Snake house: A young couple's $180000 horror story

The five-bedroom house sits on pastoral acreage in the rural Idaho countryside.

At a price less than $180,000, it seemed a steal.

But a bargain it wasn't.

Ben and Amber Sessions soon realised the dream home they'd purchased for their growing family in 2009 was infested with hundreds upon hundreds of garter snakes.

The ground surrounding the home appeared to move at times, it was so thick with snakes.

Throngs of snakes crawled beneath the home's siding. At night, the young couple said they would lie awake and listen to slithering inside the walls.

"It was like living in one of those horror movies," said Ben Sessions, 31.

Text and Images: AP

Image: In this photo taken June 9, 2011, the residence near Rexburg, Idaho, now known locally as "The Snake House," is shown.