Ghoulish NZ street names don't scare property investors

The unassuming road on the outskirts of Dunedin looks normal enough, but the name on the sign has turned a few heads.

"It's a funny street to live in, in that whenever you give your address, you get a strange 'sorry?'," says Vampire Rd resident Carol Tippett.

Vampire Rd is not your average address, but what about its residents?

"I don't know of any vampires on here," says Ezra Knight. "I haven't met any yet."

At this time of year, with such a descriptive name, you'd expect it to be a hot destination for trick-or-treaters.

"Our children always grew up celebrating Halloween by dressing up and that," says Ms Tippett. "But I think it's died off a wee bit."

A UK study found houses in streets with "spooky names" struggle to find buyers. That hasn't been the case here. Homes on Vampire Rd have sold recently in less than a fortnight.

"Well, you don't want to go and spend $400,000 on a house that's called 'Kill Me Alley' or anything like that," says Mr Knight.

Further north, there was little sign of any human life on Vampire Pl in the North Island town of Bulls. That's probably not surprising, given vampires avoid the sun, but one camera-shy resident tells us sections "sell like hotcakes".

On Tuesday, a group called Haunted Auckland will lead a Halloween Ghost Hunt at the Howick Historic Village. Team members have taken part of many investigations. Mark Wallbank told The AM Show he's seen his share of strange things.

"Just saw a grey mass of just mist, I guess, that just entered the room and just disappeared."

The message for Tuesday's trick-or-treaters? Safety in numbers, no matter what the street name.

Newshub.