Photo: Screenshot of website

 
A "haunted house" in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province was sold in an auction on Monday for 1.286 million yuan ($201.394). The house came under the spotlight after holding a 24-hour sleep test that was livestreamed before the auction began, according to media reports. 

The term "haunted house" applies to homes where irregular deaths have occurred, based on traditional superstitions in China. A court in Wuzhong district in Suzhou noted that the owner of the house committed suicide there due to being unable to pay off gambling debts. The house was inherited by the owner's child and wife and was being used before the auction. 

The sleep test started on December 9, the day before the start of the auction, which attracted over 40,000 viewers. 

The starting price was set at 1.2 million yuan, about two thirds of the market price, but no-one made a bid at that price. The price declined to 960,000 yuan but eventually rose to 1.285 million yuan.

The auction attracted netizens' attention on Chinese Twitter-like social media platform Sina Weibo. A netizen named Nin Zhe Haipa joked that ghosts are not as scary as being poor. Others said they didn't believe the results of the sleep test. 

Global Times