A New York Court Ruled That a House Is Legally Haunted

Helen Ackley lived in a Victorian home in Nyack, New York. For years, she enthusiastically told everyone it was haunted. She described the poltergeists to Reader's Digest. She reported them to the local press. She included the house on a walking tour of haunted homes in the Hudson Valley.

Then she sold the house for $650,000.

The Omission

The buyer, Jeffrey Stambovsky, was not from the area. He had no idea about the ghost stories. When he discovered that his new home was locally famous for being haunted, he wanted out. He sued to rescind the sale and recover his $32,500 deposit.

The Ruling

The case reached the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, in 1991. The court's opinion, written by Justice Israel Rubin, is one of the most unusual in American legal history.

The court ruled that because Ackley had actively promoted the house as haunted in the media, she was legally prevented from denying the ghosts existed when it came time to sell. The ruling stated: "Defendant is estopped to deny their existence and, as a matter of law, the house is haunted."

A New York appellate court had officially declared a house legally haunted.

The Ghostbusters Ruling

The case, Stambovsky v. Ackley, is now taught in law schools across the country. It is commonly referred to as "The Ghostbusters Ruling." Justice Rubin's opinion was peppered with ghost puns, including the observation that the buyer was left "in a very ectoplasmic situation."

The precedent stands: if you spend years telling people your house is haunted, you cannot then pretend it isn't when someone wants their money back. In New York, you can officially sue over paranormal activity.