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(Import from TV Tropes TVT:Main.OldDarkHouse 2012-07-01, editor history TVTH:Main.OldDarkHouse, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported license) |
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You know that old, foreboding house up on the top of the hill, surrounded by thick forests, and accessible only by a single bridge that has a tendency to wash out during every rainstorm? Yeah, that one. Have you ever noticed that it always seems to attract eclectic groups of strangers who get invited for the reading of a will or a dinner party with a mysterious host? And why is it that the strangers keep [[Ten Little Murder Victims|getting killed off, one by one]], during the night? It must be one of them doing it? But which?
Expect many [[Secret Path|passageways hidden]] [[Bookcase Passage|behind bookcases]], usually operated [[Shaggy Search Technique|by candlesticks]], [[Portrait Painting Peephole|portraits with removable eyes for spying]], and the ubiquitous [[Dramatic Thunder|thunder and lightning]]. Almost inevitably all methods of communication with the [[Closed Circle|outside world]]—especially
May or may not be [[Haunted House|haunted]] or have some curse or be hiding a [[Dark Secret]]. If the mystery is set in Europe, this may be a [[Haunted Castle|castle]] instead of a [[Big Fancy House|mansion]]. See also [[Haunted House]], [[Haunted Castle]] which usually ''are'' haunted. In this trope, while a haunting may be real, it is more likely that the mysterious poltergeist is an [[Scooby
Please keep in mind that ''not'' any old house with poor lighting will do for this trope. This is a classic trope of, and a great set piece for, [[Mystery Fiction|whodunnit murder mysteries]].
{{examples
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* The ''[[
* ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro
== [[Board Games]] ==
* The board game ''[[Clue (
* The game ''Kill Doctor Lucky'', which is inspired by ''Clue'', also takes place in such a mansion.
* ''[[Betrayal
* ''13 Dead End Drive'' is a board game with this as the set piece and the players as potential heirs trying to bump each other off.
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== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[Clue (
* The 1932 movie ''[[The Old Dark House]]'' (as well as the 1963 remake) is the [[Trope Namer]].
** Both movies are based on an old novel, ''Benighted'', by J.B. Priestly.
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* ''[[Murder By Death]]'' is one of these movies, only the guests are all pastiches of famous fictional detectives.
* Even though it takes place in a radio station during a live show, [[The Radioland Murders]] plays this trope pretty well. The biggest difference is that only certain important people conected to the station are in danger, and not everyone in the building.
* The original ''[[House
== [[Literature]] ==
* Agatha Christie's ''[[And Then There Were None]]'' took place on a mansion on an island, and the boat wasn't coming back for several days.
* Sarah Waters' ''The Little Stranger'' takes place in a decrepit, isolated old manor house in Warwickshire.
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
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== [[Theatre]] ==
* ''[[The Cat and
* ''[[The Bat]]'' is set at the house of Courtleigh Fleming, the late president of the failed Union Bank. Rumor has it that the money robbed from the bank is stashed in a Hidden Room in the house. In an old country house whose lights tend to fail during storms, candles, pocket flashlights, and wristwatches with illuminated dials all become important items.
* Parodied by the play-within-a-play in [[Tom Stoppard]]'s ''The Real Inspector Hound''.
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== [[Video Games]] ==
* ''[[Chzo Mythos|5 Days a Stranger]]'' takes place in one of these.
* One of the Dark Brotherhood mission from ''[[Elder Scrolls]] 4: [[Oblivion]]'' sends you to one of these, only ''you'' are the murderer. (Though it's possible to convince the guests to kill each other.)
* [http://shivergames.com/lucius/ Lucius] plays this trope much like the Dark Brotherhood mission from Oblivion. You play a child of the devil who must kill everyone else in the house without arousing suspicion.
* The [[Big Screwed
== [[Western Animation]] ==
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[[Category:Building Tropes]]
[[Category:Mystery Tropes]]
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