In childhood, few things are as delightfully frightful as a spooky old home in the neighborhood that, according to legend, is inhabited by ghostly spirits. For decades, our entertainment has happily helped condition us to believe in the validity of such places, as evidenced by the overwhelming number of books, films, television shows, and attractions that not only convinced us, but painted a vivid image in our heads as to what a haunted house is supposed to look like. As a result, polls have demonstrated that almost 40% of Americans believe that haunted houses are real. Today, we thought we would reflect specifically upon those special places from our childhood that, just by seeing them, never failed to send a chill down our spine, and subsequently provided us with a lifetime of memories and a scary story or two to pass along.
First, just to properly set the mood…
No matter where you grew up, chances are strong that your neighborhood (or one of the surrounding ones) had a strange looking house that every kid just knew was haunted. Often it was because some tragedy occurred there in the past, perhaps a murder or suicide. Other times, it was simply because the place was abandoned, decrepit or simply just old. With its overgrown foliage, maybe a few broken windows, or even just its particular architectural style, it resembled the stereotype familiar to us all from movies like The Amityville Horror or The House on Haunted Hill, or television shows like The Munsters and Scooby Doo.
And yet, surprisingly, our deeply held fears weren’t quite strong enough to keep us away from exploring these potentially paranormal dwellings. Sure, you might cross the street to prevent walking past the place alone on a late night, but surrounded by your friends, the collective curiosity of the group usually won out. And if you didn’t necessarily possess the bravery to go peek in the window yourself, the next best thing was to dare one of your buddies, usually the one that looked the most frightened, to go take a look and report back. All in all, as much as we may have feared these places, we also delighted in them and, in some cases, retain wonderful childhood memories of these youthful experiences. Besides, they also make for great scary stories to tell your kids.
And if there didn’t happen to be a haunted house in your neighborhood, you usually didn’t have to travel far to visit one of the hundreds of tourist attractions that exist in each state around the country and that purport to have a higher level of paranormal activity than the average abode. In San Diego, California, for example, the Whaley House offers daily tours of what is reported to be the most haunted residence in America:
Now for the fun part – we would love for you to share your own childhood experiences with us. Was there a house in your neighborhood that seemed to have a sinister side? Did you stare at it from afar, or conjure up the nerve to get a closer look? Tell us about the haunted houses in your own neck of the woods, whether they be a recognized historical site, or just a house that wasn’t right – as we pay tribute to these legendary and fear-filled places, here at Retroland.
The haunted house I knew of was in my old neighborhood as a child. It was a cottage style home overgrown in trees and shrubs. The overgrowth was an unwelcoming border you didn’t dare cross. The house was haunted by a live person. An old mean lady who shouted at kids and had one of those old fashioned wire carpet beaters!!
Only fools went there on Halloween!
-Easy
My neighborhood had a house that was just falling apart. The stairs were partly gone. We even ventured inside, a few times. The place was a mess, filled with old dusty books and a few pieces of furniture. But each time, we would hear a strange noise, we would run out of there as fast as we could! Of course, we would never go in at night, only in broad daylight in groups!
I grew up not too far from Amityville (as did you Eric) and had family who lived there. We would frequently drive past 112 Ocean Avenue on our way to visit my Aunt and Uncle.
I never understood the big deal. The “House” looks totally unassuming from the road.
Nevertheless, my Grandmother was a Parapsychologist and taught at Hofstra in the early 70s. I’ve heard many stories of haunted houses, ghosts and other paranormal things over the years. I have always been a skeptic though.
My childhood neighborhood here in Louisville, KY had its own haunted house just a block away from our house. It was an abandoned Victorian manse on a large corner lot that actually had a dirt carriage path that winded from the street down an old tree lined trail to the house. This particular street did not have street lights during those days and was well avoided by us kids at night, except on Halloween when after we got enough treats we’d dare each other to make the yearly pilgramage to the house.
The yard was large and we often played football and other sports there during the Summer and Fall. It was rumored that some kids who would occasionally run away from home would stay in the house, but I never tried to get inside. I did peek in one of the first floor windows and there was a room filled with old China dolls. I have no idea who owned the house or why it sat abandoned for so long. At some point in the late 1980s it was torn down and a church was built on the land where it stood. Many of the trees that lined the carriage path were destroyed in an ice storm a couple of years ago and most where cut down that remained.
When I was 15, I had a paper route with a friend next door and we had to deliver the morning paper before sunrise down that street which ended with the haunted house. My buddy once forced me to cover his morning shift because I made him go to a horror movie with me at the local theater the night before.
I miss that place and still walk my dogs to that yard occasionally. I need to go to the local library and do some research about the history of the house.
That’s a great memory. Thanks for sharing.
The Crypt,The Thirteenth Relam,Exit 13,I can’t remember the name of the other Haunted houses.