money Haunted houses: How much are real horror movie homes worth?
Some of the most famous – or infamous – homes from scary movie classics are located in regular neighborhoods like yours.
Many of them are inhabited by fearless souls, who must deal with scary movie buffs-turned-gawkers driving by their recognizable homes. In some cases, the houses come with their own reported hauntings.
Owning a piece of horror movie real estate memorabilia doesn’t always come with a big price tag. Some homes are valued modestly around $200,000, while others reach into the millions.
Which one is worth the most?
The DeFeo and Lutz house
Amityville, New York
A 5-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom home on Long Island, New York, carries the distinction of “America’s most haunted house.” In November 1974, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. murdered his parents and four siblings in the house.
But the brutal murders aren’t what inspired the books, documentaries, or the 1979 movie, “The Amityville Horror,” and its 2005 remake. It was the alleged hauntings that occurred there afterward.
Thirteen months after the murders, the Lutz family purchased the home at a discounted price of $80,000. But the family lived in the home for just 28 days before moving out, alleging spooky occurrences like a knife falling from a wall, children levitating in their beds and disembodied voices speaking in the house.
Since the 1970s, none of the subsequent owners described any supernatural occurrences, and locals long speculated that the Lutz’s were at the center of a hoax. Previous owners petitioned the town to change the home’s address from 112 Ocean Avenue to 108 Ocean Avenue to prevent gawkers.
What’s it worth?
In February 2017, the house was sold to an undisclosed owner for $605,000, $200,000 under asking price.
Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse’s apartment
The Dakota, New York City, New York
The 1968 movie “Rosemary’s Baby” about a newlywed couple that gets caught up in a Satanic ring uses one of New York City’s most iconic residential buildings as its setting: The Dakota.
The couple’s devil-worshipping neighbors take a disturbing interest in Rosemary, the young wife. Under bizarre circumstances, Rosemary discovers she is pregnant and becomes increasingly withdrawn as her neighbors obsess over her. After her baby’s birth, she discovers her son is actually the spawn of Satan.
Rosemary’s Baby is a work of fiction, but the building is the setting of a real-life tragedy. John Lennon was shot and killed by a disgruntled and manic fan outside of his home in 1980.
What’s it worth?
As of September 2019, a 6,000-square-foot unit with five bedrooms and seven bathrooms was on the market for $25 million. If that’s a little outside of your price range, a 730-square-foot apartment with one bedroom and bathroom is selling for $1.2 million.
Regan MacNeil’s house
Washington, D.C
In the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., stands the home of Regan MacNeil, a fictitious teenage girl who becomes possessed by Satan in 1973’s “The Exorcist.” It’s been over 45 years since the movie first terrified audiences and many of the filming locations in Washington, D.C., live on in Exorcist-fandom.
The home Regan shared with her mother still stands at 3600 Prospect Street and was only used as an exterior filming location in the movie. And it’s likely for the best, because a lot of inexplicable and haunting things reportedly happened on set.
What’s it worth?
The home last sold in 2003 for $2,025,000, according to Zillow. In 2019, Zillow estimates that the home is worth $3.6 million.
Dani and Max Denison’s house
Salem, Massachusetts
The movie “Hocus Pocus” bends the genre of horror, but its setting of Salem, Massachusetts, is the real-life setting for the witch trials of the 1600s.
The fictitious movie is centered around the Sanderson Sisters, a trio who were executed after casting a spell on Thackery Binx, a teenager who boldly sacrificed himself for his sister’s life. The witches transform Binx into an immortal anthropomorphic black cat destined to wander the streets of Salem.
Three centuries later, Max, along with his sister Dani, and his crush Allison accidentally resurrect the Sanderson Sisters. With the help of Binx, they work to defeat the sisters from sucking the lives out of all the children in Salem.
Several locations around Salem were used in the 1993 film, but it was Max’s bedroom that was the envy of viewers for its distinctive crows’ nest feature.
What’s it worth?
The actual home is a private residence located at 4 Ocean Avenue in Salem, yet little information on the 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom property exists. Zillow estimates the home is valued at $430,438.
Elm Street house
Los Angeles, California
The Thompson residence that was terrorized by Freddy Krueger in the 1985 cult slasher flick, “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” isn’t actually located on Elm Street. Nor is it in Springwood, Ohio. The house is a private residence in Los Angeles.
Two decades after filming, the house looked like something out of another horror movie because its owners let it fall to ruin. In 2006, the home was purchased for $1.1 million and underwent a massive renovation. During the year-long project, 90% of the house was ripped down to the studs, yet the owner maintained the house’s original and iconic exterior so that fans would still recognize it.
What’s it worth?
The current owner purchased 1428 North Genesee Avenue home for $2.1 million in 2013.
The Schoolhouse
Bodega, California
Only Alfred Hitchcock can make birds absolutely horrifying. Based on real-life events, the 1963 horror classic, “The Birds,” chronicles the migration of flocks of birds, that for unexplained reasons, descend on the Northern California town of Bodega Bay and violently attack people.
The schoolhouse was a focal point in the movie as it served as a shelter for the town’s children from the violent birds.
Built in 1873, 17110 Bodega Lane in Bodega has served as a schoolhouse, community center, inn, restaurant and guest house. It is now a private residence and its owners say the 5,108-square-foot home is haunted. The Office of Scientific Investigation and Research declared the place an official haunted spot in 1994.
What’s it worth?
Whether that distinction adds or subtracts from the home’s estimated $1.7 million worth, according to Zillow, is unclear.
The Armitage house
Fairhope, Alabama
The Armitage estate, a 4,292-square-foot home was the place protagonist Chris Washington was desperate to escape in the 2017 indie blockbuster, “Get Out.”
Washington, a young African-American, visits his white girlfriend's parents. But as the weekend unfolds and after bizarre interactions with the staff, he realizes her parents are the ringleaders of a disturbing operation.
What’s it worth?
Located in rural Fairhope, Alabama, 6892 Heathcroft Lane is not visible from the street, but Zillow estimates the home is valued at $804,053.
The Freelings’ house
Simi Valley, California
In 1982’s “Poltergeist,” the Freelings' residence acted as a central character. The family’s cookie-cutter home and picture-perfect family start to experience supernatural phenomena: The family’s youngest daughter starts talking to a static-emitting TV set; furniture inexplicably moves; and drinking glasses shatter without explanation.
It’s discovered that the entire suburban subdivision of Cuesta Verde is built over an American Indian burial ground where the tombstones were moved, but not the bodies.
Although the house gets sucked into another dimension at the end of the movie, the 4-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home still stands at 4264 Roxbury Street in Simi Valley and it’s not built over an American Indian burial ground.
What’s it worth?
According to Redfin, it was built in 1979 and it sold for $143,500, but that’s the last year of a recorded sale, so it’s possible the original owners still live there. It is now valued at $787,993, according to Redfin.
The Creed farmhouse
Hancock, Maine
Only from the mind of Stephen King could come a chilling story like “Pet Sematary.” Using his home state of Maine as the backdrop, King’s book that was adapted into the 1989 movie is about a father who tragically loses his two-year-old son.
Distraught and helpless, the father buries his child’s body in an old pet cemetery located behind the family’s farmhouse with the knowledge it was formerly a Native American burial ground and has the ability to resurrect those who are buried in it.
Filmed on location in Hancock, Maine, the Creed family home is situated on 20 acres on 303 Point Road.
What’s it worth?
The estimated market value for the home is $359,000, according to RealtyTrac.
Katie and Michah’s house
San Diego, California
The 2007 indie flick that’s now on its seventh franchise film is based on the story of young couple, Katie and Micah. Katie discloses a lifelong premonition that an evil spirit has been haunting her and skeptical Micah decides to take matters into his own hands.
After strange occurrences like flickering lights and objects moving on their own, Katie pleads with Micah to enlist the help of demonologist. Micah instead brings home an Ouija board and rigs the home with cameras that record demonic activity. Fully possessed by a demon force, Katie eventually murders Micah and the epilogue reveals that her whereabouts remain unknown.
What’s it worth?
Katie and Micah’s house is a real 4-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom at 13236 Bavarian Drive in San Diego. The home was last listed in 2015 and sold for $760,000, $11,000 over its asking price, according to Zillow.
The Watcher house
Westfield, New Jersey
Derek and Maria Broaddus have lived a real-life horror movie. In 2014, three days after the pair closed on their nearly $1.4 million dream home in Westfield, New Jersey, ominous and gruesome letters started to arrive.
The letters, signed by “The Watcher,” contained graphic threats of violence against the couple’s young children; warned them to steer clear of the home’s basement; and explained it was their family duty to watch the home. Local police and even a retired FBI agent hired by the couple couldn’t identify the source.
The previous owners had lived in the home for over two decades and said the only letter they received from “The Watcher” was sent just days before they moved out. The cold case without any leads drew speculation that the Broadduses were perpetuating a hoax, even though the family never moved in.
The stranger than fiction story went viral and Netflix won a fierce bidding war for film rights. No word on a release date, but audiences will soon be able to stream the true nightmare.
What’s it worth?
The Broaddus family finally sold the house at 657 Boulevard at a sizable financial loss after a five-year ordeal to a fearless couple for $959,000 in July 2019.
Stephanie is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @SJAsymkos.
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