Of course, the jingle of the guinea has an effect, with Rightmove, “the UK’s number one property website”, recently promoting the haunted reputation of properties to attract buyers. On the whole, however, knowledge that a place is haunted, that someone has died in a property, or that it stands on a site where human remains have been unearthed still acts as a deterr­ent to many purchasers and tenants (it’s one reason why developers resent archæology in Britain, with the subject being left to wither in universities). Folklore is full of stories of houses that are empty or offered for low rents on account of their haunted reputations (see Steve Roud’s The Lore of London, 2008). During the late 1960s, a whole haunted mansion, Saltoun Hall in East Lothian (above), was on the market at a rent of £6 – although, of course, £6 went a lot further in those days of controlled rents (Source: The Weekly Scotsman, 9 Mar 1967). Similarly, in 2003 no buyer could be found for the haunted White Horse Inn at Yarmouth, Norfolk (Eastern Daily Press, 8 Sept 2003).

However, ghosts have been used as a promotional ploy for firms in the past. “Wanted – Period Residence with Desirable Ghost” was a story generated by a Newton Abbot property firm in the Evening Standard (8 Oct 1964). A Mr Philip Cohn optimistic­ally claimed: “Many people just love to have a ghost about the house, to give the place an atmo­sphere and keep them company. But we like the ghosts to be auth­entic – no rumours or fairy tales.” It was claimed that the firm had sold a number of haunted properties, including Waterside Manor near Dartford, which allegedly poss­essed “a sociable lady ghost who carries her head tucked underneath her arm”. Mr Cohn also claimed he had a client from Lancashire looking for “a dilapidated manor house or rectory with a headless ghost and weed-overgrown garden”. Whether these claims boosted the fortunes of the firm remains unknown.