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Boogeyman or Bargain? Haunted Hill House Dares Buyers to Enter

The owner of what’s now known as the “Haunted Hill House” in Mineral Wells, TX, didn’t know his house was haunted when he moved in. That didn’t stop the ghosts.

About nine apparitions haunt rooms with names such as the Joshua Room, the Shadow Room, and the Scratch Room.

Luckily for potential buyers with an interest in the paranormal, the ghosts come with the home, which is now up for sale. For the very low price of $99,900, you get five bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Built in 1890, the house has seen multiple uses, including as a brothel. Multiple deaths are believed to have occurred in the brothel, including the owner falling to his death in the property’s well.

One of the employees reportedly gave birth on the property but the child, Joshua, had health problems and died at age 6. He, the story goes, decided to stick around in the room now named after him, and sometimes throws things at visitors.

Cameras have turned off every time interviewers enter a new room, visitors have discovered mysterious gashes, and the owner’s wife refuses to set foot on the property. The owner, Phil Kirchhoff, also avoids the main house, living instead in a smaller building on the 1.5-acre property.

The property is actually a thriving ghost tour business in which private overnight stays and paranormal investigations go for $400 a night. (They’re currently sold out through October!)

“Its value is not just in the house,” says listing agent Becky Foley-Richards.

Kirchhoff has turned the property into a Paranormal Research Center and often works in conjunction with the nearby Baker Hotel. The Baker has been featured on “Celebrity Ghost Stories” and the Travel Channel’s “Ghost Adventures” and boasts a rich (and haunted) past of its own. In the early 20th century, hotel visitors likely visited the ladies of the brothel.

After they purchased the property, Kirchhoff and his wife had every intention of doing the renovation work themselves—until the spirits made their presence known. He’s currently working with the city to bring the home up to code, but the renovations tend to get supernaturally complicated.

Showings aren’t available for idle browsers or curious ghost hunters. Buyers have to be pre-approved with proof of financing from a private lender, or have cash on hand. Of course, the house also performs its own vetting of potential future residents. Some visitors have experienced extreme nausea upon opening certain doors, feeling the need to pass out or throw up.

The listing warns against removing anything from the property.

“I won’t even take a bottle cap outside,” Foley-Richards says. “After seeing what happened to one of my clients, there’s nothing in that house that I need or want, and I’m sure most of my clients feel the same way.

“Telling the story is great fun, it’s like campfire time,” she said, “but I won’t go in by myself.”

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Source: Real Estate News and Advice – realtor.com » Real Estate News