The coastal county of Devon, UK, is one of England's most sought-after places for both house-hunters and holidaymakers, so when you picture the idyllic hotspot, you'd be forgiven for thinking of cute cottages and incredible homes by the sea. However, this dark and dingy property is far from what you might imagine. The house is located in the seaside resort of Ilfracombe and it caused quite the stir when it hit the market in March 2019 – and its surprisingly low price tag was the least of it...
When the house went to auction with a guide price of $62,400, it gained a lot of interest from property developers and first-time buyers looking for a bargain. In Ilfracombe, the average house costs $270,000, making this listing something of a steal at first glance. But step inside and the reason behind the home's low valuation becomes very, very clear.
Deemed unsafe and structurally unstable by the real estate agents, the house has far more issues than damaged floors and broken windows. Head upstairs and you'll find entire rooms caked in pigeon waste. In some areas, the excrement piles up to two feet deep, which is one of the main reasons why people weren't able to view the property in person. Yet things get worse on the top floor – prepare yourself for a fright!
Just when you thought things couldn't get more horrifying, there's a giant pigeon-headed figure hiding behind one of the doors. But, as it turns out, this creepy addition was all part of the auctioneer's marketing plan to promote what was otherwise a rather difficult listing. Yet despite the home's state of decay, it sold for more than double the asking price in April 2019 when it was snapped up by father and son duo John and Guy Jones for $139,000. If you're feeling brave, you can take a full tour of the vermin-riddled house.
When this unique home hit the real estate market in February 2021, the listing quickly went viral. Not because of its fixer-upper potential or its location in the sought-after area of South Lake Tahoe, California, but for something that no one was at all prepared for...
Inside, the 2,116-square-foot dwelling seems like a completely ordinary suburban property. Built in 1962, the house has been split into two units with a total of five bedrooms and three bathrooms, and aside from some old-fashioned interior design, there's nothing here that would instantly scare away potential buyers. That is, however, until you venture inside the property's second unit...
That's right, dotted around the upstairs apartment you'll find dozens of eerie mannequins, each dolled up in glitzy ballgowns as if they're attending a party. Each one has been posed with purpose throughout this otherwise nondescript residence. Some look like they're mid-dance, while others are sitting casually in the living room as though watching television.
Unsurprisingly, the unexpected display led to the house racking up hundreds of thousands of views on Realtor, after just weeks of being on the market. Many even reached out to the real estate agent, Jesse Yohnka, to find out the story behind the dolls. As it turns out, the current homeowner has been collecting mannequins for 20 years and currently has 150. The unusual property for sale went on the market for $675,000, and eventually sold for $550,000.
Over in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, you'll find this rather unassuming ranch-style house that dates back to 1969. The three-bedroom property is pretty pedestrian from the outside, but step through the front door and you'll be faced with some unusual, out-of-this-world décor.
Offering 1,475 square feet of inside space, the home's main rooms are ordinary if a little eclectic, with an aesthetic that was described by the listing agents as "13th-century castle décor". The lounge boasts a double-height ceiling and a grand spiral staircase that leads up to the bedrooms. Yet things begin to get a little more interesting when you approach the room's floor-to-ceiling space mural...
A talking alien greets you at the entrance of the dining room, which has been completely transformed into a command center. The room comes equipped with solar-themed wallpaper, an aluminum foil ceiling, and quirky space décor that appears to have been plucked straight from Star Trek.
The rear wall even opens up to reveal a replica spaceship, complete with a main bridge, computer and original controls from an Apache helicopter. The ultimate sci-fi superfan room, the space boasts speakers and a 55-inch television for when you fancy watching a few episodes of The X Files! The home hit the market in May 2020 for $159,900 and sold two months later for a little under the asking price, although it's unclear whether the property came complete with little green men...
From spiders to things that go bump in the night, we all have fears that make our blood run cold. But if you're a coulrophobe, you might want to look away now because this seemingly idyllic house in Brantford, Ontario could be your worst nightmare. Nestled on a quiet suburban street, the pretty normal-looking bungalow goes from sweet to scary extremely quickly...
The house found itself up for sale in 2017 for around $194,000 and it quickly became a very popular listing. When you first step inside the 748-square-foot home, nothing really stands out. Yet as you move from room to room, taking in chintzy wallpapers and lace curtains, you get the creeping feeling that you're not alone. The clown theme begins subtly, with Ronald McDonald fridge magnets in the kitchen and this rather creepy clown doll in the dining room.
Then suddenly, you find yourself in a house of clowns, entirely surrounded by dolls, framed portraits, circus-themed rugs, life-sized statues and glass cabinets filled with miniature clown trinkets. There's even an entire basement level kitted out with clown toys, memorabilia and artwork. Yet surprisingly, the story behind the house of clowns isn't as fiendish as you might think.
The homeowners' son told Vice that the clowns came about after his mother looked for a way to curb his stepfather's drinking. Every time they went out, instead of buying a bottle of beer, they'd instead purchase a clown-themed item. The result is a house filled with more than 1,500 clowns, collected over a 25-year period, each representing a drink that wasn't consumed. The unusual collection wasn't enough to put buyers off and the property soon sold.
From the outside, this traditional bluestone mansion in Adelaide, Australia, appears to be the stuff of real estate dreams. It's grand, attractive and offers plenty of interior space. Yet when it hit the property market in 2019, no one was quite prepared for what they found inside. In fact, when the deceptive dwelling went to auction, the listing warned all prospective buyers: "Brave people only." Let's step inside and find out why...
Step through the front door and everything still appears normal – impressive in fact. Spanning 28,179 square feet, the grand historic home was built in 1856 and offers towering ceilings, elegant hardwood floors and original built-ins. The five-bedroom house is classically styled, with kitschy rugs and heavily patterned wallpapers, but aside from being a little old-fashioned, nothing really stands out. It's only when you head further inside that things start to get a little spookier...
That's right, to the rear of the house you'll find a small chapel with red stained glass windows that hint at what awaits downstairs. Head into the cellar and you'll find that the 160-year-old mansion comes complete with a creepy Madame Tussauds-style exhibition, but instead of waxworks of movie stars, you'll find a gang of spooky witches and ghastly ghouls.
Occupying several rooms, the horrifying display boasts macabre masked dolls, oversized bats and giant spiders. Like a scene from a bad horror movie, the basement was apparently just a storage space for the homeowners' unusual party decorations, but that doesn't stop it from being extremely off-putting for potential buyers. Yet despite the sinister scene, the house sold at auction in 2020 for around $919,000 – we don't think the dolls came included!
Real estate agents are always looking for unique and interesting ways to draw attention to their latest homes. From giving away surprising extras to creating high-tech virtual tours, there are plenty of ways to ensure a listing goes viral. Yet the agents attempting to sell this attractive house in Lansing, Michigan took an altogether different approach to publicity. If you take a closer look, you might just be able to spot a mysterious figure lurking on the front porch...
That's right, in almost every listing photograph you can spot someone dressed up like one of the calculating baddies from the iconic 90s slasher movie, Scream. While this creepy character might be enough to put some buyers off, the realtors got exactly what they were hoping for and the house went viral almost immediately.
Spanning 1,568 square feet, the four-bedroom property was built in 1911 and boasts plenty of characterful details. It went up for sale just a few weeks before Halloween in 2019, so the unique listing was luckily just a seasonal joke used for publicity purposes. Yet many house-hunters questioned whether or not the property was haunted – or if it had once been the scene of a grizzly crime.
Most people saw the listing as a bit of fun and by late November 2019, the house sold for $94,750, though as yet it's unclear whether the masked gardener came included in the sale price! As far as haunting Halloween homes go, this strange and surreal pad is up there with the best of them.
You might be a fan of the Twilight saga, or love nothing more than delving into a copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula, but could you live like a vampire? Well, that's exactly what the previous owners of this pad in Baltimore, Maryland, did. Let's step inside and see how they turned an ordinary 1940s residence into something straight out of True Blood...
Stepping through the front door, you're instantly greeted by a monochromatic interior. Images of guillotines and ghouls decorate the walls, while the entertainment center in the living room wouldn't look out of place in a funeral home. There's even a full-size coffin casually positioned in one corner of the room. Sure, nothing strange about that...
The 1,540-square-foot house offers just one bedroom, which comes complete with a custom cobweb balustrade and black church pews. The bed is positioned inside a mirrored alcove with an angular ceiling that resembles the shape of a coffin. We don't know about you, but we doubt we'd get much sleep in this space! Completely terrifying, or cool and creative? You decide...
Outside, things take another turn for the weird, with the addition of a cemetery and crypt. There are fake headstones decorating the lawn and even a table that resembles a tombstone. The outdoor kitchen and garage have also been customized with giant cobwebs and spooky graffiti, showing that there's no safe space when it comes to this pad. Yet the dastardly décor didn't deter buyers. The house was on the market in March 2021 and seems to have found a new owner in less than 30 days, selling for $225,000.
Interior design is a very personal thing. While some people love a minimalist white aesthetic, others enjoy loud patterns, bright colors and all-out drama. Yet some homeowners definitely have nicher tastes, as this Connecticut house proves. Nestled in the sought-after neighborhood of Avon, the spacious property has all the hallmarks of a great family home, but once you step inside you'll see that it's definitely not child-friendly.
Built in 1962, it's akin to a truly terrifying crime scene. The home's interior is decorated with custom-made furniture, while every wall offers unusual paint effects that resemble blood splatter patterns. The dining room even comes complete with an entire wall of underwear and if that wasn't bad enough, check out the kitchen...
The 2,949-square-foot home has five bedrooms and four bathrooms, but the kitchen is perhaps the most disturbing space. While the cabinets look like they're covered in broken glass, the walls are smeared in blood-red paint. There's definitely something very Buffalo Bill about this abode...
The house has been on and off the market a lot over the years and was last listed for $339,900 in 2016, but it's unclear if a buyer has since been found. The listing agents revealed that the sellers were artists, which explains the avant-garde decorative choices...
Have you ever had the eerie feeling that you're being watched? Well, if any house was to make you feel uncomfortable, it's this one in Bellevue, Washington. From the outside, the 1960s residence looks idyllic and even offers a pretty yard overflowing with flowers. But something altogether more sinister lurks inside...
The 2,010-square-foot house went up for sale in 2017 and gained plenty of attention for one particular area of the house. While some of the rooms in this five-bedroom house appear perfectly normal, one room will be enough to cause those with pediophobia to run screaming into the street.
That's right, the living room in this unassuming house comes complete with hundreds of dolls. While some are posed in glass display cabinets, others are arranged around the fireplace, as if keeping watch over the home's residents.
As well as the large doll collection, the previous owners also continued their love of plants inside, creating custom training wires for their climbers to follow. Yet the home's surprising décor didn't put off potential buyers and the house quickly sold for the not-insignificant sum of $800,000.
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