The Haunting

1963

I think abandoned old houses and me don’t mix. Maybe growing up with a contractor father I have something against slanted doorways, inconsistent hot water pressure, sunken foundation, bad lighting, and terribly warped wood that makes me sick to the stomach. I’m going to blame my fear of The Haunting on that.

Since I’m terrified of this movie, let’s start with the cast:

Dr. John Markway – crazy anthropologist with a sweet mustasche who wants to investigate a haunted house

Eleanor “Nell” – homely woman who has been taking care of her now-dead mother for 11 years that desperately needs a vacation

Theodora “Theo” – more attractive woman who claims, and then demonstrates her psychic powers; lesbian, definitely attracted to Nell

Luke – Semi-heir to the house, only there to make sure it still has selling power

The Dudleys – A local couple who is obviously into something freaky that they would decide to be the caretakers of this ghost house

Grace – Dr. Markway’s wife, who is obviously there to make sure the good doctor doesn’t have sex with his “assistants” in the name of “science”

The doctor invites a select group of people to endure a long weekend with him at a supposedly “haunted house.” We know it might be haunted from the 10 minute long prologue that explains the death of everyone who died there. Seriously fucked up shit, but enough to make the house uninhabitable? Welp, we’re about to find out.

First off, let me tell you this movie is in black and white, but produced in a time when color film was more than readily available. So right there, you got your creepiness. Second, you actually never see ANYTHING. No shadows, no figures, no goblins under the bed or ghouls in the closet. No actual special effects were necessary because they have sound, camera angles, and reaction shots. The good ol’ days, when you made the audience think they might have a mental disorder! Fun!

In the end, the main character dies (won’t tell you who because it was a weird scene and I don’t want to relive it) by some form of paranormal activity. Everyone basically looks back at the house and says, “Nope” and then bounces. Is it a satisfying ending? Hell no, but I literally would’ve taken any ending at that point because it was definitely two hours of my life that I will have nightmares about for weeks.

Day 15: They still don’t know I’m a scared kitten in wolf’s clothing…