I was in upstate NY this past weekend...an isolated part of the Catskills...with my birth-mother, and noticed the "estate" of Jack "Legs" Diamond (nee John Nolan or Noland), a flamboyant prohibition gangster I'm embarrassed to say I hero-worshipped in my youth, is for sale. Diamond was the John Gotti of his day, only more intelligent; a charming, handsome and deadly sociopath. He made a name for himself in NYC, moved to the Catskills when things became too hot for him there, attempted to take over the bootlegging racket in the Hudson Valley, pissed off the wrong people, and was finally shot to death after numerous failed attempts (I highly recommend the William Kennedy historical novel "Legs", which is pretty accurate and engrossing). Although I was a bit nervous, I parked and walked around the house and its outbuildings, pretending I was a potential buyer (I would like to buy it and open it as a Legs Diamond museum, but who would come to it except me and 2 or 3 friends who give a shite? I doubt too many other people know or care that the house once belonged to Diamond). In another book on Diamond I have written by college professor Gary Levine, they publish an aerial photo of the estate, and it has changed remarkably little in the 70-plus-years since Legs was shot to death (in nearby Albany, not in the house itself) while sleeping off a drunk. It actually was kind of spooky being there. The main house was empty and locked, but my birth-mother said, "Imagine that. Jack Diamond walked right where you're walking now." I thought, "Yeah, and his wife Alice and his showgirl mistress Kiki Roberts probably did too." My birth-mother appreciated what appeared to be original stained glass windows in one of the outbuildings. There was also an old well, a rampaging brook running through the back yard, and thick woods beyond that where stills used to be kept (and bodies buried?). Finally, we left and returned to civilization, but I couldn't help thinking what kind of ghosts might walk through those silent hallways at night? Maybe the person who buys it will find out...

One of the times the internet can be helpful. Google it!

Realtors in horror movies are not subject to disclosure regulations.

Don't you wonder how people still buy the old manor where 3,649 women have disappeared over the last 135 years?  Is this the ultimate caveat emptor?

But the house in Amityville was such a good deal!

stench? what stench?  naw' and look at the new paint job all through the house. no, that is not a blood stain, just red paint.

Funny. . .good rule. . .but even I think that a good house in the metro DC area would still fetch close to a mil. . .