History Main / HauntedHouse

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It might be a ramshackle abandoned shack standing alone. Or a BigFancyHouse maintained by a CreepyHousekeeper. Or a typical [[{{Suburbia}} suburban home]] built on an IndianBurialGround. It has a distressing tendency of killing its way throught a family receiving it as an UnexpectedInheritance.

This is somewhat a DiscreditedTrope nowadays, with parodies and amusement park 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 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haunted_house ancient Romans]], making it OlderThanFeudalism.

It might be a ramshackle abandoned shack standing alone. Or a BigFancyHouse maintained by a CreepyHousekeeper. Or a typical [[{{Suburbia}} suburban home]] built on an IndianBurialGround.

Compare HauntedHeadquarters, which is any haunted primary setting, and OldDarkHouse, which may or may not have a supernatural element. BigBoosHaunt is this trope in video games. will often end up invoking NeverRecycleABuilding, for good reason.

* The Changeling from 1980 features George C. Scott moving into a house that is haunted by [[spoiler:the ghost of a crippled child who was drowned in the bathtub by his father.]]

* ''ArabianNights'': The story "Ali the Cairene and the Haunted House in Baghdad".

[[ArtInitiatesLife It is.]]

* In AaronAllston's ''GalateaIn2D'', Donna thinks she's going mad because she can barely sleep, the house feels like it's haunted by stuff out of EdgarAllenPoe. [[ArtInitiatesLife It is.]]

* In the first episode of ''KeroroGunsou'', Fuyuki and Natsumi learn that the reason their mom was able to get their house for such a great price was because the spare room in the basement (which in this episode becomes Sergeant Keroro's quarters) is haunted by a mysterious ghost girl. This fact doesn't bother Keroro, mainly because he doesn't know about her.
** They actually meet her later on. She's really a very nice person. Also, she sucks at haunting.

* The Changeling from 1980 features George C. Scott moving into a house that is haunted by [[spoiler:the ghost of a crippled child who was drowned in the athtub by his father.]]

* ''TheGhostAndMrChicken''.

* Whether the ''HouseOnHauntedHill'' (no connexion) actually is haunted is moot. What's important is that people ''think'' it is.

Compare HauntedHeadquarters, which is any haunted primary setting. BigBoosHaunt is this trope in video games. will often end up invoking NeverRecycleABuilding, for good reason.

* ''TheHauntingOfHillHouse''

* Shirley Jackson's classic novel, ''TheHauntingOfHillHouse''. The first paragraph is cited by Stephen King as one of the finest openings in English-language literature:

* BuffyTheVampireSlayer had a couple of these in its time, such as in "Fear Itself" and "Where the Wild Things Are".
** Cordelia's apartment in {{Angel}} was also haunted. Except the ghost was friendly and generally treated like an invisible room mate (that Cordy called Dennis).

* TheElderScrollsIV: Oblivion has a quest which involves buying a haunted house and clearing it of ghosts.
* There's several of these in [[{{Castlevania}} Simon's Quest]].
* Might and Magic 7 had one.

*[[VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines Vampire:]] [[WordSaladTitle The Masquerade:]] [[ColonCancer Bloodlines]]' Oceanside Hotel level features a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin hotel that is haunted]] by the ghost of a woman who'd been murdered by her husband. Most fans consider it the most terrifying part of the game.
*Spookyraven Manor in KingdomOfLoathing, with such bizzare undead as the "Pooltergeist" (made out of Snooker balls) and "Undead Elbow Macaroni".

* Gracey Manor in ''TheHauntedMansion'' (2003) starring Eddie Murphy is a parody.