Happy Halloween! Needless to say, haunted houses are popular attractions this time of the year. While 1 in 3 Americans say they don’t want to live in a haunted house, over 10% say they have shadows, hot-cold spots, odd pet behavior and a “feel” in certain rooms.
Do Americans feel their house is haunted?
A realtor.com annual Halloween survey of more than 2,000 Americans found that 13% believe they live in a home that is haunted, and a majority of them – 54% – knew or suspected the house was haunted before moving in. Interestingly, of those Americans that believe their house is haunted, 56% of them have not considered moving. On the flip side, 62% of respondents said they would not consider buying a home that is rumored to be haunted.
There were regional differences in the perceived amount of haunted houses throughout the country. Below is the regional breakdown of respondents that believed they lived in a haunted house:
- West = 18%
- Northeast = 13%
- Midwest = 11%
- South = 10%
Spooky findings
When the 13% of respondents claiming to be living in a haunted house were asked to report their spooky findings, the results were as follows:
- Strange noises – 44%
- Shadows – 38%
- Hot and cold spots – 37%
- The feel of certain rooms – 34%
- Odd pet behavior – 30%
- Items moving – 29% (tie)
- The feel of being touched – 29% (tie)
- Levitating objects – 17%
Trick or treat?
In closing, about half of men (54%) said that they would be unlikely to consider living in a home that was rumored to be haunted. As for women, 70% stated that they would likely not consider living in a haunted house.
What about a discounted price for a haunted house? It turns out that a fair amount of respondents would consider a discount in the 10% range to lure them to purchase a haunted house. However, 23% of respondents aged 18 – 24 stated that no discount could possibly be enough to execute a purchase contract!
