Yahoo Finance Property: 8 spooky homes for sale
The clocks are going back and Halloween’s approaching – which means there’s more to be terrified of than the prospect of higher mortgage payments and rocketing energy bills. While many of us enjoy a scary movie and trick-or-treating with the kids, we’d probably draw the line at sharing our four walls with a ghost, particularly as property purchasing specialist House Buyer Bureau has revealed that sellers typically have to reduce the price of a haunted home by 17% in order to shift it. However, a study by Hammonds Furniture found that living near a spooky spot can boost a property’s value by an average of 12% compared with the wider area, so you may even profit from ghostly goings on in your neighbourhood. If you’re unfazed by things that go bump in the night, check out these homes for sale
1. Lavenham, Suffolk, £285,000
Hylton Cottage is a delightful timber-framed and plastered cottage in the heart of England’s best-preserved medieval village, which starred as Godric’s Hollow in the Harry Potter films. Complete with exposed beams and wonky walls, it comprises a sitting room with an open fire, a kitchen/breakfast room, a downstairs bathroom, a double bedroom and WC on the first floor and a garden office with a fold-down bed. The Swan Hotel, frequented by the ghost of a former housekeeper, is just down the road. Find out more from Carter Jonas.
2. St Benedict’s Abbey, Loch Ness, Inverness-shire, £289,950
An atmospheric two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in a wing of a historic converted abbey on the shores of Loch Ness, the fabled home of the eponymous monster. Although currently rented out as a holiday let, it could be occupied full time, and residents have use of the Highland Club, with a swimming pool, sauna, gym, tennis courts, a cricket pitch and other sports facilities plus extensive grounds. You can even explore the loch by boat or canoe – if you dare. Find out more via Zoopla.
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3. Old Town, Edinburgh, offers over £290,000
A stone’s throw from Mary King’s Close – a maze of eerie 400-year old subterranean streets and passageways where many supernatural sightings have been reported – this spacious apartment is, by contrast, light, bright and welcoming. It’s on the third floor of an A-listed, 19th century mansion block on the central Royal Mile, and comprises an open plan kitchen/living/dining room, a double bedroom and a contemporary bathroom, with newly-refurbished sash windows throughout. From Warners, via ESPC.
4. Leybourne, West Malling, Kent, from £400,000
Former stately pile Leybourne Grange has 16th century roots, though the current house was built in 1850 by Sir Joseph Hawley, a renowned racehorse owner who bred four Derby winners. In 1936 it became a hospital, caring for up to 1,200 long-term residents, before closing in 1996 and lying abandoned for over 25 years. There are tales of paranormal activity but nowadays you’ll only get the chills in a good way as the Grade II listed building has been restored and transformed into high-spec two and three-bedroom apartments, looking out over formal gardens. For sale through Connells.
5. Belper, Derbyshire, £475,000
This large Victorian house is arranged over three storeys and includes six bedrooms, a bay-windowed drawing room, a basement and period features such as original fireplaces, high ceilings, plasterwork and stained glass. You’ll find independent boutiques, bars and restaurants on the high street, a short walk away, but for an after-dark experience with a difference, how about booking a ghost hunt at Belper’s Old Haunted School? For more information visit Yopa.
Read more: 10 listed homes that make the grade
6. Weldon, Northamptonshire, £650,000
You won’t find a property more aptly named for All Hallows Eve than four-bedroom Haunt Hill House, which was constructed in local stone by a master mason and completed in 1643. Fortunately for the next owner, it is happily ghoul free and replete with mullion windows, large fireplaces with carvings and moulded stone cornices. Green fingers will come in handy as it sits in manicured gardens containing clipped box and yew topiary and mature trees. Through Jackson-Stops.
7. York, £1.5m
You’re never far from a ghost in York, as it’s said to be the most haunted place in the world. But you don’t have to believe in the supernatural to be impressed by this handsome five-bedroom, four-bathroom Grade II listed townhouse which has been beautifully refurbished while retaining much of its original character. Located centrally within the city walls, it’s convenient for The Minster, the York Ghost Merchants in The Shambles and the Treasurer’s House where spectral Roman soldiers have been spotted. Contact Hudson Moody.
8. Blunham, Bedfordshire, offers over £1.75m
Built in the late 1800s, The Old Rectory is an imposing High Gothic style house with nine bedrooms, five bathrooms, five reception rooms, a gorgeous orangery and four acres of grounds, backing on to the River Idel. It’s in a small village where human skulls and bones – possibly from an ancient cemetery for monks – were discovered during work on the land a couple of centuries ago, but so far they seem to be resting in peace. From Fine & Country.
