“Zombie Mansion” is no more.
An abandoned, multi-million dollar home that became a viral sensation last year — when a videographer dubbed “The Unknown Cameraman” posted footage of its spooky interior — burned to the ground Thursday morning, according to reports.
The 22,000 square-foot residence, once valued at around $8 million, was gutted by an overnight fire that was first reported at around 12:30 a.m., officials told NJ.com.
By 10 a.m. Thursday, it had completely burned to the ground.
“On behalf of the governing body and the township, I’d like to thank all of the surrounding municipalities for responding and assisting us,” Colts Neck mayor Macnow said at a press conference. “And certainly thanks to our own volunteer fire department, first aid squad and police department for doing a terrific job in preventing any loss of life, personal injury and preventing any spread of the fire, which could easily have happened to other structures.”
The Cedar Street home — dubbed “Zombie Mansion” by online users, among other things — went viral last year after the “Unknown Cameraman” spotlighted it in a Youtube video, which has racked up more than 1 million views since first being posted on Sept. 16.
The eerie footage showed the seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms all boarded up, with graffiti covering the walls and chunks of walls missing entirely.
The mansion was built in 2002 and previously owned by Wall Street fraudster David Findel, who admitted to running an $11 million loan scheme while heading up the Morganville-based Worldwide Financial Resources.
The 51-year-old once made a name for himself by dropping $400,000 on New York Jets tickets.
He wound up being sentenced to five years and three months in prison, and ordered to pay $12 million in restitution.
“Any time a house is posted on social media and kids are getting into the house, there’s always a possibility of something bad happening. This is why we were actively taking legal actions to try and remedy the situation,” Macnow said Thursday. “The township has been actively trying to get the lien holders to address the integrity of the property for exactly that reason.”
Officials added that the cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
“Upon the extinguishing of the fire, obviously the investigation into how it started began,” Colts Neck Police Chief Kevin Sauter said. “It’s suspicious at this point.”
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