Last updated on October 18, 2025
Yes, you can sue someone for selling you a haunted house in New York—if the ghosts come with a paper trail.
In one of the most delightfully bizarre rulings in American legal history, the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division declared a house “legally haunted” in the 1991 case of Stambovsky v. Ackley. The decision didn’t hinge on ghost sightings or paranormal proof, but on something far more tangible: public statements made by the seller herself. Helen Ackley, the homeowner in question, had spent years telling ghost stories to local newspapers and even penned a piece for Reader’s Digest in 1977, describing the friendly spirits who allegedly inhabited her Victorian home in Nyack, New York.
When Jeffrey Stambovsky, a buyer from Manhattan, put down a $32,500 deposit on the $650,000 home, he had no idea he was purchasing a property with a spectral reputation. Ackley and her real estate agent had failed to mention the house’s haunted history until after the contract was signed. Stambovsky sued to rescind the contract, arguing that the haunting—whether real or imagined—affected the value and marketability of the home.
The court agreed. In a ruling that has since earned the nickname “The Ghostbusters Decision,” Justice Rubin wrote that Ackley was “estopped to deny the existence of poltergeists” because she had actively promoted the haunting to the public. The court held that the house was haunted “as a matter of law,” not because ghosts were proven to exist, but because Ackley’s repeated claims had created a reputation that materially affected the property’s value.
This case is now a staple in law school textbooks and has become a cultural touchstone for the intersection of folklore and real estate law. It’s a rare example of how reputation—especially one involving the supernatural—can have legal consequences. The ruling also carved out a narrow exception to the traditional “caveat emptor” (buyer beware) doctrine, emphasizing that sellers must disclose unusual conditions that aren’t discoverable through ordinary inspection, especially if they’ve publicly advertised them.
So yes, in New York, if you buy a house that’s been publicly declared haunted and the seller fails to mention it, you might just have legal grounds to call in the lawyers—if not the Ghostbusters.
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Sources:
Stambovsky v. Ackley – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stambovsky_v._Ackley
Publication date: July 18, 1991
How a House Becomes Legally Haunted: Stambovsky v. Ackley, The “Ghostbuster” Ruling – Law Library of Congress
https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2024/10/how-a-house-becomes-legally-haunted-stambovsky-v-ackley-the-ghostbuster-ruling/
Publication date: October 31, 2024
Stambovsky v. Ackley | Legal Information Institute – Cornell Law School
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/stambovsky_v._ackley
Publication date: July 18, 1991