The Black Death decimated Europe. It brought about social revolution as lack of people meant that the Feudal system of governance no-longer functioned. It deeply affected the arts - both literature and paiting - and the Church. Brandy explores how it influenced the Medieval mind in regards to ghosts and hauntings.

The Middle Ages were a conflicted time. Humanity was caught up in the post-Roman era where feudalism and a small rich class ruled with an iron fist. The Catholic Church was strong as was the religious “corporate mindset,” in which all were but cogs in the greater machine of God’s creation. The poor were kept in place with the promise of rewards granted to those pious followers released from the drudgery of existence at death.

Add to this another element: In 1347 shipments from the east brought a mysterious illness to Italy. Known generally as “The Plague,” and unknowingly spread by fleas, it took several forms. The first is the most commonly known as the Bubonic Plague, a term taken from the Latin bubos. It first manifested in the armpits and groin, and then spread through the lymph system. Another was a pneumonic form, spread by sneezing and coughing that infected the lungs. A third was septicemia, a disease of the blood, possibly created as an offshoot of the first two types of infections.

Note the infectiousness of the illness as described in the introduction to Boccaccio’s Decameron:

“…But in men and women alike it first betrayed itself by the emergence of certain tumors in the groin or the armpits, some of which grew as large as a common apple, others as an egg, some more, some less…and soon began to propagate and spread itself in all directions indifferently; after which the form of the malady began to change, black spots or livid making their appearance in many cases on the arms or the thighs or elsewhere, now few and large, then minute and numerous…and [they] were an infallible token of approaching death….”(1)

Within 5 years, nearly a quarter of Europe was dead. For points of comparison, consider the following samplings from European censuses:

“Together did these three their pledges plight, to live and die, each of them for the other, as if he were his very own blood brother.”

“What, Churl of evil grace, why are you all wrapped up, except your face? Why do you live so long in so great age?”

Their rudeness and pompousness is their undoing, for the Old Man is most likely Death himself in disguise. Wrapped up in a winding sheet, only his face exposed, they have unknowingly met Death, and he is one who cannot be tricked, tracked, or destroyed. He, in turn, tricks them by directing them to a hidden treasure. The three, now torn apart by greed, forget their bond and destroy each other:

“And every one of these three roisterers ran till he came to that tree; and there they found of florins of fine gold, new-minted, round, well-nigh eight bushels full, or so they thought. No longer, then, after this Death they sought….

Two of the three form a nefarious bond to kill the third, which is easily done.

…And thus agreed were these two rogues, that day, to slay the third, as you have heard me say…

Of the remaining two “friends,” one decides to kill the other. He buys poison and prepares a deadly potion for his friend, and inadvertently also consumes it.

“And as he spoke, one bottle of the three he took wherein the poison chanced to be and drank and gave his comrade drink also, for which, and that anon, lay dead these two.” (5)

Death, once tracked, has now become the tracker. He cannot be defeated but defeats those who seek him.

The survivors took these grim observations from their literature and added them to the world of art. From the observable destruction of society the Danse Macabre was born. Reanimated corpses, similar to the ghost stories told about the restless dead, walked with the living.

The dead warned, “As you are, I once was. As I am, you shall be.” No one was immune. Kings, Bishops, lawyers, farmers, peasants, monks, abbots, the homeless poor, men and women, child and elder, all were invited to the Dance. All would take Death as their partner in this morbid spectacle.

The cemetery of the Church of the Innocents (Cimetiere des Innocents) depicted the first known Danse Macabre mural. The cemetery was designed for quick burial of the dead, as its ground was known for its unusual ability to dissolve the flesh from bodies in a very short time. In addition to common graves, an ossuary was set up and filled with the bones of the dead. (6)

In 1424 a mural by an unknown artist was added to the sanctuary. Perhaps based upon a poem about death written by Jean Gerson, Death personified was depicted as a decomposing being who advised the living. (7) The images are humorous and filled with slapstick, alternating laity with clergy in a line of “dance partners.” The Pope “opens” the ball with his shriveled death mate who carries a coffin upon his shoulder.

Further down the line, Death laughs at a doctor by openly grabbing at the man’s crotch. The humor is according to superstition at the time. Urine was used by many in the medical profession to determine what ailed the patient. This doctor carries his urine jar with him, and Death mocks his supposed ability to elude the inevitable. (8)

The frescoes were destroyed in the 1600s and the originals are now lost. However, one enterprising individual, Guyot Marchant, created a book of woodcut prints of the fresco, published in 1485 in Paris.

 The Black Death Philip Zeigler, click on underlined text to visit Amazon.co.uk, prices range from £8.99.

Click on pink underlined text to visit Amazon.com The Black Death , prices range from $10.00 for new books.

Here, the dead comfort, mock, and remind their living counterparts what will happen to them. One peasant woman responds to the jests of death with a parody of a wedding vow: “I take death for better or for worse, with patience and good grace…”(9)

The images were enhanced by Hans Holbein the Younger who produced his own set of woodcuts, adding the image of the robed skeleton to the familiar face of death. His woodcuts were published in France in 1538 and held the text of Jean de Vauzelles.(10)

This publication parallels with the rising Protestant Reformation. As with the desire to trim the excess of the Church, the Protestants also added a simplified twist to Death. No longer an animated corpse, Death took on a more skeletal look. (11)

Also at this time, a new twist to the Danse occurs. Whereas women were rarely depicted, now the theme of “Death and the Maiden” forms. Death is shown with all manners of womanhood: old woman, girl, mature mother, and the pure virgin. (12) Often sensual and sexual in nature, these images show a perverse twist in the ideas of life and death. As a woman produces life, so she will die as will the life she produces.

Of all the images related to the Danse Macabre, these are some of the most shocking. The works of Niklaus Manuel Deutsch (1517) are both intriguing and repulsive. One image shows Death with a young woman paused during a nighttime walk and engaged in rough kissing. Her full and fleshly lips are pressed to his cadaverous skull, a few hairs still clinging to the scalp and fluttering in the wind. One withered arm disappears behind her, as if holding her still, and a rotted legs thrusts in front of her to balance the pair awkwardly. His other arm reaches under her dress, pulling it up and touching her maidenhead. She does not resist, and appears to be encouraging him by holding her hand over his. (13)

One of the most fascinating elements of this is the complete circle that the embrace creates. Humans can breathe and consume food in a relatively small area of the body; the head is vital to life. He blocks her mouth, her face, as if she is breathing in and consuming Death into her own body. He also emphasizing her womanhood, the vaginal area needed to produce life. Death is expelled from her body through the production of children who will also die. It is a continuous cycle of existence.

The Danse Macabre has waxed and waned in popularity since its inception during the Middle Ages, but its descendants still remain in the modern world. Despite humanity’s advancements in fields of science and medicine, Deaths till remains an elusive element to life, ready to strike at any time.

Modern art, produced today and studied by our descendants, will tell the tale of our cultural view of death. Perhaps Death has lost some of its mocking tone, and settles into the gentle role of a Gatekeeper, simply preparing to transfer the essence from the corporal world to the spiritual world.

© 2004 Brandy B Stark, of Stark Images
To visit Brandy's own websites please access the LINKS page.

Footnotes:

1. “Medieval Sourcebook: Boccaccio: The Decameron - Introduction,” http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/boccacio2.html, 3/9/04 Note: This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history. Translation from: Boccaccio, The Decameron, M.Tigg, trans. (London: David Campbell, 1921), Vol I. Pp. 5 - 11. Website © by Paul Halsall, Jan. 1996.
2. “The Black Death: Bubonic Plague,” http://www.byu.edu/ipt/projects/middleages/LifeTimes/Plague.html, 3/9/04
3. “The Black Death,” http://mars.acnet.wnet.edu/~grempel/courses/wc1/lectures.27blackdeath.html, 3/9/04
4. “The Danse Macabre: Last Tango in Paris,” by Kyla Ward. http://www.tabula-rasa.info/DarkAges/DanseMacabre.html, 3/9/04.
5. “The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer,” http://www.litrix.com/canterby/cantee028.htm, 03/09/04. Note: The text of this work is in the public domain and is not copyrighted.
6. “Picture Library: Danse Macabre Iconography,” http:www.mbs-brasses.co.uk/pic_lib/picture_library_Danse_Macabre.htm, 3/9/04
7. “Tapholov Danse Macabre,” http://www.angelfire.com/tx4/tapholov/dansemacabre1.htm, 3/9/04
8. “La Danse Macabre,” http://www.dodedans.com/Eparis.htm, 3/9/04.
9. Ward, 3/9/04.
10. Ward, 3/9/04. To view plates of the Danse Macabre, go to: http://www.image.pe.ca/index/woodcut/holbein.html, 3/9/04.
11. Ward, 3/9/04.
12. “La Jeune Fille et la Mort,” http://www.geocities.com/ppollefeys/maiden.htm, 3/10/04.
13. Image is at: http://www.geocities.com/ppollefeys/fille_manuel.jpg

Works Cited:

• The Black Death,” http://mars.acnet.wnet.edu/~grempel/courses/wc1/lectures.27blackdeath.html, 3/9/04
• “The Black Death: Bubonic Plague,” http://www.byu.edu/ipt/projects/middleages/LifeTimes/Plague.html, 3/9/04.
• “The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Caucer,” http://www/litrix.com/canterby/cantee028.htm, 03/09/04. Note: The text of this work is in the public domain and is not copyrighted.
• “The Dance of Death: Les Simulachres & Historiees Faces de la Mort,” http://www.image.pe.ca/index/woodcut/holbein.html, 3/9/04.
• “The Danse Macabre: Last Tango in Paris,” by Kyla Ward.
  http://www.tabula-rasa.info/DarkAges/DanseMacabre.html, 3/9/04.
• “La Danse Macabre,” http://www.dodedans.com/Eparis.htm, 3/9/04.
• Davidson, H.R.E., and W.M.S. Russell, eds. The Folklore of Ghosts. Cambridge: Folklore Society, 1981.
• Finucane, R.C. Ghosts: Appearances of the Dead and Cultural Transformation. New York: Prometheus Books, 1996.
• Hole, Christina, E. and M.A. Radford, eds. The Encyclopedia of Superstitions. USA: Helicon Publishing, 1961.
• http://www.geocities.com/ppollefeys/fille_manuel.jpg, 3/9/04.
• “La Jeune Fille et la Mort,” http://www/geocities.com/ppollefeys/maiden.htm, 3/10/04.
• Matthews, Roy T. and F. Dewitt Platt. The Western Humanities: Volume I: Beginnings Through the Renaissance. 5th ed. Michigan State University: 2004.
• “Medieval Sourcebook: Boccaccio: The Decameron - Introduction,” http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/boccacio2.html, 3/9/04. Translation from: Boccaccio, The Decameron, M.Tigg, trans. (London: David Campbell, 1921), Vol I. Pp. 5 - 11. Website © by aul Halsall, Jan. 1996.
• “Picture Library: Danse Macabre Iconography,” http:www.mbs.brasses.co.uk/pic_lib/picture_library_Danse_Macabre.htm, 3/9/04
• “Tapholov Danse Macabre,” http://www.angelfire.com/tx4/tapholov/dansemacabre1.htm, 3/9/04.
  

My first visit to the Crown Hotel in the village of Bishop’s Waltham was with the Portsmouth Ghost Club, who had kindly agreed to me tagging along. I turned up at the pub (non-UK readers - that's "public house", or bar) at eight in the evening. We set up the Ghost Club’s instruments in the hall but would have the run of the building when it closed for business at eleven o’clock. The hall was in a Victorian extension to the main building, but the majority of the premises were mainly 17th century and there was even a part of the building dating back to the 16th century!

I had not met the members of the Portsmouth Ghost Club before. They got very busy re-arranging tables for us to hold a séance. I wanted to contact the various ghosts lurking about in the building. However, I was a guest so had to go along with the way the ghost club operated. We all sat down and held hands around the table. The usual things were said: “Is anyone there?” As there were a few mediums amongst us one jumped into the silence and proceeded to give out messages. The team was so keen to pick up ghosts that belonged to the building that they discounted the fact that they may be getting dead relatives of the people around the table. I felt at the time that the vast majority of the messages we were getting through were relatives rather than revenants from the Crown Hotel.

A child came through who was playing with a dog. We also picked up a middle-aged large dark gentleman, who was a blacksmith, or some other related craftsperson, was picked up. I particularly felt that the blacksmith belonged to one of the Ghost Club members, especially as he looked similar! When I mentioned this to the others my comment was discounted. I was very glad when the group decided that it was time to go down to the main bar as closing time had arrived and we could look around the public house.

The leader of the group, Norie, put us into pairs so that one could get impressions and the other could make notes. I was paired with the landlord’s partner, Lucy. We walked around the ground floor of the pub making notes of where we found cold spots. There was a strong one near the main door to the back of the building. This was the entrance from the car park and was most used by the pub’s customers. If felt like a man, but was so tenuous I could not put a date to the occupant's period of life. Another spot that felt haunted was the wooden staircase going to the living quarters on the first floor. Later on that night Norie revealed some of the history surrounding the building and a lady in pink is supposed to go up and down the staircase, disappearing into the landlord’s flat.

Once we had completed an initial reconnoiter of the ground floor, we went up the stairs to the first floor to enter the rooms to the left of the staircase. The landlord’s flat was to the right and out of our remit for the evening. Once at the top of the stairs I was amazed to be grabbed by a female ghost, dressed in a long dress and wearing a mob cap. She told me her name was Sally and proceeded to explain how she died. Norie was standing with me and smiled, writing down all that I was relaying to her. Sally had worked as a maid at the Inn. She had been accused of stealing. She was the only one in her family who had a job and was so upset at the false accusation, and at losing her job, that she had gone into the woods and had hanged herself. She was so sorry and wanted to apologize to her father. This ghostly encounter happened at the base of a small winding staircase up to the second floor.

Me: Hello?

Lucy: Do you need the door shut?

Me: No, I don’t need it shut. Right….Hello?

Lucy: Smells like fags [slang for cigarettes] in here, or was that something that just wafted in?

Me: I thought it was Norie when I came in because she smokes cigarettes, but…..it is very strong.

Lucy: Yes I am a non-smoker so I can really smell it.

Me: Yes, oh – hello my name is Judy and this is?

Lucy: Lucy.

Me: And this is Lucy, Lucy lives here as you know. Is there anything that we can do to help the person who is stuck in this room to either move on or come to terms with how they passed away? Someone has just said 'yes'. It’s a man, a youngish man. He said he died of poison.

Are you sure you died of poison – not just food poisoning? Because in your days, food was not exactly clean... No. He is very emphatic that someone killed him, for inheritance purposes. He came by coach, he visited the coaching inn. Your brother or your Uncle was involved in this and you were done away with so that they could inherit.

Have you not forgiven them?
I suppose it is a bit hard forgiving someone for killing you but, but it's not….to stay stuck here for so long……when was it? 1750s because a lot of the spirits in here are from the 1800s... but you are a bit earlier. You have riding boots on. He is a nice young man, he doesn't really want to upset people but he has been trying to tell them for a long time about his Uncle. It is his Uncle; you wanted to tell your father.. that your Uncle harmed you, your Uncle and your Cousin.

So you were an only son? 'Yes' he says, and when I died the inheritance had to follow the male line. Therefore, after my father’s death it would go the younger brother and the younger brother’s son, because he [the ghost] only had sisters. To consolidate the line his cousin was going to marry his youngest sister, which is incestuous.

No you can get dispensation for first cousins, it’s not a good idea but you could.
Yes but….

Lucy: Back then was it though?

Me: Yes, well they could have got a dispensation through the Church, first cousins. But that way they could keep the inheritance. I can understand why you were a bit freaked out about it…upset….upset isn’t quite the right word.

How can we help you move on or at least go back to your own home?
He says 'they are all gone now'. He sort of stayed where he died.

Lucy: Is that here then?

Me: Yes, he died in this room. It is so sad. He is holding – he is touching my arm. He says pray for me.

Yes I will, once a year I go to church and I will pray for you next Christmas Eve. You see I am not a Christian; I only go on Christmas Eve [laugh]. I will remember you like I remember all the ghosts I see through the year. I always pray for them on Christmas Eve. What’s your name?

'George', like the dog [the manager has a dog called George] 'named after the King'. Something like George Hancock or Hanrahan or something like that [he was] Landed Gentry from Southampton way. They were traveling, he was traveling…..

Why were you traveling? It was something to do with fox hunting, or hunting, or horse races. He was on the way somewhere with his cousin and his uncle, and they killed him. Oh, he says it is a great relief to talk to someone about it.

Okay, George, who is the old woman?
[I am aware that there is another ghost in the room with us]
She is further back – who is it? No, she is. No, I can’t catch her as it is mainly George because he is telling us his story. Is there anything else you want to say to prove that you existed here, if you would like to say something onto the tape and I may catch it?

Who is the cigarette smoke? Oh it is his, he had a pipe. It is a way of announcing his presence.

Lucy: It is going away now, the smoke.

Me: Yes, I can still smell faint echoes of it, he is fading away now. Oh, oooh, did you feel that tingle, like something is drained down? He is going away, he is saying thank you – you are welcome George, any time George, any time mate.

I became tired at this point of the visit and asked Lucy if there was a place we could sit down and rest? She took me to a room along the corridor, where Nick, the barman lived. Strangely enough this room was haunted too. An old man from the 1930s lived in it with Nick, and a few ghostly cats. He did not mind sharing his home with others. When I told Nick what I was getting he said he did notice odd things happen in the room. The atmosphere was pleasant and friendly. Norie and a few of the Ghost Club members were also having a brief rest in Nick’s room before we went ghost hunting in other rooms again.

Once I had had my rest Lucy and I went up the second rickety stairs by the side of George’s room. This time the landlord, Paul came with us. I had the foresight to turn on the recorder once more. The following transcript was from the room at the top of the stairs:

Judy: Servants quarters again, this where that woman is – that woman from downstairs [George's room] – this is where she lives.

Lucy: The woman you couldn’t get downstairs ‘cos George was talking?

Judy: Yes, she’s up here. So this is an old woman. She is – what were you doing? She did all the mending. She is just one person who has been here. Obviously there has been many, many servants who have stayed up here over the years but she was – [Lucy coughs twice] yes that is her cough – it’s not you – its her cough.

Lucy: Oh no don’t…..[laughs]

George in his riding costume, as portrayed by the actor in the pilot of the series 'Ghost Quest'.

© 2003 Farncombe Publishing

Judy: So what’s your problem? She is lost. She doesn’t know where to go and she spent so much of here life here that she didn’t know where to go when she died. She didn’t believe in anything. If you don’t believe in anything how do you know where to go when you die?

She is feeling around my head – she is saying what have you got up around your head? Why can you do this?

Why can you sew – it is a skill.

Do you want to move on?
Yes.

But you did not care for anyone when you were alive?
No – no.

Bitter, lonely, pissed off, didn’t like her life. Felt she wasted all her time. All she did was help other people. All she did was ‘do the housework’ ‘do the mending’ and no-one gave a thought about her. No one listened to her, no one talked to her, and she just did all the housework. And now she is dead no one gives a toss.

There must have been someone you loved? It could even just be a dog like George [manager's dog is called George]. There must have been someone or something that you loved? I’ll tell you exactly what I tell all the people who get stuck and left behind. The only way that you can move on is to remember someone or something – it doesn’t have to be human… it has to be a living thing… a cat, a dog, a horse or even a canary, or it could be your sister, your brother, your dad or your mum, or your grandparent or your grandchild. You have got to be able to remember someone or something that you loved because you have got to feel that energy of love to be able to move on. As long as you sit here feeling bitter and angry because you just wasted your life you will actually keep the people who loved you, and who you loved, away from you... and that is why you can’t move on.

She is sitting and she is thinking about it. She is sitting in the corner over there – and she is actually in a rocking chair.

Paul: In both parts of this room?

Judy: Yes, she was downstairs as well.

Paul: I get a different feeling in that part then when you go over there [points to other half of the room past the bare joists].

Lucy: Maybe it was two rooms?

Judy: It probably is two rooms.

Paul: If you go over there you get a different feeling. At least I do.

Judy: Let me finish talking to this woman, this old lady.

Lucy: An old lady is it?

Judy: Yes, she was the one that was downstairs. She is having a think. She is not going to move on but she is less angry.

Lucy: Can you hear that banging?

Judy: I heard a little tap [slight rocking thump thump heard on tape if you turn it up loud]. It could be the rocking chair.
Right you want me to move down this side? [Gets up and moves down to the opposite side of the room] Hmmm. It is a different feel – a bit colder.

Lucy: It might be that it just isn’t carpeted?

Judy: Hmmmmm – I feel like throwing up. This is a continuation of the feeling in there [points through wall to right hand side] and the horrible man. I think here may have been a door coming through and that was where the girls were who he was interfering with. I don’t like him. I think you are going to have trouble with that one.

Lucy: was that woman the same time or was she before this….

Judy: George was about 1750, Sally was 1810. I think the nasty man is early Victorian period. And he was the one whose son killed him. I do not think his son meant to kill him….I think it was just…..

Paul & Lucy: In anger?

Judy: He just hit [his dad] over the head a bit too hard, you know? I don’t like that man - you are going to have to get someone else to deal with him. But what I suggest you do is to start talking to them. You say – “I hope you don’t mind me coming up here, guys, but we have to do some work to help keep the house going, I’ll try not to disturb you too much.”

What happens is that the dead people, because normal people on the whole are not aware of ghosts, they shout at you to get your attention. That is why the hair on the back of your neck goes up because they are basically shouting at you all the time to get your attention. So gradually as you start talking to them the atmosphere will calm down a bit, and you get a sort of ‘dialogue’ going. In time what happens with very persistent spooks, because they feel accepted and part of the family, they calm down. Once they calm down then they start remembering their humanity and other emotions.

Lucy: But we have never really disturbed them so maybe they feel relaxed anyway? We don’t use this [referring to room]. We don’t disturb them.

Judy: I think she isn’t going to be too bad, she is going to think a bit and start roaming around a bit like Sally did.

Lucy: She sounds very like me, that one.

We finished in this room and went downstairs to the first floor.

By now all those involved in the Ghost Hunt had explored and exhausted the upper floors of the Inn. Norie gathered us together and ushered us down to the ground floor, and the grand finale of the night. We were going to hold a table-tapping session in the main bar. She comes from a long line of women involved in Spiritualism and enjoys table-tapping. I was very tired by this time – it was 2 a.m.! So I chose to sit out of the session. They had a great time, the landlord’s father was contacted and this made his night. One or two of the Inn’s resident spirits also made an appearance. This went on for abut two to three hours. I left for home and snuggled into bed at 5 a.m. It had been an eventful night!

Later on in the month I met up with Eric Blavier, a Belgian documentary maker. He wanted to work with me on a pilot for a television series. I described the Crown and its ghostly inhabitants. He was so entranced by the stories that he wanted to use it for the pilot. This was completed in June 2003. If you follow the link you can watch it:

Ghost Quest

We have not yet concluded a deal - if you know a television commissioner who might be interested in commissioning a ten-part series of ghostly properties in the UK please get in touch with Eric via this email address:

eric.blavier@skynet.be

Although Norie has been in contact with some commissioning agents we have yet to win a contract. Unfortunately for us the ‘Most Haunted’ team seems to have saturated the UK market for spooky television series!

Many of the investigations that the SPIRITS get are from new homeowners. Recently settled into their new homesteads, they discover otherworldly residents already residing there.

As the real estate values in Florida jump, this month SPIRITS focus their monthly article on useful information for potential homeowners. What are the signs of buying a haunted house? What does a homeowner have to disclose about his or her paranormal activities when selling a home?

Karen West, a co-founder of the SPIRITS team who “retired” from paranormal investigation, is currently a Realtor and an Independent Contractor with Wave Realty. Who better to ask than an expert when it comes to signs of paranormal infestations?

Question: When buying a house, what signs should a potential homeowner look for to determine if the house is haunted?

ANSWER: They are the same signs paranormal investigators look for when investigating a haunted property: cold spots, hot spots, burst of energy and orbs in photos are a few signs. If concerned or in doubt, ask! If in serious concern or doubt ask the seller & seller's representative in writing!

Question: I understand that there are some parts of the United States where, by law, a homeowner has to report if the property is haunted. Is that correct?

ANSWER: Currently, in 32 states if a real or rumored event, including paranormal activity, occurred that didn't physically affect the property but could adversely impact desirability of the property, the event MUST be disclosed.

Question: Is Florida one of the states that have to report if a house is haunted?

ANSWER: At this time Florida does not require specific disclosure by a seller of a haunted house. However, with that said, Florida does require disclosure of anything that could materially effect the value of a property. Regardless if it is required to be disclosed or not, it is always best to be an informed buyer by asking all the right questions and having a good professional helping you.

Question: How does having a ghost on premises affect the selling price of a property?

ANSWER: Not all paranormal activity has an impact on property value. If buyers believe in paranormal activity then haunted properties are generally more valuable to them but if a buyer doesn't believe in paranormal activity nor is sensitive to paranormal activity then there usually is no impact on the value.

There are buyers who seek out property that is suspected to be occupied by the spirit realm. In fact, some commercial sites have benefited from being noted as haunted sites.

Question: Really? Where?

ANSWER: Property value in Casadaga Florida, a spiritual community, increases with the possibility of a haunting. However, there are sites that have dropped in value, such as the Amity House in Amityville New York, due to the alleged activity which was later acclaimed to be a hoax.

Question: Have you had experience selling a haunted house? If so, please describe.

ANSWER: I have sold three residences that held claim to paranormal activity, specifically, ghosts. One was in St. Petersburg, one was in Tampa and one was in Charleston, South Carolina. Two of the buyers reported continued activity after their purchase yet one of the two was a total disbeliever. Two of these homes have since re-sold with the same appreciation as comparable properties and the third has not been re-sold.

For more information on this topic, and if you have further questions, please contact Karen West via email at:

Lkwest@ij.net

Useful information:

The 32 States in the US where you must disclose:

Alaska,
Arizona
California,
Connecticut,
Delaware,
Georgia,
Hawaii,
Idaho,
Illinois,
Indiana,
Iowa,
Kentucky,
Maine,
Maryland,
Michigan,
Mississippi,
Nebraska,
Nevada,
New Hampshire,
New York,
North Carolina,
Ohio,
Oklahoma,
Oregon,
Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island,
South Dakota,
Tennessee,
Texas,
Virginia,
Washington
Wisconsin.

 

 

All disclosure forms generally cover in great detail the legal, structural and environmental condition of a property prior to sale. But often, regional concerns pop up in state-to-state required disclosures.

States have generally been reticent to get too specific on the touchy subject of "stigmatized" houses, that is, haunted properties or scenes of murders or suicides. But in California, which has seen its share of ghostly listings, scandal has an expiration date: Sellers don't have to disclose a murder or other stigmatizing occurrence if it took place more than three years ago.

Information from:
www.bankrate.com

"ILLINOIS' AMITYVILLE LAW...THE LAW AND HAUNTED HOUSES

In the current version of the Illinois Real Estate License Act, there is a provision (Section 31.1, to be exact) which states that an Illinois real estate licensee (i.e., a sales agent or broker) will not be liable for failing to disclose that an occupant of a certain piece of property (for sale) was afflicted with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or that the property was the site of an act or occurence which had no effect on the physical condition of the property or its environment or the structures located thereon.

This provision is expanded upon (more on that later) in the Rules for the Administration of the Illinois Real Estate License Act, section 1450.50, where Paragraph (d) states that "Such acts shall include, but not be limited to murder or suicide." The same Paragraph then broadens the scope of Section 31.1 (above) even further, and probably without legal authority, by stating that "This provision (paragraph 31.1 is intended to apply to actions taken by the Department (of Professional Regulation) under the (Real Estate License) Act (for discipline against sales agents or brokers) as well as to all civil actions in Illinois."
www.puppetland.com

Useful information:

Do You See Dead People? Disclose It
by Broderick Perkins
www.marketconditionsreport.com

October 25, 2003: Real Estate Disclosure
www.ronaldrutz.com