8 Weird Questions That Courts Have Legally Answered
7. Are Haunted Houses Real?
In 1989, Jeffrey Stambovsky purchased a house in Nyack, New York, from Helen Ackley, but was dismayed when he later found out that Ackley had spent the last twelve years convincing the community that the house was haunted. She had written to Reader's Digest and the local newspaper with stories of ghosts that would leave unexplained gifts in the home and spectres that would shake her daughter's bed to wake her up for school.
Apparitions that leave you cool presents and make sure you're on time in the morning actually sound pretty nice, but Stambovsky sued nonetheless, arguing that the haunting affected the value of the home and that Ackley was required to disclose it prior to the purchase. Ackley counterargued that she was under no such obligation because this isn't The Shining and ghosts don't really exist.
Ackley's response actually forced a decision early in the case about whether the house was really haunted. Because Ackley had spent several years claiming that the home was plagued by netherworld wraiths who kept people punctual, she had effectively established the haunting as fact within the community. The court ruled that for the purposes of any legal proceedings, the house was 100% haunted.
Verdict: G-g-g-g-ghosts!