Have you ever had a neighbor who just caused your blood to boil, and you just wanted to make their lives miserable? Have you ever been involved within a family feud, or a divorce proceeding that made you want to get even with the other parties involved? It's okay if you answered yes, as long as the "revenge" you seek doesn't break the laws of the land, and no one gets hurt.
Sometimes these situations find themselves making their way to court so that a judge can rule on what is going to happen, but other times (and we really prefer the other times) the person who feels slighted decides to get even in a truly creative way, and that is how the "spite house" was born.
To keep it simple, a "spite house" is built out a desire to frustrate or anger the other party, with amazing results. Let's look at five of the best spite houses ever built in the United States of America.
1. The O'Reilly Spite House - Cambridge, Massachusetts
My dad always told me that "something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it." That has always stuck with me, but what happens when someone offers you something so low-ball, you feel insulted to the core.
Francis O'Reilly had a small piece of land that he wanted to sell, and when his neighbor offered him pennies on the dollar for it, he was so insulted that he built a tiny, 308-square-foot home just to say "screw you." The house actually still stands today, and someone actually lives in it.
2. The Purple Smiley Face House - Lubbock, Texas
Sometimes it's not your neighbors who you are trying to get back at, sometimes it's the city officials that are making your life difficult. The people living in the "Purple House" were cited by the city for having too many unrelated people living under the roof. The residents were also cited numerous times for parking and noise complaints.
So what do you do when "the man" has got you down? Well, if you live here, you paint the house a bright purple, and cover it is in yellow and black smiley faces. Oh, and you throw a couple of Mickey Mouse ears on there for good measure. Well played, well played.
3. The Montlake Pie House, Seattle, Washington
This tiny home was built before tiny homes became something of a cultural fad. No one is 100 per cent sure why this house was built, but the pie-shaped house is literally the definition of a spite house. The most agreed upon story for its construction is that it was built because the man who owned the land was pis**d off about an offer that he received for the plot. Instead of selling for next to nothing, he built this house that is 55 inches wide at the front door, and 15 feet wide in the back.
It's pretty funny, but I bet the person who did actually built it never imagined that it would be worth half-a-million dollars one day.
4. The Equality House - Topeka, Kansas
Nobody likes the Westboro Baptist Church. The message they spread of hate and bigotry has no place in a civilized world. Some people decided it was time to put a crimp in the Church's style by building a home across the street from their compound, and painting it in the vibrant colors of the rainbow. It has become something of a tourist attraction, with people coming from all over the world to get their picture taken in front of it.
The Westboro Baptist Church says that they don't mind the rainbow home, because "it brings more light on their cause," but I can't believe that. When you are willing to cut of your nose to spite your face, this has to be a huge thorn in their side. Well done whoever is responsible for this!
5. The Plum Island Pink House - Newbury, Massachusetts
Always read the fine print before you sign anything. A jilted wife ended up with this home, a home that she asked for, but wasn't specific about. According to popular belief, a woman said she would only agree to divorce her husband, if, he built her an exact replica of their family home. Seems reasonable right? Well the problem was, she didn't state where the house had to be built, leaving the selection of location to her ex-husband, who apparently held onto some resentment.
He built her the house in the middle of nowhere. In a location with no running water, far away from anything you could call civilization in the middle of a salt marsh.
How far would you go to feel as if you "won?" Let us know in the comments.