10 Ways to Learn if Anyone Died at Your Home

Learn how to research the macabre history of any property

Last Updated: March 11, 2023 References

This house checks all of your boxes, and you’re tempted to make an offer… but is this property a little too good to be true? It’s completely valid to be cautiously curious about a house’s history, especially when it comes to deaths that occurred on the property. Thankfully, it’s easier than ever to get the lowdown on your house—and we’ve got the inside scoop. Read on for plenty of easy ways to discover the truth about your property before you move in.

Things You Should Know

Search the house address online to see if anything major happened at the property.
Cross-check with newspaper archives and vital records to learn more about the property’s history.
Pay $12 on DiedInHouse to quickly find out if someone died at a certain property.
Check out HouseCreep for a free, crowd-sourced compendium of properties with creepy and/or morbid histories.

1

Google the property address.

A quick web search might yield relevant articles or other helpful info. Type in the full address of your property, including the city. For more precise results, stick part of your address in quotation marks so Google can find more exact matches (e.g., “300 Main Street”).^{[1]
X
Research source} If anything really major happened at the property, it might show up in your search results.
- Try looking up the address in the search bar on different social media platforms to see if it matches up with any posts.

2

Check newspaper archives and obituary sites.

See if any old articles or obituaries mention the home’s address. Some obituaries and death notices go into a lot of detail about the deceased individual, including where they lived. Click here for a master list of great newspaper archive sites, or search an obituary site like Legacy to get started.
- Some sites might not let you search by an exact address. In that case, type in the city and state/region and narrow your research down from there.
- Tip: If you live in the US, search historical census records or public records to find out who lived at the property before you. Then, look up the previous owners’ names on an obituary site or newspaper archive to see what comes up.

3

Ask your realtor for more info.

Most realtors don’t have to mention property deaths, so it helps to ask. In the United States, only California requires realtors to mention any recent death on a property, while states like South Dakota and Alaska require realtors to mention any violent deaths on the property. Most states don’t require realtors to mention previous property deaths at all—but they aren’t allowed to lie or cover up the home’s history if you ask about it.^{[2]
X
Research source}
- “Has anyone died on the property recently?” or “Are there any deaths associated with the property?” are good questions to ask.
- Keep in mind that realtors in states like North Dakota and Maine can only discuss previous deaths at the home if the current seller allows it.

4

Search through local vital records.

Check if the property address pops up in any death certificates. In the United States, the decedent's place of death has to be included in a death certificate, whether that’s a hospital, nursing home, hospice facility, or personal residence.^{[3]
X
Trustworthy Source
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Main public health institute for the US, run by the Dept. of Health and Human Services
Go to source}Click here for a master list of vital records websites and databases put together by the National Archives.
- If someone died at your house’s address, that info will be included in the death certificate.

5

Speak with the homeowner directly.

The current homeowner might know about the house's history. If you have the chance to speak with the current property owner, feel free to ask more probing questions about the house and the people who lived there previously. If the person has lived there for a long time, they might know a little bit about the previous owners (and if they died on the property or not).
- “I’m so sorry if this is a strange question, but do you know if any of the previous owners died on the property?”
- “This house looks like it has a lot of history. Do you know anything about the previous owners?”
- “I heard that something strange happened at this house in the early 20th century. Do you know anything about that?”
- Depending on the circumstances of the house’s sale, you might not be able to speak with the owner directly.

6

Chat with the neighbors.

Neighbors might be clued into the property’s history and previous owners. As you’re exploring the neighborhood, stop by the homes of the property’s next-door neighbors and see if they’re open to having a quick chat. Ask how long they’ve lived in the neighborhood, and if they know if anything violent or noteworthy happened at the property you’re interested in.
- “How long have you lived in the neighborhood? Has anything strange happened here in the past few years?”
- “What do you know about the property next door? I’m thinking about moving in and I just wanted to cover all my bases.”
- “Has anything criminal happened at the house next door? I don’t want to move into a property with any bad vibes or history.”

7

Visit DiedInHouse.com.

DiedInHouse provides information about American property deaths for $12. DiedInHouse is by far the quickest way to learn about any deaths on a property—simply type in the property address, pay the one-time fee, and get a comprehensive look at the house’s macabre history (if it has any). According to the website, your report will include a comprehensive overview of any fires, deaths, drug busts, and other valuable property info.^{[4]
X
Research source}
- As you checkout, the website will tell you about the death disclosure laws for your particular state.
- DiedInHouse isn’t a subscription service, but they do offer discounts if you want to purchase multiple searches at once.

8

Check HouseCreep.com.

HouseCreep highlights properties where something criminal happened. Unlike DiedInHouse, which references official property records and reports, HouseCreep is entirely crowd-sourced. On the site, people can upload info about houses/addresses with violent or otherwise criminal pasts. This site isn’t completely exhaustive, but it might shed some valuable light on your property.
- HouseCreep mostly focuses on American and Canadian properties, but there’s a small handful of international entries as well.

9

Consult NeighorWho.com.

NeighorWho explores a property’s history for a monthly fee of $35. Neighbor who doesn’t focus specifically on property deaths—instead, it gives you a full overview of a specific property (which includes deaths on the property, if applicable). Just type in the address on the site (or plug in the previous owner’s name, if you know it), pay the fee, and read through everything you’d possibly want to know about the property.

10

Pay a professional to investigate.

An investigator can do a deep dive into a property’s history for a fee. If previous deaths in the house are a serious dealbreaker for you, hiring a private investigator might be the best way to ease your worries. Some PIs might ask for a flat fee, others might charge on an hourly basis, and some might ask for an initial deposit.^{[5]
X
Research source} Discuss all the details with your prospective PI before agreeing to anything to make sure that you’re getting what you need.
- Websites like Bark make it easy to find PIs in your area.

Community Q&A

Question

Why exactly does it matter if a stranger died at your house? Are curses and ghosts real or something?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

It doesn't officially matter if someone died on a property. However, some prospective homeowners don't want to settle down in a house where something really violent happened, like a homicide or suicide.
Question

Why do some people not want to settle down in a house where something violent happened?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

It's really a matter of personal preference! Some people don't like the idea of living in a building that has really dark, negative memories attached to it, while other people don't care about the past history of the home.