After enduring howls in the night and creaking staircases for the past three years, an Italian family is preparing to sue the previous owners of their house for not telling them it was haunted.Gaetano Bastianelli, 57, and his wife Stefania paid €120,000 (£94,000) for the modern home in the Umbrian town of Spoleto in 2005 - encouraged by the fact that all the furniture and fittings were left by the owners, right down to the coffee cups. "We considered it the deal of the century," said Mr Bastianelli.The couple claim they were unaware that the house in Santo Chiodo road had been built close to the disused Pozzi Ginori cemetery, or that strange goings-on at the address during the 1970s had necessitated an exorcism - and prompted a visit from Perugia University's paranormal research team. "The ghosts started their haunting on the first night," said Mr Bastianelli, a former long-distance lorry driver. "I woke suddenly at around one or two in the morning. There was water seeping from under the bathroom door."The hot water tap was pouring out boiling water and the room was full of steam. My wife was stunned, because she had turned off everything before going to bed."He claimed that by next morning, malevolent spirits had left "luminous green mould all over the walls".After that things got worse. He said the sound of chains rattling had alarmed his 10-year-old daughter, and claimed that the lawnmower and his wife's car had spontaneously combusted.Now Mr Bastianelli has engaged a lawyer, Antonio Francesconi, to sue the previous owners for failing to inform him that the house was haunted.

"We have a good case," said Mr Francesconi. "Under article 1490 of Italian law, you have to tell buyers if there is anything wrong. I think that the previous owners will settle out of court."A local historian, Sergio Grifoni, confirmed that an exorcism had been performed on a girl in the house in 1977."The local papers at the time said a girl had been possessed by the devil and had been taken to the bishop.

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Well then, the occupents were there before this family. And thus they have the right to decide whether the newcomers can come or stay. Seeing as the newcomers have trespassed.

It all sounds far too hollywood anyway. They just want money. And I hope they lose the court case.

Did Like the twist of the Movie The Others….Chokmah’s right on Man…

If its truth, that means the new owners were deceived.... but on the other hand haunted house sounds really strange. Cant believe it.
It has to be diferent reason, perhaps some weired deeply rooted believes?
Italians are catolics and due to they see an evil in every all strange things.

Even if strange things were not going on and the current tenants found this little tidbit of info out, because the sellers did not disclose this and it is the law, they are liable. You're right, it's probably just for the money. Weird things happen all the time after you move into a place until you get used to your new environment.

Are you legally obliged to tell buyers that the house is haunted? I mean, I understand about letting buyers know if something is wrong. . .but if we can't even prove that ghosts exist, isn't this lawsuit a little frivelous? I mean, you can't sue people over something that alot of people don't even believe exist.. . I know if someone told me that before I bought a house, I'd think they were crazy. . .but I'd be secretly ecstatic at the same time. . .

It depends on the law where you are buying the house. I was a Realtor and in my state -- no, we were not obligated to tell such things. We could tell this only when we had written consent of seller, when we were representing the seller. So, we did not have to disclose this info at all to potential buyers unless seller wanted it disclosed. It just depends on the location and in Italy (where this took place), it is the law to inform buyers of such things.

I would want to know if the house I was buying had a few skeletons in the closet! hehe

You've got a point, I've always wondered if you had to disclose that you thought a house was haunted if people might think you are nuts for saying that.. Most people would run from a house like this. However, some potential home buyers actually want a house that's haunted. Go figure

It sounded like the previous owner ran out of the house and never looked back since they left ALL of the furniture there. Even if the previous owners warned people that the house was haunted, people probably wouldn't believe them any way.