SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Haunted houses are popular attractions this time of year, but most Americans say they wouldn’t consider living in one. However, a majority of those who believe they currently live in a home that is haunted say the spooky happenings they’ve experienced are not reason enough to move, according to realtor.com’s annual Halloween survey released today.
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. However, most (62%) said they’re not likely to consider buying a home rumored to be haunted. Still, of that 13% who believe they share space with spectral residents, 56% have not considered moving.
“Haunted houses typically draw big crowds this time of year, but we wanted to see how many people actually believe they live in one,” says Lexie Holbert, realtor.com housing and lifestyle expert. “Although only a small percentage of respondents indicated they believe their home is haunted, it was surprising to see how many are perfectly comfortable sharing their space with spirits from the world beyond.”
The West led the nation with the most respondents who believe they live in a haunted home at 18%, followed by 13% in the Northeast, 11% in the Midwest and 10% in the South.
Of those who suspected their house was haunted prior to moving in, Northeasterners were most comfortable living with spirits at 76%, followed by those in the West at (57%), the South (51%) and the Midwest (35%).