Owner: Adele Remark Made It Impossible to Sell Mansion

The owner of a mansion in southern England says Adele "blighted" the property by suggesting it was haunted, making it impossible to sell. The singer rented Lock House, a 10-bedroom home in West Sussex, for around six months. In a 2012 CBS News interview at the former convent, she didn't use the word "haunted," but she told Anderson Cooper, "This bit's all quite scary, really," adding, "I'm not rattling around here on my own. It gives me the creeps." When Cooper asked if she had ever seen The Shining, Adele replied, "All work and no play."

The home, which sits on more than 7 acres of land near the village of Partridge Green, is listed as a building of historic interest, meaning it is difficult to obtain consent from authorities to make major changes, the Guardian reports. In a planning application to convert the property from a single residence to three homes, the owner said Adele "blighted the property by saying it is haunted," reports the BBC. "This comment negatively impacted future marketing efforts and continues to affect the property's reputation to this day," the owner said.

The owner said they had been trying to sell the property for 14 years without success despite "full marketing efforts" including ads in Country Life magazine. "The only offer received over the years was in August 2020, but the prospective buyer withdrew after learning about the property's supposed haunted status," the owner wrote. (More Adele stories.)