Would you move into a house with a rather “creepy” history? A Sydney student was excited about renting this ‘super renovated’ townhouse on Kippax Street, Surry Hills … until she found out why it came so cheap.
A young woman shared on social media her experience in looking for a house to rent near the CBD. Under the handle @emdeebs, she captioned her post, “Why are the only houses that I can get haunted?“.
In her video clip, she said that she found a nice three-bedroom house on Kippax Street in Surry Hills and was very impressed with it. The property which she described as “super renovated” was available for $900 a week.
“All the bedrooms were of good size. Living and kitchen, good as well, and I was like, ‘Sweet!’.”
It seemed like a perfect deal until she looked up the address on the internet and “accidentally” clicked on the news tab. And that was when things turned 180 degrees.
“…and I found out that a woman died in the house and I was like, ‘Okay, maybe this isn’t the one for me’,” she said.
The young woman further explained that the remains of the deceased woman weren’t discovered until after eight years.
“So, I think I’m going to remove my application,” she concluded.
What other users say
A few users who have viewed her post claimed to have lived in the said property but didn’t mention any ghostly experience.
“I lived here two years ago it was a shared house and I got her room!! I was shocked when I found out. Never heard from her so it’s safe,” one said.
“Omg I used to live here lmao. I was one of the first tenants,” another claimed.
Some, however, claimed to have had some eerie experiences whilst staying in the house.
“I lived there for 6 months! Stuff would disappear and reappear without reason. Now her name pops up on the weirdest occasions (tv/books/articles),” one said
“I lived there mid-2019. Natalie always played pranks on me,” another claimed.
But others are not at all bothered by its past.
“You’ll never get a house that nice for that price in Surry hills again. I’d go for it,” one user commented.
Another seems to agree, saying, “Honestly, still a bargain by Sydney standards.”
“I wouldn’t be too concerned I’m sure somebody has died in every house at some point in time,” reassures another.
There were also some who commented that the property’s history should have been disclosed to the prospective tenant since it was a “material fact”.
The “woman Sydney forgot”
The property at 139 Kippax Street, Surry Hills has a rather horrifying past and made headlines years ago. It used to be the residence of Natalie Jean Wood who had laid dead in her home for almost eight years.
It was not until 5 July 2011 when Ms Wood’s skeletal remains were discovered on her bedroom floor, just a month before her 87th birthday. She was presumed to have died sometime in February 2004. She was last seen on 30 December 2003 buying medicines at a local pharmacy.
Ms Woods was said to be a bit “recluse” and would not just open her door to any person. She was dubbed as the “woman Sydney forgot” because nobody had tried to check on her well being from the time of her passing to the discovery of her skeletal remains.
The rundown Surry Hills townhouse underwent renovation after it was sold at an auction in 2016 for $1.1 million. It was last sold in 2020 for $1,650,000 million.