For years prior to the sale of a home in New York state, the sellers had reported the existence of numerous paranormal occurrences. The hauntings ranged from unexplained sounds to full body apparitions. During the time they owned the home the sellers had revealed these paranormal activities to a local newspaper, and they had been the subject of a Reader’s Digest article. But the buyers claimed they only learned of the activity only after they had signed the purchase agreement and refused to close as a result. The buyers sued, and after a trial the case was appealed where the court found that “. . . as a matter of law, the house is haunted.” That doesn’t mean the court determined whether the house was truly haunted. Rather it meant that the sellers were prevented from denying that the house was haunted due to its history. The court also commented that the reputation of the house as haunted would “greatly impair the value of the property and its potential for resale.” Although logically correct, the court was wrong about that in this specific case. After the buyers and sellers settled the claim, the house was sold to a paranormal loving buyer at a $600,000 premium!
