Posted on 07/31/2020 3:44:37 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
One of the things people start thinking about once they’ve become mature and individual adults is how to get their life together on top of all of the worldly things like getting and maintaining a job, creating a family, and whatnot.
Among the many things in this list is also one of the biggest decisions you’ll ever make in your life, and that is getting a flat or a house. After all, once you commit to it, it’s something you’re gonna have to live with for anywhere between 5 and 40 years.
But if you’re gonna commit that much, why not skip the whole small-fry real estate and go straight to buying a castle?
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, buying castles are a thing. And there’s one currently for sale.
This is the Helmer Castle, aptly named after its original owner Max Helmer, who was a reclusive and eccentric concert violinist and son of a well-off Jackson County banker of the 20th century. The castle was built in 1927 by C.J. Jorgensen at 7300 Draper Road, Jackson, Michigan. And it’s surprising what you can do with 500 tons of fieldstone, 300 barrels of cement, nine workers, a horse, and a crane from 1927.
The Castle’s origins are traced back to Max Helmer’s love of medieval castles. Helmer was touring through Europe and had a chance to visit some of the castles there. After returning, he designed a home for himself based on a 5th century Roman hall that can be found near Nuremberg, Germany.
The medieval-styled building has been modernized since then, with some of the interior furniture and tech being of a more contemporary style and there now being a spacious garage to the side of the castle, everything else seems authentically medieval.
The 2,000 square feet Helmer’s Castle features a 60-foot tower with a spiral staircase, a number of fireplaces, shake-style metal roofing, hardwood floors, as well as a half-mile driveway leading up to it. As for the living spaces, it has 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a kitchen and dining area, expansive living and great room, and a walkout master suite, among many other things.
The luxury doesn’t stop here as there’s also a lighted basketball court outside, 3 separate patios, as well as a number of scenic walking, running, sledding, and exploring trails, all spread across a 20 acre bit of land.
As of the moment of this article, the castle is going for $529,000 US dollars. The real estate ad suggests that it can be used for a number of functions, serving as a single family home, vacation home or rental, wedding venue, private multi-use retreat venue, or a new single-family home community. This is besides all of the immersive D&D campaigns that you can host inside.
Sources also state that this very castle was a filming location for the 1977 low-budget horror movie “The Demon Lover”, which told the story of a group of teenagers hanging around a cemetery and getting involved with a satanic priest who calls up a demon from hell. Don’t worry, the castle isn’t haunted or cursed, though some might find it a bit ominous given its aesthetic and the fact that there were rumors of Helmer being murdered here, but in reality he died of a heart attack.
The castle’s current owners, the Klenk family who have been living here since 1982, have spent their 36 years redoing the castle to make it more homely. They have done their best to make sure any renovations that they did fit Max Helmer’s original design, this way mashing the old and new styles into what they called “modern medieval.” Two years ago, they put the castle up for sale.
If you want more castle goodness, Bored Panda has a number of castle-related articles, including this one about the smallest castle in England (which was incidentally also for sale some time ago), and also another castle in Spain that you can rent via AirBnB.
I wonder if it has an elevator. Pretty cool.
Needs a dungeon but, I could make it work...
Very Cool...So when the kids misbehave, you send them to the tower? That’ll scare the sh** out of them.
I’d buy it if I had half a million just sitting about.
Sources also state that this very castle was a filming location for the 1977 low-budget horror movie “The Demon Lover”, which told the story of a group of teenagers hanging around a cemetery and getting involved with a satanic priest who calls up a demon from hell.
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The demons from hell are the worst!
Castle is one fantastic pad, though. For that price I figured it was a fixer up.
Without one, I’d never be able to get to the top of that
2,000 square feet seems pretty small to qualify as a “castle”. But other than that it does look pretty cool.
Mighty tempting it is.
Well insulated being made of rock, a veritable fortress, plenty of land for expansion, wildlife for food, but alas... no moat with the requisite gators.
Hmmmm.... tempting indeed.
It’s a starter castle.
They gotta buy up after they invade the neighbor’s kingdom.
Yeah, the rooms look pretty small.
More of like an exotic sports car - looks nice but not that great a ride and pretty impractical.
I’d have a ball scaring the trick-or-treaters on Halloween.
Ping.
Too bad. It was almost perfect.
I’m worried about the heating bills...
Does it have blue cabinets in the kitchen?
This is Michigan.
I think you will have to settle for snapping turtles.
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