What responsibility does a person have to reveal that several other people claimed to have heard a ghost in the house?

USA answer. Not applicable if you live in another country.

< *was* a tombstone> *Was* is past tense. Where is it now? Did you contact the authorities? I'm sure you realize you could be charged with theft or illegal possession of a grave marker if it is found on your property. It's a serious offense to unlawfully possess a headstone in every state. It will cost time and money to prove it came with the house. If you are still in possession of it, I strongly suggest you contact the property authority in your area.

By agent , you mean real estate agent. If they can't answer it they don't know their state law. Find another realtor.

Did you ask your question on the law or real estate forum? I think you would get better answers.

Again, states have different laws in regards to disclosure & if you want a more accurate answer I suggest you mention the state the house is located in.

As for the disclosure of *material* facts. Again, laws vary by state. What's not considered 'material' in one state may be in another. There are laws on " stigmatized properties". In some states you are required to disclose *any* recent death.

I take it no one else here has heard of the famous legal case referred to as the "Ghostbuster Ruling".

It was a case in NY some years ago where the seller sued the owner because the owner failed to disclose a 'haunting" . The original verdict was in favor of the buyer but was overturned on appeal but NOT because a 'ghost' on the property wasn't a 'material' fact when making a decision to buy a home but because the jury applied the caveat emptor rule (buyer beware) which has been abandoned in later years in almost every state's RE law.

If I recall correctly the buyer and seller did come to an agreement after the seller won the case on appeal & they split the difference on the down payment.. This case still pops up in RE blogs across the country. 'Many states have recently changed their disclosure laws in regards to stigmatized properties due to new privacy laws and now say an emotional reason or psychological stigmas such as a death are no longer considered material facts. I think there are still some states which consider an "emotional' reason such as a recent death or paranormal activity because it is unexplained & can be scary to be a material fact. There are other states which are contemplating new legislation in regards to paranormal activity & whether it needs to be disclosed. Once again, it depends on the laws in your state.. Even if you live in a state where you don't have to disclose the info , some buyers will pay a firm which specializes in finding out this type of info for them..

Something you may want to note. In the 'ghostbuster' case, the owner of the 'haunted' house made it public by writing a story about it in a magazine. You might be doing the same by writing about it on public forums ;)

As for your defense - is that true ? My advice is if you want to avoid legal trouble down the road you need to disclose everything to the realtor. The US is a sue happy nation & people will sue for any reason. You would prob win but it will cost you time and money to do so. There are many people who would not want to buy a house with an 'alleged' ghost just like there are many people who don't want buy a home where some one passed away. Who knows, it could even be a selling point.

< aural> <Who heard the sounds? Age & relationship to you please & do they live in the house? I think you should ask a separate question or two.

ETA

I just read your comment . A cabin in the woods. If there is a private family plot on your property or any burial for that matter it has to be disclosed by law when you sell.

Since I don't think ghosts are real I would conclude that my visitors were an imaginative bunch, and would feel no particular obligation to reveal to anyone what they may have thought they saw or heard.

I don't know that this is really a non-explained experience, you just haven't given us enough information to really form an opinion. Like Gary said telling people that there is a ghost with certain characteristics in you house will greatly influence their interpretation of anything they hear or experience.

And if I was there and a ghost started talking to me the first thing I would try and do is make darn sure I wasn't imagining it, like making sure I was fully awake, asking other people if they could hear it, trying to record it etcetera ....

Real estate wise I think they would only have a claim if the house had a reputation for being haunted which would decrease it's value. Like a house which has had a violent well publicised murder in it is undesirable.

A party to a contract, such as selling a house, has a duty to disclose all material facts.

Since ghosts do not exist, there are no facts about them to be disclosed.

If a buyer tried to sue a house seller for allegedly failing to state that the house was haunted by a ghost, the case would fail as the court would surely take the view that the house was not in fact haunted and so the seller had told the truth.

A more interesting case would arise if a person bought a property or object because it was stated to be haunted, then sued the seller for misrepresentation claiming that the place or thing was not really haunted.

As soon as you mention it you bias people's thinking. So you'd be better off not saying anything, then see what reports you get back.

There is certainly no responsibility to "reveal" anything about "ghosts" to anybody.

Send the boy to the light. Tell him that is where he may find his mother.

It's not rocket science.

Please understand that a ghost is totally harm-less and noise-less so if you are hearing noises around your residences then you have a demonic visitor.............................