'American Horror Story' Mansion Owners File Lawsuit Over Obsessive Fans
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LOS ANGELES, CA (CBSMiami) -- A family living in a fake horror house says it's turning into a real life nightmare.
The Los Angeles, California mansion was featured in the first season of the hit TV show, "American Horror Story."
Its new owners are suing the former owner and the real estate company, because they say they were never told that crowds of obsessive fans travel to see it.
The Rosenheim mansion is ornate and classically creepy – an ideal setting for the terrifying first season of "American Horror Story."
Actually living there has become a different kind of horror story for the home's owners - Dr. Ernst Von Schwarz and his wife Angela Oakenfold.
"Just groups of people turning up in cars….Taking selfies, taking videos," said Oakenfold, talking about what she sees on a daily basis.
"We have had several break-ins. We have had on three or four occasions in the past year, I had to call the police," said Oakenfold.
Fans have climbed fences to get onto the property and one perched on their ledge. Some teenagers literally got a lift from a garbage truck driver.
"He put them in the crane and elevated it. And, I'm in the bathroom and I look out the window and there are teenage girls screaming at me," said Oakenfold.
When asked if they researched the home ahead of buying it, Von Schwarz said, "Well, I mean we Googled the house of course but, if you Google the house, you find a lot of movies were filmed here. Lastly, the American Horror Story which I had never seen."
They say their realtor and the home's former owner should have alerted them about the show's rabid fans.
They're now suing both the former owner and their realtor for damages, including the cost of a permanent fence or hedge to secure their privacy.
In response, the realtor issued a statement saying, "I have no doubt that the truthful facts of this case will resolve this matter in our favor."
"We feel like they cheated us," said Oakenfield.
"We want to live here, of course, but it is very difficult because we don't feel safe," said Von Schwarz.