Another Top 10 Scariest Haunted Houses in Movies

Called the “Mount Everest of haunted houses”, our first entry was the setting of the brutal murders of the Roaring Giant, Emeric Belasco. Adapted from the Richard Matheson novel “Hell House”, the story follows the eccentric Mr Deutsch, who wants to fund an investigation into life after death by sending a physicist and a couple of mediums into the infamous Belasco house for research. This claustrophobic head-trip of a film presents a house that becomes an inescapable realm of danger. Using the famous gothic Wykehurst Place in England for the external shots, the Belasco house is not just a creepy dusty location, but also haunted land that becomes increasingly dangerous for its occupants.

The cabin in the woods from the “Evil Dead” remake is a creature all on its own. While the spirit of the original film’s cabin is there – what with the demons taking over its inhabitants, the Book of the Dead being found in the basement, and that infamous cellar door – this cabin has a more brutally haunting atmosphere. Unlike the first film, these kids are not there vacationing; they have brought their personal demons with them as well, to help with a friend’s drug intervention. A prologue lets us know that this cabin has a nasty history involving violent demons, while the foggy woods, barbed wire and the hanging animal corpses in the basement really “bring” the place together.

It seems like Laura needs a better real estate agent, or at least one that would warn her about buying certain gothic mansions. Now an adult, Laura decides to purchase the large orphanage she grew up in, in order to turn it into a home for disabled children. Although that’s a valiant reason, this building doesn’t come without its secret rooms and spiritual baggage. The first warning sign is when Laura’s son begins chatting and playing with an invisible boy. Filmed at the Partarríu Manor in Northern Spain, “The Orphanage” certainly gives a new dimension to the haunted house setting, especially because of the creepy children and deep personal character background.

“The Woman in Black”, which includes the novel by Susan Hill, the teleplay and the two film adaptations, is one of the most renowned haunted house stories ever told. But when it’s adapted to a visual medium, you better have a damn good foggy setting. The decrepit and secluded Eel Marsh House is not merely the creepy backdrop of the story, but also its main focus. The classic ITV television adaptation, which filmed on location at the Stanlake park estate, follows a solicitor who needs to take care of the now-empty house, but soon finds that the house and attached causeway are not as empty as once believed, since the ghostly woman in black may have some buried secrets.

Director William Castle is no stranger to haunted houses, what with his classic “House on Haunted Hill” ranking high in our previous list. However, “Thirteen Ghosts” is what you get when you inherit a mansion from your creepy occultist uncle. In fact, the house comes fully equipped with twelve trapped ghosts, who are looking for a thirteenth spirit to set them free. Castle was also no stranger to gimmicks, since a ticket to see the film came with a special set of glasses called viewers that allowed you to better see the invisible ghosts on screen. The remake may have turned the Zorba mansion into a mechanical modern glass prison, but the original holds a special ghostly place in our hearts.

As part of the fictional Blair Witch legend that was created for this found-footage film, the ghost of accused witch Elly Kedward haunts the woods surrounding Burkittsville, Maryland, and her victims end up doing her murderous bidding. One such victim is hermit Rustin Parr, whose dilapidated house in the middle of the woods is the source of the real horror here. In fact, the terrifying final discovery in the “Blair Witch Project”, Rustin’s house, where he would lure children and kill them, is not safe for any camper to wander into – what with its monstrous witch-creatures chasing you, and ghostly children’s handprints all over the walls and all.

It was inevitable, and highly anticipated, that the king of modern gothic horror sensibilities, Guillermo del Toro, would bring us an all-out classic haunted-house thrill ride. However, knowing that Del Toro is no simple filmmaker, we were not surprised to find something deeper than a simple ghost story. Crimson Peak is the nickname given to the land owned by Sir Thomas Sharpe because of the blood-red clay that seeps from the ground. His home however, the deteriorating Allerdale Hall, is seeping with blood-red ghosts instead, as discovered by his new wife Edith. A gothic romance in a haunted mansion, del Toro wanted to honor films like “The Haunting” and “The Innocents,” and boy did he do them justice.

Many haunted house stories are inspired by true events; however it’s rare that a film comes from immediate personal experience. The events that transpire in the haunted mansion in “The Changeling” were inspired by what happened to screenwriter Russell Hunter while staying at the Henry Treat Rogers Mansion in Denver, Colorado. The film instead has composer John Russell uprooting to Seattle after a tragic incident, and renting the large Carmichael Mansion. However the Carmichaels, a prominent political family, may have a few skeletons in their closet. More specifically, the skeleton of a dead little boy. The usual poltergeist activity in this house may be scary, but the true story behind it will make anyone’s blood run cold.

The impressive thing about the haunted houses featured in “The Conjuring” series is that they are all based on real-life cases, and therefore can mostly still be visited. The first film follows the intense paranormal and demonic activity the Perron family experienced in the early ‘70s, and the later assistance offered by renowned paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Similar to the classic Amityville home featured in the opening of “The Conjuring 2”, the Perrons’ home in Rhode Island is currently inhabited, with the present-day owners even suing the production for disturbing their peace following the film’s release. The attention to their home has led to trespassing, although they claim to have lived there quietly since 1987, with no ghostly interruptions.

Before we reveal our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- Windward House
“The Uninvited” (1944)

- Auntie’s House
“House” [aka “Hausu”] (1977)

- The Oswalt Residence
“Sinister” (2012)

Based on what is one of the most renowned and respected literary ghost stories, “The Turn of the Screw” by Henry James, “The Innocents” was marketed as the ghost story for adult audiences. Never had a haunted house story been treated with such seriousness and fear for its protagonist. Deborah Kerr plays the young governess who is sent to the Bly estate, thinking she will simply be taking care of a couple of kids. The psycho-sexual mind games the house plays on her however, from the visions in the tower and on the marsh, to the ghostly faces in the windows and the classic candle-lit hallways, are much more than she bargained for.

Do you agree with our list? Which haunted houses still give you nightmares? For more shocking top 10s published daily, don’t forget to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.