Home at center of "The Demon of Brownsville Road" up for sale
On a quiet intersection in Brentwood, the Brownsville Road Home has the covering of a large tree, shading the walkway from the entrance on Sceneridge Avenue to just short of the front door. It's a home well over a century old, and it now operates as a bed and breakfast.
The property was placed on the market to sell in July, but it comes with a history that could scare some buyers. Its current owner has famously claimed it to have been previously haunted.
"The majority of the people that have looked at it know the history," says Doug Craig, the house's listing agent. "Well, I'll say everybody who's looked at it knows the history."
The current owner, former Allegheny County Commissioner Bob Cranmer, bought the home in the late 1980s. During that time, Cranmer kept track of a number of encounters that he reasoned to be supernatural. He later wrote a book, titled "The Demon of Brownsville Road," recalling those stories of what he and his family have described as a demonic possession within the property.
"The current owner felt that it was haunted, and he had it exorcised a number of years ago," said Craig.
According to state law, sellers must share any knowledge of physical characteristics of a property they have lived in to potential buyers. That includes roofing, foundational, or anything else that affects the structure.
However, the Brownsville Road Home is categorized as a "stigmatized property," defined by the National Association of Realtors as "a property that has been psychologically impacted by an event which occurred, or was suspected to have occurred on the property."
While it is a noteworthy event that has been documented as part of the property's history, the requested exorcism is considered a psychological profile of the home and therefore not required to be disclosed in Pennsylvania.
"It's not physically damaging to the home," said Craig. "But something happened in the home that is psychological in nature and would cause some people to not to want to buy it."
However, that information has been voluntarily given to potential buyers, and the innkeeper told KDKA that he believes the house is no longer haunted. Craig also said that buyers have still responded and shown interest, although only qualified buyers will be given appointments for showings.
"That has not swayed them at all," he said.
The property is being listed as both an individual home for families interested in buying, and as a commercial property for those interested in continuing to run it as a bed and breakfast.
