LA's Legendary 'Murder Mansion' Is Back On The Market

LOS FELIZ , CA — Thanks to a fascination with the macabre, there have been many homes across the nation dubbed the ‘murder house.’ The cult hit “American Horror” story even launched the series centered on the idea that a home can be as sinister as the dark deeds it once housed. But no home, no crime scene embodies the term more than the Los Feliz ‘Murder House’ or ‘Murder Mansion,’ as it's infamously called.

For more than half a century, the mansion sat untouched after the dark December day in 1959 when Dr. Harold Perelson bludgeoned his wife to death in bed with a hammer, tried to do the same to his sleeping daughter and, ultimately, took his own life.

Click here to see inside the home today.

The year after the tragedy, the home sold to new owners, but they never moved in. It sat empty but for visits from lookie-loos as its creepy reputation grew over the decades. Some visitors even noted wrapped Christmas presents sitting under a tree still waiting to be opened half a century after the December murders, the Los Angeles Times reported. 1950s furniture, appliances and dolls gathered dust, and the mansion fell into disrepair.

Though the crime was shocking, investigators quickly concluded the doctor, facing financial woes, simply snapped. The mystery of the abandoned mansion, however, grew outsized with each passing year. By the time it hit the market in 2016, ultimately selling in probate for $2.3 million, it was an enduring LA legend - the stuff of books and a purported movie in the making.

Three years later, it’s still hasn’t been lived in, and it’s back on the market sans all evidence of the crime scene. Gone are the creepy old dolls, cabinets full of food and decades of dust.

The home, now owned by television attorney Lisa Bloom and her husband, has been torn down to the studs and is ready for a second chance.

Realtor.com calls it a a massive fixer-upper “with to-die-for views of downtown.” Built in 1925, the Spanish Revival home sits atop a hill on nearly two-thirds of an acre in a celebrity-studded neighborhood. It’s listed for $3.5 million.

Bloom and her tech investor husband Braden Pollock had planned to remodel the home and move into the master bedroom where Perelson and his wife Lilian died, unperturbed by talk of the mansion being haunted.

The murder "doesn't affect me," Pollock told realtor.com. "It was a great opportunity to get a rare property like this at a good price."

The real terror, the couple would discover, was the permitting process at City Hall. The couple filed remodeling plans with the city to greatly enlarge the home but found out they'd need to tear it down and regrade the hill to do so.

"It's certainly disappointing. It was a lot of wasted time and wasted money," Pollock told realtor.com. "We had our hearts set on moving out there and living there."
Sixty years later and still empty, the legend of LA’s murder mansion endures.

• Address: 2475 Glendower Pl, Los Feliz L, California
• Price: $3,500,000
• Square Feet: 5050
• Bedrooms: 5
• Bathrooms: 3 Full and 1 Half Baths
• Built: 1925
• Features: Attention Developers/ Contractors here?s a unique opportunity in prime Los Feliz . A neighborhood that is home to movie stars, musicians, and Hollywood elites. Perched on a hill with sweeping views sits this 5 bedroom 4 bath Spanish Revival home on a large lot. Features include a grand entrance with a step-down living room embracing serene views, formal dining room, library/study, large entertainer kitchen, and a ballroom or multi-purpose room on the third floor. The house features a three car garage at street level plus an additional two car garage at the end of the driveway for those collectors. This very special opportunity awaits the right buyer with a vision for real value by doing a remodel or ground up development. Property will not qualify for financing. Property interior has been taken down to the studs. Seller is looking at cash or hard money offers only. Seller financing may be available.

This listing originally appeared on realtor.com. For more information and photos, click here.