Information about Haunted House

A haunted house is defined as building that is believed to be a center for supernatural occurrences or paranormal phenomena.^[1] A haunted house may contain ghosts, poltergeists, or even malevolent entities.

Hauntings

Haunted locations are often regarded to contain the spirits of deceased beings who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property. Supernatural Activity inside homes is said to be mainly associated with violent or tragic events in the buildings past such as murder, accidental death, or suicide — sometimes in the recent or ancient past. Amongst many cultures and religions it is believed that the essence of a being such as the 'soul' continue to exist. Some philosophical and religious views argue that the 'spirts' of those who have died have not 'passed over' and are trapped inside the property where their memories and energy is strong. Entities which are said to 'haunt' homes are often known to make noises, appear as apparitions, and shift or launch physical objects. This is sometimes manifested into 'poltergeist activity'; poltergeist meaning 'noisy spirit'. Traditionally an exorcism is the method used to remove unwelcome spirits from the property.

Haunting in fiction

Legends about haunted houses have long appeared in literature. Haunting is used as a plot device in gothic or horror fiction or, more lately, paranormal-based fiction. Roman-era authors Plautus, Pliny the Younger, and Lucian wrote stories about haunted houses, and more modern authors from Henry James to Stephen King have featured them in their writings. Haunted castles and mansions are common in gothic literature such as Dracula.

The actual structure of a fictional haunted house can be anything from a decaying European feudal castle to a newly occupied suburban ranch-style house of fairly recent construction, although older buildings tend to be more commonly used.

There is a popular dark ride at Disney theme parks called The Haunted Mansion.

Haunted houses and carbon monoxide

Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include listlessness, depression, dementia, emotional disturbances, and hallucinations. Many of the phenomena generally associated with haunted houses, including strange visions and sounds, feelings of dread, illness, and the sudden, apparently inexplicable death of all the occupants, can be attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning.

In one famous case, carbon monoxide poisoning was clearly identified as the cause of an alleged haunting. Dr. William Wilmer, an ophthalmologist, described the experiences of one of his patients in a 1921 article published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology. "Mr. and Mrs. H." moved into a new home, but soon began to complain of headaches and listlessness. They began to hear bells and footsteps during the night, soon accompanied by strange physical sensations and mysterious figures. When they began to investigate, they found the previous residents had experienced similar symptoms. Upon examination, their furnace was found to be severely damaged, resulting in incomplete combustion and forcing most of the fumes into the house rather than up the chimney.^[2] After the stove was fixed, the family fully recovered and did not experience any further unusual events.

A report published in 2005 described a 23-year old female victim of carbon monoxide poisoning, found delirious and hyperventilating, who claimed to have seen a ghost while in the shower. A new gas water heater had just been installed in her home, apparently improperly, which flooded the house with carbon monoxide when the victim closed all the exterior windows and doors and took a shower.^[3]

Carbon monoxide is the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in North America.^[4] Thus carbon monoxide poisoning should be promptly investigated as a possible cause for "hauntings."^[5]

Haunted houses and the law

In Stambovsky v. Ackley, the Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division ruled that a seller does not need to disclose that a house has a reputation for being haunted unless there is a fiduciary relationship or in cases of fraud or misrepresentation,^[6] because such a reputation impairs the value of the house:

In the case at bar, defendant seller deliberately fostered the public belief that her home was possessed. Having undertaken to inform the public at large, to whom she has no legal relationship, about the supernatural occurrences on her property, she may be said to owe no less a duty to her contract vendee.^[7]

Haunted houses in literature

• The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole
• The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) by Ann Radcliffe
• The Fall of the House of Usher (1845) by Edgar Allan Poe
• The Haunted and the Haunters (1857) by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
• The Turn of the Screw (1898) by Henry James
• The House That Was (1907) by Jacques Futrelle
• The House on the Borderland (1908) by William Hope Hodgson
• The Beckoning Fair One (1911) by Oliver Onions
• The Rats in the Walls (1924) by H.P. Lovecraft
• The Haunting of Hill House (1959) by Shirley Jackson
• Hell House (1971) by Richard Matheson
• The House with a Clock in Its Walls (1973) by John Bellairs
• The Shining (1977) by Stephen King
• House of Leaves (2000) by Mark Z. Danielewski
• From the Dust Returned (2001) by Ray Bradbury
• House (2006) by Ted Dekker
• (2001) by Ridley Pearson

Films featuring haunted places

• The Ghost House (1917)
• The Haunted House (1921)
• The Cat and the Canary (1927)
• The Cat Creeps (1930)
• The Ghost Goes West (1936)
• Lonesome Ghosts (1937)
• The Cat and the Canary (1939)
• Hold That Ghost (1941)
• The Uninvited (1944)
• The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
• Scared Stiff (1953)
• House on Haunted Hill (1958)
• 13 Ghosts (1960)
• The Innocents (1961)
• The Haunting (1963 & 1999)
• The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)
• The House That Dripped Blood (1970)
• The Legend of Hell House (1973)
• Burnt Offerings (1976)
• The Amityville Horror (1979 & 2005)
• The Shining (1980)
• The Changeling (1980)
• Poltergeist (1982)
• The Nightstalker Murder (1986)
• Beetlejuice (1988)
• Casper (1995)
• Ghosts (1997)
• House on Haunted Hill (remake) (1999)
• The Haunting (1999)
• The Blair Witch Project (1999)
• Thirteen Ghosts (remake) (2001)
• The Others (2001)
• Session 9 (2001)
• Rose Red (2002)
• Darkness (2002)
• The Haunted Mansion (2003)
• The Grudge (2004)
• The Grudge 2 (2006)
• Monster house (2006)
• An American Haunting (2006)
• Stay Alive (2006)
• The Return (2006)
• Return To House On Haunted Hill (2006)
• Prison of the Psychotic Damned (2007)
• Frightworld (2007)
• 1408 (2007)

References

1. ^ [1] Parapsychological Association website, Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology, Retrieved February 10, 2007
2. ^ "A true tale of a truly haunted house," by Albert Denay. www.ghostvillage.com. Includes text of 1921 Journal of Ophthalmology article. [2]
3. ^ Jiann-Ruey Ong, Sheng-Wen Hou, Hsien-Tsung Shu, Huei-Tsair Chen, and Chee-Fah Chong. Diagnostic pitfall: carbon monoxide poisoning mimicking hyperventilation syndrome. ''The American Journal of Emergency Medicine Volume 23, Issue 7, November 2005, Pages 903-904
4. ^ "Carbon Monoxide." Canada Safety Council. [3]
5. ^ "A true tale of a truly haunted house," by Albert Denay. www.ghostvillage.com. Includes text of 1921 Journal of Ophthalmology article. [4]
6. ^ Knauf, Allan. After New York's Property Condition Disclosure Act. Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
7. ^ Stambovsky v. Ackley, 169 A.D.2d 254, 260, 572 N.Y.S.2d 672

N.Y.A.D. 1 Dept., 1991.