The Real Man Living in Spider-Man’s House Says He Still Reads Every Fan Letter

Spider-Man has always been tied to a very specific corner of New York City, with Peter Parker’s fictional life in Forest Hills, Queens serving as the backdrop for decades of comics and films. For most fans, that connection to the neighborhood has always stayed firmly in the realm of make-believe, a detail that adds texture to the character without ever spilling into real life.

That line between fiction and reality gets a lot blurrier at one particular house on Ingram Street. Back in 1989, two issues of ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ revealed a change-of-address form showing Peter Parker’s exact home address, and fans quickly discovered that the location actually existed in Forest Hills, setting off decades of curious visitors and hopeful letter writers.

The house’s current owner, sixty-four-year-old Jack Shi, had no idea about any of this history when he purchased the property a few years ago. He only found out about its comic book connection from his real estate agent, and he’s since embraced the responsibility that comes with living at one of pop culture’s most famous fictional addresses.

Shi’s mailbox regularly fills with letters addressed directly to Spider-Man, many written by children hoping to connect with their favorite hero. One letter, shared alongside photos of Shi outside the home, asked Spider-Man and Deadpool to come over and hang out, wondering what the heroes do for fun and asking if they could teach the young writer how to be just like them.

Shi has said he never responds to the letters directly, but he does read every single one that arrives. Around Halloween, he’s noticed some young fans skip the mailbox entirely, showing up in full Spider-Man costumes to knock on his front door instead, hoping for a glimpse of the hero they believe lives inside.

Rather than treating the attention as a nuisance, Shi has leaned into what the address represents for the people who seek it out. He explained that he feels a mild sense of responsibility because Spider-Man embodies something distinctly American, and that living in the house means he should try to carry a piece of that spirit himself, according to PIX11.

That mindset extends to how he treats visitors who show up hoping to see the house in person. Shi has said he never turns away fans who want a photo outside the home, always saying yes whenever someone asks, understanding that for many of them, the house isn’t just a quirky landmark but a genuine piece of the character’s story come to life.

Shi isn’t the first resident to experience this kind of attention. The Parker family, who coincidentally shared Spider-Man’s surname, lived at the same address for decades and received hundreds of letters from fans around the world before some of that correspondence was eventually preserved and displayed at Brooklyn’s City Reliquary Museum.

With ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ currently playing in theaters, Shi expects even more young fans to seek out the Forest Hills home in the months ahead. For a house that was never meant to be anything more than a background detail in a decades-old comic book storyline, it’s become something far more meaningful to the kids who still believe, even for a moment, that their favorite hero might really be home.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!