Haunted house Facts for Kids

This page is about houses that are allegedly haunted. For attractions that simulate haunted locations, see Haunted attraction. For other uses of "haunted house", see Haunted House (disambiguation).

Casa Jean Troianos, known as the "House with Ghosts", in Brăila, Romania

A haunted house or ghost house in ghostlore is a building that people believe is visited by spirits of the deceased. Many people love sharing spooky tales about them around Halloween. Even though stories about them are very popular, scientists and investigators look for real-world answers whenever unusual activity is reported. Often, strange sounds or weird feelings in these homes come from ordinary causes like drafts, creaky floorboards, or tricks of the mind.

History and Cultural Beliefs Around the World
Scientific Explanations for Spooky Sightings
Famous Supposedly Haunted Houses
Fun Attractions and Pop Culture
Images for kids
See also

History and Cultural Beliefs Around the World

People have told stories about mysterious houses for thousands of years. Historian Owen Davies found that old folklore in the British Isles often blamed fairies for strange household happenings before tales focused more on ghostly encounters. In the Middle East, ancient legends often spoke of jinn occupying abandoned buildings.

The ancient Roman statesman Pliny the Younger wrote one of the earliest recorded tales in the first century AD. He described an old villa in Athens haunted by an apparition rattling chains. Other ancient writers like Lucian and Plautus also shared classic ghost stories. Many famous authors continued this tradition later on. For instance, Horace Walpole wrote The Castle of Otranto, while Oscar Wilde wrote the funny tale The Canterville Ghost. In the twentieth century, Shirley Jackson wrote The Haunting of Hill House, and author Stephen King featured a spooky building in The Shining.

Belief in these spooky locations remains common today. In a 2005 Gallup poll, 37% of Americans, 28% of Canadians, and 40% of Britons believed homes could be haunted. In Japan, people celebrate a summer festival linked to Buddhism and ancestral spirits. They visit special ghost houses called obakeyashiki to listen to thrilling tales and feel cool shivers during hot summer months.

Scientific Explanations for Spooky Sightings

Skeptics and researchers study these buildings to discover why people report strange things. Researcher Benjamin Radford noted that after over a century of research, no scientific proof of spirits has ever been found. Instead, researchers discover that natural events usually explain the mystery:

Natural Noises: As researcher Terence Hines pointed out, old houses constantly expand and contract with temperature changes. This creates creaking sounds, drafts, and cold spots that can easily sound like footsteps.
Mind Tricks: Investigator Joe Nickell found that physical illusions and tricks of memory often fool people. When someone expects a place to be spooky, confirmation bias makes them notice every harmless draft as something mysterious. Being overly tired can also cause a hypnagogic sensory illusion, where waking dreams make a person hear sounds while drifting off to sleep.
Environmental Factors: In some cases, dangerous chimney leaks cause carbon monoxide poisoning. Inhaling carbon monoxide gas makes people dizzy and can cause auditory or visual hallucinations.
Pranks and Hoaxes: Many famous hauntings turned out to be an intentional hoax. For example, people admitted that claims surrounding the famous book The Amityville Horror in Amityville, New York, were made up. In another case, magician Harry Price exaggerated the tales surrounding Borley Rectory in England.

Famous Supposedly Haunted Houses

The famous house in Amityville, New York, which inspired books and films.

Several buildings across the world are famous for their eerie folklore:

Casa Loma: This grand castle-style mansion in Toronto, Canada, was completed in 1914. It is now a public museum with fun celebrations every autumn.
Corvin Castle: Located in Romania, this medieval fortress has dramatic stone towers. Local legends connect it to ancient rulers like Vlad the Impaler.
Winchester Mystery House: Built in San Jose, California, this strange mansion was designed by Sarah Winchester. It contains bizarre features like stairways that lead directly into ceilings and doors that open into solid walls.
Wukang Mansion: This historic flatiron building in Shanghai has attracted many ghost stories over its long history.
Phitsanulok Mansion: Located in Bangkok, this grand residence was built during the reign of King Rama VI. It is sometimes called Thailand's White House.

The Winchester Mystery House in California.

Fun Attractions and Pop Culture

Today, people love spooky houses for fun, especially around autumn holidays. During the Great Depression, neighborhood families built small scary basements to entertain children during trick or treat nights. Visitors crawled through dark tunnels and touched damp sponges disguised as spooky objects.

Theme parks turned this into a major industry. In 1969, Disneyland opened The Haunted Mansion, combining theatrical humor with incredible special effects. Other major attractions include the Super Scary Labyrinth of Fear at Fuji-Q Highland in Japan, which has entertained millions of visitors. Today, thousands of seasonal walk-throughs, fun mazes, and evening hayrides operate each year to give thrill-seekers safe and exciting spooky fun.