Halloween is the time of year where you pay to get scared at a haunted house. But actually living in a real one is another story.
Given the pop-culture pervasiveness of horrifying tales of paranormal properties like “The Amityville Horror” and “The Conjuring,” buyers tend to shy away from such purchases.
In fact, people are more likely to purchase a house where pornography had been filmed than one that is reportedly haunted, according to a study from Clever Real Estate.
On the other hand, the poll also found that millennials were 13 times more likely to buy a haunted house, and many would even pay a premium for one. The notoriously savings-strapped generation is willing to put up with a murder house or ghostly encounters to become homeowners.
Millennials — and other lovers of the spooky and surreal — are in luck. Here are seven scary properties in New York state that are for sale right now.
Carleton Island Villa, Cape Vincent |
Typewriter entrepreneur William Wyckoff built his dream summer house in 1895 on an island in the St. Lawrence River near the Canadian border. Sadly, just a month before moving in, Wyckoff’s wife died — then he died in his sleep during his first night in the home.
After the double tragedy, the family lost its fortune. The home, known as the Carleton Island Villa, was abandoned by 1927, leaving it the shell it is today. General wisdom is that the family still roams the grounds.
Barry Kukowski, Howard Hanna, 315-686-4000
1 Laveta Place, Nyack |
This 4,628-square-foot house perched on the Hudson River has five bedrooms, stained glass windows and a saltwater pool. One-time owner Helen Ackley famously said she experienced inexplicable bed shaking and doors slamming during her 20 years in residence. The home was declared legally haunted in 1991 after a financier successfully brought Ackley to court to get out of his contract to buy the house because she didn’t disclose the paranormal activity.
Subsequent residents like screenwriter Adam Brooks and singer Ingrid Michaelson, as well as current seller Jewish rapper Matisyahu, never reported supernatural sightings.
Nancy Blake Weber, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, 914-263-3403
1141 Main St., Malden on Hudson |
The fixer-upper near Saugerties in the Catskills, built in 1893, is a bargain — considering the buyer gets two outbuildings and an apartment with a private entry that could be rented out. In total, there are seven bedrooms over 4,000 square feet. Originally called The Parsonage, the rundown property is said to host 19th-century spirits.
Claudia Andreassen, Andreassen Properties, 845-246-6414
13800 W. County House Road, Albion |
It took 11 years for owner Tony McMurtrie to restore the Pillars Estate near Rochester to its original grandeur. Now the Victorian features six bedrooms, five gas fireplaces, numerous chandeliers, impressive woodwork, a library and a 3,000-square-foot ballroom. During the renovations, house staffers — like caretaker Cora Goyette — and even McMurtrie himself reported sightings of ghostly children and a woman wearing white holding a parasol or lying in bed. The kids allegedly play hide-and-seek, while another spirit likes to strike the same key on the parlor’s piano.
Debbi J Woodroe, Woodroe Realty, 585-798-1934
The Dakota | From $1.24 million
This 19th-century stunner on the Upper West Side, where seven apartments ranging from a one-bedroom for $1.24 million to a five-bedroom for $25 million are on the market, is arguably one of the city’s most famous haunted properties.
Once home to Judy Garland, Lauren Bacall and Leonard Bernstein, it’s also where John Lennon was murdered.
Workers and residents have reported post-mortem sightings of the Beatles frontman, as well as a little girl in 19th-century garb and a bizarre adult apparition with the facial features of a little boy.
136 Clinton Ave., Clinton Hill |
Built in the 1840s, this Brooklyn mansion was home to a captain named Edward F. Smith whose family experienced a strange haunting. The New York Times reported in 1878 that he heard the doorbell ring, but found no one there. Two back doors were kicked in and rattled so much that Smith asked police to keep watch overnight. While they were on duty, a brick crashed through the dining room — with no perpetrator in sight. Today it’s a stunning four-bedroom home with impressive columns that sits on a double lot with the potential for an expansion or addition.
Micha Hendel, Compass, 917-881-5419
140 E. 19th St., Gramercy |
This 23½-foot-wide brownstone near Gramercy Park in Manhattan is where The Cars’ Ric Ocasek was found dead by his estranged wife, model Paulina Porizkova, on Sept. 15. The death by natural causes, which took place in the master bedroom of the 5,760-square-foot spread, shocked relatives, and Porizkova admitted to waiting a few hours to call 911 in order to let family have time with “his shape.” Fans placed flowers outside in tribute. Some lucky buyer will get a five-bedroom townhouse complete with private garden.
Debbie Korb, Sotheby’s, 917-701-7758