From rent.com's press release:
While the survey found 11 percent of renters believe they have lived in a home inhabited by ghosts, others would be willing to do so in order to save money. In fact, 69 percent of renters would be willing to crash with Casper for the right price. More than half (51 percent) of renters would share their home with a ghost in exchange for free rent, and over one quarter (27 percent) would do it for half-price.
Three in 10 people who have rented (30 percent) said they'd bunk with the boogeyman if they received free utilities, while nearly one in four (23 percent) would do it in exchange for a free flat-screen TV with cable.
Overall, 31 percent of renters said no deal. Nothing, "not even a million bucks," would convince them to conquer their phasmophobia (fear of ghosts). However, a greater percentage of males than females are willing to live with ghosts for any given tradeoff (74 percent vs. 64 percent).
This data just goes to prove how much more daring women are than men. Judging from the Twilight phenomenon, a significant portion of women not only don't fear vampires, they lust after them, so long as they're metrosexual and sparkly.
So, Consumerists, let's have it out — would you live with a ghost? Have you?
(Photo: MReder Design)
]]>A dorm I lived in a few years ago had a student die in one of the rooms. Something really stupid and random like OD'd on cough syrup. But he lived in a single and it was a few days before anyone said, hey, has so-and-so been out of his room lately?
(That part's all true, newspaper reported on it at the time.)
Reportedly, people assigned to that room later would refuse to stay -- demanding room transfers, pledging to fraternities just to GTFO, moving in with GF, whatever, until one day one of the CAs said he'd had it, he was going to spend the night there and prove there was nothing wrong. And according to legend, he scrambled out the door at 3 a.m. and the room was eventually boarded up.
Note to self: Pull newspaper files, find room number, go see if the room numbers skip/have been painted over.
]]>Sorry, people... I've never seen a ghost, heard a ghost, felt a ghost. I don't believe it for a second at all.
]]>What is it with these childish beliefs in the supernatural? I consider these people just as delusional as religious people.
]]>I can 100% guarantee you that if I were to spend a night in your 'haunted' house, the ghost would not make an appearance.
]]>Well documented? How do you figure, exactly? The only records of his Christian incarnation come from three books of the bible that were originally written between 40 and 120 years after the supposed death of the supposed Jesus Christ. That is hardly compelling argument, and comparing it to someone like Julius Caesar, with dozens of accounts from his peers, money with his face on it, a well documented lineage, etc, is more than ridiculous.
I guess you could listen to the Koran, that describes him as a spell-caster and illusionist.. but that probably doesn't jive with your image of him. Or go to the original source, ancient Egypt. Of course, he was called Horus back then, and looked a little different (that beak was wack!).
]]>"Ya know you should eat more fiber to prevent that."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUGH!"
@pecan 3.14159265: Sweet! As perhaps the only ghost who posts on consumerist, where can I sign up?
]]>@Ursus Maritimus: Hey, the door isn't bleeding.
]]>@Trai_Dep: It's OK, I hear that after they hit the half-century mark or so, the walls stop bleeding altogether.
The heating and cooling system goes all to hell at that point, though.
]]>@HogwartsAlum:
Karma is having its way with him. He ended up divorced and broke with drug problems and his kid was disfigured because of his idiotic behaviour, so his kid hates him too.
I'm not a huge believer in hell as a physical place you can go after you die, but I'll make an exception for him. Actually, my generally Gnostic belief in hell as the human condition is working out nicely for him as well.
]]>"Judging from the Twilight phenomenon, a significant portion of women not only don't fear vampires, they lust after them, so long as they're metrosexual and sparkly."
My girlfriend hates Twilight with a burning passion, and yet you just described her so aptly.
]]>They say that animals (ie dogs) can "see" ghosts and I can attest to that, at least it seemed like she was transfixed in the hallway where most of the stuff was happening.
]]>Actually I didn't...was in a hurry and just glanced at the site and watched the first 15 seconds of a video to make sure they weren't dumbasses who actually believe in ghosts.
]]>I would love to see them again. I'll have to wait until I go Home.
]]>That was a shameful of me.
]]>egads, and I thought it was the cat buying Britney Spears tracks in the middle of the night.
]]>@theblackdog_HalloweenHaunting: Why would she be wearing her undies in the shower?
]]>When I was growing up it wasn't the house that was haunted, but rather us as a family. My brother's dad died in an airplane crash and Mom ended up marrying his best friend (my dad) because they had a death-pact.
Apparently "Fred" did not think Dad was holding up his end of the bargain so he haunted us. Mostly he would slam the back door. The house would shake and echo with the noise, but the door was always dead-bolted shut.
About 10 years after I left home, Fred decided his business was finished and he left.
When I told Mom that I was buying a 118 year old house she had to ask if it was haunted. I knew it was clean when I first walked in and, indeed, me and the cat are the only occupants.
Dad hung around for a couple of months after he died, but he only had a few things left that he had to make sure we finished for him.
I believe my current cat Bruce is the reincarnation of my cat Boots, who was murdered by a neighbor with a baseball bat. Boots had so much unfinished business that he had to come back as a live cat.
Sometimes you have to believe in unexplainable things because the "logical" explanantions are even more far-fetched.
]]>...Some people believe in ghosts?
Really?
]]>@YouDidWhatNow?: I hope you also saw: [www.imdb.com]
GhostFacers.com is a pretty awesome site, but it's just tie-in marketing for Supernatural.
]]>Ever since my daughter was born, we've lived in nothing but haunted houses...some much more active than others. We've only had one that wanted to bother us, but I think that was my fault and that I offended him. I don't mind it at all, and have gotten pretty used to it, so if something that I consider 'normal' would save me money, then I'm all for it!
]]>My friend and her husband live with a ghost cat...that wouldn't bother me. He's black and wears a red bandana. He only shows up when her cats are sick or he's checking out the treatment of their cats (living, real cats).
]]>@pecan 3.14159265: @valueofaloonie:
I had never heard of those guys before - took a quick peek on their website. Looks pretty funny!
]]>I can't say how I would react if those things were to start happening now, but I would be open to finding out for a rent decrease.
]]>I'm with Radi0logy on this one.
]]>Me: Ok babe. When did you start noticing this noise?
Her: At the beginning of November.
Me: Ok. Now, when did you turn on the heat?
Her: At the beginning of November.
Me: Exactly.
It was just the old pipes for the radiators shaking.
]]>@h3llc4t has a slow work day: That's why I would just hang a sign: "Caution: Hell portal closet. Only store fruitcake" That and if it really did have a hell portal, I would save a ton on waste disposal.
]]>I have before, and will again willingly live in a house with ghosts. However, I REFUSE to accept sparkly vampires!!! Those suckers are gettin fed to da pit bull!
]]>@HogwartsAlum: Exactly. If it just float around a bit and walks through walls, I'm fine. I'd even tolerate a little re-arranging of things, especially if its Poltergeist-like.
@ArcanaJ: Or if they didn't refill the ice tray, or if they have loud, drunk sex with their ghost boyfriend/girlfriend.
]]>@friendlynerd: exactly what I was thinking
]]>@h3llc4t has a slow work day: I think all of their nights are cold.
]]>Anyway, we've never seen anything and never felt in danger so yep, I'd live with a ghost. Ours has been nicknamed "Charlie".
]]>One of my all-time favorite SNL skits was with host John Laroquette as Bob Villa in the Amityville horror house. "Well, what we have over here is a hellpit. There's really no way to eliminate that, so we'll just build a nice stone wall around it, maybe some plants, make it a highlight of the room."
]]>@The Porkchop Express: or, does Ghost Faced Killah count? bet he can still throw a party.
]]>It'd actually be pretty interesting. If a ghost had all these qualities, I might even be more prone to inhabiting a building that had one. We could be friends, I'd leave it a Snuggie on cold nights and everything. Presuming ghosts have cold nights, that is.
]]>Can I get the ghost that haunts Dr. Raymond Stantz? please.
]]>We're cool as long as they help my kids with their homework and play calypso music to reward them.
]]>@floraposte: awesome
]]>If the cheap apartment has this kind of ghost, I'm getting the fruck out.
]]>and what about...
"However, a greater percentage of males than females are willing to live with ghosts for any given tradeoff (74 percent vs. 64 percent)."
adds up to 138% WTF?
]]>Just as long as Casper doesn't touch the hash, everything's groovy!
]]>"bleeding walls" usually are found in older homes and are more likely to indicate water damage/moisture in the walls that is interacting with horse hair that was used in the construction of the walls. It still is a freaky experience but alas, not due to ghosts. :D
]]>@AirIntake: Agreed.
And those roommates would make for one kick ass party
]]>Or are you of the Amazing Randi stripe- looking to disprove it?
]]>@edosan: The Lucky Charms leprechaun is probably a paranoid schizophrenic because he's always going on and on about people trying to get his lucky charms.
]]>@ohmcno: Did you purge it by having Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd coerce the ghost into a trap?
]]>@8one6: Ah but that's where they get you. First you're all "you're full of crap" on them and then after a few weeks/months/years you start to believe them.
At least that's how it works in scary movies
]]>I wouldn't mind bunking with the Easter Bunny or the Lucky Charms leprechaun either.
]]>@pecan 3.14159265: Haha nicely done Pecan
]]>When you buy a house in CT, the people you are buying it from have to verify that the house does not have any ghosts in it. It is an actual legal document. Found this out because one of my friends bought a new house about a year ago and actually showed it to me.
]]>@Blueskylaw: Very sound advice Blueskylaw
]]>@squinko: Hmm, Thirteen Ghosts and House on Haunted Hill come to mind. Mostly because Thirteen Ghosts was on AMC last night. I'm not an afficionado but I love this time of year!
]]>@HFC: Yeah, that's my thinking as well, though aside from the rent reduction, I just think it would be an interesting experience. I don't know if ghosts are real, and I'm definitely a skeptic, but I am also fully aware that there are things that we don't know about and that we can't explain everything that happens in this world.
]]>@YouDidWhatNow?: I prefer the Ghost Facers anyway.
]]>Are we talking kindly poltergeist or vindictive mother who didn't want her son to move out and walled him inside the residence "Cask of Amontillado" style?
]]>I would live in any "haunted house" so long as my contract forced the Ghost Hunter guys from TV to come to the house every week...so I can punch them in the face for being asshats.
]]>Perhaps she did once just to let me know she was ok (I think I felt her once about a month after) but I haven't seen her recently.
]]>@pecan 3.14159265: A rather big if there.
]]>I have never seen/heard/felt a ghost, though I have plenty of friends and family who have. So, I do believe in them. Would I live with one? Sure, as long as he/she didn't rearrange my books, or harass the cat too much (it would be okay to harass him a bit, he needs the exercise).
]]>As Pecan Pi said - living with creaks and groans in a house, and perhaps an overactive imagination. And lower rent. Yes, I'd like lower rent, please.
]]>Obviously everyone afraid of living with a ghost or two has never lived on the Hellmouth. If you survive that, you can live anywhere.
]]>Wow! I wish I would have thought to get a rent reduction for the ghosts!
]]>But this apartment supposedly the ghost has been removing posters from the walls and levitating things and now someone is being scratched.
]]>Read this book by Richard Peck (children's/young adult author): Ghosts I Have Been. The part about Minerva the ghostly servant is actually creepy, but kind of awesome too.
]]>@Julius Seizure - Canuck: Well, he could start conducting music. Or he could rifle through your iTunes account and buy a ton of Mozart and listen to that at 3 am.
]]>You know, if it saves me money, they can claim to have a portal to a hellish, lovecraftian nightmare realm in the closet. I have no problem letting someone else's delusions save me money.
]]>@Oranges w/ Cheese wants it to be winter already: I have always, always wanted to be part of a ghost investigation club.
]]>Wanted: Ghost to reduce my monthly rent.
Home includes creaky doors, walls and windows. Plentiful shadows and ugly wallpapered walls to creep about in, large attic spaces for lurking, hollow floorboards to hide heirlooms describing your horrific fate.
2 bedrooms, 2 baths.
Poltergeists welcome, but need to demonstrate ability to re-arrange furniture/DVDs/books with good ecto-plasmic mobility. Those who fall slightly short may compensate by demonstrating good cleanup and organizational skills.
Ghost dog and cat friendly, but living owners not responsible for ecto-plasmic poo or damage to the furniture.
All emotional baggage will be evaluated by living owners. Immediate disqualifications: Ghosts who met their fate after killing other people or pets.
]]>If the landlord knows that you are willing to stay on a haunted property, he has less incentive to lower your rent.
So for heavens/hells sake, if the place is haunted, don't let on you're not afraid, otherwise the landlord will try to take advantage of you.
]]>However, if it was some sexy coed who died in a tragic slip while showering, and she still wanders the halls in her underwear, sign me up.
]]>I used to live in a house with a ghost. He would break stuff occasionally (the inside pane of the sliding glass door once), but mostly he just changed channels on the tv when I was asleep. Not bad at all.
If I could get a ghost to help lower my mortgage, I think I would be willing.
"[A] greater percentage of males than females are willing to live with ghosts for any given tradeoff..."
... what?
]]>![[www.ghost-pictures.info]](http://www.ghost-pictures.info/image/famous-ghost-picture.jpg){kind=link}