A History Of Halloween Haunted Houses

Halloween haunted houses are all the craze right now. Whether the haunted houses are real, fake, or imagined, each house leaves a scary tale to tell.

ORIGINS OF THE HAUNTED HOUSE

I love the autumn season with Fall Festivals and Halloween activities. While I steer away from the unwholesome grotesqueness of some Halloween frights, I love childlike Halloween fun and I love haunted houses! My interest in haunted houses began as a child. A children’s book of poetry with a haunted house on the front of it came into my ownership. I don’t remember where it came from, but I do remember it was one of my favorite books.

As a high schooler, I willingly participated in a haunted woods walk. I hid in the trees and chased kids past a “body”. I did this carrying real cow entrails! Growing up I also faithfully followed Sci-fi week on tv and read Edgar Allen Poe, Steven King, and other macabre short stories.

Enough about the origin of my fascination with haunted things. This is about haunted houses! Haunted houses have existed (in my opinion) since after the Great Flood. Spirits of the dead needed a place to inhabit, whether that habitation is a house, a doll, or a person. The first stories of haunted houses became popular in the Victorian era. It was popular entertainment to sit around large fireplaces during the Christmas season and tell ghost stories. Many of these stories are still in print today. In 19th century London, the first haunted house was used for the purpose of entertainment.

HAUNTED HOUSES AND THEIR STORIES

A Halloween haunted house with a history of witches is found in Essex, England. The haunted house is a medieval prison called the Cage. According to homedomus360.com, “The Cage was a medieval prison where thirteen witches were kept in 1582 while awaiting trial. They became known as the Witches of St Osyth, and among them was the notorious Ursula Kemp. At the end of the trial, three were found guilty, including Ursula, and were sentenced to death by hanging.”

Another popular haunted house is The Amityville House, in Long Island, New York. This is house is said to have green slime oozing from the walls, stench, and strong paranormal activity during the witching hours. These haunts were permitted access to the home after 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr. shot and killed his parents and siblings while they slept at night on November 13, 1974.

My personal favorite haunted house, which is on my bucket list to visit, is the Winchester House in San Jose, California. Following her husband’s death, Sarah Winchester, the grieving widow of the founder of the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. moved to San Jose, and spent the remainder of her life building a mansion enormous enough to house the ghost of every person killed with a Winchester rifle. All of this, because a medium told the Widow Winchester to do so.

SPOOKY HAUNTED HOUSE TOURS, USA, THIS HALLOWEEN

For a list of popular haunted house tours throughout the USA, follow the Viator Tour link: