Post by Graveyardbride on Mar 30, 2021 17:32:11 GMT -5
For Sale: ‘Sexy Funeral Goth’ Home in Baltimore
Built in 1940, the small 1-bedroom, 1-bath home at 228 Townsend Avenue in Baltimore isn’t much to look at from the street side (above left). But open the door and one steps into what has been described as “sexy funeral Goth.”
The less imaginative would probably say it’s more like stepping into a black and white horror movie where the walls, ceilings, floors, furniture and even the grotesque coffin-shaped decorations and prints of such things as guillotines on the walls are either black, white or some shade of grey.
And while the front entrance is “normal,” the same can’t be said of the rear (above right), which features a “Cemetery” sign with replica headstones in the yard and a small outbuilding identified as the “Crypt.” The outdoor wet bar is made of granite and hanging on the wall behind it is the bumper and rear door of a hearse with an “Expired” license plate.
In the upstairs bedroom (above) there’s a black chandelier, wrought iron railing in a spider web design around the staircase opening, crosses on the wall and a mirrored canopy over the bed. The only color in the chamber (“room” doesn’t adequately describe this space) are a couple of red decorative pillows on a reappropriated church pew – finished in black, of course. Downstairs, the walls, ceiling, floor and counter tops in the kitchen are white and both the cabinets and appliances are black.
Billy Nicholson, 54, who inherited the property from his mother in 2014, got the idea for the macabre decor when he saw a set of cemetery gates at an antiques shop in Virginia. Additionally, there’s a spooky black and white cemetery mural on the side of the garage painted by Brian Propst, a Glen Burnie artist. “Whoever walks around the backyard, when they see the garage, they’re going to be blown away,” Nicholson told a Baltimore Sun reporter. Before long, he admitted to being totally caught up in the idea of creating a home one might describe as “fit for a vampire,” and when he learned of a 1972 hearse for sale, he immediately purchased it. “If anyone who desires the residence desires the hearse, they can have it,” he added.
According to Matt Godbey, the Re/Max broker handling the property, the seller has made many practical improvements as well, including, but not limited to, a double-wide driveway, privacy fence and recessed lighting in the kitchen and dining areas. There also are several video cameras at the site, which, unfortunately, is near a high-crime area. Godbey admitted there were items in the house when it was listed that have been removed. “Some of the things in there, I told him [Nicholson] will frighten people. There were about 25 mannequins in the basement and some upstairs,” he recalled. Nonetheless, he quickly quipped that he does not believe the seller is a vampire, just someone fascinated by horror movies.
Assuming your dreams are nightmares, you can turn this house of horrors into your dream home for $225,000.
Sources: Janine Puhak, Fox News, March 30, 2021; Dan Kois, Slate, March 29, 2021; The Baltimore Sun; and Trulia.
Assuming your dreams are nightmares, you can turn this house of horrors into your dream home for $225,000.
See additional photos here.
Sources: Janine Puhak, Fox News, March 30, 2021; Dan Kois, Slate, March 29, 2021; The Baltimore Sun; and Trulia.