Would You Like to Know if Someone Died in Your House?

NotAMoodle on 05/09/2016 - 22:31
Last edited 07/09/2016 - 17:19

So I bought my first house 5 years ago from an agent. Everything seemed pretty normal, being a first home buyer I guess I didn't probably ask as many questions as I should've

Anyway, about 2 months after first moving in I got quite good mates with one of my neighbours and he asked me if he didn't mind telling me if I got a steal on the place. I said I thought it was a reasonable deal, definitely not Ozbargain worthy, and when I asked why he thought I should've got a steal he told me that the gentleman (60+) that lived here before me for the past 15 years hung him self in my shed. I did a kind of awkward laugh and blew it off as this might be his kind of morbid humour, but I couldn't shake it so went next door the 80+ year old lady and straight out asked her.

She invited me in, had a cup of tea (best shortbread I have ever tasted) and proceeded to tell me the full sad story about losing his wife and only partner to cancer and couldn't bare to live alone anymore so ended it in his/our/my shed.

As they years went on you really don't think about these things. I also don't believe in ghost/spirits/magic tarot cards or anything of the like, but there has always just been something creepy about the thought. I've now moved out and it has become an investment property. I did not tell the agents handling the home when they asked "anything else we should know". I didn't say a thing, but for some reason I can't seem to shake the feeling that maybe I could've been more open.

I guess I have no legal right to let the tenants know, but if you were a new tenant, would you like to know? Or would knowing make you move out straight away? Curious to know peoples thoughts.

Cheers

Poll Options

  • 10
    Should I tell my agent the story so they are aware and can inform the tenants as necessary?
  • 8
    Should I leave it be and hope my house doesn't end up on a new Foxtel Haunted Houses show?
  • 153
    Ghost are silly, stop being an imbecile and move on with your life.
General Discussion

Comments

  • Abang Tukang Bakso on 06/09/2016 - 23:23
    +4

    is this house in south australia? i recently move to a house in SA and just unusual stuff has been happening at nights. usually dont believe in this ghost bullshit thing but late at night people in my family and i have been hearing doors closing, and loud slow footsteps, sometimes its sound like its running.. we had pest control coming to the house and the guy said the house is pest free and mostly just ants and thats normal he said then late at night we close all the doors to the lounge area, study room , toilets but almost every night when we go to sleep the door sounds like it was shut it was so loud sometimes that it can wake me up or my girlfriend and even my sister or parents. we had a guest last week who stay in for a night and he said the house were never quite and he couldnt sleep.. (he stayed in the study room/guest room) this house is a 90s kinda house but we renovated it but not everything i guess the ones that doesnt needs to be fix we leave it as it is.. the house have 4 room 1 lounge 1 place to eat just near and on the same room as the kitchen and to get to the rooms there are doors even from lounge to the kitchen area and at nigths sometimes not always theres sound of the door shutting and no wind would have done this 100% sure cause our windows are always shut and there is a little amount of air that comes from the front door. i wanted to go out of my room at night but our family had a talk and my dad just said if its not botheringg you just leave it alone.. now i know my dad and trust me he would not have time to wake up late at night and do a prank or crazy shit like this and my sister are barely home shes always at her boyfriend place and when she does come home its never late.. but no i dont hear voices just odlly the doors and footstep and sometimes when im alone at home at night i usually turn on the lights and there were quite a few time that the lights went off and sometimes feels like that my dad had come back from the church meeting but after like awhile i tried to see if hes home or not open his room door and no one was in there but it sounded like someone opened front door and came inside i even hear footstep.. there is no missing item that we have, and just one strange thingn is that sometimes i heard my dad calling or yelling my name or my sister cause they need somethig from me but i ask them but they werent calling my name.. i have not talk this to my work friends, uni friends or just anyone else beside my girlfriend and family who experience this, so i thought by sharing it online wouldnt make myself looks like a fool and hopingn someone had the same experience! please if you think this is a lie dont even bother no one would have a time trying to explain this type of thing.. please reply if you have had the same experience

    • ChatCPT on 06/09/2016 - 23:33
      +7

      100% haunted

    • tonka on 07/09/2016 - 01:26

      I don't think hearing your name called is a sign of a ghost. I always thought it meant someone was thinking about you.

    • pl3x on 07/09/2016 - 01:28
      +31

      Jesus christ /////////////////////////////// formatting

      • montorola on 07/09/2016 - 14:30
        +3

        At least it looks "justified" lol

    • cwongtech on 07/09/2016 - 11:04

      Buy some cheapo CCTV cameras and set them up around the house.
      You might find this instead D:

      • Abang Tukang Bakso on 09/09/2016 - 09:47

        yes thank you i was thinking getting cctv great idea!

    • nautic on 07/09/2016 - 12:05

      Let me guess, flickering lights?

      • Abang Tukang Bakso on 09/09/2016 - 09:59

        no the lights in the house all were brand new so non if that flickering

    • mooboy on 07/09/2016 - 14:16

      Haven't had the same experience, but I'd get it checked for infrasound: http://www.cracked.com/article_18828_the-creepy-scientific-e…

      (Posted same link above in reply to someone else)

    • abb on 07/09/2016 - 15:29
      +4

      Did the ghost take your ability to use paragraphs and capital letters?

    • Roman Sandstorm on 07/09/2016 - 15:32
      +5

      A ghost stole your <Enter> and <Shift> keys, right?

    • NotAMoodle on 07/09/2016 - 16:16
      +3

      "is this house in south australia? "

      The house is in SA indeed :)

    • tongu on 07/09/2016 - 22:21
      +1

      If you guys are scared of sounds in your house, just get yourself some pets and attribute all the weird noise at night on them.

      • anastasiastarz on 08/09/2016 - 02:26
        +2

        When I first heard moaning at night I freaked and grabbed my axe to go check it out, turns out it was a neighbour… one who now leaves the radio on when she goes to "bed". She lives alone btw.

        • scrimshaw on 08/09/2016 - 12:08

          She's Netflix and chilling all by her self? That's something worth investigating.

  • ChatCPT on 06/09/2016 - 23:29
    +5

    Great post read through the whole thing.
    Can we make one on our paranormal experiences?!

    • rambao9 on 07/09/2016 - 21:39

      Thank you, will be waiting on ur post havok44

  • Cyphar on 06/09/2016 - 23:45
    +3

    Used to own a house in Frankston owned by the Smorgen family. One of them, a spinster, died in the house many years prior. To this day, I still believe she never left the place. Furniture would move downstairs at night, our pets refused to be downstairs at night too. We'd wake up and cupboards were all flung open. Spooky stuff.

    I was always sceptical about ghosts until I moved in to that house.

    • airzone on 07/09/2016 - 00:41

      Did you ever see anything happen before your eyes?

      • Duff5000 on 07/09/2016 - 14:17

        Or do something simple like set up a camera…..

        • Cyphar on 07/09/2016 - 15:54

          Wasn't so easy, or affordable, set up back then. $50 china cameras didn't exist that could cheaply record all night long

      • Cyphar on 07/09/2016 - 15:53
        +1

        We would see things out the corner of our eyes a lot. A figure walk across to another room, for example. We would leave a room, come back and things were flung open or around. My ex insists that one time she saw it all happen and saw a figure in full view. She yelled at it to please stop and it did.

        • rambao9 on 07/09/2016 - 21:40

          Is that why she became ur ex? :)

        • callum9999 on 08/09/2016 - 03:04
          +1

          Surely ghosts can come up with much more fun or productive things to do than walk from room to room occasionally opening a door?

          I know if I was a ghost who could both be seen by the living and interact with physical objects, I'd be doing much more…

    • montorola on 07/09/2016 - 14:31
      +2

      Used to own a house in Frankston

      The name Frankston sounds scary enough

  • Amour on 07/09/2016 - 00:11
    +3

    One of the previous owners died of natural causes in the house we own and live in. She died in what is my sons bedroom to be exact. It doesn't worry me in the slightest, despite her and I having the same uncommon first name. My sons room is always really cold, though it is on the south-east corner, which is the rational reason.

    However we went to make an offer on the below house, prior to knowing it's gruesome past:
    http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/ex-cop-smother…

    When we were sent the contract we were given a letter stating something along the lines that by signing the contract we acknowledge a police incident (can't recall exact term) occurred in the house, though no charges have been laid over the incident. At that time the house was being sold by his civil libertarian lawyer (Terry O'Gormon for Brisbanites), and the murderer had been considered unfit to stand trial at that time. There were other suspicious things that had happened in the house prior to the murder, and I knew someone who had worked with the murderer and really didn't like what I heard. I was uncomfortable that he was still roaming free - he could murder again and this house features in the Courier Mail as his first house of horrors, or if he is mentally unwell he could turn up looking for his wife etc. If he was in jail for a lengthy time I think we would have bought it, but decided against it.

    It ended up selling for about 15% below list price, which was a pretty good price at the time.

    • airzone on 07/09/2016 - 00:23
      +3

      I'd be uncomfortable buying a crazy killer's old house if he were still alive.. You never know when he might want to come home.

      • Amour on 07/09/2016 - 18:20
        +2

        That was pretty much what stopped us buying it. I desperately wanted it, and we even talked about things like getting a big guard dog, but in the end we just couldn't go through with it.

  • tonka on 07/09/2016 - 01:21

    When a house has a history of illness and depression I worry that it isn't a healthy place to live. There's a lot we don't understand about our environment yet and who knows if a house can be infected with evil tachyons.

    I wouldn't want to pay as much for a house with a violent history. I think it's a feature that affects the value same as ugly bricks might. But I suppose it's up to the prospective buyer to do the research same as pest etc.

    It does creeps me a bit that I may be sleeping or nookying in the same space someone croaked.

    • devilbabies on 07/09/2016 - 09:45
      +4

      i'm scared of houses infested with evil pterodactyls too :(

      • tonka on 07/09/2016 - 12:25
        +3

        I wasn't but i am now.

        • StewBalls on 07/09/2016 - 17:41
          +1

          Once upon a time, there was a mom…her name was Mrs Pteranodon!

    • MessyG on 07/09/2016 - 14:11

      John Carpenter fan eh?

      • tonka on 08/09/2016 - 20:44

        Seen a couple of movies but not really conversant, was probably referencing Star Trek and StarGate more.
        What's the John Carpenter reference?

  • [Deactivated] on 07/09/2016 - 09:16
    +9

    I'm far more concerned over seats that someone has shat on.

    • roddy84 on 07/09/2016 - 12:36

      Never stayed at a hotel?

      • [Deactivated] on 07/09/2016 - 12:48

        I try not to sit on the seats. I am sure the mattress is much more sanitary.

        • roddy84 on 07/09/2016 - 13:06

          I actually share your concerns and was curious what you did.

          I just try to not think about it and make that toilet my new adopted toilet seat which I try to love as much as my own. Seems we have almost opposite approaches.

        • [Deactivated] on 07/09/2016 - 13:52

          @rob74:
          On the contrary; The toilet is one of the most important aspects of room selection - there most definitely has to be one.

    • [Deactivated] on 07/09/2016 - 14:18

      Casinos have a special storage room for lucky seats. ;)

    • anastasiastarz on 08/09/2016 - 02:31

      What about carpet? Because I heard someone had shat on the carpet twice around the corner from the bathroom, down thee hall…

      On seats, my place came furnished, and I have a red mark on two of the chairs, it is Red Velvet Cake! But the land lady was like O.o…

  • Wampus on 07/09/2016 - 11:24
    +11

    Can you please tell me more about the shortbread

    • NotAMoodle on 07/09/2016 - 16:23
      +3

      Sweet. Succulent. Perfect amount of wet vs crumbly texture.

  • Acemeister on 07/09/2016 - 12:44

    We bought a house that as only 2 years old. Got it at a good price and the seller seemed very eager to get out. It was haunted. Next door told us that they moved out as it was haunted. It was very unsettling at first but we just learned to live with what was going on. Had a few cleansings which seems to have worked. Didn't believe in the paranormal till we moved in here.

    • montorola on 07/09/2016 - 14:33

      I'm curious, what kinda stuff happened when you guys moved in?

    • ohhmygod on 07/09/2016 - 16:05

      Story please.

    • Acemeister on 07/09/2016 - 16:51
      +5

      My dad died a few years before moving into the new house (he had never lived at the house and it was only 2 years old, new construction). He was an evil man and I was contacted by his captain a while after his death (he worked on a ship) who also handled his will. My dad had died a slow death of cancer in hospital. Dad left us nothing but the Captain felt so sorry for us that he gave us the only possession by dad valued and had given to him, Janes Book on Military ships. Anyhoo, we move into the house and after a few months I hear footsteps coming down the hall and stopping outside our bedroom. Big, heavy footsteps. I jump out of bed, grab my Tonfa that I keep next to it, and bolt into the hall. Nothing. Searched the entire house. Nothing. Great, lucid dreaming.

      Next morning told my wife about the experience, she too had heard the footsteps, but on a previous night.

      A few weeks later I again hear the footsteps. They are very loud and get louder as they approach the bedroom (we have a tiled hall). I think that I must be lucid dreaming again, except the cat crawls out from under the doona and starts staring and the empty door way. Once again, grab the Tonfa, run out, nothing.

      This happens continuously and we just got used to it. It didn't seem ominous or malicious. One night it happened, the footsteps stopped at our bedroom and I heard a slight commotion. No big deal as we're kind of used to it by now.

      Next morning my dad's Book of Military Ships is no longer in the bookcase in our library (across the hall from our bedroom), but lay open on the ground. It is a very big, hardcover book.

      My brothers wedding was that weekend, and as a wedding present I gave him the book (amongst other things). Glad to get it out of the house. Also went around with a smudge stick. I didn't think it would work, but it seemed to as we haven't really been bothered since. Neighbor told us that the previous owners left as they thought it was haunted.

      • yabree17 on 08/09/2016 - 16:53

        omg…. this really scared me…. :(

    • anastasiastarz on 08/09/2016 - 02:32

      That scene from 'Just like Heaven' popped into my head. XD Which ghost hunter did you choose?

  • FindMeADeal on 07/09/2016 - 13:08

    I knew there would be stories and stories in here… not disappointed at all.
    My thinking is I wouldnt want to know myself.. ignorance is definitely a bliss in this case.

    Your mind wander even if you are a strong non-believer and then you start noticing stuff as soon as you are told something happened here years ago. Shouldn't be told..

    However, because all neighbors are apparently openly talking about it.. am thinking may be its a good idea to be upfront.. just in case..

  • MessyG on 07/09/2016 - 14:04
    +7

    I might seem a bit harsh but I'm medical and I've seen enough horrible shit to come to the conclusion that ghosts and whatnot don't exist. The guy is gone. Gone. He's not in the shed now, he's in the ground or the ocean or whatever. It's a very sad story, but one that is well beyond your control. And I would not be telling my tenants about it because it's in the past and it's no ones tragedy but his and his families.

    If I owned the place though, I would pull down the shed and put something different there to move it all along. This is life. If you count up the amount of people who've lived over the millions of years that humans have been around, you quickly realise that you are breathing them, eating them, and walking on them every damn day - if ghosts existed no building would be left standing because there would be hundreds of billions of them. That guy who died in your shed? He's nowhere near your place anymore. Again, it's a sad story but your neighbours need to let him go and your tenants don't need to suffer for someone elses past.

    • nautic on 07/09/2016 - 14:32

      If something moves on its own accord, if it opens and closes by itself… and there is nobody else sharing the premises, what else could it be. Will denying something out of sheer fear stop it from appearing?

      • MessyG on 07/09/2016 - 19:30

        There are many things it could be. Movement is created by physical forces, a ghost isn't the only thing that moves stuff.

        • tonka on 07/09/2016 - 19:46
          +4

          Absolutey, could be angels, demons, aliens, little people, gremlins, leprechauns, fairys, upside down monsters, astral travellers, astral projectors, Carrie, invisible spiders, telekinetics, wormholes to alternate universes, wormholes to this universe, people trapped in Christopher Nolan films, sentient toys that come to life, homicidal ventriloquists dummies, the list is endless.

        • nautic on 07/09/2016 - 22:43
          +1

          A process of elimination should be able to determine that, well before any conclusions are reached.

          Those in the realestate industry have little to gain by faking these things. When they say it's haunted, chances are there is something going on.

          This world is not as clear cut as you like to believe.

        • callum9999 on 08/09/2016 - 03:10

          @nautic: I don't know why you seem to hold real estate agents in such high esteem, but they aren't infallible! They can fall for ridiculous things like "ghosts are reading my books" just like other people do.

          Obviously SOMETHING is going on if they describe the house as haunted, but it's not a haunting. Yes, the world is as clear cut as that.

        • nautic on 08/09/2016 - 19:48

          @callum9999: Obviously, real estate agents are not the only ones in the industry. A very one-dimensional way of looking at things, although not surprising.

        • callum9999 on 09/09/2016 - 04:16

          @nautic: While I have little idea what that's supposed to mean, it's not a one-dimensional way of looking at things, it's a rational way of looking at things. Ghosts do not exist and I'm staggered how many people on here believe they do - it's even worse than believing in organised religion!

        • nautic on 09/09/2016 - 05:26

          @callum9999: you do know that home owners can also sell homes right?

        • callum9999 on 09/09/2016 - 11:10

          @nautic: I was indeed aware that you are allowed to sell your house if you want to. How exactly does that relate to ghosts?

        • nautic on 09/09/2016 - 16:54

          @callum9999: that's for you to figure out.

        • callum9999 on 09/09/2016 - 18:06

          @nautic: The only explanation I can come up with is you're being possessed by a ghost who is making you talk gibberish!

        • nautic on 09/09/2016 - 19:18

          @callum9999: I'm not the one who went off on real estate agents, remember…

        • callum9999 on 09/09/2016 - 19:57

          @nautic: Saying estate agents who believe in ghosts aren't infallible (I.e. perfect) isn't "going off" on them…

          Not that I see how that bears any relation to your cryptic comments about homeowners being allowed to sell their houses?

        • nautic on 09/09/2016 - 20:53

          @callum9999: but you missed the part where you said you didn't know why I seem to hold real estate agents in such high esteem.

          That seems like "going off" to me, especially when I didn't mention anything about them to begin with.

        • callum9999 on 09/09/2016 - 21:17

          @nautic: You said estate agents have nothing to gain by faking a haunting, I said they're not all perfect so some of them could believe in ghosts too, despite them obviously not existing. I.e. They aren't lying but they also offer no proof.

          It doesn't remotely "go off" at them, but I'm sensing your continual confusion on this point makes it a bit pointless for me to carry on trying to explain!

        • nautic on 10/09/2016 - 03:36

          @callum9999: my words were… "those in the real estate industry (such as home owners) have little to gain by faking a haunting". Whatever you are trying to muster up here neither addresses or changes this fact at all.

          I think the real confusion lies with you.

        • tonka on 14/09/2016 - 00:09
          +1

          @callum9999:
          But I thought organized religion was real? I got some serious issues if I've imagined all that.

        • callum9999 on 15/09/2016 - 14:57

          @nautic: I'm starting to see why you believe in ghosts now…

          My point was incredibly clear - estate agents suffer from the same delusions as anyone else. The fact that a tiny minority of estate agents may also believe in ghosts isn't the strong evidence for their existence that you seem to think it is… Likewise, builders believing in pixies or bank clerks believing in big foot doesn't make them real either.

    • Godric on 07/09/2016 - 17:49

      Must one be in medical to reach that conclusion? :PP

      But i agree

      • MessyG on 07/09/2016 - 19:29

        Not at all, but I'm giving my main reason for being a nonbeliever.

    • rambao9 on 07/09/2016 - 21:48
      -1

      Im a non-believer BUT I think I remember watching/reading material, when people die with a strong enough "reason" thats when you become a spirit. So if you have something you just cant let go of when you die, your gonna be here forever.
      Isnt that what all/most ghost movies teach us?

      Otherwise you just die, or so they say

      • BartholemewH on 09/09/2016 - 02:33
        +1

        A non believer huh? Ghost movies teach you to be entertained.

  • m00c0w on 07/09/2016 - 14:56
    +1

    We were looking at this house and considered buying it. That is, up until the point my wife's colleagues let her know that there was a double homicide and both elderly occupants were killed in the front room. Needless to say we passed, the agents didn't mention anything when we asked about the previous owners…

    Https://m.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-vic-murrumbe…
    https://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en-AU&ie=UTF-8&source=an…

    • nautic on 07/09/2016 - 15:08

      Even if you pass on a haunted house, the very land you live on has always had a history.

  • netsurfer on 07/09/2016 - 16:34

    In NSW, the landlord must disclose that information to the tenant. Likewise, the seller must disclose the information to the buyer.
    The OP probably could have seek legal advice to see if he/she has grounds to either return the property back to the owner or get a portion of the money he/she paid returned.

    I know in certain states, agents purposely not disclose the information.

    Regarding the original question, I would think the answer for most people would be yes. Even in this day and age, it is still a great concern to most people.

  • AMLagonda on 07/09/2016 - 16:38

    No Poll???

    I would not like to know.

    • NotAMoodle on 07/09/2016 - 16:52

      Poll added :)

      • silverrat23 on 07/09/2016 - 20:33
        +4

        Disappointed there's no 'Bikies' option.

        :D

  • [Deactivated] on 07/09/2016 - 16:57
    +1

    Under agents' duty of disclosure, they must disclose any material fact prejudicial to the property's value, so it's a grey area that really just amounts to 'did it make the news or courts' IMHO. I would say a violent event must be disclosed. A grandmother passing in the night, not. Suicide…maybe if it made news or the buyer was looking for a technical out of the contract. Ugh, that one is right on the line. I would wait a couple of years and forget, if it was mine. The fine for failing to disclose historically is only about $10k (less than the disclosure impact) to the agent, but the buyer can reverse the contract if they wish. That was for a big crime scene though.

  • veej on 07/09/2016 - 17:44
    +3

    I assume all the houses I've lived in have had someone die in them at some point since they are older houses. Chances are someone died of old age in a house I've been in. It happens.

    Years ago I lived across the road from a cemetery, they were the best neighbours I've ever had because they don't make any noise.

  • Godric on 07/09/2016 - 17:45
    +3

    I'd only care if it was gang related as I don't want an excon who has done 30 years to come out seeking revenge only to mistake it for some lad looking up ssd deals on ozbargain : (

  • Sinful on 07/09/2016 - 17:46

    I like to know if they died in my house, so I know where the smells could be coming from.

    • NotAMoodle on 07/09/2016 - 18:00
      +1

      Must've been many people die in your toilet then?

      • Sinful on 07/09/2016 - 19:39
        +1

        I wouldn't say many…. but have you seen Wolf Creek.

  • greatlamp on 07/09/2016 - 19:45

    Plant a tree in his honour and say a few prayers.

  • Veebee88 on 07/09/2016 - 19:49

    My parents bought there house over 30 years ago. They then find out by the neighbour that the previous home owner sold the house because his kids were burnt in one of the rooms.
    I remember my sister, my parents and I hearing foot steps each year during January for a few weeks which started at 2am-3am. Occasionally I would hear spoons dropping, doors closing etc.
    About 8 years ago we invited a priest over to bless the house. We havn't heard anything since.

  • chiefbodge on 07/09/2016 - 19:53
    +1

    We own a house that was built in 1915. It would probably be naive to think that no one has ever died in it. Talking to our next door neighbour about a year after we bought the place he told us that a while back a young child was killed by the family pet at our place, sad to hear at the time but I honestly haven't really thought about it since. I don't really think grownups really care about such stuff, except of course if you knew the person then it might be too much of a reminder all the time.

  • damnscenekids on 07/09/2016 - 20:24
    +2

    Death is as natural as life, and 'paranormal experiences' are mostly just adults having fun with what-ifs because of bizarre events they aren't able to explain. You don't have to disclose this information.

  • Kranbone on 07/09/2016 - 22:23
    +1

    People die everywhere (in any place imaginable). If you move, eventually you're going to run out of space.

    ….unless you force people to die somewhere.

  • cuteseal on 08/09/2016 - 09:25

    Haha all these haunted stories… maybe you might have another sort of uninvited guest…
    https://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/woman-arreste…

  • colossus on 08/09/2016 - 13:26
    +2

    If a house is more than 25 years old, there's a good chance someone has died there. We all have to die somewhere…

    Alternatively, consider the positive: If your house is more than 25 years old, someone has probably been born there. Most older houses are associated with peoples happy memories of childhood.

  • chu-oh on 08/09/2016 - 14:39

    My partner's a palliative care nurse - her job is basically to drive around providing end of live care for people who are dying in their own homes, it's super common for peeps to die in comfort in their own homes rather than at a hospital/hospice.

  • OzzyOzbourne on 08/09/2016 - 14:43

    Yes, especially if I was in it at the time.

    I'd also like to know if anyone ever died on my land.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join