Americans are alone. Or at least they are living that way.

Blame it on the economy, divorce rates, or Generation Y getting married later in life, but 31 million American households—or 27 percent—were occupied by a single person in 2010, compared to just 9 percent of households in 1950.

And when you look at cities like Washington, D.C. and New York, the number of single-person households jumps to 48 percent and 46 percent, respectively. This infographic from ForRent.com sheds more light on solitary living in the U.S.

DON'T MISS: The Incredible Transforming Apartment In London

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

The house of convicted fraudster Hassan Nemazee has been re-listed for a cool $19.5 million. Sotheby's agent Anne Corey is managing the listing. 

The Iranian-American investment banker who plead guilty to a $292 million bank fraud used the cash to finance his lavish lifestyle including a luxury duplex at 770 Park Avenue. 

According to the Real Estalker, the traditionally-decorated palace includes three exposures, 28 windows, and two terraces. It was originally listed at $28 million in March 2011, but the price has dropped since, much to the chagrin of federal authorities.

Please follow Clusterstock on Twitter and Facebook.

In addition to Central Park panoramas and ultra-luxe amenities, buyers at the new One57 condo in Midtown Manhattan could be getting another perk—tax breaks intended to benefit low-income housing.

According to CNBC's Robert Frank, the building, which is being developed by Extell, is seeking millions of dollars in tax benefits under a New York City program that gives tax breaks of up to 80 percent for the first two years in exchange for allocating some units for low-income housing.

Those discounts would be passed on to buyers: the new owner of One57's $90 million penthouse for example, would pay around $20,000 a year in real estate taxes instead of the standard $230,000-a-year rate, Frank writes.

The catch?

One57's developers could take advantage of a well-known loophole that allows them to build the low-income units in another location—likely in an outer borough instead of inside the famously expensive highrise.

Now city officials say they are taking another look at One57's applications under the program, called 421-a, and asking the developer for more information, according to CNBC.

Extell founder Gary Barnett responded to CNBC, saying that the tax benefits would mostly benefit the company and not buyers, since he could charge more for units.

"We've had some benefit because of the abatements, but the real benefits have been to  affordable housing," Barnett told CNBC's Frank. "We've done exactly what the program was intended to do, which is to create affordable housing."

SEE ALSO: Here's What One57 Will Look Like When It's Complete

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

As Al Johnstone and his wife embarked on building their new La Mesa, Calif. home, the couple began to spar over which rooms should have the best views.

Johnstone, who calls himself a "hobbyist," suggested a round home to his wife before construction started. And when the discussion of views came up, Johnstone proposed building a house that rotated.

They went on and built it themselves.

Johnstone took CNNMoney on a tour of the home, showcasing the mechanisms that turn the home 360 degrees in just 33 minutes.

The home rotates on a 1.5 horsepower motor with 16-inch wheels on a steel track, and can spin in either direction.

The house resembles a cross between a flying saucer and a hockey puck. But it truly is one-of-a-kind.

Check out the full video here.

The exterior of the Johnstones' home

 The 1.5 horsepower motor that turns the house

 360-degree California views

DON'T MISS: The Incredible Transforming Apartment In London

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

Lately, we've seen some doom and gloom reports about the Chinese economy. 

Word is that consumption is slowing down and people are no longer lining up for luxury brands. 

But the pessimism about China is overblown, according to a report by Bain & Company. 

In fact, the luxury goods market will expand by 10 percent in the next year, mostly thanks to China, Luisa Zargoni at Women's Wear Daily reports. 

Zargoni reports: 

"Concerns about market weakness are somewhat overblown,” according to Bain partner Claudia D’Arpizio. “But we are seeing sharp disparities between brands that are not keeping up with the quickening pace of change in the market and those that are adjusting to shifts in tastes and demographics.”"

Accessories are growing the most, as Chinese consumers line up for Louis Vuitton and Chanel handbags.

The study shows that it's not time to give up on China yet.  

DON'T MISS: The Mega-Trends That Are Changing Retail Forever >

Please follow Retail on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

As part of her thesis for a fine arts academy in Amsterdam, South African designer Leanie Van der Vyver envisioned a pair of high heels that take the standards of beauty and perfection to a strange new level.

Called Scary Beautiful, the sky-high stilettos have been making the rounds on the internet, as has a video of a model attempting to walk in a straight line while wearing them (at the end of this post).

With the shoes, Van der Vyver said she attempted to explore "what lies beyond perfection" given today's unattainable standards of beauty.

"Scary Beautiful challenges current beauty ideals by inflicting an unexpected new beauty standard," she wrote to us.

One thing's for sure—these contraptions give new meaning to the saying "beauty is pain."

Scary Beautiful (Leanie van der Vyver) from Lyall Coburn on Vimeo.

SEE ALSO: The 10 Craziest Looks From Paris Fashion Week

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

These stone icecubes are SPARQ USA's Soapstones.

Why We Love Them: Soapstone's stone beverage cubes are superior to ice cubes because they can keep your liquor cool without watering it down. Whether your drink of choice is whiskey, wine, or plain old ice water, after four hours in the freezer the stone cubes can keep your beverage ice-cold for over 30 minutes.

The stones have no sharp edges and at .875'', they are too big to swallow. These ice-imitators are non-porous, odorless, tasteless, and made at an eco-friendly factory in Colorado.

And after you're done with your drink, simply rinse the stones off with water and let dry. It's that easy.

Where To Buy: Available through Amazon.

Cost: Currently $10.74 for a set of nine.

Want to nominate a cool product for Stuff We Love? Send an email to Megan Willett at mwillett@businessinsider.com with "Stuff We Love" in the subject line.

Don't Miss: The Swiss + Tech 19-In-1 Keychain Multitool

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

College towns overtook big metro areas on the American Institute for Economic Research's latest index of college destinations, thanks in part to the recent economic downturn.

According to the AIER, college towns with populations under 250,000 are relatively recession-proof since they are home to a high proportion of students who consistently spend money. As a result, their economies tend to be more stable than those of larger cities.

And college towns fared particularly well in three categories on the index's 12-part scale: arts and leisure, unemployment, and entrepreneurial activity. Overall, those categories paint a good picture of an area's economic health.

Ithaca, N.Y. once again took the top spot on the list.

Meanwhile, major metropolitan areas like Boston, New York, Washington, and San Francisco were knocked off this year's top 10 list, and Ann Arbor was the only city with a population of more than 250,000 that made the top 10.

#10 Morgantown, West Virginia

Population: 130,288

Student concentration: 205.7 (per 1,000 people)

2-bedroom apartment: $586/month

Earning Potential: $34,412

Colleges: West Virginia University

Source: The American Institute for Economic Research

#9 Lawrence, Kansas

Population: 111,130

Student concentration: 255.5 (per 1,000 people)

2-bedroom apartment: $536/month

Earning Potential: $31,250

Colleges: University of Kansas

Source: The American Institute for Economic Research

#8 Lafayette, Indiana

Population: 202,783

Student concentration: 210.2 (per 1,000 people)

2-bedroom apartment: $793/month

Earning Potential: $30,282

Colleges: Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Harrison College, Purdue University

Source: The American Institute for Economic Research

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Rock star Eric Clapton sells an abstract painting by German artist Gerhard Richter for £21.3m – a new record amount for a living artist.

A high gloss was applied to the results of last week’s contemporary art auctions in London when a luxuriant abstract painting by Gerhard Richter established a new record for a living artist, selling at Sotheby’s for £21.3 million. Rock star Eric Clapton, who bought it for one tenth of the price in 2001, timed the sale well. In the past four years, Richter’s decorative abstract paintings, of which there are hundreds, have become status symbols among the world’s super rich – Roman Abramovich and Lily Safra, who gave hers to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, being among the top buyers at auction.

The latest Richter record price is thought to have been paid by a Russian buyer, and crowned a triumphant week for the octogenarian German artist, in which all 15 of his paintings that were offered sold for a total of £28 million – accounting for more than 25 per cent of the week’s sales. But rest of the story, while it had its moments, was not quite so rosy; the other five contemporary art auctions all fell short of pre-sale expectations.

At Phillips, more than 30 per cent of works offered were unsold, including a view of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange by the artist photographer Andreas Gursky, valued at £400,000. Gursky prices peaked last year at a record $4 million (£2,490,000) for a photographic work, but sellers hoping to capitalise on that last week were disappointed. Two further substantial works by Gursky at Christie’s were also unsold.

Another notable casualty at Christie’s was Californian artist Paul McCarthy. While his dealers, Hauser & Wirth, claimed the first sale of the Frieze Art Fair with a large, Disneyesque sculpture by McCarthy for over a million dollars, two slightly lewd, cartoon-style sculptures in a similar price bracket found no buyers. Unlike Richter’s abstracts, McCarthy’s discomforting social critique is not to everyone’s taste, and the number of potential buyers is limited. It was also apparent that Spanish buyers were, perhaps due to the state of the national economy, out of the equation, and works by Spanish artists were either unsold or snapped up by non-Spanish buyers at soft prices.

The stars of the Christie’s sale were the eccentric German artist, Martin Kippenberger, whose rare self portrait sold for a record £3.1 million to Hauser & Wirth, bidding for a client, and a group of works by young British artists from the Saatchi collection which were prominently placed to catch the attention of the type of collector of new art roaming the aisles of the Frieze Art Fair. A lumpy sculpture of a woman’s legs by Rebecca Warren sold to an American buyer for £109,250; a triptych of blurred photographs by Idris Khan sold for £181,250; and a huge, Photorealist painting of an aircraft wreck by Jonathan Wateridge sold for £313,250 to a Russian collector – all record prices and above estimates.

Saatchi had less of an impact at Sotheby’s, though his painting of a pair of gymnast’s rings by Gerhard Richter’s wife, Isa Genzken, did sell for a record £265,250 to art advisor Jorg Bertz. Here at the main evening sale, there was a more historically classical selection, made perhaps to catch the audience at the new Frieze Masters fair for older work. Apart from the record Richter, there was, for instance, a 1960s blue sponge relief by Yves Klein which sold to the Swiss-based collector Dimitri Mavromatis, above estimate for £3.7 million. Such sales, normally reserved for the higher-value auctions in February and June, gave Sotheby’s the edge.

However, closer analysis again revealed a certain fragility in the market as over half the lots sold either on below their estimated price guides. A granite sculpture by Anish Kapoor sold below estimate for £361,250, less than the price it fetched five years ago, and an early coloured drawing of a dead chicken by Lucian Freud found no buyers at £400,000.

The outstanding result for young artists was reserved for the next morning, when an inkjet-printed painting of black-and-white blocks of colour by Wade Guyton, currently enjoying a survey exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, sold for a record £421.250.

When the Frieze Art Fair started 10 years ago, London’s Frieze week auctions brought a modest £6.5 million, and last week’s £101 million is a measure of the impact the fair has had. Now with Frieze Masters thrown into the mix, the trend is likely to see even higher value sales next year.

SEE ALSO: The 10 Most Expensive Works Of Art Ever Sold

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

Since 1986, Nissan's Pathfinder has looked more or less the same, featuring the boxy frame that is the hallmark of the SUV. All that changes with 2013.

The fourth generation Pathfinder is not so much an SUV as it is a crossover. It's not so much utilitarian as it is aimed at "cool parents" who are involved in their kids lives, which means they spend a lot of time moving their kids around.

Jump to photos of the radically new Pathfinder >>

To capture that market, Nissan focused on making the new Pathfinder as roomy and luxurious as possible, while keeping fuel efficiency high and the price tag relatively low.

Last week, Nissan brought me to California, where I got the chance to drive the Pathfinder. Overall, I was impressed, even though it is not the sort of car that usually appeals to me.

A Revamped Family Vehicle

The first tip that Nissan is pitching the Pathfinder to families was the car seat installed in all the models provided me for test driving. The point was to show off how easy it is to get into and out of the car's back row of seats, even with the clunky seat installed in the second row.

It was indeed a breeze: The second row can be moved forward and pushed back into place with minimal effort.

With room for seven, the Pathfinder is quite spacious. As I sat in each row comfortably, children would have plenty of room.

It's packed with features to make driving, and being driven, easier and more pleasant. Screens built into the headrests of the driver and passenger seats can play different DVDs and be hooked up to video game systems to keep passengers in the second row entertained. There are no screens for the third row.

The Platinum edition, which I drove, comes with 13 Bose speakers. Unsurprisingly, the sound is great.

The Drive

Nissan included two especially cool features I have not seen anywhere else. The first is the Around View Monitor, which cobbles together camera views from the front, rear, and sides of the vehicle to provide an overhead, 360 degree view of everything going on around the vehicle, a boon for safe driving while entering and leaving parking spaces.

Those cameras also make parallel parking a snap: Lines imposed on the center console screen show you when to cut the wheel. Following them exactly, I ended up perfectly straight and within a few inches of the curb.

The second feature is the Easy Fill Tire Alert, which eliminates the need for a pressure gauge when filling the tires by sounding the horn when the appropriate pressure is reached. (This is available in most 2013 Nissans.) It's not as cool as Goodyear's self-inflating tire, but it's not far off.

To improve fuel efficiency to 20 mpg city, 26 mpg highway, Nissan shed 500 pounds from the Pathfinder and dropped the drag coefficient to 0.34, both of which help explain the radical shift in body shape.

The 2012 Pathfinder's 4.0L V8 engine was ditched and replaced by an adequate 3.5L V6. The result is a smooth drive without a lot of pep, and fine acceleration. I did not try towing anything, so cannot speak to how it performs with real weight to pull. (Nissan advertises the towing capacity as a best in class at 5,000 pounds.)

Should You Buy One?

Not if you want a 2012 Pathfinder, or any kind of SUV. But if you want a car that will move your family in comfort, get better gas mileage than most cars its size, and won't break the bank, it's a good choice.

The 2013 Pathfinder starts at $28,270. The Platinum version, which I drove, runs for $39,995.

Disclosure: Nissan provided travel and lodging expenses for us to visit San Francisco and drive the 2013 Pathfinder.

SEE ALSO: Photos Of Our Test Drive In The 2013 Pathfinder >

Please follow Getting There on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

Last week, Nissan flew me out to California and put me up so I could drive the brand new 2013 Nissan Pathfinder.

I spent an afternoon behind the wheel on the winding, hilly roads of Napa Valley, seeing what the totally restyled vehicle is worth.

Read my full review, and take a look at the photos from my test drive to acquaint yourself with the revamped Pathfinder.

Disclosure: Nissan provided travel and lodging expenses for us to visit San Francisco and drive the 2013 Pathfinder.

First off, a look at the 2012 Pathfinder, last year's version.

The new model is wider and longer. The boxy look and rugged nature are gone.

I was surprised the navigation system didn't use our location to narrow down the selection of destinations.

Please follow Getting There on Twitter and Facebook.

The 35,000-square-foot Carolwood Estate in Holmby Hills has just been formally listed at a price that competes with other big-ticket listings on the market. The current owners are asking $90 million for the mansion.

Investor and pro soccer team owner Gabriel Brener is selling the estate, which was built on the land of Walt Disney's last home, according to The Los Angeles Times. He informally shopped it around for $80 million last year, but now it has been officially listed with The Agency.

The house sits on 3.6 acres and was built in 2001, after Brener dismantled Disney's barn and moved it to another location.

The estate has eight bedrooms, an unnecessary 17 bathrooms, a movie room, and two safe rooms.

There's just one listing photo:

 And an aerial view of the property:

DON'T MISS: Billionaire Pistons Owner Tom Gores Is Selling His Beverly Hills Mansion For $10.75 Million

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

A set of sheep sculptures by the artist François-Xavier Lalanne are expected to fetch between $4 million and $6 million at a New York City Christie's auction this November.

The sheep are originally from the renowned East Hampton estate of Adlaide de Menil and her late husband Edmund (Ted) Carpenter, the famous anthropologist and broadcaster. The sculptures were a fixture at the couple's Further Lane home.

François-Xavier Lalanne created Mouton de Laine, Un Troupeau de 24 Moutons, or "a flock of 24 sheep," in 1965. The so-called "flock" comprises eight standing sheep, sixteen grazing sheep, as well as an extremely rare black sheep. The set is made out of Aluminum, wood, and wool.

The sculptures originally gained prominence when Lalanne introduced his art work at the Salon de la Jeune Peinture in Paris in 1965. The flock was placed at the entrance and the artists of the Salon were photographed sitting atop them. The 24 sheep were even photographed and published in Life magazine in 1967.

The set of sheep sculptures will be the highlight of Christie's November 14 Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale in New York at Rockefeller Plaza. The auction will benefit The Rock Foundation, which supports anthropological and archaeological research, publishing, and films.

Don't Miss: Now You Can Pick Up Fine Art At Costco

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

PAOLO GABRIELE was Pope Benedict XVI's butler. But he breached his trade's cardinal rule: discretion. On October 6th an Italian court found him guilty of aggravated theft, after he leaked documents to a journalist (though a pardon is thought to be pending).

Despite a trickle of scandals involving talkative ex-butlers, demand is soaring. So is the complexity of the job. A birthday in Venezuela organised by Anthony Seddon-Holland, a British soldier-turned-butler, involved three planeloads of guests and security, and booking an entire hotel, plus rock band and film stars.

Bespoke Bureau, a London agency, has placed 345 butlers this year--twice as many as in all of 2011. The five-week training courses Mr Seddon-Holland runs at his Guild of British Butlers, which he set up in 2007, are booked until 2013. Demand increases by around a fifth every year. He is considering launching new courses in New York and sees Latin America as a potentially "monstrous" market.

Old-money aristocrats are no longer the main employers. Chinese, Russian and Middle Eastern plutocrats are taking their place. Of Bespoke Bureau's placements 80% were abroad, says its boss, Sara Vestin Rahmani. Of the remainder in Britain, half went to foreign employers.

Hollywood films and the success of television shows like "Downton Abbey" that depict butlers as discreet, resourceful and quintessentially English have helped. Britain's class system is a factor too, especially for customers from republican countries such as Russia and China where the newly rich hanker after old aristocratic glitz. Clients are paying for British traditions, hierarchy and experience, Ms Vestin Rahmani says. Below the surface, the skills are closer to those of a manager than a servant: for an (unnamed) Russian oligarch, Mr Seddon-Holland managed properties on several continents and organised 60 permanent staff.

A world-class butler can earn up to £150,000 ($240,000) plus bonus, separate living accommodation and all expenses. If a wealthy client finds you indispensable, Mr Seddon-Holland says, a butler can "demand almost anything" to stay put.

Employers may need some help in learning to make the most of their expensive new toy. Rick Fink of the Butler-Valet School in Oxfordshire encourages employers to take his £8,000 four-week course too: that helps them avoid misunderstandings about port (passed only to the left, regardless of rank) and the vital semantic differences between a formal dessert (fruit, nuts and sweets) and pudding (a course cooked by the chef). Just like their butlers, employers ought to get everything right.

Click here to subscribe to The Economist

SEE ALSO: Step Inside The Most Marvelous Hotel Suite In The Middle East

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

American bars tend to stick to extremes, with watered-down dives on one end and swanky VIP lounges with bottle service on the other.

But not every night calls for suits or stilettos. Sometimes, it’s nice to drop the pomp and circumstance and get seriously sloshed without busting your budget.

Here at Party Earth we’re happy to remind everyone—from blueblood nobility to the blue-collar crowd—that a cheap drink doesn’t have to be a weak one. So take a look at some of our favorite U.S. drinking dens from down and dirty bars in D.C. to cheap and easy dives in San Francisco that more than make up in liquor for what they may lack in luxury.

This story was originally published by Party Earth.

New York City: Mehanata Bulgarian Bar

Hipsters, hookahs, and beat-heavy polka unite at Mehanata Bulgarian Bar, a Lower East Side hotspot that effortlessly puts the “rad” back into comrade.

It’s as unapologetically raucous as you might expect a proud Soviet-themed bar to be: naked mannequins, mouth-shaped urinals, and the “Get naked, get a free shot” sign that somehow hasn’t put them out of business (yet). But the real draw at Mehanata is the infamous Ice Cage, which is basically a giant walk-in fridge lined with over fifty bottles of premium vodka.

It costs around $20 to enter the Cage, but the price includes free use of authentic Soviet military uniforms, which patrons don before pounding a half-dozen shots of whichever vodkas they choose in under two minutes.

Mehanata Bulgarian Bar
113 Ludlow Street
New York, NY 10002

Washington, D.C.: Dan's Cafe

The first thing to remember about Dan’s Café is that it looks like an abandoned little building with a boarded-up front and a ramshackle sign that would earn a quick “F” in any fifth grade art project.

Inside, the stuffy single room isn’t much better (we’re pretty sure the ferns hanging from the ceiling died sometime before the Cold War), but perceptive patrons will notice a lot of rowdy regulars wielding what appear to be ketchup bottles—which wouldn’t be weird save for the fact that there’s no food in this Café.

The large squeeze bottles, in fact, are loaded with hard alcohol, either pre-mixed with a favorite chaser or straight as the day the grain was born. And nearly all the squeeze bottles are priced less than $20. After doing the math, downing an entire bottle by yourself comes out to less than $2 a shot.

Dan’s Café
2315 18th Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20009

Chicago: The California Clipper

Although it’s well-removed from the city’s bigger bar scene, The California Clipper is still one of the best bars in Chicago and has been going strong since the 1930s.

The consensus on its welcoming vibe has no doubt aided its success, along with the free board games that fill the void between the free live jazz on weekends. Sure, there are rumors the venue is haunted, but its popular Purple Martin cocktail is sure to bring back even the most phantasm-phobic, time and time again.

Of course, if a mixture of fake grapes, rum, and lemon reminds you more of a desperate last call at a frat party, this cozy neighborhood lounge offers a host of budget-friendly classics, from champagne cocktails and Rusty Nails to a California egg cream so good you won’t even remember to ask how they got cream out of a chicken’s egg in the first place.

The California Clipper
1002 North California Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Luxury homes are often criticized for being ostentatious, wasteful, and having too large of a carbon footprint.

But in many new constructions, LEED certifications and "eco-friendly" features are commonplace.

We browsed Sotheby's International Realty's Green Living section to compile a list of top-notch luxury homes that either had LEED certification, solar panels, or other smart technology.

This $10.5 million home in New Canaan, Conn. earned the Electronic House of the Year award for its innovative application of AMX technology, which incorporates in-wall touch screens that control the lighting, heat, irrigation, sound, and more.

Click here for more photos of the home >

The home has six bedrooms, nine full bathrooms, and two half-baths. The 14,000-square-foot house can be controlled on an iPad or iPhone, and has geothermal heating/cooling.

Click here for more photos of the home >

Live eco-friendly in this $18.8 million home on 123.5 acres in Fortunago, Italy.

Click here to see more photos of the home >

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

The Museum of Contemporary Art In Cleveland has been brought into the 21st century with its new six-sided building, which opened last week.

The building is made of mirrored black stainless steel, which glistens and is absolutely beautiful. It's a sure show-stopper for passers-by and visitors.

London-based architect Farshid Moussavi designed the building, according to architecture website Dezeen.

The reflective panels on the building's exterior "will respond to weather changes and movement around the museum, providing visitors with constantly changing perceptions," according to Dezeen. 

The building is four stories tall and spans 34,000 square feet.

DON'T MISS: A Look Inside The Sleek Ferrari Museum That Just Opened In Italy

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

A duplex penthouse in a Greenwich Village townhouse is on sale for $16 million.

The inside of the home combines dark wood, stone, and stainless steel. If the interior doesn't sell you, the rooftop will.

It features a fireplace, a six-person hot tub, and views of the Freedom Tower and the Empire State Building.

The apartment, located on Waverly Place, has four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and spans nearly 4,000 square feet.

The beautiful penthouse has Wenge wood flooring.

The house has a double-sided wood burning fireplace.

On the other side of the fireplace is a sun-soaked room that could serve nicely as a kids' playroom.

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Creaking floors, inexplicable cold drafts and eerie sounds usually don’t top the list of dream house features.

Unless, of course, we’re talking about dream haunted house features.

It’s October, and we’re forgoing the usual roundup of eye candy in favor of some cobweb-draped places most people wouldn’t dare put a down payment on.

Tales of horror, glimpses of ghosts and a bevy of cobweb decor — it’s all here.

Click here to see the haunted mansions >

Winchester House: San Jose, CA

It’s as if original owner Sarah Winchester wanted her home to be haunted.

The eccentric widow of William Winchester, founder of Winchester rifles, held nightly seances to gain guidance from spirits and her dead husband for the home’s design.

The end result? A maze-like structure that took 38 years to build and includes twisting and turning hallways, dead ends, secret panels, a window built into a floor, staircases leading to nowhere, doors that open to walls, upside-down columns and rooms built, then intentionally closed off  — all to ward off and confuse evil spirits.

Source: Zillow.com 

Gardette-LaPrete House: 716 Dauphine St, New Orleans, LA

This Greek revival home was the site of the one of the grisliest murders in New Orleans‘ history.

A Turkish merchant, renting the home, was buried alive in the backyard and his harem entourage murdered.

Years later, the French Quarter home is still said to be the site of the merchant’s wanderings, and on certain nights, exotic music and incense from ancient parties waft from the home.

Source: Zillow.com 

Hampton Lillibridge: 507 E Julian St, Savannah, GA

This historic home was moved to its current location in Savannah by a local restoration expert.

As work began on the house, workers reported odd noises and a male presence.

Early on, they discovered a crypt on the building site half filled with water and covered it.

Despite the rumors of hauntings, the home was finished and was last on the market for $2.2 million in 2011. Although it’s off the market now, there’s no word of a buyer.

Source: Zillow.com 

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Dunkin' Donuts has seen a ton of success with its branding of Munchkins — its donut holes.

Now, it appears that it'll be trying to do the same with bagels.

Dunkin' is trying to trademark the name "Bagel Bunchkin" for bite-size bagel holes, reports Todd Wallack at The Globe.

Freelance journalist Jeff Cutler tweeted a picture of poppy seed covered bagel holes from Dunkin' back in January 2011, so it appears that these have been in the works for a while.

Competitor Einstein already sells bagel holes, which it calls "Bagel Poppers." They're coated with a variety of toppings like pumpkin cream cheese.

Aaron Kagan at Eater points out that bagels don't have leftover scraps, since they're not made by poking out a hole.

"Bagels are made by joining the ends of a snakelike piece of dough, and not by punching the middle out of a round piece of dough," he explains in a post. "So this isn't like garlic scapes or offal, where a food producer has found a clever way of selling you something that has less value than the main attraction but is still delicious."

NOW SEE: Japan's Epic Fast Food War Inspired These Crazy Menu Items >

Please follow Retail on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »