Irish American family sue landlord - forced to leave haunted house - VIDEO

An Irish American mother and her family have been forced to flee their home as the things that go bump in the night just got too much for the New Jersey residents.

Micheldle Callan, her two children and partner Josue Chincilla are suing their landlord Dr Richard Lopez. The couple fled their home claiming it was haunted, however, their landlord claims they broke their lease and has not returned their $2,250 security deposit. Lopez has now filed a countersuit.

The family initially moved out of the house just one week into their stay. The Ashbury Park Press initially reported on the spooky goings on at in the 1,524-square foot ranch house.

“This has been a horrific nightmare for us,” Callan said.

Lopez says the family is using “paranormal activity” as a cover for their financial troubles. He maintains that the couple, Callan and Chinchilla, cannot afford the $1,500 rent.

The landlord’s lawyer, David A. Semanchik, said, “She is a single mom, she has this fiancé living with her. I think she is in over her head and she can’t afford the rent. She needed to show her ex, the father of her kids, that she has a good place for them to live.”

However, the couple say the haunting is entirely authentic. Shortly after they moved in on 1st March they heard sounds coming from the basement, lights turned on and off, doors opened and slammed shut and clothes and towels, stored in closets, ended up out on the floor.

They told their local press that once a force tugged at Chinchilla’s sheets and Callan had seen a dark apparition in the bedroom.

They contacted a local group, the Shore Paranormal Research Society, a nonprofit team who investigate and try to debunk claims of paranormal activity.

Nick Carlson, the group’s manager, explained that after some strange recorded evidence they were still not ready to call the house “haunted”. He said they had set up video cameras, voice recorders and other tools in the house and recorded strange occurrences including toy bowling pins falling down and sounds of a woman’s laughter.

He told MSNBC, “There’s a big difference between ‘haunted’ and ‘paranormal activity.
“Paranormal means you have an occurrence that can’t be explained scientifically. Haunted? No, I do not think so. Do I think there’s stuff paranormal going on there? Absolutely.”

While he would not comment on their particular lawsuit, he did say, “They’re afraid. And I don’t blame them for being afraid…When things are happening in the comfort of your own home that you can’t control, you get scared. So I can’t blame them for leaving their own house.”

Here’s MSNBC’s report on the case: