Airbnb Sued By 7 Elderly Women Who Were Bitten By ‘Massive Colony’ Of Bats At ‘House Of Horrors’ Michigan Rental

Airbnb and the owner of the Alpena, Michigan, property known as “The Castle,” have been sued for renting a bat-infested home.

Eight elderly women rented the Castle in late July so that they could celebrate their 50th high school reunion.

In a new lawsuit, they claimed their stay at this property soon became a nightmare after a large colony of bats infesting the house descended on their party and bit some of them.

On October 30, seven of the eight women filed a suit in Alpena County Circuit Court against Airbnb, the owners of the property and the manager of the rental.

The suit charges that Airbnb was careless in allowing the advertising of the property on its platform. The women also shared how upset they were that the owner and those in charge of the house’s maintenance neglected to see if it was safe to rent.

Jon Marko, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, called their situation a scene out of a Halloween horror movie.

The women enjoyed their stay for three days until the evening of July 26. Two women who stayed in the house’s turret room were suddenly awoken by the sounds of screeching and dark shapes moving on the walls.

The women screamed in terror and ran into the hall, slamming the door and sealing its frame with blankets.

Another bat eventually flew down the hallway screeching with more following behind.

The women made it to the stairwell but soon noticed that it was flooded with bats.

They searched for the nearest bed, barricaded the doors with window sashes, towels and pillows and hid underneath the covers.

“More and more bats began entering the living quarters,” the filing said. “The bats were coming down the old lathe walls and entering through the gaps in the baseboards. The night was littered with screams that could be heard from one room, then the next, then the next.”

The women claim the bats were caught in some of their hair, and some were struck while others were bitten. They stated that the bat attack ended at dawn when the bats retreated back to the attic.

An exterminator found a massive colony of Michigan Brown Bats residing in the house’s attic.

He found a huge amount of bat guano pasted to the floor and bat urine leaking down the basement walls.

“The exterminator estimated that this colony had been present in the attic for multiple years,” according to the complaint.

The filing mentioned that due to being in close contact with the flying animals, the women were to undergo a series of rabies vaccinations.

“This is every renter’s worst nightmare,” Marko declared. “What was supposed to be a fun vacation turned into a house of horror for my clients. No one expects to be attacked by a horde of bats.”

The property’s Airbnb listing shows a review from July in which a renter stated, “We were pleased with the stay for three nights. On the fourth night, perhaps due to excessive heat (the upstairs isn’t air conditioned), bats emerged through the walls from the attic in every bedroom and in the hallway.”

This reviewer continued, “The host did not respond to our eleven calls during our terrifying night with the bats, beginning at 12:08 a.m. The co-host answered my call but could not offer any help. We did not hear from the host until I checked Airbnb and saw he had responded via Airbnb email at 7:30 the morning following the invasion.”

The Airbnb host responded to the review and said that this was a random and unfortunate incident.

He stated that a professional who specializes in controlling and removing bats had been hired shortly after being told of the incident.

“We did immediately provide the refund as requested, and additionally offered to pay for your hotel lodging and dinner. No expense or effort was spared to rectify this as promptly and professionally as possible,” the host claimed. “Ultimately, the expert was only able to find one (likely transient) bat. Bats are very active this time of year in Northern Michigan and it’s unfortunate one found its way inside.”