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THE troublesome sale of a beautiful mansion in upstate New York has earned a place in history after the state’s Supreme Court ruled it was legally haunted.
Former resident Helen Ackley was sued by a real estate investor after she sold the property without discussing her poltergeist problem.
Located in beautiful Nyack, an hour north of New York City, the Ackley House is a massive 15-bedroom mansion with an enviable location right on the Hudson River.
At first glance, the 19th-century home is a dream property with a rich history of celebrities and the ultra-wealthy passing through the stylish halls.
But behind the original hardwood floors and Revolutionary War-era crown molding is a dark history.
Former owner Helen Ackley, who lived there from the 1960s to the 1980s, publicly discussed having multiple brushes with paranormal activity while she and her husband raised their children.
In 1970, she published a piece in Reader’s Digest where she described seeing disembodied moccasined feet moving on their own, and a man in Colonial garb standing in a doorway, among other experiences.
Her daughter, who was in high school at the time, said she was constantly awakened by something shaking her bed but could get back to sleep after she kindly asked the room to leave her alone, House Beautiful reports.
Despite the constant brushes with ghosts, Ackley and her family lived happily and felt friendly toward the 19th-century spirits, she later revealed in the essay.
In 1989, Ackley put the property on the market and eventually started selling it to Wall Street bond trader Jeffrey Stambovsky.
During the sale process, she allegedly failed to mention her invisible friends who lived within the walls.
Stambovsky found out about the alleged ghosts and sued Ackley in a bombshell legal move that would make national headlines.
The issue was eventually brought to New York’s Supreme Court, which sided with the buyer, thus declaring the home legally haunted.
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The court decreed that all owners would have to reveal the tales of paranormal activity before a sale could be finalized.
Since the historic ruling, the Ackley mansion has regularly exchanged hands, despite similar homes normally staying off the market for generations.
One broker who represented the sale of the property twice said he always had an eerie feeling in the basement of the home and even experienced a supernatural event himself.
In 2012, he was walking around the house and turning the lights on before a client came for a showing, he wrote in a blog post.
After screwing in the last lightbulb, he walked in with the potential buyers and found it had burst and a small fire started.
A lampshade caught fire before he was able to put everything out.
In the 1990s, filmmaker Adam Brooks, who co-wrote Practical Magic, moved in for what would be a 20-year stint.
He never reported having a ghostly experience.
Soon after Brooks left, singer and songwriter Ingrid Michaelson scooped it off the market and lived there from 2012 to 2015 before listing the property for $1.9 million.
Despite her short stay, she said she loved the home and had no negative experiences.
“I absolutely adored living at One LaVeta,” Michaelson said, per the New York Post.
“It’s a magical home. It’s a memorable home.
“It’s a home where people gather, it draws you in and comforts you. And the view is unbeatable.”
Today, the home is owned by Jewish rapper and reggae singer Matisyahu.