 Horror/Scary: January 16, 2019 Issue [#9332] |
This week: Haunted Houses Edited by: Angus  
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'Sometimes there is no darker place than our thoughts, the moonless midnight of the mind.'
~Dean Koontz~
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The haunted house might be one of the most well known settings of horror stories in literature. Unfortunately though, that also makes them one of the most over-used settings for the modern horror story.
Let’s face it: when people think of something scary, many of them are going to think of ghosts. And where else are they going to find ghosts? In a haunted house, right? OK, yeah, cemeteries are also hot items, and maybe I’ll deal with that in my next Newsletter, but for the purposes of this one I’m keeping it to haunted houses. Otherwise I’d have to change the subject of this NL and start all over, and I really don’t want to do that.
Haunted houses are a staple of Halloween. Who hasn't been to a haunted house on the most frightening night of the year? I've even heard of people turning houses that were rumored to be haunted into haunted houses for this holiday. That would be kind of freaky, eh?
Whilst doing some research for this NL, I perused a little of Stephen King’s Danse Macabre, one of the best books I’ve read on the subject of horror. One thing he didn’t touch on enough though, was the origin of these ghosts.
Origins of haunted house ghosts seem to come from but a few places: the house being built on a cemetery, a murder or a murder/suicide having been committed in it (Amityville), or some historical legend about it that’s been passed down through generations of children (in most cases because it’s that decrepit old house at the end of the street that the city has never gotten around to tearing down).
Granted these might be generalities, but they’re still the same basic themes people use when writing about a haunted house.
However, some haunted houses have a life of their own. One that comes to mind is The Winchester Mystery House* in San Jose, CA. After being told by a psychic that her house was haunted by the ghosts of those killed by her husband’s invention of the Winchester repeating rifle, widow Sarah Winchester spent the rest of her life (and ironically, millions of dollars she inherited from William Winchester’s invention!) having construction crews build bizarre rooms on the house with such oddities as doors and stairs leading nowhere, windows overlooking other rooms, and stairs with odd shaped risers to name just a few, all with the hope the ghosts would get lost and wouldn’t be able to find her. From 1884 until her death in 1922, it was reported that the construction continued 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, this rumor was put to rest by Sarah’s biographer, who said she laid workers off for weeks and months at a time so she could get some rest.
It's been said that some workers were killed in accidents during the construction, giving rise to the notion that their ghosts also haunt the property and adding to the mystery of the mansion.
Haunted houses can be found all over the world, from small towns to conurbations (my new word  ). In the small town of Weed, CA, where I grew up, there was a pair of old, run-down, 3 story bunk houses that were originally built for the workers of the lumber mill that Weed was/is centered around. I’ve heard a few stories of ghost sightings in these bunk houses, but after having spent a night in one of them during my wild and crazy high school years, I don’t have one to tell you. 
Here’s a few famous haunted house stories you might know:
The Shining by Stephen King
Hell House by Richard Matheson
The Haunting of Hell House by Shirley Jackson
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson
*Note: I also learned whilst doing research for this NL that a movie, Winchester, was released last year about the Winchester House. I haven’t seen it (yet), but the trailers look pretty interesting!
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=winchester+house+movie+trailor&qpvt=winches...
Until next time, Ghoulish Ones…
SCREAM ON!
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My question for this NL is…
Do you have a haunted house where you live, and if so, have you ever visited it? Angus would love to hear about your experience!
My last NL question (Who or what is your favorite horror character or icon?) didn’t receive too much feedback, but Jenstrying had this to say about it:
Lol. This was a fun newsletter (even if it wasn't supposed to be). One of the things I miss about living in Louisville was there HUGE library. I would spend hours there! Like you limited means so I preferred to borrow. Where we live now (northern Michigan... look at the palm of your right hand go in just a bit from the tip of your pinky and that is about where I live) is a bit remote and the library is not as extensive so I tend to get all the freebie stuff I can on my Kindle. There are some groups that offer free horror books my new authors weekly. But I still haunt Amazon and have a long wish list. Cheers!
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