There are quite a few houses around here that people I know have made paranormal claims about. Well, besides going on their word alone about the history of the house, I'd like to look into the records to see if perhaps there were deaths in these particular residences.. but my problem is that I'm not exactly sure where to begin. Where would I go, besides perhaps a library, to look up the history of certain houses and the land they reside on? Thanks for any help that can be offered.

Good question bro, look in that paper that proves you own the house or property or whatever, and it should tell you the names of the pre-owners, and research them or talk to them if they're still alive.. if it's not too much ask

Depending on the age of the house, you could try any archives your town has. More recent stuff is confidential, I think.

Try your local or the homes local city hall. They have to have records on all property owners for property tax reason, wait is it City Hall? I think it is and if in case I am wrong which sometimes I am , you could always just call city hall and ask them, Hello Mam/Sir can you please tell me where I may be able to find the owner of a property at this address? Okay I kinda got into that one. Sometimes Libraries do have it as well. Be a snoop I am and sometimes when you look innocent enough people will flock to you and just spill the beans =)

There's no city halls down here IMc Actually, down here where I live they nearly never keep such records and if they do it's a pain in the butt for them to hand'em out, unless you bribe'em properly, Ghost-Investigatino down here is NOT easy at all.. That's why I love U.S, they keep records of everything, very useful for the "researchers"

I'm unsure if this could be the same as researching ancestors? Same idea perhaps? You are able to access records online.

My advice for a starting place would be local library? Do they still hold copies of old old newspapers? I'm not sure I'd like to know if people died in my house!

The local historical society would be your best bet.

What Laurie and I have found is that the public library might have more information than you might imagine. We are doing research on Deadwood and the Black Hills area of South Dakota and found quite a bit of information at their local library. Now you could also consider the local historical society - provided there is one. Now we are looking for background information on properties dating back to 1876 and since some are of more traditional historical interest the material can be considerable.

http://boomingprairiechicken.spaces.live.com/

I don't understand why people are so dismissive of the library. Doesn't anyone realise that without the internet, the library would be it? When you've exhausted the library's resources, be creative about where else you might find info. Go to the neighbourhood and ask if anyone's been around a while, then talk to those people.

A City Hall or whatever is NOT going to keep records of who died in the house. They only concern themselves with ownership and the like. I doubt anyone keeps such records which is why you'll have to rely on word of mouth. Unless, of course, it's somewhere famous and the history has been kept in tact.

When I lived in an actively haunted house for 10 years, I spoke to some of the neighbors about who lived there. They could only remember when the landlord lived there with his dad. The house itself was built in 1938, according to real estate records. I didn't even think about going to the library.

I think libraries are cheaper to get info from and librarians are always helpful.