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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if a house is haunted before I buy it

232 replies

pineapple7peach · 18/04/2023 13:13

As the title says. Irrational childhood fear which I never grew out of. I don't know if I even believe in the paranormal but my worst nightmare is buying a house I'm too frightened to live in.

Would I be an embarrassment if I asked the estate agent/seller this question?

OP posts:
PenCreed · 18/04/2023 13:15

Wouldn’t you get a vibe from viewings?

tonyhawks23 · 18/04/2023 13:15

I would definitely ask!I once asked this for a house I was looking at to rent as seemed too good to be true. It's fine to ask. And Google it.

Bambooflowers · 18/04/2023 13:16

I mean you could but most folks don’t believe in such a thing, so unless it’s famously rumoured to have ghosts you will get a funny look and a no

MojoMoon · 18/04/2023 13:16

Why do you think the estate agent would know the answer?

(The answer of course is: no, it is not haunted and ghosts don't exist)

MatildaTheCat · 18/04/2023 13:16

In a word, yes.

Maybe you need a new- build?

PuttingDownRoots · 18/04/2023 13:16

What could you ask?
Wierd creaks at night, children having nightmares, belongings flying around the place?

Maybe a newbuild house on a greenfield site might be best...

YesitsBess · 18/04/2023 13:16

I'm not sure how an agent might quantify haunted ?

'Delightful rear aspect, with garden laid to lawn and mature shrub surround. Occasional Woman in White spotted mournfully walking through flint wall to rear of birdbath'

JassyRadlett · 18/04/2023 13:16

I'm going to be totally honest here. I wouldn't sell to you if you asked me that question unless I was totally, totally desperate.

MargotDeWitt · 18/04/2023 13:17

MatildaTheCat · 18/04/2023 13:16

In a word, yes.

Maybe you need a new- build?

Unless it's built on an ancient burial site, as featured in Poltergeist?

PuttingDownRoots · 18/04/2023 13:17

Or maybe look into having whatever house blessed?

Lockheart · 18/04/2023 13:20

This is bonkers, but if it worries you that much buy a brand new build or a flat on the 27th floor.

YesitsBess · 18/04/2023 13:20

Maybe we can come up with a rating system. Like an EPC:

A - not so much as a sprite
B - occasional weird creaking
C - spooky basement
D - possibly a poltergeist or phantom cat
E- built over burial ground
F - actual portal to hell behind sofa

etc.

carriedout · 18/04/2023 13:21

I don't think you can ask, no. I mean, you can, but I think you'll just get a raised eyebrow.
Ghosts don't exist IMO, so I would have no idea how to answer a question about this.

FadedRed · 18/04/2023 13:21

Definitely ask if the vendor’s surname is Button?

carriedout · 18/04/2023 13:21

YesitsBess · 18/04/2023 13:20

Maybe we can come up with a rating system. Like an EPC:

A - not so much as a sprite
B - occasional weird creaking
C - spooky basement
D - possibly a poltergeist or phantom cat
E- built over burial ground
F - actual portal to hell behind sofa

etc.

Grin
Spottycarousel · 18/04/2023 13:23

Would the estate agent even say if it was or wasn't?

bathsh3ba · 18/04/2023 13:24

OP as someone who had a similar irrational fear you have to untangle/face the fear. It's hard when it's a fear of something most don't believe in but it can be done.

I wouldn't ask, no. But I would do something about the fear. PM me if you'd like to talk to someone who's been through it.

Lcb123 · 18/04/2023 13:24

By all means ask - but as a seller, no way I'd accept an offer from someone who'd asked this.

Bluegrass · 18/04/2023 13:24

Would you expect someone trying to sell their property to say “why yes, since you ask I’m disturbed each night at precisely 1am by the spectre of a disembowelled monk whose cold fetid breath whispers promises of eternal damnation. Shall we pop upstairs to look at the en suite we’ve just had done?”

Original poster
pineapple7peach · 18/04/2023 13:24

Lockheart · 18/04/2023 13:20

This is bonkers, but if it worries you that much buy a brand new build or a flat on the 27th floor.

I am bonkers actually, got the papers to prove it! Cheers though

OP posts:
happyumwelt · 18/04/2023 13:24

We rejected a house in a converted Victorian mental asylum because it felt odd (not haunted - don't believe in ghosts - but the ceilings were too high for the room sizes, as they'd put in stud walls, etc and it gave it a really odd Alice in Wonderland feeling). We bought a new build on the same site and later found out it is built on top of an abolished wing of the hospital and opposite the graveyard (no stones, just grass)! Good job it wasn't the potential for ghosts that put us off.

I'm not sure there is any point asking op - they are unlikely to tell you even if they think it is!

NotAnotherBathBomb · 18/04/2023 13:27

YesitsBess · 18/04/2023 13:16

I'm not sure how an agent might quantify haunted ?

'Delightful rear aspect, with garden laid to lawn and mature shrub surround. Occasional Woman in White spotted mournfully walking through flint wall to rear of birdbath'

😂

'Sold!'

carriedout · 18/04/2023 13:27

Spottycarousel · 18/04/2023 13:23

Would the estate agent even say if it was or wasn't?

Could the seller's solicitor perhaps confirm it Grin

Original poster
pineapple7peach · 18/04/2023 13:28

bathsh3ba · 18/04/2023 13:24

OP as someone who had a similar irrational fear you have to untangle/face the fear. It's hard when it's a fear of something most don't believe in but it can be done.

I wouldn't ask, no. But I would do something about the fear. PM me if you'd like to talk to someone who's been through it.

Thank you for your compassionate reply ❤ I may do as this is something that's affected my life quite a bit. I tried to tackle it in therapy last year but I wasn't consistent enough with it

OP posts:
Showersugar · 18/04/2023 13:28

Haha bless you, this is delightfully bonkers and I'm sure would make the estate agents day!

That said, as this thread evidences some people can be quite judgemental about fears or belief systems that don't accord with their own so I would really hang back from asking this and find other ways to allay your anxieties - maybe burn some sage or arrange a blessing for any future property you buy.