This Allegedly “Not Haunted” House for Sale Is Raising Eyebrows on Twitter

published Apr 28, 2021

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Social media has made it so that if something appears weird or wacky in a real estate listing, it’s probably going to go viral online in due time. One Boston-area home for sale is making the internet rounds not because of anything inside the home, but for what is allegedly not inside the home: ghosts, spirits, or goblins, if you choose to believe the “For Sale” sign asserting as much.

Twitter user Margot Bloomstein recently spotted a “For Sale” sign on a property west of Boston near her home, with one unusual added callout: the words “Not Haunted” written in bold, capital red text. Naturally, Bloomstein had some questions.

“This just went up around the corner and I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS,” Bloomstein wrote on Twitter, adding, “Does this force the hand of other realtors? If other for sale signs in the neighborhood don’t add that rider, WHAT ARE THEY IMPLYING?” in a subsequent tweet.

It seems her curiosity got the best of her, so Bloomstein told the Boston Globe she reached out to the real estate agency, Ponte Realty Group-Keller Williams Realty, South Watuppa, and they claimed to know nothing about it, either. After some back-and-forth, it seems Bloomstein got no answers, and the sign eventually — mysteriously — disappeared.

If it seems more likely that calling out a home for being “not haunted” means it’s probably, definitely harboring some paranormal activity, you might be comforted (or terrified) to know it is an actual thing in some parts of the country. It’s rarely serious and seemingly largely exists to get a laugh or two out of prospective buyers. Real estate agents in New Orleans and in Baltimore have been known to include them for a bit of good humor, and you can even buy the same “Not Haunted” signs on Etsy for less than $10.

But if you’re looking for your dream home and you’re finding this phenomenon a bit unnerving, you might be even more alarmed to discover that the vast majority of states do not require sellers or brokers to disclose whether a home is the landing pad to paranormal activity, according to Zillow. You might want to closely inspect your potential new digs or risk sleeping with one eye open for years to come, especially if you’re bidding on a home with one of these signs posted out front. You’ve been warned.