Haunted addresses on record in Delaware
What Delaware requires
Delaware law says a property's psychological history — including a past homicide, suicide, other felony, or a reputation for being haunted — is simply not a 'material fact' sellers or agents have to disclose. But if a buyer puts a specific question about it in writing, the seller or agent has to answer honestly.
Delaware has a dedicated statute on this exact topic: 24 Del. C. Section 2927, titled 'Certain psychological impacts not material facts.' It states that the fact or suspicion that a property is psychologically impacted is not a material fact requiring disclosure in a real estate sale, and it shields owners, landlords, and real estate licensees from liability for failing to inquire about, disclose, or release that kind of information. The law defines 'psychologically impacted' to include a property having been (or being suspected to have been) the site of a homicide, suicide, or other felony other than arson, as well as an occupant's HIV/AIDS status or similar diagnosis.
Delaware does not have a California-style death-disclosure window (no three-year or similar cutoff appears in the statute) — instead it takes the opposite default: no duty to disclose at all, regardless of how recent the incident was, unless the buyer specifically asks.
The ask rule applies, with one carve-out. If a buyer makes a specific written request asking about a property's psychological impact, the owner, landlord, or licensee must respond accurately based on what they actually know. The one exception is HIV/AIDS status or comparable medical conditions — the statute appears to bar disclosure of that information even in response to a direct written request, unlike the homicide/suicide/felony category.
No Delaware court case comparable to New York's well-known 'legally haunted house' ruling (Stambovsky v. Ackley) turned up in this research. Delaware's approach is purely statutory: silence is legal by default, a written question changes that for crime-related stigma, and medical-history stigma stays protected either way.
General information, not legal advice. Laws change and turn on details — for a real decision, talk to a licensed professional in Delaware.
The Delaware record is waiting
No entries filed from Delaware yet. If something happened at an address you know, write it down — you may be the reason the next resident feels less alone at 3 AM.