Assessing the property value of 'Resident Evil' Spencer Mansion

Certain homes in the horror genre are iconic, for example, the residence from The Amityville Horror, the cabin from The Evil Dead and the Spencer Mansion from the game, Resident Evil.

The Amityville home is real, the Evil Dead cabin can easily be built, but what about the zombie-infested mansion in the popular video game? Have you ever wondered what it would look like for real and what it would cost? Have no FEAR because uber-fanboy and novelty real estate blogger Randy Nelson broke it all down for us.

This may have been a fun task but, damn, he took this very seriously! Taking into account all the rooms (not including mutants and zombies) and the most important factor in real estate ... location, location, location. Nelson broke down the mansion located in the fictitious Arklay Mountains outside of Raccoon City. He also made the argument that this location was most likely in Missouri vs. Pennsylvania because it has the most features in common with Springfield, MO.

With this location identified as Springfield, MO, the Arklays would be the Ozarks. This is how Nelson got the price for the square footage. Before we give you the price, what does the house include and how big is it?

The Spencer Mansion is "known to have 28 rooms" says Nelson, "including its expansive dining room, a gallery, a room of armor, and a library, all full of traps and puzzles."

He adds, "Oddly enough, the mansion only has one bathroom, and it’s occupied … by a zombie."

By taking speculated measurements, he estimated that the square footage of the main structure (not including the underground passageways, lab or guard house) totals 10,125 square feet.

Nelson continues to get really detailed: “I found four mansions in the 10,000 square foot range in the area, ranging from $1.5 to $2.5 million. After calculating their individual price per square feet, I ended up with an average price per square foot of $173.”

With this price estimated, the total cost of the Spencer Mansion would be a mere $1,751,625. That, of course, doesn’t include move-in costs.

Not too bad -- unless you get lots of unwanted and undead visitors!

Check out other fun breakdowns over at the Novelty Real Estate section of Movoto.com.

-Larissa Mrykalo

'Amityville' doc worth a viewing

If you’re a fan of the paranormal, or even if you’re not, you’ve probably seen at least one of the films made about the infamous Amityville horror house. You have also probably heard about the controversy that surrounds the case, which includes whether the Lutz family who reported the hauntings were telling the truth.

A new documentary from IFC films, released March 15, titled My Amityville Horror allows one of the surviving residents to tell his story. Daniel Lutz was only 10-years-old when his family lived in the home in 1974 for a mere 28 days, but he has some memories that just won’t "get out." He's convinced he was a "victim of evil" and is desperate for his experiences to be believed.

According the The Huffington Post, "Lutz recalls his time at the house, which apparently included seeing hundreds upon hundreds of flies, slamming doors and other very dark occurrences."

He is also described as being very reluctant to talk about his experiences and was certain he was possessed. The movie also explores the truth versus hoax debate, and includes insights from paranormal "expert" Lorraine Warren, and a session with a psychologist.

If you’ve ever had your doubts about this controversial case, we recommend checking out the trailer embedded below. The documentary is currently in select theaters and on Cable VOD.


My Amityville Horror - Official Trailer from Eric Walter on Vimeo.

'Haunted' Thorpe Park hires ghost buster for new ride

So you're planning a new ride at perhaps the most popular theme park in the country (this particular country being England). It is going to be a doozy of a ride, a water one, in fact, with a 64-foot descent in a wild water raft that never stops spiralling all set in a themed New Hampshire town hit by a tidal wave.

Yup, the "Storm Surge" ride was going to be awesome - except for one problem: After all the planning that went into this ride, once work began, people started seeing ghosts hanging about, including one of a headless monk.

What do you do?

Well, according to The Press Association, if you're Thorpe Park in Surrey, England, you move the ride and hire a paranormal investigator to observe the ride's March 17 opening. After stories of paranormal sightings went public, the park hired ghost buster Jim Arnold to hang out at the opening and "monitor the situation for the next 12 months" over fears that the ride has disturbed ancient burial grounds.

"If the spirits are unhappy with anything, we should pick something up straight away," he says.

 Meanwhile, Mike Vallis, divisional director of Thorpe Park, tell The Press Association, "The interest as to whether we might have disturbed a paranormal element has been immense and advice from more than 30 paranormal mediums and religious members, who contacted the park, has been to bless the site, which we have done, for peace of mind of staff and customers."

Stealth coaster, also in 'Amity,'
photo by Neil Lewin

OK, so jokes about meddling kids and haunted amusement parks aside, this is an interesting news bit - and also potential publicity stunt.

While believers might find the activity conceivable at the construction site (built upon an old quarry), it also makes sense that a theme park may want to drum up attention in advance of their big season and much-hyped ride. Keep in mind this is the same Thorpe Park that comically banned roller coaster riders from raising their arms on hot days to stop the spread of body odor. The stinky ban was never enforced but resulted in a lot of press for the park, and was chalked up as a stunt.

So like the stinky ban, who is to say the haunted water ride isn't yet another P.R. move? After all, a quick visit to the Storm Surge Web site reveals the name for the drowned town is Amity, which makes us think of sharks and ghostly Amityvill-ians.  

Not to mention, the event was important enough to Thorpe Park to have their press relations team draft a press release on the matter (which follows) ... but we're still pulling for the headless monk.

The Thorpe Park press release:

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY PROMPTS THORPE PARK MANAGEMENT TO CALL IN FORENSIC EXPERTS AT NEW RIDE STORM SURGE 

Known for its heart racing, thrill chasing rides, THORPE PARK is well versed at dealing with the screams of terror and torment from its guests. But when employees at the nation’s Thrill Capital started to feel the fear around the development of new ride Storm Surge, management decided to take action with some dramatic conclusions. During its planning stages, the location of the new water ride due to open in March 2011, was set to be parallel to an area known as Monk’s Walk, an old footpath that has linked the ruins of Chertsey Abbey to Thorpe Church since AD666. Following an increase of employee reported ghostly sightings around the proposed site, including that of a headless monk, senior Park management decided to appease worries by consulting a registered paranormal detection agency with some worrying results. 

Mike Vallis, Divisional Director of THORPE PARK comments: “It became apparent that something strange was going on when teams started clearing Storm Surge’s initial site. Staff reports of eerie goings on in the Park shot up and the only physical change in the Park, at that time, was the beginning of ground preparation work for the new ride. As employees were getting freaked out, we decided to call on an expert to see whether there was anything to report but had no idea of the dramatic effects.” 

Following a management review of the report produced by South West London Paranormal, and consultation with them in November 2010, it was recommended a deeper investigation be carried out. 

Senior Paranormal expert of South West London Paranormal, Jim Arnold comments: “We carry out these kinds of investigations quite regularly, with medium to weak results being reported on a weekly basis. THORPE PARK however was more striking as results were picked up immediately, with orbs, ghostly images in photography and Ouija reaction results being strongest around the site where they were proposing to build Storm Surge. The results were so strong, we felt the only explanation could be that an ancient burial ground or settlement was being disturbed, prompting the extra paranormal activity.” 

Being one of the country’s tallest water rides, towering at 64 feet tall, Storm Surge’s foundations would have penetrated over fifteen metres deep disturbing anything in their path – something management were keen to avoid as stone coffins have previously been excavated from areas nearby. Fearing groundwork teams for the new ride may end up disturbing an ancient settlement or burial ground, and keen to hit the Storm Surge opening date of 17th March 2011, management took the unprecedented decision to immediately relocate the ride to another area of the Park and call in a forensic team to investigate. Forensic Geophysicist and research fellow Peter Masters of Cranfield University has since been called in to analyse the site, using deep ground radar, to decide whether the paranormal claims could be with merit. 

Peter Masters comments: “From the preliminary investigations we have picked up signatures similar to that of a burial ground – possibly ancient. Although this could simply be an old building, with THORPE PARK’s history, the investigation is definitely worth continuing.” 

The forensic investigation will continue until March 2011, by which point Storm Surge, in its new location, will be open to the public. As a matter of precaution, THORPE PARK management has also enlisted the help of Reverend Tim Hillier (Rural Dean of Runnymede) and Fr. Damian Miles (Vicar of Thorpe) to bless the areas involved. This includes Storm Surge to ensure customers aren’t scared away by haunting tales of terror or idle paranormal gossip. Mike Vallis, 

Divisional Director of THORPE PARK comments: “It has definitely been a rollercoaster few months. It was a huge decision for us to relocate Storm Surge, however the potential of us disturbing anything, be it paranormal or otherwise, is definitely not something we wanted to do. That and the fact that we want to ensure our employees carry 100% peace of mind whilst working.”

'Amityville Horror' house up for sale

Have a love of haunted history and a cool $1.15 million to spare?  Then head out to Amityville in Long Island, NY, to buy the house where evil was a landlord (cue music)...

Built in 1927, the five-bedroom Dutch Colonial house, "set sideways" and located on a canal, is the site where Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered six family members in 1974. It is also the home where George Lutz and wife Kathleen lived.

After moving in in 1975, 28 days later (never a good number), the Lutzes moved out because of evil ghostly happenings in the building - which was also investigated by Ed and Lorraine Warren. The tale cemented the home's place as one of the most famous in modern paranormal pop culture, and was the basis for Jay Anson's 1977 book, The Amityville Horror: A True Story, along with the James Brolin and Margot Kidder movie in 1979 and the updated 2005 film starring Ryan Reynolds.

According to Newsday and Luxist, James Cromarty bought the house in 1977 after the bank foreclosed on it and lived there 10 years without incident. He and his wife sold the house in 1987 to Peter and Jeanne O'Neill and they sold the house in 1997 for $310,000 to the current owner.

The realtor's listing states the waterfront home is located on 108 Ocean Ave. - changed from the previous address of 112 Ocean Ave. to protect owners' privacy - has 3,600 square feet, 11 rooms, hardwood floors, a solarium and boathouse.

The realtor fails to mention the, shall we say, "colorful" history of the house and opts for a side view of the house. This front view, taken by me, is slightly more recognizable but still different from the forboding structure made famous in the movies. If you're considering purchasing this property, there's probably a huge "buyer beware" sticker attached, but there's been no word about supernatural activity in the home since the Lutzes left.

Finally, based on a personal visit, this is a gorgeous, quaint neighborhood that make bleeding walls almost worth it for this price.