Metro.Style Picks: The Most Spook-tacular Haunted Houses In Films

Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" (1980)

"Based on the historic Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, the film’s Overlook Hotel is actually a combination of a total of four properties in the area. While, of course, Room 237 and its unforgettable purple and green carpet will be something any horror/thriller film lover will mention. It was actually what was outside of the Overlook Hotel for me. I found the exterior shots of the Overlook Hotel—with the blistering snowstorm that was happening outside at the climax of the storyline, and that hedge maze where Jack Nicholson’s character is chasing his son Danny inside—to be the most memorable scenes from the film. To this day—and no matter how many times I’ve watched this scene in particular—I am always still on the edge of my seat as though Jack will catch me!" - Justin Convento, Culture Editor

Photo Credit: https://www.film-grab.com/

Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" (1980)

Photo Credit: https://www.film-grab.com/

Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" (1980)

""The Shining" by Stanley Kubrick will always be one of my most remembered films, as I have always enjoyed classic horror/thriller films. The Torrance family living in The Colorado Overlook Hotel has its unique symmetries and really vague maps and directions. It characterizes the whole architecture and layout, which makes it mysterious and confusing. Walls appear where they do not belong, and passageways curve in ways that are illogical. The huge spaces appears normal at first, but when the audience attempts to make sense of it, it becomes increasingly uncomfortable, confusing, scary, and thrilling." - CJ Reyes, Digital Content Specialist

Photo Credit: https://www.film-grab.com/

Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" (1980)

Photo Credit: https://www.film-grab.com/

Hill House in "The Haunting of Hill House" (2018)

"The storyline, the character development, the eeriness, and then the tenderness. This makes for the best haunted house I’ve ever seen in a TV series." - Randz Manucom, Fashion Editor

Photo Credit: Netflix

Hill House in "The Haunting of Hill House" (2018)

Photo Credit: Netflix

Hill House in "The Haunting of Hill House" (2018)

"Hill House will startle you in your seat with its share of jump scares and hair-raising horror of a story alone, but apart from the spooky images that make it impossible for us to sleep sound at night, I love that it is not merely meant to affright its audience. Horror may be its main hook, but beyond its surface-level spook, it also touches on familial ties abreast the ghastly stories that surround the ghosts and the mansion owners. Hill House’s mesh of interlocking issues is the true terror in this tale. It chronicles each character’s struggle with their own selves, mental stability, deep-seated desires, suppressed traumas, and suicidal tendencies. Also, I named this my favorite as its narrative shuns the linear structure of storytelling, satiating the audience’s thirst for mystery and thrill, and embracing a layered effect." - Janelle Paraiso, Writer

Photo Credit: Netflix

Hill House in "The Haunting of Hill House" (2018)

Photo Credit: Netflix

The Haunted House in "House on Haunted Hill" (1959)

"The House On Haunted Hill" stars a Frank Lloyd Wright home that is as much a Hollywood classic as it is an architectural masterpiece. Known as The Ennis House, its facade and geometric forms take inspiration from Mayan Architecture. This Los Feliz home is the largest of the Chicago architect’s series of "textile block" designs where he used interlocking pre-cast concrete blocks to articulate his Mayan-inspired vision. This Mayan Revival home also starred in "Blade Runner", "Twin Peaks", "The Rocketeer", and "Karate Kid". - Anna Rosete, Living Editor

Photo Credit: https://www.imdb.com/

The Haunted House in "House on Haunted Hill" (1959)

Photo Credit: https://www.imdb.com/

The Haunted House in "House on Haunted Hill" (1959)

Photo Credit: https://www.imdb.com/

The Haunted House in "House on Haunted Hill" (1959)

Photo Credit: https://www.imdb.com/

Hotel Cortez in "American Horror Story" (2011)

"The Hotel Cortez from the fifth season of "American Horror Story" is probably one of the most recognizable horror settings of recent memory. This is where Lady Gaga’s character, The Countess (a 112-year-old vampire), would bring her victims. The Art Deco-style interiors are stunning and so alluring. It’s no wonder her victims fell into her traps." - Raff Colmenar, Art Director

Photo Credit: https://www.hucksterproductions.com/

Hotel Cortez in "American Horror Story" (2011)

Photo Credit: Fox

Hotel Cortez in "American Horror Story" (2011)

Photo Credit: https://www.hucksterproductions.com/

Hotel Cortez in "American Horror Story" (2011)

Photo Credit: Fox

The House in "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944)

"It's a vintage movie where two old ladies live in their ancestral home in Brooklyn. As the story unfolds, it turns out that they have been advertising a room for rent, then poisoning the "lonely old bachelors" who come in with elderberry wine laced with arsenic. Cary Grant finds a corpse in the window seat and bodies in the basement. It is all macabre and funny and black comedy at its best." -Troy Barrios, Food Editor

Photo Credit: https://www.imdb.com/

The House in "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944)

Photo Credit: https://www.imdb.com/

The House in "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944)

Photo Credit: https://www.imdb.com/

The House in "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944)

Photo Credit: https://www.imdb.com/