Once Stambovsky found out that the house is allegedly haunted by three 18th century spirits, he tried to back out of the deal and recover his $32,500 down payment. The owner, Helen Aukley, had no legal duty to tell Jeffrey Stambovsky that the house was inhabited by ghosts, said Justice Edward Lehner. “In light of the default of the plaintiff under the contract of sale, he is not entitled to a return of his down payment,” he wrote. Now Stambovsky has a choice of losing the money or losing sleep. Auckley said the house is an 18-room Victorian along the majestic Hudson River in Nyack, about 50 kilometers north of New York City.
The ghosts are a young Revolutionary-era naval lieutenant in his early 20s, a young woman in her early 20s and a man in his 60s, both in Colonial garb. Stambovsky, a bond trader, complained in court papers that the spirit of his August 1989 real estate deal with Auckley was violated when she failed to tell him about the ghosts. Among other things, the house's reputation lessens its value, he said. He said he learned about her “other-worldly friends” when, after putting down five percent of the $650,000 price of the house, an architect he tried to hire refused to work there because of its reputation.
Barbara Wilmit, one of Stambovsky lawyers, said Auckley determined that the ghosts “would not be a selling feature” so she didn't mention them. After learning about the house's reputation, Stambovsky said, he afraid to leave his then pregnant wife alone there. Auckley said she believes it was really Stambovsky wife who wanted to back out of the deal. “She was very upset when she found out about the ghosts,” she said. Auckley said she likes the ghosts. She wrote about her life with them in the May 1977 Reader's Digest in an article entitled “Our Haunted House on the Hudson.” “I guess they're friends,” she said. “I've been here with them 24 years.”
Auckley said that when her four grown children were young, the ghosts would do things such as shake their beds to get them up in the morning. “If they tried to stay in bed, the shaking would get worse,” she said. ”They were both bounced out of bed at one time.”The ghosts also left gifts, Auckley said. She said one daughter got a silver friendship ring that was a perfect fit. Once she sells the house, she said, she plans to move to Orlando, Florida. She noted that ghosts usually get attached either to a particular person or a specific place and she doesn't know what kind of ghosts she has. “If they want to come with me, I'd be glad to have them.” she said.
