Nightmare tenant in viral Zillow listing revealed
This month, a Zillow listing for a house just outside of Columbia, South Carolina, went viral due to the creepy nature of the post.
It states that photos of the upstairs apartment could not be shown "under any circumstances," referencing a mysterious tenant who did not pay rent and would not leave the house when sold.
When paired with the photos of the dilapidated property, social media users began to speculate that the house was haunted, cursed or home to a criminal. None of those things are true.
The Raleigh News & Observer tracked down the mystery tenant, who isn't a ghoul at all -- he's 70-year-old Columbia native Randall McKissick, a divorced father of two and famous artist.
Though his art was once featured on billboards in Times Square and in galleries in Paris, McKissick has fallen on hard times recently. He's been staying in the apartment owned by his childhood friend for the past 10 years.
Due to the rise of computer-generated graphics in the '80s, McKissick, an illustrator, found it difficult to get work. He turned to painting and rented a studio overlooking the Congaree River in South Carolina.
After a while, he could no longer afford the rent. He was evicted around the same time his marriage ended. Since then, he has been living in the Cayce apartment with his three cats.
McKissick suffers from anxiety and finds it difficult to leave his home. His daughter, Amber Albert, is trying to find somewhere for her father to live with his pets, though she is dealing with a money issue as well.
Hopefully, this viral story will help the family find a solution.
