Buying a House? Get a Ghost Inspection First!
I just signed a lease for a new apartment and as I was walking around my new digs I thought, “I wonder if any ghosts live here?” I didn’t sense anything when I was first shown the apartment, and being alone in the space, I couldn’t sense anything that afternoon. But it made me think. What if you bought a house or signed a lease and you had a ghost? Depending on the person, having a ghost could either petrify a person or make them happy to have a spirit around the house.
If you live in Salem, Oregon, and are looking for a new place to live and are worried about previous and current spirit tenants, you can give this team a call. It brings up a good point, though. If you have every other piece of your house inspected, why wouldn’t you have a ghost hunting crew come in and see if they can pick up anything on their instruments, but they will also see if anyone has died in the home or on the property. It could definitely cause problems down the road when you try and sell the property.
I admit, I was a bit squicked out when I learned that someone was murdered in a former apartment of mine. I had already signed a lease, and while the place was haunted, I never felt dread or threatened by the ghost(s) in my apartment and building. It added to the atmosphere, but it does make you think.
I’ve never owned a house, but I would like to know if anything major went down before I bought it. My luck, I’d find the perfect house, buy it without researching the history, and then hear from the neighbor as I move in, “I’m surprised anyone would buy that house considering what happened in it…”
Has anyone called in a ghost investigation team or researched the property’s history before purchasing a house?
I have to admit things got very interesting last year when we found out an entire family Alexenander, Alice, their child, & their dog Shep were living in the attic upstairs. My house is an old Bungalow 83 years old. Lots of history, & after a seance we found out it is a stopping ground, aloso a learning place for Spirit. Fine with me so long as everyone is friendly & peaceful!!!
A paranormal inspection team. How interesting! If they find a spirit, do you think they can tell if it’s a nice spirit or an pesky one?
My parents’ house is haunted, but I’m the only one who can feel/hear the ghosts (my brother did when he was a child, but now he insists he must have imagined it). It’s pretty creepy to be brushing your teeth and suddenly have all the hairs raise on the back of your neck because you can just *feel* something glaring at you. Or to be typing on the computer when something very cold wants to hang out near you. Usually (when visiting) I just tell them “go sit over there, read over my shoulder if you like, but I’m busy”. I’d like to communicate with them, to let them know it’s ok to move on, but some of them are pretty scary (I just don’t go in those places–root cellar, carriage house).
The house was built in 1869, first it was the servants’ quarters for a large mansion (now the Masonic Temple), next it was a boarding house where Hetty Green would stay. There is also a carriage house, but we don’t go in the attic (the presence there is full of hate).
I wish a ghost team would come to their house, but they’d never allow it. They had their pastor pray over the house when they first moved into it, but obviously it didn’t work.
That is fascinating. Phoebe! It sounds like a ghost hunter crew would definitely find some activity there. I would also suggest on having it cleared by someone who is trained at clearing spirits from homes and people. Especially considering the areas that radiate bad vibes. Thanks so much for sharing!
This is a great point! I feel out the energy of a place when looking for the first time, but have not thought to call in the ghost hunters society!
I recently moved into a new apartment. We knew the prior tenant and I thought to ask if she felt a presence, though she loved it here and wished she could stay. So, I left it at that. The first few nights I kind of waited to see if anything happened.
I have felt energy around me though it feels very joyful and clean, maybe angels celebrating the happy move!
It’s been a bit over a week and the place is really beautiful, second story in the trees waking to bird songs, an amazing breezeway. There is an large extra closet I enter gently in respect,in case it is someones space. It feels like it may be a dwelling but quiet.
I have lived in a couple of haunted places before, the most present being a man and young girl in an attic that played hide and seek games,picked up blankets, showing up as sparks, knocking little things over etc. I did the same as Phoebe, a ‘please respect me, I respect you’ kind of understanding. Luckily they were more playful in their communications.
I do wonder every time I move into a new place. This seems like a great service for local ghost hunter society’s to offer.
Thanks for writing and for listening! If I ever buy a home I think this would be at the top of the inspection list 🙂
Sincerely,
Nishaan
[…] a previous post, I spoke about a ghost hunting team in Oregon that offers its services for prospective home owners. The purpose? Find if there is a ghost already living in the house that is being considered for […]
I am a woman in my mid-30s. When my parents first moved to California in 1985, they bought a house out here in Los Angeles. Me, my brother, and my sister were very young at the time. I would constantly hear shuffling late at night, as if someone were walking on the carpet and dragging their feet. In addition, there was one specific moment where I was sleeping late at night, and a large teddy bear that I had securely propped on a dresser just completely moved and fell over. There was no way that thing could have fallen by itself. I was so afraid that I used to sleep with my bedroom window wide open even during cold nights so that I could “jump out” if anything ever attacked me. While this was happening, I never mentioned it to my parents out of fear that they would not believe me. Thankfully, we moved out of there when my parents upgraded and bought a brand new house in 1991 just a few miles away.
About ten years ago, my sister, mother, and I were discussing the old house, and I decided to tell them about the shuffling noises that I would hear. My mother and sister admitted that they too had heard it and were both afraid. My Dad chimed into the conversation and told us that the first couple of months we were living there, a neighbor who lived a few houses down started talking to my Dad and told him that a former owner had hung himself in the garage. My Dad of course did not believe it at the time, but after hearing this story, it makes a lot of sense as to who may have been haunting our house.
Since I moved out of my parents’ home, I’ve chosen only to rent apartments where I know I can easily break the lease if there was some sort of paranormal activity. I was in the market a couple of years ago for a townhome. I specifically wanted a townhome because I felt safer being in a community like that rather than a single family dwelling, not to mention I don’t hear stories about townhomes and apartments being haunted. Anyway, I did tell my real estate agent that my #1 priority over anything was making sure the home I’m interested in was not haunted, and that nobody had died in the home. I told her my history and told her that I was not interested in single family dwellings because of this reason, even though my parents think I’d be wasting a few hundred a month paying HOA fees to a townhome community when the better investment is a SFD. She assured me that in California, there must be a disclosure if someone died in the home within 3 years. I did tell her that I was concerned with events that went beyond 3 years. There was a great townhome I looked at that had a low price, but my real estate agent informed me that the owner had died suddenly (she was unsure if he died in the home or at the hospital) and all his belongings were still inside the townhome. It was a foreclosure, and she mentioned that the bank wanted the buyer to be the one to clean and get rid of his belongings. Right away I said not interested. Even if the owner did not die in the home, I did not want to deal with the possibility of his spirit inhabiting the home.
At this point, I am content living in an apartment, and may continue to do so for the rest of my life because of my fear of owning and living in a haunted home.