Morbid Real Estate: December Edition

840-842 Windom St, Pittsburgh.

 

December isn't traditionally a month known for a high number of home sales. While December of 2024 showed strong growth in the sale of new homes compared to 2023, the rest of the housing market appeared to be in a state of hibernation. The good news for sellers is that, with fewer homes on the market for a buyer to choose from, there's considerably less competition, which usually means a quicker sale. The bad news for buyers is that sellers will most likely take advantage of this fact, and will have no qualms about rejecting low offers.

As a result, you may end up with few options, some of which just might be old homes with a dark and morbid history, like the ones featured below.

1912 Briggs St., Harrisburg

 

1912 Briggs Street, Harrisburg (Dauphin County). Price: $275,000

This detached 3-unit rental property near Reservoir Park features 5 bedrooms, 3 baths and a one-car garage which the seller describes as "oversized". Not sure what that means, as it's not oversized enough to be a two car garage, but I'll take the seller's word for it.

I'm no engineer, but you probably shouldn't anchor your deck to a rotting century-old porch roof.

From the water-stained drop ceiling to the rear death-stairs which seem to be as structurally sound as a deep-sea submarine made from an egg carton, my general impression is that this building's got more issues than a comic book collector. For instance, take a look at the placement of this kitchen sink, which makes it pretty tricky to open up the door to the basement (I'm guessing). Of course, if you knew the history of this house, you just might want to avoid the basement altogether.

 

On August 29, 1931, the lifeless body of 51-year-old Bertha May Boyles was found hanging from a rafter in the cellar by her husband, Jesse, after he returned home from work. It was the day before her 52nd birthday, and her husband reported that Bertha had appeared in high spirits when he left for work that morning.

729 Moltke Ave., Scranton

 

729 Moltke Avenue, Scranton (Lackawanna County). Price: $239,000

Next up is another 3-unit rental property, this one in the East Mountain section of Scranton. According to the listing, each unit has been "refreshed with a clean, updated look including vinyl, carpet, and tile flooring, and bright interiors." Yet, somehow, the interior design still screams 1983. Weird. 

729 Moltke Ave.

 

Speaking of weird, back in 1936, a house located at the same address (which may have been an earlier structure, as the Zillow listing states that this house was built in 1937) was occupied by a 30-year-old man named Fred Hillerman. 

 

Fred, who was reported to be in poor health because of a nervous condition, got out of bed early on the morning of April 20, 1936, wandered into the back yard and fell into a well. His body was found a short while later by members of his family, and his death was ruled accidental. 

840-842 Windom St.

 

840-842 Windom Street, Pittsburgh (Allegheny County). Price: $99,500

Finally, we have yet another "investor special", in the form of this 3,300 square foot property, which is being touted as "a rare South Side opportunity." Opportunity? For what? Contracting tetanus?According to the listing, this duplex was built in 1890 and is "primed for a full renovation". In other words, this shitburger's been left on the grill for so long that there is nothing even remotely salvageable. It's like running your Dodge Neon into a bridge abutment at 75 mph and claiming that it's "ready for a dream restoration."

840-842 Windom St.

And the crazy thing (other than the comically asinine sales pitch made by an obviously soulless real estate agent) is that most of the pictures show clothing on hangers and other signs of recent habitation. So many questions, so few answers.... like, how the hell hasn't this property been condemned?

 

If this property has anything going for it, it's an interesting backstory. Back in the early 1900s, this home was occupied by a Hungarian family named Bonsachick, who lived at 840 Windom Street. In 1902, John Bonsachick and his wife welcomed a newborn baby boy, and a christening party was held on September 28 at the family home. Named as the infant's godfather was another Hungarian immigrant, Peter Mahalo. 

 

 

The festivities included plenty of beer and whiskey, and by evening, most of the guests were pretty heavily schnockered. At one point during the evening, the child's godfather made an offensive remark about his godson, reportedly something along the lines of, "that child will never be as good as me." Naturally, this infuriated the child's father. Bonsachick grabbed a knife and thrust it into Mahalo's right forearm, giving it a twist and severing an artery in the process. Mahalo was rushed to the hospital, but soon died from loss of blood.