This has to be my favorite foreclosure story recently. Not satisfied with the usual, “credit crunch,” excuse,  a British businessman is claiming he handed his £3.6 million ($6.6 million) mansion back to the bank because it is “haunted.” I am assuming the bank has some sort of arrangement with the dark side for dealing with these things, and no doubt the bank’s exorcism department will be pleased to get a little action after years of hiding in the basement.

Clifton Hall Haunted Mansion

Mr. Anwar Rashid moved into Clifton Hall, a 52 roomed mansion in Nottinghamshire, just 8 months ago, but is now claiming the reason the bank has taken possession is because he and his family have been terrorized by the house since moving in. Blood stains mysteriously appearing on the children’s clothes, unexplained noises and ghostly sightings became a normal part of the family’s brief stay.

Anwar Rashid

Comparing their experiences to the Nicole Kidman film, “The Others,” Mr. Rashid said,

Clifton Hall is a beautiful property. I fell for its beauty but behind the facade it is haunted. We were like the family in The Others. The ghosts didn’t want us to be there. There was a knock on the wall and we heard this, “Hello, is anyone there?” Two minutes later we heard the man’s voice again. I got up to have a look but the doors were locked and the windows were closed.

On one occasion my wife went downstairs to make milk for the baby at 5am and she saw our eldest daughter watching TV. My wife realized something was up, so she went back upstairs to check on her and found her fast asleep in bed. When we found red blood spots on the baby’s quilt, that was the day my wife said she’d had enough. We didn’t even stay that night.

The Others

Mr. Rashid, apparently made his fortune in nursing homes and a hotel in Dubai, and had plans to turn Clifton Hall into an up-market wedding venue. By an eerie co-incidence, a license for this venture was recently denied by local authorities - just like happened in the film Although, he denies allegations that his failure to pay the mortgage was a result of the failed business plan.

Clifton Hall No Weddings here

The Hall itself dates back to the Norman Conquest, has 17 bedrooms, 10 reception rooms, 10 bathrooms, a gymnasium and a movie theater. Charles the First allegedly stayed briefly in 1632. According to local folklore, a woman dressed in white jumped from a window to her death, while tunnels in the grounds were said to have been used by Satanists. So, if you are on the lookout for a haunted bargain expect this one to be hitting the auction block sometime soon.

The Hydropolis, an underwater Luxury hotel in Dubai (or more appropriately, under and off the coast of Dubai) has run into construction issues. Originally the plan was to open the luxurious underwater locale beginning 2008, but that has been moved back now and the current estimate is that the complex will open early 2009.

The Hotel is still under construction and once complete will include three parts: a land station, a connecting tunnel with a train that will run to the hotel complex proper. The plan is to have 220 luxurious suites in the hotel complex.

“Hydropolis is not a project; it’s a passion," enthuses Joachim Hauser, the developer and designer of the hotel. His futuristic vision is about to take shape 20m below the surface of the Arabian Gulf, just off the Jumeirah Beach coastline in Dubai. The £300 million, 220-suite hotel is due to open at the end of 2007 and will incorporate a host of innovations that will take it far beyond the original blueprint for an underwater complex worthy of Jules Verne.

There are only a few locations in the world where such a grandiose dream could be realized. A high proportion of today’s architectural marvels are materializing like fanciful mirages from the desert sands. We have come to expect extravagant enterprises to be mounted in the Middle East, and especially in Dubai. "This venture could only be born here in Dubai," says Hauser. "It has a very open-minded, international community - and that’s what makes it so special."

I take that to mean very open-minded planning restrictions, but you have to admire their ingenuity and ambition. Whether there will be any wildlife left to view once the other luxury developments around the area are complete remains to be seen. Apparently, the recent completion of the World Islands breakwater is having a detrimental effect on the water currents, but every one involved seems to be keeping quiet on this issue.

The developers, Crescent Hydropolis resorts PLC, are planning more underwater luxury hotels in the Isle of Man, London, Monaco, New York and Qingdao.

Satellite image Dubai Hydropolis.