Testing the boundaries of the consideration doctrine: Can you contract to buy and sell a ghost?

Mark Giancaspro
(June 2020) 45(2) Alternative Law Journal 107-113

Mark Giancaspro, ‘Testing the boundaries of the consideration doctrine: Can you contract to buy and sell a ghost?’ (June 2020) 45(2) Alternative Law Journal 107-113

Abstract

This article considers whether contracts to purchase 'haunted' objects are legally enforceable under Australian contract law. 'Dybbuk boxes', and related paraphernalia said to be possessed by spirits, are becoming increasingly popular on online shopping sites and as tourist attractions following recent high-profile incidents involving celebrities such as American rapper and record producer Post Malone. This article suggests that the enforceability of contracts for the sale of haunted items such as dybbuk boxes is dubious at best, and that the countless number of such contracts that have been concluded may be subject to legal challenge.