The Previous Owners Of This Mysterious Aussie House Abruptly Left And Never Returned. Locals Said It Was Haunted… Heres What Happened Next
The Previous Owners Of This Mysterious Aussie House Abruptly Left And Never Returned. Locals Said It Was Haunted… Heres What Happened Next
On the corner of Perrott Street and Tooth Avenue, in Brisbane’s affluent inner-city suburb of Paddington, stands a house that had remained quiet and still for decades. That is, until just recently…
For years, locals looked on the long-abandoned home at 31 Perrott Street with uncertain glances and whispered comments.
Widely known as the ‘old haunted house’, the mystery only deepened thanks to the few known tidbits about its history and former residents.
Before it was converted into a family home, it was reportedly used as a hospital during the war, with reports suggesting the eerie building dates back to 1912.
The sprawling property features a classic Queenslander design at the front, with a brick extension and self-contained flat towards the back. The roof is overrun with weeds – adding to its spooky allure.
Urban legend tells of the last family who lived there many years ago, and are said to have left abruptly one night, never to return. According to rumours, they departed at such a speed andsuddenness that the diningtable was still set for dinner and there was even food in the cupboard.
The house is believed to have remained empty and uninhabited for than 30 years since.
The bizarre backstory of the abandoned house was catapulted back into the spotlight after it was unexpectedly listed for sale in mid-2025.
A long-abandoned home at 31 Perrott Street, Paddington in Brisbane was recently sold to new owners
The house was referred to by locals as the ‘old haunted house’
According to urban legend, the former family residents abruptly abandoned the house decades ago – leaving at such a such a speed that the dining table was still set for dinner
Australian architectural historian Marianne Taylor was among those to inspect the property during the campaign, sharing insights in a
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posted to her YouTube channel, The House Detective.
‘The story goes that no one has actually lived here for over 30 years and when they left, they walked out and left everything,’ explained Marianne at the start of a 30-minute
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which featured a detailed walk-through of the home.
She described the experience of viewing the property in 2025 as akin to entering a time capsule.
Marianne did, however, note a ‘super creepy’ basement under the dark stairwell that may possibly have been an air raid shelter.
‘I haven’t been in a house from this era that has been so little altered… The house is still full of old furniture, paintings and belongings.’
Adding to the home’s mysterious vibe was the fact that it is still packed with old furniture, paintings, antique knick-knacks, retro homewares, household items and personal belongings from a bygone era.
Before hitting the market, a clean-up crew reportedly spent two weeks clearing out the place to make it inspection-ready. But even so, many old-world pieces remained and were kept on display during the open-home inspections – a treasure trove for the new owners to keep.
The items that remained included things like an old laundry copper pot, a discarded tin bathtub, newspapers and magazines from years ago, vintage pantry items and abandoned toys.
The house was still filled with old furniture, paintings antiques and personal belongings of the former owner. Many of the old-world pieces were displayed throughout the house during the open-home inspection
Australian architectural historian Marianne Taylor shared a walk-through video of the house to her YouTube channel, The House Detective. The episode highlighted some of the old abandoned items she’d observed in the house, including these toy dolls in an old-fashioned pram
Comments on The House Detective video and accompanying social media
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only added to the intrigue.
‘This beautiful house has a story to tell. Why did owners up and go so quickly leaving table still set, what happened here. Hopefully new owners will restore and tell the story they uncover,’ read one reply.
Another person who claimed to be a former local shared: ‘I used to live just a few houses down on the same street as this house. I was never sure if it was abandoned or not as sometimes at night a light could be seen on in the house with shadows walking past. It was eerie.’
One reply simply asked: ‘Does it come with a free ghost?’
But creepiness aside, the overall tone of the replies was hopeful the home would be restored, not demolished.
‘This is the kind of place that I hope will be bought and renovated back to its glory,’ said one user.
‘There is something truly special about this grand old lady, 100 years old, abandoned and empty 35 long years. Yet still smiling, still colouring the light through her old stained windows while she patiently awaits rescue,’ agreed another.
Although technically listed as a two-bedroom property, it is anything but modest. With its enormous floor plan, myriad of rooms and cavernous underground cellar, this is certainly no ordinary two-bedder.
The sprawling property was reported to have been built around 1912 and was used as a hospital during the war before being converted into a family home
Despite sitting empty for years, the house was still in fair condition. Elements of old-style Federation home architecture were visible throughout the home’s unique design
Despite the mysterious backstory, the Federation Era home’s architecture, character and unusual design piqued the interest of prospective buyers.
Listing agents George and Max Hadgelias of Ray White confirmed the property had been in the same family for a century, but its recent history saw it sitting empty, with no explanation offered for why it had remained this way.
‘The history of this property indicates that it has been in the same family for 100 years and was once used as a hospital during the war,’ read the real estate listing.
‘The dwelling has not been occupied since the 1990s and will require significant works to bring it up to a comfortable living standard.’
The listing described it as ‘one of Paddington’s most spoken about homes’.
Neither the bizarre history nor the extreme amount of work required to renovate the property to modern standards put off buyers.
Real estate agent Max Hadgelias confirmed the house had ‘lots of strong interest’, with 15 registered bidders present on auction day.
In front of a crowd of 150, a spirited auction of around a dozen bids ended with the property selling under the hammer to a family for $3.1 million – far above Paddington’s median price of $1.925 million.
The Brisbane home enjoys a prime position in Paddington. It sold at auction in July 2025 for $3.1 million
The floorplan reveals the sprawling layout of the 473m squared property
The agent reflected it was a ‘faster auction’ that ultimately achieved ‘a good outcome’.
‘(The vendors) were happy to see it go to someone else – it’s been in their family for a very long time, and they’re happy to see someone else make their mark on it,’ Max told realestate.com.au following the sale.
As for the home’s next chapter? The agent shared that the new owners plan to restore it, eventually occupying it themselves.
But will its future be a little less mysterious? Time will tell.
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Author: uaetodaynews
Published on: 2025-12-25 07:50:00
Source: uaetodaynews.com
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