Haunted House: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"It was an evil house from the beginning -- [[Curse|a house that was born bad]]."''|'''Dr. John Markway''', ''[[The Haunting]]''}}

[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|A spooky house.]] A staple of [[Horror]]. Where [[Haunted Castle~~|Haunted Castles~~]] would appear in European tales, the [[Haunted House]] takes its place in American stories. It is commonly associated with bumps in the night, strange lights, and a shady history involving violence and terror.

[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|A spooky house.]] A staple of [[Horror]]. Where [[Haunted Castle]]s would appear in European tales, the '''Haunted House''' takes its place in American stories. It is commonly associated with bumps in the night, strange lights, and a shady history involving violence and terror.

When you enter, [[Ghost Butler|the "wind"]] closes the door behind you. Creepy portraits may adorn the walls and the eyes may [[Portrait Painting Peephole|literally follow your every move]]. There are probably [[Cobweb of Disuse|cobwebs]] everywhere. The [[Ominous Pipe Organ]] may start playing Bach's [[Toccata and Fugue in D minor]] all on its own. Mirrors reflect things that aren't there... when they aren't [[House of Broken Mirrors|all broken]]. The house itself may seem alive, having [[Genius Loci|a mind of its own]], yet it may be [[Walking Wasteland|surrounded by dead trees and blackened grass]]. Will usually be [[Always Night|always in permanent night time]], if not having localised [[Grave Clouds]].

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It might be a ramshackle abandoned shack standing alone. Or a [[Big Fancy House]] maintained by a [[Creepy Housekeeper]]. Or a typical [[Suburbia|suburban home]] built on an [[Indian Burial Ground]]. It has a distressing tendency of killing its way through a family receiving it as an [[Unexpected Inheritance]], and if it gets a sufficiently sordid reputation it will be chronicled by a [[Haunted House Historian]] who tries to warn new would-be victims.

This is somewhat a [[Discredited Trope]] nowadays, with parodies, [[Abandoned Hospital~~|Abandoned Hospitals~~]], and [[Amusement Park of Doom|amusement park]] [[Circus of Fear|attractions]] being similarly popular to the straight portrayals. It's also an enduring trope, however, with stories of haunted houses going back at least to the [[wikipedia:Haunted house|ancient Romans]], making it [[Older Than Feudalism]].

This is somewhat a [[Discredited Trope]] nowadays, with parodies, [[Abandoned Hospital]]s, and [[Amusement Park of Doom|amusement park]] [[Circus of Fear|attractions]] being similarly popular to the straight portrayals. It's also an enduring trope, however, with stories of haunted houses going back at least to the [[wikipedia:Haunted house|ancient Romans]], making it [[Older Than Feudalism]].

Compare [[Haunted Headquarters]], which is any haunted primary setting, and [[Old Dark House]], which may or may not have a supernatural element. [[Big Boo's Haunt]] is this trope in video games. Will often end up invoking [[Never Recycle a Building]], for good reason.

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== Western Animation ==

* The trio of heroes from ''[[Filmation's Ghostbusters|Filmations Ghostbusters]]'' set up shop in what resembled a run-down haunted ~~house--Ghost~~ ~~Command--that~~ featured haunted appliances such as (most memorably) the wisecracking Ansabone. Similarly, the [[Big Bad]] Prime Evil had Hauntquarters, a cathedral-like building located in the Fifth Dimension.

* The trio of heroes from ''[[Filmation's Ghostbusters|Filmations Ghostbusters]]'' set up shop in what resembled a run-down haunted house—Ghost Command—that featured haunted appliances such as (most memorably) the wisecracking Ansabone. Similarly, the [[Big Bad]] Prime Evil had Hauntquarters, a cathedral-like building located in the Fifth Dimension.

* In a ''[[The Simpsons|Simpsons]]'' Treehouse of Horror segment, the Simpsons move into a haunted house, which does its best to make them leave... but they refuse, because it's pretty much their dream house. The segment ends with the house destroying itself rather than live with the Simpsons.