“This is where she dragged the bodies down the stairs…”
Got shivers? Me too.
If one part of you loves true crime and the other part of you loves a renovation show, then new TV series, Murder House Flip is going to make you squirm with delight.
The new series features makeovers of the homes where grisly crimes were committed — actual homes, where actual people choose to live.
While it’s easy to think they’re nuts, the reno show, which is available to stream now on newly launched Quibi, has some pretty scary moments.
And before you get to see the very cool makeovers by interior designers Joelle Uzyel and Mikel Welch, we’re given a gruesome and detailed insight into the murders and mysteries of each house.
In the premiere episode, we are introduced to Tom Williams and Barbara Holmes who live in a five-bedroom Victorian home in California.
It may look like a normal house, however, it used to belong to notorious serial killer Dorthea Puente, who housed, killed and buried her elderly and mentally disabled tenants in order to cash in their government cheques.
You may be wondering why on earth a couple such as Williams and Holmes would be so inclined to buy a house like this. Well, it came at a discounted price.
“It’s almost impossible to believe what happened here,” Williams says in the episode.
Puente was evil through and through, lacing crème de menthe with poison and giving it to her victims, before leaving them in, what is now their bedroom (I know), for days until she could find a “good time” to bury them.
In 1988, seven bodies were found in her backyard and she was dubbed “Death House Landlady” by several media outlets.
But of course, this show is about making each home have new meaning and the interior designers are tasked with making the backyard “grandchild friendly”.
“They lent us their home to give them a new beginning,” Uzyel says during the show.
But, it’s not the entire house that gets a makeover, in fact, it’s only the gruesome parts that really need a fresh coat of, well, everything and the two designers work with local detectives to determine which is more pressing for each project they visit.
In an interview with the New York Post, Welch agreed that it wasn’t a typical line of work for interior decorators.
“Typically, I bring my portfolio and tape a measurer to my redesign consultations. With these homes, we have to do things like use a solution so we can see blood residue on the floor [or] know there were body parts were in the freezer and a dead body in the bathtub. It’s just a different thought process going into the equation. We can’t just throw some pretty pillows on a couch and call it done.”
And in no surprise to anyone — ghosts also make an appearance.
“I normally don’t believe in ghosts and spirits,” Uzyel told the outlet.
“But in one of our homes, when we walked into the room, it had a ton of static. Your shirt started moving, and your hair started puffing up — and the owners kept saying they felt a spirit there.” Eeep!
While it may seem a little freaky at first, the makeovers are truly worth it and as Holmes said after she saw her new house: “It takes away the whole darkness and brings it to light.”
We’re sure she believes this, but you’d have to pay me a lot of money to live anywhere near these houses!
WATCH: The official trailer for Murder House Flip.
https://youtu.be/ukVp9ZpfEUo