AUTHOR: Aisling
DATE: 16:03
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<div style="clear:both;"></div>In researching our new article about <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.hollowhill.com/guide/buying-selling.htm">Buying or selling a 'haunted' house</a>, I began wondering who gives the final word on whether a house is haunted or not.  Then again, if a 'stigmatized' house has a haunted reputation, do the facts really matter?

Recently, hotels, bars, restaurants, and other businesses have discovered that many customers seek them out <span style="font-style: italic;">because</span> they are supposed to be haunted.  And, the 60 percent or so who <span style="font-style: italic;">don't</span> believe in ghosts*, generally don't care if their favorite watering hole claims to have ghosts.

So, I'm not sure how much of a 'defect' it is if a house has a reputation of being haunted, as long as curiosity seekers don't become a problem for the homeowners.

It will be interesting to see if increased interest in haunted houses leads to laws that address this specific issue.

<span style="font-size:85%;">* ref:  <a href="http://www.rense.com/general70/smart.htm">Smart People See Ghosts</a>, by Brad Steiger. <span style="font-style: italic;">Fate </span>magazine, April 2006.</span><div style="clear:both; padding-bottom:0.25em"></div>
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