Haunted House on Livezey

[phillymike]

On Livezey st , a few blocks down from the shoprite, there is supposed to be a haunted house that has been on the market for years, its a corner property, I remember when I lived in Roxborough some years ago that this particular house was up for sale and hearing stories about it then. I was talking to a friend today who lives in that area who tells me that it is still up for sale. Any more stories about it ? All I could dig up was a story about a family being murdered there in 1961.

[Pitt]

On Livezey st , a few blocks down from the shoprite, there is supposed to be a haunted house that has been on the market for years, its a corner property, I remember when I lived in Roxborough some years ago that this particular house was up for sale and hearing stories about it then. I was talking to a friend today who lives in that area who tells me that it is still up for sale. Any more stories about it ? All I could dig up was a story about a family being murdered there in 1961.

What's the address?

[PhillyTex]

Are you talking about the Cape Cod at Livezey and Shalkop? I don't know of any stories about it, but it was obviously neglected for decades. Up until a few years ago you could barely see the house because the bushes around it were so overgrown. I think there was a dilapidated RV along one side of the house too.

Someone apparently bought it and cleared out the overgrowth sometime within the past 3 years.

[Debbie1125]

Now I am going to have to walk by to take a look at this house when I go to Shop Rite.

Haunted house stories fascinate me. Maybe Ghosthunters or the Ghost Adventures crew could try to rattle up some spirits.

I was reading about the murder in 1961 on Wikipedia. It sounds so similar to the Amityville Horror.

[PhilaCap]

it was obviously neglected for decades. Up until a few years ago you could barely see the house because the bushes around it were so overgrown. I think there was a dilapidated RV along one side of the house too.

^^This is more terrifying than any ghost story. Glad to hear it got cleaned up.

[daninpa]

Wikipedia says the murder house is 738 Livezey Lane. Livezey Murders - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[PhillyTex]

Interesting stuff:
Livezey Murders - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And just down the road, this:
Daughter: Things Tense, But I Wouldn't Kill Mom - Philly.com

[frogbite66]

I inquired about the house a couple years back when it was for sale. The realtor/owner was steadfast on the price....which was way over priced for the condition of the property at the time. I guess they were waiting for someone to buy the property for clearing and redevelopment. I guess that backfired....

I drove by the house late last night and thought i saw Audrey Rose in the upper window.... erie

[PhillyTex]

According to the Wiki, the "murder house" is not the same house I mentioned, and it's not even a corner property. It's just a few houses in from Henry Ave.

[Dayman]

Haunted house stories fascinate me. Maybe Ghosthunters or the Ghost Adventures crew could try to rattle up some spirits.

They fascinate me too, but ghost hunters are toolbags. If you want to explore cool and creepy places, just do it without the need for "drama" by making up thinks and misusing things like EMF detectors.

[phillymike]

a friend of mine who lives in the neighborhood passed by there , he said it still looks unlived in

[Story]

Wikipedia says the murder house is 738 Livezey Lane. Livezey Murders - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Something about that article is wrong - no cite for the specific Inquirer article, and Real Estate sites show that houses in at the address they give were built around 1964. If you check citydata for Livezey Street (other side of Ridge), the houses in the low 300s were built in the late 1950s.

[PhillyTex]

The real estate sites have quite a few inaccuracies in the listings. I'm not sure if it's the city's records that are wrong, or the sites are interpreting the data wrong, but they have bad info throughout the Valley for square footage and year built. I've found different web sources quoting my house as being built in 1945, 1949, 1955, and 1959. I've seen the house in pictures dated as far back as 1955 and the landscape was pretty well established around the house so I know at least the latter two dates can't be right. And I think in 1945, the whole Valley still consisted of a golf course, a trash dump, and a farm, and maybe a few Victorian homes closer to Ridge. So I wouldn't put much faith in real estate websites.

It's possible that the city shuffled the addresses/street names more than once to throw people off. And the Wiki article is pretty scant on details and citations so much of it could be folklore.

[Valley Twin]

The Cape on the corner (6900 Shalkop aka 543 Livezey) was cleaned up just after they started building the new Epiphany townhouses behind Shop Rite. I always figured that the developer of that site purchased the house to get rid of an eyesore next to his new $400K homes. A little deed search, however, indicates the history.....

Property was owned from it's construction in 1957 until 1970 by the same couple. Wife died in 1970 and husband lived another 24 years. He left it to his son and daughter as a survivor's benefit. The daughter transferred her claim to the son a year later in 1995. Son died without a will in 2007 sister (former co-owner) was appointed administrator for his estate. She sold property to the current owner in 2007 for $145K. Current owner is an investor who owns at least 5 other single family homes in the immediate neighborhood.

[D-man]

Something about that article is wrong - no cite for the specific Inquirer article, and Real Estate sites show that houses in at the address they give were built around 1964. If you check citydata for Livezey Street (other side of Ridge), the houses in the low 300s were built in the late 1950s.

I agree. A quick google street view search shows that 738 Livezey Lane is a typical valley twin. Even if the real estate records are wrong, there is no way those houses were built before the 1960's.

[PhillyTex]

I agree. A quick google street view search shows that 738 Livezey Lane is a typical valley twin. Even if the real estate records are wrong, there is no way those houses were built before the 1960's.

Actually, quite a few of them were pre-'60s. There are photos dating from 1955 that show the valley twins with the stone fronts along Henry Ave. The 3-story brick-front twins down along Valley came later, possibly the early- or mid-'60s. The stone front twins farther away from Henry were likely late '50s.