The Haunted House of Muscat?!

Posted on February 27, 2009 | 73 Comments

haunted house  I wonder if any of the Omani bloggers have heard of this so-called haunted house in Shatti across the highway from The Intercontinental.  Apparently (and I’ve heard this from quite a different number of people), the family living here was driven out by evil spirits that scared the living daylights out of them.  I don’t believe in “wandering spirits of dead people” which is such a popular notion today through movies and tv shows like “Medium” and “Ghost Whisperer” but I do believe in evil spirits.  The Bible refers to such entities in several places, one of the more famous stories being “the seven sons of Sceva” found in Acts 19:13-17.  “13Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the LORD Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.  14And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.  15And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?   16And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.  17And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.” close-up  Has anyone from Oman heard of this place and know more about the story?

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73 responses to “The Haunted House of Muscat?!”

  1. muscati | February 27, 2009 at 3:13 pm | Reply

    Let me tell you the real story since I lived in that neighborhood knew the family that lived in that house.

    The house is owned by a very rich guy. He happens to own most of the land in that area, including the one with the huge mosque currently under construction there. He also owns the Al Sarooj Shell filling station and the shopping centers around it. He built this house over about 30 years ago when he married a foreign woman as a second wife. He had only one son with her. He spent half his time with his first wife so this huge house was only occupied by the second wife and her one son and some household helpers. As a result most of the time there were only a few lights in the huge house, and people who passed by started to say it was a haunted house.

    About 15 years ago the son became ill with cancer and later died. The mother couldn’t stand the loneliness and went back to her country to be with her family for extended periods. That made people talk about the house even more because it seemed like no one lived in it.

  2. andydbrown | February 27, 2009 at 5:26 pm | Reply

    Thanks A LOT, Muscati!
    That’s the kind of real story/information I was hoping to get. A sad story indeed but it’s good to be able to separate fact from fiction.

  3. Blue_Chi | February 27, 2009 at 6:10 pm | Reply

    I always wondered what the real story of that house was, thanks for the info Muscati!

  4. ynotoman | February 28, 2009 at 4:12 am | Reply

    the house is so distinctive and stands alone so it makes a topic driving past – great way to make a rumor spread

  5. sultanateofoman | February 28, 2009 at 10:01 am | Reply

    Muscati! is right. Its not a haunted house…but anyone know about the apartment in Mutrah. no one lives there…i heard some stories about that place. people says there are Jinns inside.

  6. RaiulBaztepo | March 29, 2009 at 12:28 am | Reply

    Hello!
    Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource!
    PS: Sorry for my bad english, I’v just started to learn this language 😉
    See you!
    Your, Raiul Baztepo

  7. andydbrown | March 30, 2009 at 7:32 pm | Reply

    Thanks for the comment, Raiul! Your English is pretty good for someone just starting to learn it! Keep it up! 🙂

  8. varu | May 15, 2009 at 8:10 am | Reply

    does any has the video. has any one gone inside and came out alive.does any one still lives there

  9. varu | May 15, 2009 at 8:12 am | Reply

    are there any more honted house in muscat

    • andydbrown | May 22, 2009 at 10:41 am | Reply

      Hi, Varu!
      If you read the comments posted to this blog post, you will notice that the house is not really haunted but this “legend” has grown and spread a bit among locals here.

  10. khayyam | July 17, 2009 at 10:36 pm | Reply

    sir i visited the house yesturday…from outside and visiting tht house from the shatti road for last 5 days….at night….

    no one is living there…but one day the lites of the rooms are on and the other day they are off…. some times the curtain of the house are opened …so its still a mystry if no one lives there….. i dont think so that its a myth..the whole city muscat knows about tht house…some ppl came there for rent but for this type of indications ppl were not settled.. so now the govt stoped tht house to let on rent..

  11. valal | January 25, 2010 at 5:37 pm | Reply

    Thanks a LOT muscati,

  12. shabeeb | February 2, 2010 at 6:35 am | Reply

    muscati, that was some nice info. but i dont think thats the whole deal. ive seen people trying thier luck to stay in the house for one night and waking up the next day in the highway path.. alsmost the similar thing have happened in muthrah too..

    spooky aint it..

  13. Miller Ash | February 4, 2010 at 3:54 pm | Reply

    hey, do you know more about haunted houses in oman? please tell me too.
    I live in oman, and i like going to these places to find out whether its real or not.

    • Muhammad Dawood Khan | November 21, 2013 at 6:53 pm | Reply

      Hi,
      Apart from this villa at Sarooj, there is another building near old Phillip showroom in Muttrah. If you drive down to Muttrah from Muttrah Hotel, you will find Khimji stores on your left and then aroun 50 meters again on your left just at diversion and opposit Col Said Salim Building… I remember this building was being decorated for National Days celebrations on November 18th…I cant recall year and then for several years no one could remove those lights. Normally all decorative lights are removed within a week. I have been in oman from 1974 to 2010 and worked as Manager Showrooms, Genetco. .

  14. Happyplace | February 21, 2010 at 3:35 pm | Reply

    Aright Muscati! That was real nice info about the house. I was brought up here and always wondered about that house. But now that you say its not occupied, then howcome there is light in the top floor windows at night?
    Can you shed more light on these doubts?

  15. muscati | February 21, 2010 at 3:39 pm | Reply

    Please re-read what I wrote. I didn’t say that it’s not occupied anymore. I said that the wife goes away to her country for extended periods. The house is always occupied, at the very least by the household staff who look after it regardless whether the owner lives there or not.

  16. shaik | July 8, 2010 at 6:03 pm | Reply

    there s no update after february….is it ghost blogged all these…5 days back i went in night and i saw one car has continuosly clicking…
    next day morning again i went to have a look and i found and surprised that one car is ther inside but with lot of dust and not looked like shed from so many months…any comments

    so can any ther to udpae

  17. Alex | July 12, 2010 at 5:19 pm | Reply

    Well, I was born in Muscat, Oman and I know this house waaayy back in the mid 90’s, that there were parties and celebrations and lots of guests. I don’t remember If I visited on of the party. Then couldn’t remember what happened after. What rumours saying there are ghosts there. LOL!!…

    Well yes, some days you can find lights on. Maybe some people living there. Don’t know. LOL!!! Try your luck to pass by and you will know….

  18. Alex | July 12, 2010 at 5:22 pm | Reply

    Oww, and Regarding to the lights on, there are some caretakers going in the morning, clean the house and leave. Also at night too. Dumb rumours of ghosts!!…

  19. Deebz | July 19, 2010 at 10:26 am | Reply

    My college is just near that house, some girls from my house paid a visit there and they met some helpers of the house cuz the owner was not in! Also, Muscati is rite, the lady of the house is a foreigner may be from Egypt. Thrz nothing spooky abt the house so stop spreadin the rumors!

  20. Deebz | July 19, 2010 at 10:27 am | Reply

    I am sorry, some girls from my college went to that house!

  21. sujatz | July 25, 2010 at 3:11 pm | Reply

    i agree deebz….:D 😀

  22. francesc | July 29, 2010 at 7:02 am | Reply

    i agree wid deebz very rite but this is true…. i hav known this house well for the past 10 years…….. it is HAUNTED……… i dnt hv any proofs bt if ny 1 has da guts gt into dis house…… wen u get in u gt the feeling of restlessness n dizzy feelings seems lik takn ovr u

  23. Suneeta | September 1, 2010 at 10:04 am | Reply

    i had heard the same tory…15 years back..the house falls on the way to naseem park and we used to joke about it while going there for school picnics…

  24. Bea | September 8, 2010 at 4:29 pm | Reply

    Ive lived here 37yrs and that house has always been rumoured to be haunted, so I went there one day to look around and it was empty, No cars, or furniture. I thought, maybe it will be cheap to rent if everyone was scared to live there, so set about finding the owners, I found a guy who keeps an eye on the place and he said it had been rented out,anyhow a week later, a family had moved in, I don’t know if they are still there, but it did have people living there (about a year ago). There is another “alleged haunted house” in Al Hail, it is empty and all overgrown, the local kids all dare each other to ring the bell. The story goes……A mad English woman lived there, after her husband who hunted animals in Africa died, apparantly she started talking to the stuffed animals and they told her they were possesed by the devil, then she started screaming all night and smashing up the house and ended up being carted off to a phsyciatric ward. It has been empty ever since. I don’t know what it’s supposed to feel like, but I went inside, it was dirty,smelly and a typical abandoned house, no goose bumps or bad vibes and the only trace of spirits I saw, were empty vodka bottles. The dead can’t hurt you, it’s the living you need to be wary of.

  25. Deebz | September 9, 2010 at 1:34 pm | Reply

    Well….thrz another house by Ghubrah beach which is said to be haunted……it was under construction and owing to some strange happenings the construction was stopped so its not fully constructed yet…..when i went there with my friends one afternoon, we felt nothn spooky othr than that it was a bit cold……but yea it was certainly dirty with people’s trash!……so i guess,,,,,thrz no real haunted house in Muscat may be thr r i the interiors of Oman……keep lookin ppl!!

  26. Sunil | September 15, 2010 at 7:02 am | Reply

    I was surprised to hear that this house is considered as a haunted one by many. As a matter of fact the house belongs to Shaikh Saud Bin Al Khalili who is a very rich man and owns the largest chain of filling stations in Oman. He is the owner of the Al Sarooj Group and Al Taher Group. For two years I happened work for a construction company under the fold of Al Taher Group.
    I joined them in 2005. Those days some have shown me that house and told me that belongs to our sponsor and we call it “Bhoot Bunglow”, which in Hindi means “Ghost house”. I understood that it was a humorous refrence.
    The Lulu Centre at Ghubra round about also belongs to him. When the excavation for the new basement started, I was told to dump the excavated earth in properties that belonged to the Shaikh. As the land around that house belongs to him, I had surveryed those areas and that time I had been to the front yard of this house.
    The Shaikh used to live there at least sometimes and I once met a lady who is nurse who used to visit that house to give him a routine injection.
    As I know he is a respectable gentleman and we had always respected him not only as our sponsor but also as a person.
    It is a pity that such rumours are spread about this house. Possibly the humerous refrence of the “Ghost House” by his own people have broken beyond the four walls and spread all over the city.
    Let us so tell people that it is the house of a respectable man.

  27. Anonymous | November 13, 2010 at 9:41 am | Reply

    i ve seen the hous it is haunted indeed

  28. sss | November 13, 2010 at 9:41 am | Reply

    i ve seen the hous it is haunted indeed

  29. owais | December 9, 2010 at 2:53 pm | Reply

    ya its really true that near da shatty qurum house is hunted its really very hunted.very gostable.

  30. andydbrown | December 13, 2010 at 8:04 am | Reply

    “very gostable”
    Cute, ha!ha! 🙂

  31. Pingback: My 2010 Year in Blogging Review (Kindly Sent in by Wordpress!) | Andy in Oman

  32. nik | January 7, 2011 at 2:28 pm | Reply

    There is a “haunted house” in al khuwair. It has be abandoned for40 years. Apparently a joint family lived in that house, however one member wanted the whole property for himself and murdered his entire family for it. I have been inside it. Pictures have been taken of the inside of this house and have come out distorted for no particular reason. Some pictures have come bent, and some came out in concentric circles. Also I have heard sounds of scratching, doors closing and opening when there are no doors in the house ( it was all broken down). The place is very eerie especially at night.

  33. Muhammed Dawood Khan | April 14, 2011 at 10:26 am | Reply

    Hi there……..I have lived & loved this beautiful country from 1974 to 2010. I have heard ( not ofcourse from horse’s mouth’ the same rumers from many people, though I personaly dont beleive any of them, some how I couldnt resist to look at the villa, every time I drove through. Sofar nobody came forward with any evidence. Besides, there is another house in Muttrah, opposit Bauknecht showroom , is beleived to be haunted. where from the National’s Day’s lights were not removed for quite some time. Well other day I got an sms quoting that “Every body talks about ghost and good wife bt no body has seen them” I simply answered that I have seen both but the good wife is in the neighbourhood. Happy wondering

  34. andydbrown | April 14, 2011 at 3:12 pm | Reply

    Muhammed,
    Thanks for the comment. That’s a funny SMS you received: “Everybody talks about ghosts and good wives but nobody has seen them”. Ha!ha! Well I can tell you from first hand experience that good wives DO exist because I found and am married to one! 🙂

  35. I.S.W.K | December 31, 2011 at 10:43 am | Reply

    hey guys we visited The huanted House Yesterday . It was Kind Of spooky bt i was with my frends so we werent so scared. we were really drunk so in d hangovr we tried to break open d bak door.we tried for a long time nd den a light came on,bt since der wer 5 of us,we werent scared. we tried fr another half hour nd den gave up hope…. any of you lookin fr fun at midnight ,pls visit d haunted house.. you are making the right choice dont think twice ust make sure you are not alone.

  36. Ellie | February 5, 2012 at 3:50 pm | Reply

    Hello!! (I’m 11 yrs) My Big sis (20 yrs) Her Boyfriend Knows the owner of This house!!
    And yes the owner is VERY rich!! He said “it isn’t Haunted at all” :/

  37. andydbrown | February 5, 2012 at 9:55 pm | Reply

    Ellie,
    Thanks for the comment. It seems that no matter how many different people try to make this clear, some choose to believe the more fascinating “haunted house” story. 🙂

  38. Priya Rajesh | June 16, 2012 at 10:30 am | Reply

    I am Indian but I have been living in muscat for the past 12 years. It is said that every new year the house is mysteriously repainted overnight. The plants grow so well as if somebody waters them each day. Me and my friend priyanka were talking about paranormal stuff at school when suddenly the topic changed to these haunted houses.

    • andydbrown | March 21, 2013 at 1:53 pm | Reply

      Well the house certainly hasn’t been repainted this past New Year. We noticed trecently on driving past that parts of the house near the ceiling seem to be falling off.

  39. Carlos | June 27, 2012 at 11:34 am | Reply

    I heard about the 4 storey white building at Mutrrah, they said the jinns are really stayin over there. Folks were sayin that no one lasted 48 hours inside that building, they saw shadows, mists and even they said that the jinns were hurting the peeps out there by pushing, slapping, damn! that’s kinda a rude spirit out there! It’s a nice cozy building but no one lives there till this date. This building is just beside the art museum before reaching riam park. I walked near to it and i had goosebumps all over my body and my head is like swelling, damn!

  40. Carlos | June 27, 2012 at 11:45 am | Reply

    I heard about the 4 storey white building at Mutrrah, they said the jinns are really stayin there. Folks were sayin that no one lasted 48 hours inside that building, they saw shadows, mists and even they said that the jinns were hurting the peeps out there by pushing, slapping, damn! that’s kinda a rude spirit out there! creepy! It’s a nice cozy building but no one lives there till this date. This building is just beside the art museum before reaching riam park. I walked near to it and i had goosebumps all over my body and my head is like swelling, damn!

  41. rockgirl19 | March 16, 2013 at 3:01 pm | Reply

    Ok it’s good to know that nothing is wrong with this house…. but andybrowndo u know of anymore houses like this in Oman? I know one in ruwi next to city cinema it never has been constructed fully and loads of ppl say it’s haunted… pls find out about that one…

  42. Ken | April 29, 2013 at 12:37 pm | Reply

    I have drove by the house many times. Everyone I ask about it tells me that no one has been in it in over 10 years. But I know a man here and I am going to ask him and he will tell me the truth.

  43. ann | May 31, 2013 at 5:47 pm | Reply

    tomorrow i am going to visit this house with one of my friends and know the truth of this house

  44. julie | June 1, 2013 at 6:30 pm | Reply

    My husband as a small child lived in Riam Park area and for a short while, both he and his elderly mother say there were ‘spirits’ in their house ,especially the kitchen area.They often would hear all the pots and pans being banged about.No, it wasn’t his dad.

    As for more haunted houses,none that i know of but i def know of a 5* hotel in Qurom. Had a few spooky experiences in the 1980’s.We used to avoid staying in a specific room.

  45. Jairus John Samuel | July 23, 2013 at 11:52 pm | Reply

    Hi
    my name is jairus and i’m a resident in Oman. i saw all the comments given by every1, but lemme ask u one thing, does ghosts like to kill u or harm u?
    every1 was talking about spirits. i have a question if the myth, or legend or whatever it may be says that or being said tells us that a guy feels a spirit of a person or something which is in any connection has nothing to do with him.
    what my point is if i go to a haunted place it says that i will encounter with a spirit. then how come we don’t experience any spirits of our loved one’s who has passed away? all the time we hear stories or myths or say for true facts about “EVIL SPIRITS” then why don’t we see a good spirit? that puzzles me. if there is bad then surely there should be good right? then why no one has seen good spirits? i too have heard about the house from day one of my muscat life. and i too want to stay in that house or any place which is haunted. can someone help me out?

  46. Anonymous | September 1, 2013 at 8:40 am | Reply

    I heard the house in Muttrah is really haunted is it true?

  47. Jordan | September 23, 2013 at 11:42 am | Reply

    I am in Oman and yes there is a house there and no it is not haunted. If anyone wants to tell me more houses I would love to check them out and prove any wrong.

    Me 🙂

  48. mala | September 27, 2013 at 1:13 pm | Reply

    hi andy
    how are u? I was looking for information on Masirah island and end up here on this ‘haunted’ post. I enjoyed reading all the comments 🙂

  49. Susan | October 30, 2013 at 6:48 pm | Reply

    Hi, I am interested in visiting the haunted house in Qurum. How can i get access into the house? can anyone guide me please?

  50. sama | November 4, 2013 at 1:43 pm | Reply

    There are evil spirits and they are controlled by some people to make things happen,either good or bad.these people can read ur mind,predict ur next action,know everything about you and instill thoughts in u that normally u wouldnt think.They can see each and every thought that goes in ur mind.but they do it with the power of spirit.I have seen this happening.Bad spirits normally dont interfere with human race unless invited

  51. Chris Simpsons Artist | November 5, 2013 at 12:46 pm | Reply

    I have been thinking of this house for many weeks and one day when my mum had fed me hotdogs and ketchup with popcorn I was feeling brave enough to go and see the house without telling my mum and so I set off to see the place without even caring whether it was at night or in the time of day and so when I had set off I was alone and no-one knew if I was in or out and after a hour of walking I saw the house and looked up and saw a sheet at the window like it was a pac-man ghost and I realized it was just a curtain and then I saw a floating orb and realized that it was just a lightbulb and then I saw a strange opening and realized that it was a door way to another world that had been opened by the maid and she was strange and started making incantations and then I realized that she was singing to that twerking singer what is called miley cyrus and that her dad a was man who had an achy breaky heart and he just didn’t think you’d understand so I went home and ate some more hotdogs with ketchup that my mum had made me because all of the day had made me hungry…
    The End – Chris Simpsons Artist

    • andydbrown | November 11, 2013 at 12:08 pm | Reply

      You, Chris, are definitely an artist. I can’t remember being so entertained by a comment before! You definitely get the best (or most entertaining) comment award for this Haunted House of Muscat post.

  52. Muhammad Dawood Khan | November 21, 2013 at 8:03 pm | Reply

    Hi,
    Regarding “Ghosts And Good Wives”… well I am sorry if I have hurt anyone, it was an sms that I shared to make the atmosphere less creepy. I would never dare to say such things,… after all I have to go home and.. you know ? I am married too. No bad feelings please. i am a Capricorn and very loving & caring person.

  53. Anonymous | May 19, 2014 at 10:23 am | Reply

    The white building in muttrah is the real deal. I took some photos there then lots of evil face images popped, its really pretty scary though. peeps around there said that there were an indian family who reside there and they’re all gone crazy just after 48 hours. Try to go there at night and take some pics, the 4-storey white building is just beside the art museum before reaching riam park.

  54. Carlos | May 19, 2014 at 10:25 am | Reply

    The white building in muttrah is the real deal. I took some photos there then lots of evil face images popped, its really pretty scary though. peeps around there said that there were an indian family who reside there and they’re all gone crazy just after 48 hours. Try to go there at night and take some pics, the 4-storey white building is just beside the art museum before reaching riam park.

  55. grigeri | July 2, 2014 at 8:23 pm | Reply

    But nw i see light in the house at night also. Explain thst pls.

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  57. ali nadeem | June 25, 2015 at 6:23 am | Reply

    if it is really true why don’t break that house

  58. Annie | September 4, 2015 at 5:12 pm | Reply

    I think is haunted . Like to see myself that house. If owner want to rent pls let me know to view the house. Agents maybe just contact me

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