"Murder House" on the TV show American Horror Story. Photo / YouTube
"Murder House" on the TV show American Horror Story. Photo / YouTube
The owners of the house from the first season of American Horror Story are suing their estate agents for $3 million US because they did not disclose that the mansion had been in the programme. They also say it is haunted by two ghosts.
The first season of the anthologyshow, American Horror Story: Murder House, aired in 2011 and depicted bloody goings-on at the Rosenheim Mansion in Los Angeles.
Dr. Ernst R. von Schwarz and Pier Angela Oakenfold bought the home in 2015 and claim they have had break-ins from fans of the Ryan Murphy (Feud, Glee) show on a weekly basis since then.
"A week before I first visited them [to work on the case], they had been awakened by the sound of glass breaking – someone came in through the window in the kitchen," their lawyer told The Real Deal.
He added that the seller and brokers failed to mention the house was haunted by two ghosts, a point that was not included in the complaint.
The suit claims the buyers would not have purchased the 10,000-square-foot house if they had known it was a "macabre tourist attraction".
They are suing on grounds of breach of contract as well as "fraudulent concealment," leaks, water damage, and mould, for around $3 million.
Rosenheim Mansion in L.A. Architect Alfred Rosenheim built it in 1908 in Country Club Park as his own residence.
The couple paid $3.2 million for the home, and said the seller and brokers had a duty to disclose the home's role in the show and the frequent visitors it attracts, and they specifically signed off that there were no nuisances to disclose in the neighbourhood.
The Tudor Gothic-style home dates from 1902 and has six bedrooms and five bathrooms.
It was previously used as a convent and has an adjoining chapel. Although the pilot episode was shot on location at the house, the rest of the season was filmed on replica sets.
