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In 1994 I bought a house. I was only 21 and it was a relief to get on the property ladder so soon after graduating. It was a nice three bedroom Victorian house with all the original features. The only problem was that is was built on a hellmouth. It was fine though. I had all the certificates to say it would be safe to live on and the estate agent said it was completely dormant, but in the unlikely event of Hell spilling over, the insurance would cover it. Hellmouths didn't really do anything anymore, anyway.

By the start of 1997 the value of the house had risen by nearly 60%, so I thought I'd use the extra money to buy a small one bedroom flat in the centre of London and a villa in Portugal. 1997 was a bad year. First we lost Princess Di, then Warner Brothers turned Buffy the Vampire Slayer into a tv series.

Sadly it did more than just damage the memory of the original film. I don't know if you ever watched the show, but it's basically about this girl who fights vampires and goes to a school built on a hellmouth. Everyweek something otherworldly and bad happens, simply because demons and creatures of the night are drawn to the hellmouth, which is a common misconception.

It's not hard to imagine what a show like this does to the price of houses built on hellmouths. I had 22 years left on a mortgage for a house which was close to worthless. I thought I could make some money back by renting out the spare rooms to goths, but goths are a nightmare to live with and have very little money.

Jane, Southampton.