Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-02-09
UNLUCKY HOUSES.
Superstitions that Sometimes Throw Q
Cloud on Real Estate.

"Are people superstitious about houses?''
said real estate man in echoing the question
OF STAR reporter. ~ should rather say that
they are. There are several things which are
apt to become attached to property which the
owner would much prefer to do without.
deed Of trust in some cases no doubt comes
within this list. Then there are tenants who
continuously and from principle forget to pay
their rent, and the tax collector, who was never
known to forget his half yearly bills. The
most helpless form of encumbrance is the idea
that i'll luck attaches to the property"
SIS that very common" asked the listener
"A great deal more SO than you would sup
pose" was the reply. 1--WE used to hear good
deal about haunted houses. but in this age
ghosts are not so numerous as they used to be,
and it is very seldom that one takes possession
Of a house. Nowadays we are told that GER
tain house is not lucky. Perhaps there has
been death in the family soon after it was oc-
cupied. Some people believe that new house
in itself is unlucky. Then there are cases
where owners Of houses have become impover-
ished and have been obliged to give up their
houses. This circumstance is apt to give bad
name to house. There are number of resi-
dences in this city which have whole list Of
Casualties attached to them, and the gossips
will harrow up your mind with a recital Of mis-
fortunes following one after the other which
would lead one to suppose that the houses have
an active agency in the fate of those who have
occupied them"
Perhaps the plumbing is defective" was the
matter-of-fact suggestion offered by THE STAR
man.
bad plumbing is answerable for great
many misfortunes," was the response, but it
can hardly be held accountable for the loss of
mans fortune. Neither does it afford an ade-
quate explanation of accidents happening to
members of the family, such as being thrown
70 cfosr and
breaking limb. 1t does not account for the
waning prosperity which seemed to come upon
one occupant after another. Houses with a
history are common enough in this city, where
so many people have lived who have been
more or less identified with the affairs of the
nation. But what seems to be remembered and
identified with house are the events Of mis-
fortune and of sorrow. So it happens that GER
tain houses come to be regarded as unfortu-
nate"
Does that interfere with the rent or sale Of
house?" inquired the listener.
Not to any extent, think" he replied
"People don't like to acknowledge that they
are superstitious, and if the house suits them
they are apt to disregard the stories connected
with it if they have heard them. It is more
commonly the case that nothing is known
about the past history of the house or the peo-
pie who have lived there. The neighbors
know all about the house and they note the
events in the lives Of the new occupants with
absorbing interest If there is death or an
accident or disaster Of any kind they are not
surprised. and they will say to themselves, il
not to Others that it was just what they ex-
pected. 1t seems ridiculous to attribute the
misfortune Of life to a residence in any par
ticular house, but that is exactly what is done
even in this advanced age of the world. There
are instances which seem to afford reasonable
ground for entertaining such a superstition
or belief in regard to the good or
bad fortune Of house. Some houses
eligibly located and well suited for domestic
and social uses have been allowed to stand
vacant and to fall into decay. It has seemed
impossible to obtain tenants; blight has fallen
upon them, and finally they have been taken
down and the ground put to other uses. Then
there are cases where change has taken place
and the tide Of ill-fortune has been arrested.
New people come in and they enjoy prosperity,
and the former reputation of the old house for
misfortune has been reversed. These instances
do not make such an impression upon the mind
that the practice Of associating ill-luck with
houses is abandoned. There is hardly any,
thing that is so generally referred to in CONVEX
sation as the connection between the events in
lives OF families and the houses which they &C.
cupy. The superstition about Friday or thr-
teen at table is not more universal than the
superstition about houses. It has only been
within the last few years that the fact of sew
eral owners Of houses, having lost their wives
short time after taking possession of their
new homes. was commented upon very gener-
ally. OF course, people did not openly attrib-
ute the deaths to the fact that the new houses
had been erected, but it was evident that the
connection between the two was very clear in
their own minds"