One of my favorite things about teaching a course about supernatural sleuths (aside from being able to teach a course on one of my favorite topics) is that, when I tell people I teach a class on ghostbusters and supernatural sleuths, most of them end up having a story about their brush with the supernatural. More often than not, their stories revolve around that time they lived in a house that was haunted or know someone who did. I don’t care how rational or “normal” some people might seem, when it comes to the topic of ghosts and the things that hunt them, well, the conversation inevitably takes a turn for the spooky—and fun.
The same phenomenon holds true when it comes to house hunting. Let’s face it—we’ve all checked out that apartment unit or seemingly ideal home and walked away feeling like something wasn’t right. We might have even experienced something uncanny or so strange our waking minds simply cannot process it. And it makes sense. Those are our intimate spaces, the places we go to get away from the world, our sanctuaries, ideally, where we are our freest…and most vulnerable.
That’s what makes the haunted house such a beloved horror story premise. They are the home—pun intended—of all our hopes and fears, mirrors to our social and psychological states. They’re also a reminder that there are those who have come before us and that we are sharing a space with them. And, let’s be real, homes absorb a lot of the energy of those who inhabit it, and that energy remains, for better or worse, long after the inhabitants have gone.
Whatever your feelings are on the possibility of spectral tenants in your own home, it’s worth looking at the (very brief and selective) history of haunted real estate in popular culture. Check out my video essay below to see how gothic romances, B horror movies, and monster-of-the-week TV shows have had a serious impact on real-world real estate and our perceptions of the haunted house setting, which has gone from terrifying to kind of cool. Enjoy!
The Bruja Professor, a witchy take on literature, the occult & pop culture, is the scholarly sister to Enchantment Learning & Living, an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you.
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