Austria's Infamous Incest House Just Sold

Josef Fritzl's house bought by strip club owner looking to turn it into apartments
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 6, 2016 1:14 PM CST
Austria's Infamous Incest House Just Sold
This Austrian home, where Josef Fritzl kept his daughter imprisoned for 24 years while fathering seven children by her, was recently purchased by the owner of a local strip club, who plans to turn it into apartments.   (AP Photo/Kerstin Joensson, File)

The home where "Austrian incest monster" Josef Fritzl kept his daughter locked in the cellar for 24 years while fathering seven children by her may soon be used to house strippers, the Local reports. Fritzl was found guilty of murder, incest, sequestration, and 3,000 counts of rape in 2009 and sentenced to life in prison. Since then, authorities have worried the house in Austria would become a morbid tourist attraction. But reports this week say the house was purchased for a little under $172,000 by Ingrid Houska, the proprietor of a local pub and strip club.

Houska's husband, Herbert, says they plan to turn the house into apartments and "bring down the curtain" on its horrifying past, the Irish Times reports. "We have a lot of apprentices...so we need staff apartments," the Express quotes Herbert Houska as saying. He says other people have also shown an interest in moving in. "It can't stay empty forever," the Local quotes Herbert Houska as saying. "We need to bring life into it. In two years it will be a house like any other." There is one part of the notorious house that will be off limits to future tenants: The cellar where Fritzl kept his daughter prisoner was filled with cement in 2013. (More Josef Fritzl stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X