Dead Cheap: 6 in 10 Would Sleep in a Room Where Someone Died to Save on Housing

More than one in four would move into a murder house for less — and one in five would hide a home’s dark past from the person moving in with them.

With the housing crisis squeezing renters and buyers, a cheaper price is enough for 60% of people to sleep in the exact room where someone died, according to new research from Casinos Analyzer.

The list of what people will tolerate for a lower rent or mortgage runs from a cemetery outside the window to a home where someone was murdered, and 80% would accept at least one of these. The findings come from a survey of 1,000 adults aged 21 to 45, carried out ahead of Halloween.

Key findings

• 60% would sleep in the exact room where someone died if it knocked money off the price
• 51% would live right next to a cemetery for a cheaper home
• 35% would move into a house everyone says is haunted
• 27% would live in a home where someone was murdered
• 80% would accept at least one dark detail for a cheaper place to rent or buy
• 55% said bad Wi-Fi or no phone signal would put them off a place more than finding out someone died in it
• 22% would keep a home`s dark past secret from a partner or flatmate moving in

The Neighbours Are Dead, but the Rent Is Cheaper

Living next to a cemetery is the compromise people are most willing to make. Just over half (51%) would live right next to one if it meant paying less, accepting a view of headstones in exchange for a smaller rent or mortgage payment.

A former burial ground is a different matter. Only 19% would live on one, which makes a cemetery next door nearly three times as acceptable as one beneath the floorboards.

The other options fall in between. A reputation for ghosts puts off fewer people than a violent past, with 35% willing to move into a house everyone says is haunted and 27% willing to live where someone was murdered. 21% would move into a former funeral home.

Signing first, asking questions later

The same thinking applies to the bedroom. 60% would sleep in the exact room where someone died if it knocked money off the price, while 40% would refuse. For the majority, the saving matters more than who slept there before.

Finding out after moving in rarely changes the decision. If news of a death only comes out after the contract is signed, just 12% would move out, and 35% would stay. The most common answer, given by 48%, is that it would depend on how the person died. Another 5% would start filming it for TikTok or stream it.

Connectivity can matter more than a home`s past. For 55% of people, bad Wi-Fi or no phone signal would put them off a place more than learning someone had died there, while 45% would be more put off by the death.

Til Death Do Us Part — Unless the House Has a Past

A cheaper home with a dark history is one thing when you’re making the decision alone. It gets a little more complicated when a partner or flatmate is unpacking their boxes beside you. Most respondents (78%) said they would tell the person moving in about a property’s past. But 22% would keep it to themselves, even if it meant their new housemate had no idea what happened there.

A ghost story feels rather different when you’ve chosen it for a weekend away. For some couples, a supposedly haunted hotel might add a little drama to a romantic trip. 11% have already booked one, and a further 52% would consider it.

Methodology

Survey of 1,000 adults aged 21 to 45, commissioned by Casinos Analyzer, a casino research platform, as part of its ongoing research into modern lifestyles.