Personally I couldn’t live in a house where there’s been a murder or suspicious death, as presumably it wasn’t a very happy house whilst the people lived there. People dying in their homes after normal circumstances maybe if it was the right house. There’s a really nice looking bungalow for sale in my village, the owner is in prison for indecent offences towards children. I doubt the Estate Agent is going to give the full details of what happened there, but I’m sure the neighbours will, it’s not sold yet after being for sale for 2 years.

User69371527 · 19/01/2024 07:55

I know what you mean, but then if you buy an old house, eg a Victorian one, it’s almost certain people have died in it but that’s just part of life.

barkymcbark · 19/01/2024 07:57

The house next door to us is where a well known murder and one attempted murder took place about 40 years ago. The only thing that bothers the family living there now, is they get people coming into their garden to take photos of the house. Happens a few times a year