In a landmark New York case from 1991—famously dubbed the “Ghostbusters ruling”—a seller had publicly promoted her home as haunted in Reader’s Digest and local media, only to deny it during sale negotiations. The appellate court ruled that because she had openly advertised it as haunted, the house was legally deemed haunted “as a matter of law,” allowing the buyer to back out of the contract.

Despite the eerie allure, most U.S. states don’t require sellers to disclose paranormal activity—unless buyers ask directly. Only New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Minnesota address hauntings in their real estate laws. In New Jersey, a seller must answer honestly when asked. In New York, if a seller has promoted the haunting publicly, a court may cancel the sale. In Massachusetts and Minnesota, paranormal activity is explicitly excluded from mandatory disclosure requirements.