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Hi, everyone and welcome back to Happy Hour. 欢迎回来酒馆. Hi, 安澜.

Hi, Lulu, hi, everyone.

So let's get real. Stigmatize properties, they're obviously cheaper, a lot lot cheaper, 30%, 40%, 50% below market value. So the question is, would you do it?

I don't think I would. No. It's really weird because I'm not superstitious in that way. I don't know I do believe that houses and places have some sort of energy if something bad has happened there, I believe that there is something that still lingers, whether or not it's paranormal or even scientific from the idea that every action has a reaction.

Is it one of those things like I don't believe in ghost per se, but I don't want to tempt fate.

Exactly.

I see, I see. You know people have very different ideas. Some people say “obviously not, I'm not stupid.”

Yeah.

But some people say “depending on how cheap it is” Or some people say, “you know what is scarier than ghost, being broke. ”

Yeah.

Yeah. So it really depends on how desperate you are.

Yeah. But there are also real stories. So in the US, there's the famous case of The Amityville Horror House. （阿米蒂维尔鬼屋 是美国著名的真实灭门案 + 后续灵异事件，位于纽约长岛阿米蒂维尔市海洋大道 112 号，被称为 “世界十大凶宅之首”，也是电影《鬼哭神嚎》的原型。）

I've watched that movie.

Yeah.

That's a real thing, right?

It's based on a real case. So real murder in 1974 in a house, then a family moved in and claimed all kinds of paranormal activities the house sold for a huge discount. Later owners lived there for decades with no problems whatsoever.

Maybe that was a trick

Even the ghost got tired or the original family had, let's say, active imaginations.

Or both.

Yeah.

Here is the pattern. People will buy stigmatized properties usually probably fall into three categories.

Number one, investors who don't believe in ghosts and just want a deal. Number two, people who have no choice, because that's the only thing they can afford, or number three, actual paranormal enthusiasts who would pay to visit a haunted mansion and they would just love it if they can actually live in it.

Yeah. And I would say that the people who have no choice because it's all that they can afford, that's probably the saddest and most common. In high cost cities like Hong Kong or London or San Francisco ghost houses become affordable housing by accident.

That is a little bit sad.

Exactly. So if you're poor enough, fear becomes a luxury that you can't afford. Would you rather have a haunted apartment or no apartment?

Woof, heavy. Let's get back. What if the fear is real? Because so far we've been talking about psychological, what if people actually experience things, or are we just saying it's all in their heads?

Now, I am very interested in ghosts, but I'm not an expert, but I will say this, across every single culture, there is always something that resembles or acts like a ghost, people report the same kinds of experiences, cold spots, strange sounds, a feeling of being watched. So either ghosts are real or the human brain is very good at creating patterns when it's scared.

All right, let's lighten the mood. When we were thinking it’s people are so sad that they couldn't afford to live in any places that's not haunted. But like I said before there are people who actually would pay to go to these haunted houses. And I don't think just in America they've turned quite a few of these famous or notorious haunted houses, haunted mansions into places where they host ghost tours.

Yeah!

Or just murder mystery tours really.

I've been on a few of those around London. There are lots and lots of haunted or supposedly haunted places in London.

Yeah. So, for example, have you ever heard of the really famous American Horror film called The Conjuring?

Yes, I have.

叫《招魂》. I highly recommended it to you, but you've refused to watch it.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

安澜 is scared of ghosts. Anyhow, so if you haven't watched it, go watch it. The real life house that inspired The Conjuring in Rhode Island that family story is one of the most documented paranormal cases in American history.

Yeah.

The house still stands and the current owners, they run ghost tours.

Exactly.

So it's just the business now.

Capitalism wins again! Even a ghost can't escape a side hustle.

I guess so. 鬼也要有副业是吧?

So, like I said, many famous murder houses in the US have been turned into true crime Airbnb.

Okay.

Airbnb rentals. So for a few hundred dollars they're not cheap. Mind you.

I can imagine.

For a few hundred dollars you can sleep, where someone was killed, people love it.

That's either very brave or insane. Maybe both, but honestly it proves our point. Different cultures, different words for the same thing, but fear, curiosity and a good deal, those are universal.

Yeah, I think also people generally do or some people have a morbid fascination with the macabre.

Exactly.

Now here's the question, here's the uncomfortable thought. In many cases, sellers don't have to disclose anything unless you explicitly ask, and even then they can be really vague or just hint. So, you could actually be living in a stigmatized property right now and have no idea.

Yeah. There are stories of people buying homes living there for years and then neighbors just mentions, “Oh, you didn't know the previous owner died in your bedroom.”

Murdered by his wife!

Well yeah!

That's a nightmare. I guess in some countries, for example, I remember watching something Japanese before. They had this thing called ‘Jiko bukken（事故物件）’ directly translate into accident house.

Okay.

They don't say murder house, but that ‘Jiko’ is basically just hinting a murder, a criminal case.

So, the thing is, I think they have some of the real estate agent, what they do is they will themselves sign a lease, but they don't move in.

Yeah.

But then by quote unquote renting that place for a few months, they've cleared the name. So when they rent to the next renter, they don't have to disclose the pass anymore.

Oh! Okay, I see.

That trick is a bit.

Yeah. So, the question really is, here are our tips. First of all, asked directly. Has anyone died in this house in the last 10, 20 years?

Can I ask you, does it make a difference if it's a violent murder or if it's just someone like died alone like an old person?

To be honest, I would say the house I grew up in, probably the original occupant died in there.

Okay?

Because when my parents moved in, I was very, very little, but they still had like a few of their possessions up in the loft.

Okay.

So, it might have been that case, but we just don't know.

Yeah, but there's a huge difference between dying of an old age with your family around you, compared with what in Japan they call ‘lonely death.’

Yeah.

Like basically an old person with no ties to anyone, dies and is only found like when everything starts to smell.

Yeah.

So that, I think is a huge difference.

Well, precisely. But also talk to the neighbors. They know everything.

True, they’ll complain about it.

Yeah. Check online in some countries there are databases of stigmatized properties.

Oh, yeah! I know they have a very very famous one in Japan, where you could see the photos of all these murder houses.

Yeah. And finally, decide what YOU believe. Because the house is only haunted if you really think it is.

Or if something taps you on the shoulder at 3:00am.

Yeah, then that is haunted regardless of what you believe in.

Alright, so here's what we learnt, different cultures different words for the same thing China has 凶宅, the west has stigmatized properties, haunted houses and murder houses.

But the fear, the fascination. The fact that a house can be bad because something that happened there decades ago that is a very human idea.

So culture changes, but the fear of the unknown, never disappears.

Exactly. So let's hear from you. Have you ever lived in a house with history? Do you believe in ghosts or do you think it's all psychology?

Yeah! Drop us a message, leave us a comment or descending your request for what else you want us to talk about.

So, until next time.

We'll see you next time.

Bye!

Bye!

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文稿校对：徐一鸣 & Jenny

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