Tenants Fear Rental House Is Haunted, Sue for Refund
The New Jersey town of Toms River is home to a new kind of horror, and it lives at 100 Terrace Ave. Or so Josue Chinchilla and his fiance Michele Callan claim.
The couple has filed a haunted house lawsuit against the home's owner, alleging that the rental property houses at least one paranormal entity. Between the moving doors, flickering lights and strange voices whispering "let it burn," they believe they had no choice but to flee the property.
Now they want their $2,250 security deposit back.
The family, which also includes two children, tried to ignore the strange activity, reports the Asbury Park Press. But when the ghost began to pull Chinchilla’s sheets off the bed and Callan saw a dark apparition in the bedroom, they knew they had to leave.
The home’s owner thinks the entire haunted house lawsuit is a ruse, reports the paper. He thinks they simply can’t afford the rent, and are making up the story. He also claims that he has rented the home for the last 10 years without issue.
But the Shore Paranormal Research Society has investigated and says there is some “paranormal” activity, notes the Huffington Post. An investigator from NJ Paranormal Investigators also claims the home is “the site of an active or intelligent haunting.”
Wait, what if Chinchilla and Callan brought the ghost with them?
This is a serious inquiry and certainly one the judge will need to make. If the landlord knew about the haunting, he may have had a duty to disclose the information before the lease was signed. It’s arguably a material fact. But if they brought the ghost with them? Well, then it’s a haunting of their own making, which means the haunted house lawsuit would have to fail.
Related Resources:
- New Jersey couple sues, claiming rented house is haunted (USA Today)
- Security Deposit Laws (FindLaw)
- Haunted Real Estate: Must Disclose Haunted House? (FindLaw’s Law & Daily Life)