Would you consider living in a haunted home or would you run as far away as possible once you knew it was haunted? Nearly 60 percent of people who have lived in a haunted house didn’t know it was haunted before they moved in, according to the realtor.com, fourth annual Haunted Real Estate, according to a realtor.com news release.

The survey of 1,000 people across the United States was conducted in early October by Toluna Research through online interviews. Here are some of the spooky discoveries according to the news release:

Forty-three percent of respondents may have had a ghost as a roommate

According to the survey, 58 percent of respondents said they have never lived in a haunted home, 23 percent said they have lived in one, while 20 percent think they may have lived in a haunted home. Of those who felt certain they lived in a haunted house, 58 percent had no idea it was haunted before moving in and 37 percent knew it was and decided to go for it anyway. Five percent said maybe.

Strange noises and shadows are the most common spooky happenings
And what made them think it was haunted? Sixty-five percent of those surveyed said strange noises in the house-made them believe it was haunted. Fifty-two percent said strange shadows followed by 48 percent who said items moved on their own, 47 percent said some rooms felt haunted, 46 percent said they would feel touched, and 44 percent said their home had hot and cold spots.

“Moving into a new home is a really exciting time, but finding out that your new abode has an unwanted guest can definitely put a damper on the celebration,” said Nate Johnson, chief marketing officer at realtor.com in the company news release. “We conduct this survey annually and it’s always interesting to see the results. This year, we were surprised  by how many people had unknowingly moved into a haunted house at some point in their lives, and even more so by how many people knew and decided to move in regardless.”

Majority of people prefer to live ghost-free
When asked if they might consider moving into a haunted house, 54 percent of respondents said no. Twenty-one percent were prepared to brave whatever ghostly happenings might be plaguing the house, while 21 percent were not sure and said “maybe.”

Interestingly, responses were not that different even if the home buyer didn’t buy the home. When asked what they would do if they inherited a haunted home, 51 percent said they would take the money and sell it immediately. Just under a quarter — 23 percent — would try to get rid of the ghosts with a new kitchen or floors by renovating the home. Twenty percent said they’d be willing to take the risk and would move in, while 6 percent would prefer to tear the place down, the release added.

But respondents don’t mind a neighborhood ghoul
While the majority of respondents were against the prospect of living in a haunted house, the survey found they were more amenable to living next door to one, rather than in one. Nearly 43 percent said they were willing to live next to a house they believed was haunted, compared to the 21 percent that would be willing to live in one. Still, 31 percent have seen the movies and they just aren’t willing to take the risk of living next to a house they believed was haunted.

Source: realtor.com