What’s new, friends?

Last week, I visited Beverly Hills to celebrate the launch of Estate Media. I was fangirling hard as I got a chance to meet some of the biggest names in Real Estate, including my new friend, Sarah Schepper of VH1’s Love and Listings. She even took me to visit the famous Beverly Hills Spadena Witch House!

Visiting the witch house – combined with a faint chill in the air – has me getting excited for Spooky Season. So today, we’ve got double your daily dose of🏫Vast Victorians (all over 6k sqft), along with some 🐮Bewildering Barndominiums and ⏬Belowground Burrows! 

I’ve also got a new section, ICYMI (in case you missed it), and this week I share the bizarre home of a real-life clown named Peanut Butter🤡. Want to see more of something? My DMs are always open, just let me know!

Today, for our deep dive, we’re heading to 🧙‍♀️Witch-ita, sorry, I mean Wichita. Mostly because Wichita is fun to say but also because I’ve got a pretty unique property to show you.

When you roll up on it, it looks like a fairly standard Kansas farmhouse. Sturdy brick, gabled windows, beefy chimney, sitting on 31 spooky wooded acres. A bit of a surprising sight in the Great Plains region.

This property has a fascinating history, too. It abuts Cowpin Creek and was once a trading post established by Wichita co-founder William “Dutch Bill” Greiffenstein. The current estate, built in 1936, was owned by the family of retired U.S. Senator Nancy Kassebaum, the daughter of former Kansas governor Alf Landon and the first woman to represent Kansas in the U.S. Senate. But enough about the past, let’s see what the house looks like now…

There are six bedrooms, including a primary suite with wall-to-wall carpet and cozy fireplace.

Okay, let’s talk amenities. This house has one of the more intriguing enclosed patios I’ve ever seen, and rumor has it that the brick for the floor came from Douglas Avenue, one of the original thoroughfares in downtown Wichita. This patio somehow manages to look like it’s both cool on a hot day and cozy on a cold one.

The basement offers extra living space, along with some bizarre wine storage AND your very own sauna.

For your inner horse girl, there’s an equipment shed, barn, and paddock area, and with 31 acres, there is plenty of room to ride and roam.

But I’m STALLING by showing you this barn… I’ve buried the LEAD (What? Not into 🐎horse puns…?) What I should be saying is, well, wheeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!! Check out this POOL, guys!

No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you; those ARE water slides. Not one, but TWO real, honest-to-goodness, water park water slides. To a pool. On the back acreage of a farming estate in the middle of Kansas. Imagine the parties you could throw?

This property has a lot happening—a generously-sized historic home, outbuildings with room for toys and livestock, a beautiful piece of land, and a really fun pool area. That’s probably why it costs a lot; it comes in at an asking price of $1,749,000. What do you think? Love it or leave it?

‘Til next time!

Jess @Zillowtastrophes

More Hidden Gems & Outright Disasters

🏫Vast Victorians

ICYMI (In case you missed it…)

After three years with this account, it takes a LOT to shock me, but this week, a property in my hometown of Philadelphia did just that. The house, it turns out, belonged to a former-clown turned face-paint-artist named Peanut Butter.

The picture that raised eyebrows, of course, was of the living area, where the mummified corpses of a cat and a rat appeared to be pinned to the wall. 😱

After sharing the video, lots of you got in touch with me to share anecdotes about the artist. Stories abounded, from “he roller-skated all over town,” to “he hot-tubbed nude on the roof,” to “he studied to be a doctor, but instead chose to be a clown,” and best of all – he appeared on an episode of Martha Stewart in the ’90s. Check out this video of the artist on Martha’s daughter’s show, “Whatever Martha,” where she comments on her mom’s best segments from over the years.

Thanks to my friend @Zillownaire_Max for sharing this absolute gem. Enjoy!