I’d for sure mention it in your review for exactly the reasons you list. I’d go further and suggest that any truthful and accurate information that MIGHT be useful for future sitters or HOs should be included period.
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A part of it is that I don’t understand the culture of the homeowner and it’s such a mishmash of odd things that I don’t really know what to make of it but I certainly didn’t get a good feeling about it
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Could you provide more info? I’m curious what you mean by occult materials? Is this substantially different than having religious materials in the home?
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“occult materials on display visibly” sort-of implies some version of satanic altar display, but maybe I’m over-interpreting. occult symbols (pentagrams, etc) are intended to call up those spirits, so I’d say it’s a step beyond someone with a framed bible verse hanging on their wall. depending on the person, they may have these symbols displayed more casually in their home (think: rockstar culture), but it sounds like this HO may be a more active participant in occult activity. but again, maybe I’m over-interpreting.
It would be helpful to know what you mean by occult. As someone else said, there’s a difference between a religious/spiritual belief that isn’t a mainstream religion (pagan/Wiccan or New Age stuff like crystals/images/tarot) and stuff that looks like it comes from a horror movie.
I think any whose home is full of images/items relating to a strong religious or political belief should be open about that in their listing so anyone uncomfortable with it can avoid. I don’t think anything is threatening to children though unless it’s intrinsically frightening (there are horrendous crucifixes for example).
This has never happened to us…but something that we wouldn’t judge. Review them honestly based on the sit, animals, descriptions, cleanliness, etc…but we wouldn’t say that this counts as “not accurate listing”.
Wouldn’t mention it in the review because this is an emotional reaction to the encountered material and not factual. Just because you don’t agree, doesn’t mean that a THS review is a good place to judge and put your feelings.
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Hi @GentleSitter It’s hard to know exactly what kind of material you were exposed to, but if it made you uncomfortable, it could definitely affect other sitters too.
It might be a good idea to mention it in your review, even in a subtle way, so it can come up in a chat/video call as a chat starter. Especially if the sit went well overall and the HO and pets (hopefully dogs, or at most cats 
) were easy.
I think the real issue is that what you found is not matching the listing. An option could be reflect it by adjusting the star rating under Accuracy of listing. That way potential sitters will pay attention to that and will have the chance, again, to bring it up with the HO during a video chat.
After highlighting the HO, the pets, and the house with its amenities you could mention for example that you noticed some “potentially sensitive material” that was not listed, just enough to flag it without sounding harsh.
A genuine review doesn’t need to be offensive and can be helpful. It might save someone else from feeling weird or caught off guard at least, just discussing with the HO before accepting the sit.
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you are accurate
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As Systaran asked, I’m also curious as to what is meant by occult materials? I love astrology and have books on the subject and I also have my own tarot cards - it’s just a fun thing for me to read the cards so some people may view that as “occult” but I don’t and it’s not something anyone sees when they come into my home. I personally wouldn’t mention anything in the review about it. As sitters, we meet all types of homeowners and I probably wouldn’t pass any judgement regarding this. I don’t think I would say there was “sensitive material” in a review as that could conjur up much worse than occult material! I think if I had done this sit, I may have casually asked the homeowners out of pure interest what it was all about 
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from entry way into home
skeletons on porch smoking
living room with animal skulls, bats, celebrity altar, tarot
kitchen 5 -6 skulls
bedroom altar with alcohol tobacco
bedroom bats
what else?
bathroom a virgin
kitchen a virgin
some felt like day of dead others were spooky
all was cropped out of photos in the listing
I think the listing is inaccurate
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google occult
I prefer not to answer or provide further detail
occult is the occult plain and simple
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witch’s hat
snake hat hook
in that case, I think it definitely merits mentioning in some form. the pet’s wellbeing would be in jeopardy if a sitter arrived unaware of what they’re coming into but unwilling to remain in that environment. I get that not everyone believes in the spiritual and may not care, but there are plenty of people who do and who would find those items meaningful one way or another.
the fact that this stuff is all over the house and was so completely left out of photos indicates intentionality. maybe it’s for spiritual reasons – I don’t know what the “rules” are around taking photos of these items – but nevertheless, it’s important information for someone considering coming into and temporarily living in this person’s home.
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Well that is some weird stuff and just the fact they eliminated from the listing is definitely not good. I would bring this up with THS.
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I’d mention in your review that you were surprised by decor such as X, Y and Z, which weren’t shown in the listing photos. That way, you leave other sitters to decide whether they care.
Personally, as someone who’s not religious, it would not make a difference to me whether they had such items or items from other religions.
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@GentleSitter The additional info provides a much better picture of your experience. Just saying ‘occult’ can mean different things to different people. Yeah, that’s some weird stuff and it is odd that it was left out of the photos.
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In the course of sits I’ve been in homes with religious symbols that are not part of my tradition. I accept this as I am a visitor and the homeowners live there. I wouldn’t expect them to get rid of anything. Even though I don’t a practice religion there are things and images in my home representative one or more religious practices and spirtual traditions. I don’t feel a need to warn anyone about this.
It’s difficult as a homeowner to know what might offend people and how to find people that match. Some homeowners on purpose or accidently reveal themselves. There may a deer’s head over the mantel for instance, which might turn off some people. Others might show one of those “In this house w e believe lawn signs.” I know one homeowner who cleverly inserted a White House Christmas party photo featuring a president (I won’t tell you which one.)
It’s a good idea for homeowners to make sure sitters will be comfortable in their homes and probably the best way to go about is to be direct if there are concerns. But I also think it’s really the responsibility of the sitter to find out and put out for the homeowner that due to their beliefs, certain objects or images in a home would be a dealbreaker. For instance, if I belonged to a religion that believed all alcohol use is a sin to the point where I couldn’t stay in a home where alcohol was displayed, it would be my responsibility to have that discussion with a homeowner before I accepted a sit. As a homeowner I wouldn’t be comfortable making an assumption or asking the question because of my perception of someone’s religion. Nor would I feel it was my responsibility to say, “We drink wine in this house.”
In your case, you found the imagery and decor was creepy. It might not matter what their belief system is and classifying as “occult” would set the wrong tone and could imply that you aren’t a fan of horoscopes or yoga matts and Katy bar the door if you saw a deck of tarot cards or a biography of Aleister Crowley. Saying there were “occult objects” and this made you uncomfortable would send the wrong message about you, not what you saw.
I would recommend in your review, you say what you observed, not how you felt about it or how you defined it. Don’t even say it made you uncomfortable, you might say “none of this was in the photos” because that is objectively true. Whatever you write, as a host I check both the reviews written about sitters and the reviews sitters write, and I might be reading what you wrote to help me decide whether or not we’d be well matched.
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Writing a review, when there is an issue, such as this one, can be difficult. It’s important for future sitters, to be made aware of the situation, as it may or may not affect their decision to apply for a sit.
Recently I had to make a similar decision, to disclose a few things that were not in the listing, that we found disconcerting when we arrived. Had we been advised of these issues in the listing, we would not have applied for the sit. At the end of the day, these issues did affect our sit, and I wanted them documented in my review. I made the decision to be completely honest about all the positive things about the sit and ‘sandwiched’ the unpleasant issues, in the middle of my review. I began with the positive, and ended with positive aspects of the sit. Perhaps you can consider doing something similar, to be fair to all parties concerned.
It is unfortunate that the pet owner very specifically posted photos that didn’t disclose the issue that you encountered. There is a comfort factor, that should be considered by a pet owner, when disclosing certain situations. It’s not just about a comfortable mattress, and room in the fridge for our food.
I hope you are able to find the right words and feel comfortable with the decision to address this issue in your review.
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I’m with Skylos and Joanne, could just be mentioned in passing in a subtle way.
If the items were cropped out that would go by Accuracy of listing if one would like to dock stars.
I’ve seen a listing mentioning that they have tarot decks in their home, in a way like some sitter had reacted. I think in general, personal beliefs is none of my business if just items in home. Whether it be religious books, crosses, embroideries of bible verses, pictures of presidents. So it could be sensitive materials - or sensitive sitters.
What you mention wouldn’t be exactly my taste, to be honest. But nevertheless. I’d probably more see it as a clutter-problem. 
I might mention it in passing, just short and factual.
“The home has an anaesthetic with skeletons on the porch, altars with celebrity tributes, and a few animal skulls and bats throughout. It wasn’t shown in the listing photos, so useful to know to get a good match»
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