At the intersection of Chienkuo Rd and Wenhua St in Yunlin County’s Dounan Township, you will see a yellow real estate sign which, upon a closer gander, one will notice is a sign for a haunted house for sale. On the sign, it also says that in the area where the house is located there is a hypermarket and other convenient facilities, and the asking price is NT$1.88 million
(US$63,596), making the house a local topic of discussion.
The real estate agent trying to sell the house, surnamed Wu, says that it is located behind the Dounan Train Station and that the current owner purchased the house at a bargain during a public auction four years ago. No one has lived in the house since the owner renovated it, and after trying to sell the house himself for more than a year he decided to hire the real estate agency to sell it. The agency conducted an investigation of the property rights of the house, including searching haunted house Web sites and police records, but never found any criminal record that mentioned the house.
Photo: Huang Shu-li, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者黃淑莉
Wu says that even though the house is located behind the train station, transportation is convenient and it is close to the town center. With around 30 ping (99m2), the multistory housing complex is approximately 30 years old, and the living environment is good, but has still not been sold. Everyone spoke evasively when he asked people living in the neighborhood what was going on, but he finally learned that more than a decade ago a man committed suicide in the house. The owner of the house was also shocked to learn that the house was haunted after the real estate agent told him.
People living in the area said that more than 10 years ago the owner of the house rented it to a mother and her son, who was serving in the military and for reasons unknown killed himself in the house one day while on furlough. After the heartbroken mother moved out, the owner leased the house to a father and son, who did not live there very long before moving out. For unknown reasons, the house was eventually put to public auction and remained empty for quite a while. The current owner apparently bought the house several years ago in a public auction.
Haunted houses are a taboo for most people, Wu says, but some people actually go out of their way to buy haunted houses. As a broker, Wu must let potential buyers know that the house is allegedly haunted, so he decided to be forthright, doing the opposite of what is usually done, and write that the house was haunted on the for-sale signage, letting potential buyers know that the house for sale is haunted, honing in on a target market and saving a lot of trouble in the process.
Photo: Huang Shu-li, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者黃淑莉
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
雲林縣斗南鎮外環道建國路、文化街路口,最近懸掛一幅黃色招牌的賣屋廣告,仔細看竟是出售「鬼屋」;看板還寫著鄰近大賣場、機能佳,售價一百八十八萬元,引起地方議論。
吳姓房仲業者說,該屋位在斗南後火車站,現任屋主四年多前透過法拍低價購得,整理後迄今沒人入住,自售一年多也沒賣出,最近委託該公司出售;房仲人員調查產權,包括凶宅網、派出所資料,都沒有刑事紀錄。
吳指出,該屋雖在斗南後火車站,但交通便利、距市區近,約三十坪三層樓透天厝、屋齡約三十年,生活機能很好,卻一直賣不出去。詢問鄰居到底怎麼回事,大家都支吾其詞,後來才說,十多年前有名男子在屋內自殺;經由房仲人員轉告,屋主才知是凶宅,也嚇一跳。
附近住戶說,十多年前屋主出租給一對母子,兒子當兵後有一天放假回家,不知何故在房內自殺死亡,母親傷心搬離;屋主之後又租給一對父子,住沒多久就搬走;後來,不知何故,房子被法拍,空了好長一段日子,聽說現任屋主是好幾年前法拍購得。
吳說民眾忌諱「凶宅」,但也有人專買「凶宅」;身為業者,既知是凶宅,就有義務告知買方,於是乾脆逆向操作,直接在售屋看板寫出售「鬼屋」,讓買方知道這就是「凶宅」,鎖定客源,也可以節省許多麻煩。
(自由時報記者黃淑莉)
A: Also, police seized seven pornographic videos featuring minors that entertainer Mickey Huang purchased in his hard disc. B: That’s just outrageous! A: His ex-girlfriend entertainer Little S and some others are calling for a legal amendment to increase the penalty. B: The buyers and sellers should both be punished heavily. A: But the porn sellers’ Web sites are mostly overseas, so they are hard to catch. A: 此外警方也在黃子佼的硬碟裡,查到7部他買的未成年色情片。 B: 真是令人火大! A: 他的前女友小S等人,還呼籲修法,加重相關的罰則。 B: 購買者和販賣者雙方都該重罰。 A: 不過色情網站大多設在海外要抓也不容易吧。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
A: Entertainer Mickey Huang’s #MeToo scandal has kept snowballing. B: Didn’t Huang just escape prosecution on several sexual misconduct charges due to a lack of evidence? A: He has now been accused of raping a woman identified as "Miss K." B: It’s like one trouble follows another! A: His decent “persona” in the showbiz has totally collapsed. A: 藝人黃子佼的#MeToo事件真是沒完沒了。 B: 他的性騷擾案不是因為證據不足獲得不起訴? A: 但他又被某位「K小姐」指控性侵。 B: 天啊,真是一波未平,一波又起! A: 他在娛樂圈的優質「人設」都崩壞啦。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Jumping rope has long been considered an excellent form of exercise. It not only burns calories but also improves cardiovascular health and __1__ core muscles. Anyone who has used a traditional jump rope, though, knows that it requires a certain level of skill and coordination. However, with the development of the cordless jump rope, this is __2__ the case. The cordless jump rope is an innovation in the fitness industry that has gained popularity in recent years. As its name suggests, it doesn’t have a cord connecting the two handles. Instead, each handle features a short cord with a
Let’s explore another delicacy primarily known to Tainan locals: floating milkfish in thick soup. Despite its peculiar name, this dish is another Tainan specialty that showcases the popularity of milkfish, which is made into fish paste and served in thick soup. Unlike the version with tutuo fish, which also adds other ingredients to its thick soup, the floating milkfish version primarily features the “floating fish” itself in its thick soup, ensuring that the fish paste remains the star of the dish. 讓我們來探索另一道台南人熟悉的美食:浮水魚羹。這道菜名奇特的美食,再再展現了台南虱目魚料理的多樣。浮水魚羹是用虱目魚漿做成的羹品,雖然和𩵚魠魚羹一樣是羹湯,但不像𩵚魠魚羹會在湯中加入其他食材,而是讓虱目魚漿成為這道料理的主角。 peculiar (adj.) 獨特的;古怪的 The belly of a milkfish is considered the most