Halloween is scary, taking care of your home shouldn’t be.

Recently, we surveyed over 1,000 millennials to get a sense of what exactly is haunting our homes and how to get rid of these “ghosts.” What we found: 40% of millennials believe they’ve lived in a haunted home.*

What’s more – believing our homes are haunted is interfering with our day to day lives. In fact, 46% of millennials told us they have lost sleep thinking their house might be haunted, and nearly one-third (32%) have avoided going to a friend or family member’s house because they believed it was haunted. 

Introducing our ‘Haunted Homes Hotline.’

And while it can be tempting to take on extreme measures like consulting a paranormal expert (21% of millennials have!) – there’s an easier solution. 

To help determine if there really is something otherworldly happening — or if you just need to call in the pros to help find and fix your home troubles — we’re opening up a dedicated ‘Haunted Homes Hotline’**. Homeowners (or renters) can call in with their haunted house questions — and get guidance from one of our home specialists, stat. 

1. Call into Thumbtack’s hotline at 628-212-8881 from October 24th through October 31st between 9am-6pm EST to speak with one of our home specialists.
2. Our home specialists will help you determine if you really need to call in a paranormal expert, or if your home just needs some repairs and proactive maintenance.
3. Callers will have the chance to win a $50 discount on the next home project that they book and pay for through Thumbtack.**
4. Two lucky callers will even win the chance to speak with a renowned actress and producer known for her roles in spooky movies and TV shows.**

Is your house haunted, or is it haunting you?

The bottom line is: Our homes don’t start out haunted. They can simply feel that way because homeowners are in the dark about what’s really going on, and don’t know where to begin or who to call. 

And while being the scariest house on the block might be the goal for Halloween, it is easy to prevent living in a haunted home the rest of the year. According to millennials, the easiest ways to make a home less spooky is to give it a refresh – with a fresh coat of paint or a deep clean (25%), fixing light fixtures and faulty electrical wiring (23%), and keeping up with proactive maintenance (20%). 

So, what elements can make your home start to feel haunted? Based on our findings, the most common elements according to millennials are:

• Doors closing unexpectedly (47%): Hiring a door repair specialist can cost between $63-$475 depending on what door type you need fixed, materials, and more. 
• Noises coming from inside the walls (38%): Hiring an exterminator can likely help you get rid of unwanted tenants and costs between $100-$140 on average. 
• Flickering lights (34%): Hiring an electrician can run between $150-$200 depending on the scope and timing of the project. 
• Creaky floors or stairs (28%): Hiring a flooring specialist can cost between $300-$500 on the lower end and $4,963-$7,101 on the high end.

Don’t procrastinate, get ahead of your home horrors. 

Starting a home project can feel like opening up a can of worms – you never know what terrifying outcomes could be lurking around the corner. One-third of millennials have put off fixing ‘spooky’ attributes in their home, and of those, 24% said it’s because they didn’t want to spend the money or time on fixing them (24%). However, waiting on home maintenance projects can inevitably lead to more costly repairs down the line. 

To help keep the monsters away, stay ahead of proactive maintenance. Don’t be among the 26% of millennials who’ve moved or sold their house because they were worried about it being haunted. At Thumbtack we provide you with personalized guidance on what to do and when to do it as well as who to hire, so your home stays in good shape all year long.

Visit www.thumbtack.com/haunted to learn more — or download the app to get rid of your “ghosts” once and for all. 

*Survey Methodology: This SurveyMonkey online poll was conducted between September 5-6, 2023 among a national sample of 1,043 adults ages 25-45 (millennials). Respondents for this survey were selected from the nearly 3 million people who take surveys on the SurveyMonkey platform each day. Data for this week have been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to reflect the demographic composition of the United States. The modeled error estimate for this survey is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

**Terms and Conditions: Offer valid through October 31, 2023. Calling does not guarantee a response. If you leave a message, you consent to a callback at any time. Discount and opportunity to speak with the celebrity is at Thumbtack’s discretion. Discount applicable to one project of $51 or more (before tax & tip) booked and paid for through Thumbtack. Not all Service Professionals accept payment through Thumbtack, so check with your Service Professional first. Discounts cannot be stacked, do not apply to On-Demand projects, and are for one-time use only. Discounts are subject to Thumbtack’s Consumer Discounts Terms and Conditions and Thumbtack's Terms of Use.