Would You Live In The Only ‘Legally Haunted House’ In The U.S.? Here’s How Much It Costs: ‘This Case Gets Studied In Law School’

There was a curious court case in 1991 in which it was legally determined that a house in Nyack, New York was haunted. Homeowner Helen Ackley had boasted about the house being haunted — until it came time to sell it to an unsuspecting buyer.

@ghoulplease_ TikTokA TikToker took viewers to see the U.S.’s only “legally haunted house,” which is located in Nyack, New York.

A 2020 survey from Realtor.com found that 13 percent of Americans believe their home might be haunted. But one home actually has the legal paperwork to prove it.

In a video with more than 751,000 views, TikTok user @ghoulplease_ tells the story of what she says is the United States’ only house that has been “legally declared haunted.” The house is located in Nyack, New York, and @ghoulplease_ shows off its purple exterior in her video (below).

In her words, “A woman named Helen Ackley lived in this beautiful Victorian mansion for over 20 years. Helen claimed it was haunted by multiple poltergeists: footsteps heard throughout the halls, doors slamming on their own — even a ghost that would shake her daughter’s bed every morning at the exact same time to wake her up.”

As one might expect, Ackley eventually decided to sell the home in 1989. However, she did not disclose the alleged presence of supernatural entities — or that she had been telling others, even publications like Reader’s Digest, that the house was haunted.

When buyer Jeffrey Stambovsky learned about the alleged hauntings, he wanted to back out of the deal. This fight eventually took them to the New York Supreme Court, which ruled in the buyer’s favor in 1991.

Reader’s DigestThe Ackley house as it appeared in the Reader’s Digest story that detailed its alleged hauntings.

“Since Helen had already publicly claimed that the house was haunted in a Reader’s Digest article, the court said she owed the same honesty to the buyer,” the TikToker summarizes. “Stambovsky won the case. He was able to back out of the sale, and just like that, this Victorian mansion became the first legally haunted house in the United States.”

What Does It Mean To Be A “Legally Haunted House”?

This case is a favorite among both legal scholars and ghost enthusiasts. For the latter, it provides a legal precedent for the idea of ghosts. For the former, it’s an entertaining example of the excitingly unusual sort of case that one might see when working in the legal profession. To this day, many in the legal world call the court’s final decision in Stambovsky v. Ackley the “Ghostbusters ruling.”

However, this decision obviously does not prove that ghosts are real — or that one has to disclose their suspicion of paranormal presences before they sell a house. In fact, digging into the details of this case, the “legal haunting” explanation gets a bit more complicated.

For context, Helen Ackley was not just a person who allegedly suffered from hauntings — she actively promoted the idea that the house was haunted. According to In Custodia Legis, the blog from the Law Library of Congress, this promotion included not only an article in Reader’s Digest but articles in other publications as well. The alleged haunting of her house was so well-known that walking tours of the area described the residence as “a riverfront Victorian (with ghost).”

The buyer, Jeffrey Stambovsky, was unaware of this when he made an offer and down payment on the house. But when he learned of the house’s sinister reputation, he tried to back out of the deal, leading to a court battle for the ages.

Stambovsky v. Ackley: The Court Decides Whether The House Is Haunted

In their ruling, New York’s Supreme Court did not make a legal determination about whether ghosts are real, nor did they declare whether or not the house was literally “haunted.”

@ghoulplease_ TikTokA close-up view of the Ackley house, which had since been painted purple.

Instead, their ruling focused on the reputation of the house. In their years owning the house, the Ackley family made numerous public declarations that the house was haunted. This included allegations that the family would receive mysterious gifts, only for them to disappear — and that they would frequently see apparitions floating above them.

When Stambovsky brought this case to the New York Supreme Court, they dismissed it based on caveat emptor — also known as “buyer beware.” This basically means that it is the buyer’s job to perform their due diligence before purchasing an item.

However, when Stambovsky appealed, the appellate court sided with him. In their words, “It should be apparent, however, that the most meticulous inspection and the search would not reveal the presence of [ghosts] at the premises or unearth the property’s ghoulish reputation in the community. Therefore, there is no sound policy reason to deny plaintiff relief for failing to discover a state of affairs which the most prudent purchaser would not be expected to even contemplate.”

In short, this means that the court found that Ackley withheld important reputational information about the house that Stambovsky would not have been able to find through normal inspections. This is important to a buyer, as a “haunted” reputation — even if it’s not real — could impact property values in later sales.

The Implications Of The Stambovsky v. Ackley Decision

This is a core case in legal discussions regarding “stigmatized properties.” According to the National Association of Realtors, this term refers to properties that have a potentially negative reputation, such as houses where a crime has taken place or, as in the case of Ackley, residences that the owners believe to be haunted.

@ghoulplease_ TikTokA side view of the house, which sold in 2021 to an undisclosed buyer for $1.8 million.

Depending on the state, a modern seller is likely not required to disclose information about a home’s reputation. For example, in New York, a seller does not need to disclose whether the property was the site of a death, no matter the cause. In contrast, sellers in Alaska must disclose whether the property was the site of a murder or suicide within the past year.

As for the house itself, it has changed hands several times in the years following the lawsuit. In the same year as the legal decision, the home was sold to filmmaker Adam Brooks. Brooks later sold it to singer Ingrid Michaelson, who sold it again to the musician Matisyahu. The listing agent claimed in 2020 that none of the later owners reported any hauntings.

The house sold again in 2021 to an undisclosed buyer for $1.8 million. Redfin now estimates its value at $2.6 million. Sometimes, it pays to be haunted.

Famous Haunted Houses Other Than The Ackley House In Nyack

The idea of a “haunted house” is, of course, nothing new. Several prominent cases hit the news in the years just before the Ackley case did, and some of these stories even unfolded in the same region of the U.S.

Most famously, there’s Long Island’s infamous Amityville house that inspired the 1979 horror film The Amityville Horror. In 1974, a man named Ronald DeFeo killed six of his family members, and families who have lived there since — most famously the Lutz family — have made allegations of paranormal occurrences.

Meanwhile, Harrisville, Rhode Island is home to The Conjuring house. In 1971, the Perron family moved into this farmhouse, and the supernatural horror franchise is based on the experiences they allegedly endured while living there.

All That’s Interesting reached out to Ghoul Please via email.

Learn about more American haunted houses — and, if you’re in the mood to be spooked even more, discover the terrifying true story behind The Exorcist.