Spooky new tool highlights homes near cemeteries

Just in time for Halloween, local listings and data website Localize.city has dropped a new feature that will have fans of the paranormal buzzing. (Or should we say boo-ing?)

Localize.city has added a new category of insights to its website that clues in users on a listing’s proximity to a cemetery. That may seem like an odd feature, given how easy it is to spot some of the city’s most well-known burial grounds, like Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn or Cypress Hill Cemetery in Queens. But, as Localize.city points out, there are many smaller, more under-the-radar cemeteries.

That is thanks to the Rural Cemetery Act of 1847, which for the first time authorized commercial burying grounds in New York state. The act spurred an era of cemetery establishment that led to the creation of the so-called Cemetery Belt along the Queens-Brooklyn border.

The Localize.city feature appears on listings and on pages for properties that are within a short distance of noted burial grounds. For instance, listings in proximity to Washington Square Park provide insight into the park’s former use as a mass burial ground and alleged sites of public hangings. A section also notes how this history may affect buyers: “Beware of zombies under the arch.” On a more serious note, the insight acknowledges that there’s a plaque addressing the site’s history in the park.

The cemetery insight, a new year-round addition, isn’t the only icky feature Localize.city offers. The site also lets potential buyers know if creepy-crawlies like rats or bed bugs have been reported at a property, or if mice in the walls have been reported to go bump in the night.