Who you gonna call? In this case, perhaps your real estate agent.
Believe it or not, a home on the market in Nyack, New York was once deemed legally haunted, and its would-be buyer received legal recourse. That’s all thanks to Stambovsky v. Ackley, also known as the Ghostbusters ruling.
In the 1991 ruling, the New York Supreme Court allowed the almost-buyer of 1 LaVeta Place, Jeffrey Stambovsky, to cancel the purchase. The home’s owner, Helen Ackley, had publicly advertised it as haunted, but Stambovsky claimed he wasn’t advised of the haunting. “[A]s a matter of law, the house is haunted,” the ruling said. Stambovsky had to forfeit his down payment, but was no longer obligated to buy the house — and risk being possessed by its spirits.
You may be wondering as Halloween approaches (or any day of the year), but no, the Ghostbusters ruling did not require subsequent home sellers in New York to disclose hauntings to potential buyers. It did, however, set a narrow precedent regarding the duties of buyers and sellers when it comes to so-called stigmatized properties. Here’s everything to know about the Ghostbusters ruling, especially if you’re a brave buyer or seller of an NYC home.
NYC homes for sale under $1M on StreetEasy Article continues below
The bizarre backstory of the Ghostbusters ruling
Helen Ackley had previously spoken of the existence of ghosts in the house in a Reader’s Digest article, “Our Haunted House on the Hudson”, published in May 1977. The home was also included on a walking tour of Nyack, and on three occasions between 1977 and 1989, a local newspaper reported the haunting. One article in the paper even described it as “a riverfront Victorian (with ghost),” according to the Library of Congress Blogs. Among other eerie instances, Ackley and members of her family had claimed in the press that:
- Poltergeists interacted directly with them.
- Grandchildren received baby rings as “gifts,” which later disappeared.
- A ghost would wake her daughter, Cynthia, in the mornings by shaking her bed.
- On one occasion, Cynthia shouted that she didn’t have to wake up early and wanted to sleep in. Her bed did not shake the next morning.
The family eventually learned to live with these spirited beings. “We have come to savor these happenings. They give a sense of the continuity of the past with the present and with the future. These elusive spirits seem gracious, thoughtful—only occasionally frightening—and thoroughly entertaining,” Ackley wrote in the Reader’s Digest article. “Now we wonder: if the time comes for us to move again, is there any way we can take our otherworldly friends with us?”
If you can’t beat them…join them?
NYC rentals under $3,500 on StreetEasy Article continues below
Stambovsky’s story from the other side…of the transaction
New York City resident Jeffrey Stambovsky had been unfamiliar with the ghostly lore behind 1 LaVeta Place. As such, he made an offer on the home for $650,000 in the late 1980s (about $1.76 million in 2026 dollars). In the time between making the down payment and closing on the home, according to Ackley, her real estate broker called Stambovsky and informed him of the home’s haunted reputation. Stambovsky laughed and responded with “we’ll have to call in the Ghostbusters,” referencing the 1984 film and giving the ruling its colloquial name.
From the Zillow listing for 1 LaVeta Place
The broker told Ackley that Stambovsky was advised of the haunting, she signed her end of the paperwork, and the house headed to closing. However, a spooked Stambovsky “sought to rescind the $650,000 contract of sale and obtain return of his $32,500 down payment without resort to litigation,” according to the majority opinion. This effort failed, so Stambovsky took the complaint to court. He requested to cancel the contract, and also sought damages for fraudulent misrepresentation by Ackley and her broker, Ellis Realty.
The Ghostbusters ruling’s poltergeist precedent (sort of)
Shockingly, the case worked its way up to the New York Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled in Stambovsky’s favor. He may have lost the down payment, but some would say he kept his soul by not having to buy the haunted home.
“This verdict presents both sellers and buyers of real estate with complicated questions about the reputations and histories of property,” writes Sarah Friedman in the Library of Congress Blogs. 1 LaVeta Place is an example of a stigmatized property, an actual real estate term for a property buyers or tenants may avoid for reasons unrelated to its physical condition (yes, that includes allegedly haunted houses). Not so shockingly, stigmatized properties can be difficult to sell, but thrill-seeking souls might still oblige. Real estate agents in the area reported getting 25-50 calls per week from buyers interested in 1 LaVeta Place, which included The Amazing Kreskin, an American mentalist popular in the 1970s.
For buyers and sellers, legal responsibilities with regard to stigmatized properties vary from state to state. What about New York, or should we say Boo York? According to New York Real Property Law § 443-a, sellers are generally not required to disclose deaths or felony crimes that occurred in the home they’re selling. Buyers, though, can inquire about these concerns in writing, and the seller may “choose whether or not to respond to the inquiry.” That’s one email home-seekers never thought they’d find themselves sending, but in NYC where buying a home is pricey and competitive, almost anything goes.
Daring to buy a home in NYC this fall?
Haunted or not, fall can be a great time to buy a home in NYC. Moving is cheaper this time of year, the weather is gourd-geous, and buyers might encounter less competition and more discounts (not necessarily related to ghosts). As you work up the courage, see our NYC home buyer survival guide: Fall edition, read our tips for financing a home during spooky season, and get matched with a StreetEasy Expert buyer’s agent who’s helped other clients purchase similar homes to what you’re seeking.
Find NYC homes with scary good deals on StreetEasy
