Ghosts & Hauntings

'Haunted house testers' are paid to spend the night

By T.K. Randall
November 18, 2021

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) While for some paranormal enthusiasts the idea of living in a haunted house might sound quite appealing, for most people, buying an allegedly haunted property is an absolute non-starter.

This is particularly problematic in China, where some real-estate agencies have gone to extraordinary lengths to prove to buyers that the houses they are selling are one-hundred percent ghost-free.

Their most effective weapon - 'haunted house testers' - a group of individuals who are literally paid to spend 24 hours in a specific abode to show that nothing paranormal is going on there.

They will typically be called in if a particular house has a haunted reputation or if some tragedy has occurred there, such as the 'unnatural death' of the former occupant.One such tester, Zhang, claims that he is paid 1 yuan (around 16 cents) for every minute he spends in the house, which comes to around $230 for the whole 24-hour period.

During his time there, he will often call his employers over video phone to let them know that everything is ok.

"The new owners don't dare to visit the property, so they pay someone else to do it, to see if it's safe," he told The South China Post.

"This job is not suitable for full-time work, but it can be flexible as an extra income. People who do this job have to travel all over the country, not knowing where their next destination will be."

"Some of my friends say it's an easy job, just sleep one night and get paid. They ask me to find clients but most are scared, many give up after the first try."

Source: Oddity Central

Tags: Haunted