This Couple Wasn’t Told Their House Was the Literal Inspiration for a Haunted TV Show

Trulia

In 2015, Dr. Ernst von Schwarz and Angela Oakenfold purchased a swanky house at 1120 Westchester Place in Olympic Park, Los Angeles. The estate is also known as the Rosenheim Mansion, and it was built in 1908 by architect Alfred Rosenheim. All sounds swell, right? Wrong.

Now bear with me, because things are going to start to sound like the plot to a horror movie. Turns out, the house is not only haunted, but it was also the inspiration for the 2011 debut season of the popular FX show that best showcases haunted places: American Horror Story.

So now the couple is suing the brokers who sold them the house (lovingly dubbed the "murder house") without spilling these details — for a hefty $3.2 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

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Apparently, the couple knew that the historic house had been the filming location for several movies and shows, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Bones, but they had neither seen American Horror Story nor known about its fervent fan base.

Since moving in, the new owners have been experiencing AHS fans coming to their property. Oakenfold recalled a time when she was in an upstairs bathroom and saw a garbage truck lifting up some teens to "get a better look at the place," she told CBS News. Obviously, she freaked out.

But it gets even more serious. As parents to a newborn, the owners are especially concerned over the frequent break-ins that have been occurring. In the past year, they've reportedly had three or four attempts. 

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One night, the couple was awoken by the sound of glass shattering. It was someone breaking into their kitchen window, as their lawyer Doug Vanderpool told The Real Deal.

But the frights aren't just coming from the breathing; the house is supposedly haunted by real two ghosts — something else that the brokers failed to tell the couple, but I'm guessing would have probably been a factor in their decision-making.

(Ironically, the AHS season that the house appeared on was about a couple who unknowingly moves into a haunted house … Just wanted to mention that here.)

Anyway, the ghosts must be benign because the couple has no plans on moving from the house, which AHS actor Evan Peters once called "really terrifying."