Georgiana Mihaila With the help of Redditors, we picked 10 of the creepiest buildings in Los Angeles, and dug deep in their property reports to tell their real estate story.
Rarely has there been a horror story without a brick and mortar location to serve as its background.
And since there’s such a strong connection between real estate and terrifying tales, we thought we’d answer some of the questions on everybody’s mind:
- Who owns these dilapidated buildings?
- How much do creepy backstories slash off the price of a property?
- Are there any building permits pulled out for them? Any activity at all?
Well, let’s take them one at a time:
1. The Linda Vista Hospital
Spooky because: It’s been abandoned over two decades ago and reports of paranormal activities (mostly hauntings) have been literally pouring throughout the years – credited to the large number of gang shooting, stabbing, and beating victims that crossed the hospital’s doors in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Real estate spooks: the numerous permits filed for the building show intensive work over at the former Linda Vista Hospital. The building permits section of the property report show a change of use from historic hospital to affordable senior housing; because nothing tells grandma you love her quite like a place in a popular ghosts hangout.
2. The Cecil Hotel
Spooky because: “Not too long ago a girl was found dead in some form of water tank at the Cecil. Residents there later realized that they were using and possibly drinking decomposing corpse water. Anyways, kind of a mystery because the girl’s death was ruled suicide, yet a video suggested that she may have been followed.” — via Reddit.
Real estate spooks: The Cecil Hotel sold earlier this year for $15 million – that’s $11 million short of what it was bought for back in 2007 (talk about a ROI horror tale!).
3. The Elegant Manor
Spooky because: Since 1906, the 3115 W Adams Bldv manor served as home to pretty much everything from weddings to religious gatherings, AA meetings, and social events of all sorts. It wasn’t until January 2004 when — according to the LA Times — two teen siblings were shot and killed by gang members during a party on the premises, did the property become famous for its hauntings. Currently, “this house is being used for the interactive haunted play Delusion. I was just there last Friday”, said one of the Redditors, “not only is the play fantastically scary, but this house is spooky as hell.”
Real estate spooks: With a troubled history of liens, the 3115 W Adams Blvd. home was scheduled for auction twice in 2006, and again in 2007. The property report also shows that the Elegant Manor is currently up for sale; with a $999,000 price tag, the house is being marketed primarily to architects, building restoration experts, and collectors.
4. The Weissmuller/ Nicolosi Estate
Spooky because: With a rich past of celebrity tenants – ranging from Tarzan-actor/five-time Olympic-gold-medalist Johnny Weissmuller to William Randolph Hearst’s mistress, actress Marion Davies – the estate was completely gutted by a fire sometime in the late ‘80s. It is said that a previous tenant has set it on fire on Christmas Eve, fleeing and leaving his family inside.
Real estate spooks: The building permits section of the property report shows that a Nicolosi still owns the property, and that she pulled out permits for fire damage repair and reconstruction of 3,597 square feet back in 1999. Yet the $1.2 million repairs did not move past the planning stage, and the last year when the property was altered is 1987.
5. The Metropolitan Courthouse
Spooky because: it looks like it was taken straight out of George Orwell’s ‘1984’.
Real estate spooks: Naturally, it’s government-owned property. No spooks there, until we realized that 5 other (equally intimidating) buildings nominated by Redditors are all government-owned properties. Wondering which ones? Here’s a list:
6.The Pico House
7. The Lincoln Heights Jail
8.The Griffith Park Zoo
9. The LAC USG General Hospital
10. The Downey Insane Asylum
What building gives you the creeps and why? Look it up on PropertyShark and see the real estate side of its story! If you don’t have an active subscription, sign up for a free account and your first property report is on us.
Disclaimer: PropertyShark employees do not believe in ghosts; but they sure like a good story, especially one with a real estate twist to it!
