For some people, the stairs play an important role in the overall look of the house. The steps leading to the second or third level of the house can make or break the entire property as it will dictate whether it will be comfortable for the owners to go up and down from time-to-time.
Just recently, a Maryland house for sale's staircase is making noise on different social media platforms as online real estate listing enthusiasts share their opinion on the rather odd-looking stairway.
Property Details
Based on the Zillow listing, the Victorian home found in Columbia, Maryland features three bedrooms and three bathrooms. At first glance, the beige-colored house surrounded by a well-manicured lawn and bushes looks pretty normal.
It has a cozy outdoor seating area, a modern kitchen with a wood island and stainless steel appliances, a spacious living room with a fireplace, cozy bedrooms, and attic space that could serve as storage or walk-in closet.
Everything looks like a regular modern-Victorian home, not until your eyes reached the staircase that leads to the attic. The bizarre-looking stairs seem like two separate staircases that were pushed together at different heights, resulting in an alternating pattern that looks totally uncomfortable to climb on.
When someone DMs you and says “This house is pretty normal BUT LOOK AT PICTURE 29” you listen to them
Columbia, MD.... Posted by Zillow Gone Wild on Friday, 26 March 2021
Protection Against Supernatural Forces
When the Facebook page Zillow Gone Wild featured the 2,220 square-foot property, internet users are quick to give their thoughts on the weird staircase. People shared their wild guesses on why the stairs were built that way, but one popular belief stood out among the rest: that this type of stairway is protection against supernatural forces.
Social media users pointed out that the odd feature is called "witches stair." According to folklore, witches are unable to climb up these kinds of stairways. One user explained that this style is popular in New England homes.
"These are common in New England, they believed witches couldn't climb stairs like this," one Facebook user commented.
Meanwhile, others took the opportunity to make fun of the staircase imagining how their life would be if they have such features at home.
"Drunk me would sleep at the bottom of those stairs rather than attempt to climb up," one user wrote.
One user quipped" "These stairs would put you into labor right away,"
"Did an angry parent install these with a statement to the kids, "you will WALK up the stairs! No more running! It's over!!!" another one added.
Meanwhile, one Reddit user found a flaw in the popular "witches stairs" belief and said: "Witches can't climb up them? Why would they? They've got broomsticks!"
Debunking the Witch Stairs Myth
Meanwhile, according to Reuters, there is no truth behind the folklore that this type of stairs prevents witches from climbing upstairs. The report confirms that the house feature is called "alternated-tread staircases," which are "simply intended to save space, particularly in narrow homes."
"Such stairs have not been historically understood as an attempt to ward off witches," the report added.
Reuters also claims that the alternating pattern provides more rise per step, which in some cases, safer than traditional designs.
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