Chilling Tales from Showings and Open Houses shared by Realtors!
Shadowed Steps: A Hauntingly Silent Showing Experience
I had a listing in a neighborhood I wasn’t too familiar with, and one evening, I got a last-minute request from a buyer to view it. It was already late, but I agreed to show the place. When the buyer arrived, things got strange fast. They didn’t say a word—just grunted to signal yes or no. No introductions, no questions, just these unsettling noises.
As we moved through the apartment, they insisted on staying right behind me the entire time, never stepping ahead or walking alongside. I tried to let them take the lead, but every time I slowed down or stepped aside, they’d stop too, always just behind me. At one point, we were in a narrow, dim hallway, and when I turned around, they were standing eerily still, just staring with their head slightly tilted. It was the kind of moment where you feel your skin crawl.
Needless to say, I wrapped that showing up fast and got out of there! Definitely the most unsettling experience I’ve had in real estate.
Peter Ronningen of Compass – Christopher Howard Team NEW YORK CITY @petersellingnyc
The Haunting Welcome Behind the China Cabinet
I once opened the front door of a home to find a man hiding behind a china cabinet in the dining room. I saw him immediately when I opened the front door and yelled “Realtor, we have a showing scheduled”. He did not respond and he didnt even seem to hear me.
After a scary 30 seconds, I realized that he actually hadn’t moved at all. Terrified to get any closer, I kept my distance, but realized that he looked very familiar. The Dickies work onesie should have tipped me off right away. The seller had positioned a life sized Michael Meyers to hide behind the china cabinet scaring prospective realtors and buyers. As you can imagine, we did not make an offer that day. My client refused to even look at the home.
Bettina Garnero of Discovery Group Realty HOUSTON DALLAS @realtor_bettina
A Country Showing Gone Wrong
Showing a home that was vacant in the country to two young lady investors and as we walked to the back of the house, a deep, terrifying growl came from the back bedroom. It was not an animal or human that we could tell. We all ran for our lives! Never had anything like that before in my 20 years in real estate.
Natalie Leon of Modern Broker CLOVIS, CA @natalieleonrealtor
A Lingering Presence
First year in real estate….Got a referral for a condo listing from a woman in England who had bought the condo for her troubled son in St. Louis area. She mailed a key. Sadly, he died in the condo from an overdose. The officials had cut the carpet out from where they found him. Other than that the condo was pretty basic, nothing alerting.
I was assessing the condo before giving her a price. While there I snapped some images on my phone, just to remember finishes and such when I got back to the office. I uploaded the photos to a folder and started to click through them not expecting anything. TO MY SURPRISE…in a photo where I was BY MYSELF, there was a shadow of a tall person across the room from where I was with the camera. Shared with my office and really tried to come up with a logical reason, but definitely spooky!
Kindle Winton of Staats Solutions, Team Lead
The Silent Visitor in the Darkened Backyard
It was actually for an investment property my husband and I were looking to buy. We had to go see it in the evening but by the time we got there the sun was down and the house had no electricity. We toured it with flashlights but it was pitchblack! As we were looking at the siding on the house up with our backs to the fence line, we turn to see someone walk right in front of us between the house and the fence while we were standing there. They said absolutely nothing and went on to the street.
My heart literally stopped – it was so friggin spooky! This person definitely did not expect anyone to be on the property and obviously it was too late, they had already entered the backyard so they decided to keep on and just walk right through our little group. In the pitch black we never saw him until he was right up on us. Terrifying haha!
Clarissa McNeill of Staats Solutions, Marketing Lead
If you’ve got a chilling tale from a showing or open house let us know! You just might be featured in next October’s Eerie Experiences Contest. Happy Halloween!