History Recap / TalesFromTheCryptS2E16TelevisionTerror

!!Tropes:

Horton Rivers ([[Series/TheMortonDowneyJrShow Morton Downey, Jr.]]), the arrogant host of the tabloid news show ''Horton Rivers Live!'', orders his crew to set up shop outside the Ritter House, an abandoned boarding house allegedly said to be haunted by the ghost of its previous owner: Ada Ritter, a psychopathic old woman who murdered at least twelve of her equally elderly guests to swipe their social security checks, then committed suicide. Horton and his cameraman Trip Anderson soon enter the long-abandoned house, planning to use the ghostly atmosphere within to score the ratings boost of a lifetime. At first, the investigation is seemingly all hype and no horror, but little are Horton, Trip, and the show's crew aware, the Ritter House has some very real and very sinister surprises waiting for them, letting them learn the hard way that some things are just better left alone.

* AllPartOfTheShow: Sam and the producers assume that Horton being attacked by ghosts is part of his newscast, as do the network heads, who love the ratings spike the show takes because o fit. [[TheShowMustGoOn This is why Sam refuses to let Horton out of the house when he's being attacked,]] [[FatalMethodActing which leads to his death.]]

* EvilTaintedThePlace: The numerous murders that Ada comitted in her boarding house have effectively turned it into a supernatural hellhole, as pointed out by Dr. Wershafter, who smartly refuses to go inside.

** When Horton is trying to open a door that suddenly opened on its own, accompanied with a ghostly "Please help me", Trip's camera stops producing light for a moment, and we don't see Trip again for a few moments...

** After a certain point, Trip goes silent and we don't see him again... until his dead body drops down from the rafters, hung from a noose. It gets worse from there, as one of the crewmen points out that someone's still holding the camera.

* OnTheNext: [[BlackComedy Posthumously]] done over a shot Horton's corpse at the end of the episode.

->'''Crypt Keeper:''' ''(sets up a video camera and looks into it)'' Hi, Mom! ''(cackles)'' I just love home videos, don't you? Especially when the home is ''haunted!'' Tonight's twisted tale, my dear couch potatoes, is filed under "T" for "television". Or should that be "terror"? Mr. Horton Rivers is about to find out, so stay tuned to this '''totally titillating tube!''' ''(cackles)''

Horton Rivers ([[Series/TheMortonDowneyJrShow Morton Downey, Jr.]]), the arrogant host of tabloid news program ''Horton Rivers Live!'', has his crew set up shop outside the Ritter House, an abandoned boarding house which is allegedly said to be haunted by the ghost of its previous owner: Eda Ritter, a psychopathic old woman who murdered twelve of her equally elderly guests so she could swipe their social security checks, then committed suicide. Horton and his cameraman Trip Anderson enter the long abandoned house and plan to use the ghostly atmosphere within to score the ratings boost of a lifetime. At first, the investigation at first is seemingly all hype and no horror, but little are Horton, Trip, and the show's crew aware that the Ritter house has some real sinister surprises waiting for them, letting them learn the hard way that some things are just better left alone.

* AdamWesting: Horton's personality isn't all that different from the on-air persona of [[Series/TheMortonDowneyJrShow Morton Downey, Jr.]], who plays him.

** In the comic, the television personality (there named Al Hunt) was just an average reporter who gets more than he bargained for when he went inside the house. Here, Horton Rivers is a jerk to his staff and has an ItsAllAboutMe personality.
** The ghosts as well. In the comic, there are only three of them, with any murder in the backstory only being speculation. They do kill the paranormal expert, but Al Hunt commits suicide. Here, it's one AxCrazy woman who murdered 12 (soon to be fourteen) people in viciously gruesome fashion.
* AllPartOfTheShow: The producers assume Horton being attacked by ghosts is part of the show. [[TheShowMustGoOn Which is why Sam refuses to let Horton out of the house when he's being attacked.]] [[FatalMethodActing Which is what leads to his death.]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Before he went in the house, Horton told Sam that she needs to have a killer instinct to thrive in show business. When he's pleading to be rescued from the house, Sam throws his advice right back at him, which directly leads to his death and a major amount of impending legal trouble for Sam.
* BigOMG: One of the production crew has a low-key example after seeing what the ghosts do to Trip, though Horton ends up going quite louder when he realizes how much trouble he's in.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Downplayed: The ending wraparound segment sees the Crypt Keeper watching Horton's show on his TV.
* BreakTheHaughty: After spending the whole episode being a condescending jerk, Horton is reduced to a blubbering mess pleading to be let out of the Ritter house.

** Downplayed: after Horton sees the ghost of an old man with a slit throat in the bathtub, he tries getting Trip and his production crew to believe him, even though they didn't see it. '''[[SubvertedTrope Immediately]]''' after this, ghostly activity starts up (slamming doors, music, flashing lights, the works).
** Dr. Roland Wershafter, the paranormal researcher Horton interviewed before he went in the house, flat out warned Horton to not go inside due to the evil presence he sensed within it. Guess what Horton did in response.
* ChainsawGood: Eda Ritter's ghost wields a chainsaw, slicing it into Horton's gut.
* CreepyBasement: Eda Ritter was known to have dismembered her victims' corpses and stack the parts behind a wall in her basement.
* DeadlyBath: Eda Ritter presumably killed one of her victims by slitting his throat while he was in the tub. Horton spots the man's ghost in the bathroom, still fresh from his killing.
* DecompositeCharacter: Due to Dr. Wershafter wisely staying outside of the house, Trip takes his role as Horton's doomed companion during their investigation.
* DelayedOhCrap: Following what becomes of Trip, Horton and the production crew are completely shocked, but one of the crew suddenly realizes an even more urgent matter: "Horton, who's got the camera?!"
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: Despite the stern warnings from Wershafter that the Ritter House is absolutely nothing to screw with, Horton exploits the house and the supposed supernatural hauntings going on inside for big time television ratings. By the climax of the episode, he's reduced to a blubbering wreck pleading to be rescued.
* DownerEnding: Trip is murdered by the ghosts, and Horton follows not long after, done in by Eda Ritter's spirit itself. And as a reminder, this whole thing was televised ''live''. If the amount of ringing telephones in the "Horton Rivers Live" van is any indication, Sam (and perhaps the rest of the crew) is in some very deep trouble...
* EveryManHasHisPrice: Averted. Dr. Wershafter tells Horton that no amount of money in the world could convince him to enter the Ritter house.
* EvilIsNotAToy: Horton Rivers takes his cameraman to the abandoned but allegedly haunted Ritter House for thrills and ratings. The ghosts haunting the place are all too eager happy (or angered) to oblige them. Horton himself ends up being disemboweled and hung for his trouble.
* EvilOldFolks: Eda Ritter, who killed 12 old men to steal their social security checks.
* EvilTaintedThePlace: The numerous murders that happened inside the Ritter House have effectively turned it into a supernatural hellhole, as pointed out by Dr. Wershafter, who smartly refuses to go inside.
* {{Expy}}: Horton Rivers is basically Downey's later character Tony Pope from ''Film/Predator2'', and possibly one of Downey himself.

** During the initial investigation of the house's kitchen, when he finds old foodstuffs and other items intact, Horton comments "It's as if Eda Ritter never left."
** After Horton says his show's ratings are going to go through the roof, Sam retorts that they're actually going to go "out the goddamn window".
** The lore about the Ritter house mentions that Eda Ritter dismembered her victims after murdering them, as said victims' ghosts appear disemboweled.
** After the first bout of ghostly activity, Horton gets in front of the camera to do a standup bit. The light of the camera makes his shadow look like it's hung from the ceiling.
** When Horton is trying to open a door that suddenly opened on its own, accompanied with a ghostly "Please help me", Trip's camera stops producing light for a moment. We don't see Trip again after that for a few moments...
* FromBadToWorse: The paranormal activity in the house starts acting up and gets steadily worse, until the point where angry spirits show up and start ''attacking'' Trip and Horton.
* GenreSavvy: Dr. Wershafter; he makes a point of telling Horton ''not'' to go inside the Ritter house, remains outside of it during filming, and prior to the climax, point-blank tells Horton he's fucked.
* GhastlyGhost: The ghosts of the Ritter house are the murdered victims who kill Trip, not to mention Eda Ritter herself, who attacks Horton with a chainsaw.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Horton wanted to see and experience supernatural activity in a HauntedHouse and catch it live on camera to get big ratings for his television show. He gets ''exactly'' what he wanted.
* HatedByAll: Every member of Horton's crew thinks of him as a huge prick. Which of course, he is.
* HauntedHouse: The Ritter House. Allegedly at first, but horrifically [[RealAfterAll proven]] later.
* ImmoralJournalist: Horton, who goes ahead and screws with a haunted house for the sake of ratings.

* JacobMarleyApparel: The Ritter House ghosts are still in the outfits they wore presumably when they were killed, still showing the gruesome injuries they suffered. The ghost of the man in the bathtub has his throat slit.
* KarmicTwistEnding: The legendary Ritter House has claimed two more victims (Horton and Trip) and added another chapter to its dark history.
* KickTheDog: Leaving Horton inside the house ''as he's screaming for help'' was kind of a callous move, but before he went in, he ''was'' a colossal dick to Sam and the crew.
* LightIsNotGood: The Ritter House is painted white and looks rather nice on the outside. It's what's ''inside'' of it that is the problem.
* LittleNo: Horton, when confronted by Eda Ritter's ghost herself.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Sam and the rest of the crew have this reaction after seeing Horton killed right after they decided to leave him inside the house, thinking it was AllPartOfTheShow.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: When Horton begs for help when Ritter's ghost attacks him, Sam tells the production crew to leave him in the house. ''Exactly'' one minute later, he goes out the window, disemboweled and hung, '''''on live TV'''''.
* NoodleImplements: At one point, Sam goes over the options for Horton's next show with the man himself. The topics listed include Satanists, impotent transvestites, soldiers of fortune, a black Neo-Nazi group, a culture show about breast implants featuring a group of strippers who were all in the same convent with one another (Horton selected them over another group of strippers who [[BestialityIsDepraved "used animals"]]), and a couple who were said to have snapped pictures of Jim Morrison having lunch with Marilyn Monroe in Paris.
* OnlySaneMan: Dr. Wershafter not only refused to enter the Ritter house, but warned Horton and his crew to not venture inside the accursed place themselves.

** After a certain point, Horton's cameraman, Trip, goes silent and we don't see him again... until his dead body drops down from the rafters, hung from a noose... but one of the crewmen points out that someone is still holding the camera.
** Sam and the rest of crew when they realized that all of Horton's pleading ''wasn't'' AllPartOfTheShow, and they genuinely left Horton there to die.
* OnTheNext: [[BlackComedy Post-humorously]] done over a shot Horton's hanging corpse at the end of the episode.
-->'''Horton:''' Hey, folks! What's it like to have sex with Satan? Meet four women and one man who say they have on the next edition of Horton Rivers! Live![[note]]It could possibly be safe to assume that after his death, Horton is that "one man".[[/note]]
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: The ghosts haunting the Ritter house resemble people with pale skin and various open wounds.

* {{Pun}}: "Oh, that Horton. He's a real ''swinger''! He ''hangs'' out in all the right places."
* RealAfterAll: Is the Ritter House haunted? As Horton and Trip find out, yes. Yes it is.
* RealTime: The entire episode takes place over the course of the filming for an episode of "Horton Rivers Live".
* ScreamingWarrior: Eda Ritter howls and screams like a ''banshee'' while she goes after Horton with the chainsaw. Quite literally [[GhastlyGhost in a sense]].
* SealedEvilInACan: The Ritter house is metaphorically described as "a pit of seething evil" by Wershafter. Also in a literal sense, as the house has been sealed and boarded up for five years.

** Apparently, Horton's producers are afraid his episode on the Ritter house is going to wind up being "another [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mystery_of_Al_Capone%27s_Vaults Al Capone's vault]]."
** Trip proclaims, after stepping inside the Ritter house, that he feels like he's in ''Series/LostInSpace''
* SkepticismFailure: Sam brought in Dr. Wershafter to the show to play the role of the "paranormal expert" for the cameras, and Horton just debases the man and doubts his psychic ability, but Wershafter proves to be anything ''but'' phony and [[CassandraTruth warned Horton]] about the Ritter House. The crew learns this much too late as it costs them the lives of their boss and his cameraman.
* SlasherSmile: Sam gains one as she insists that Horton stays inside the house, which continues as he tells Horton that no one is coming to save him directly.
* SleepingWithTheBoss: Horton reminds Sam that she's sleeping with him, also reminding her that doing so doesn't give her a free ride in the job.
* SparedByTheAdaptation: The paranormal expert goes in the house and dies in the original comic, but here he has the sense to stay out.
* SpiritualPredecessor: This episode can be considered to be a preceding VillainEpisode spin-off for Downey's {{Slimeball}} reporter character Tony Pope from ''Film/Predator2'' (which would be released in November, months after the July airing of this episode), once again trying to exploit a horrific tragedy for his own selfish gain and getting LaserGuidedKarma as a result. The difference is that this time, it's much more [[AssholeVictim fatal]] then just getting knocked out cold by Creator/DannyGlover.
* SwarmOfRats: An extremely small swarm, precisely two, appear as Horton films in the kitchen. One of the crew members mockingly calls the rats Horton's family.

** After finding everything basically untouched in the kitchen, Horton makes an off-hand comment that it's as if Eda Ritter never left at all. He wishes he was wrong...
** The initial investigation of the Ritter house is seemingly a dud, as nothing happens while Horton and Trip explore the place. When asked to "spice the show up" by the producers, Horton asks how he can make things more interesting. Cue [[HellIsThatNoise a ghostly, disembodied voice moaning for help from upstairs]].
* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Eda Ritter's murders are very similar to the case of real life serial killer Dorothea Puente.

** After the first spurt of paranormal activity, Horton consults Dr. Wershafter and asks if he and the crew are in any danger:
--->'''Dr. Wershafter''': [[YouAreAlreadyDead You were in danger the moment you crawled through the threshold.]]
** After seeing Trip's hanging corpse, Horton looks into the camera, just as one of the crew members realizes something:
--->'''Horton, who's got the camera?'''

** Soon after Horton sees Trip's corpse, he looks into the light of the camera, which is then thrown to the floor, revealing the ghost that was holding it.
** Horton trips in the room he was hiding in, but as he gets up, we see an old lady's shadow on the wall.

->'''Crypt Keeper:''' ''(watching Horton's show on his own TV, snacking on cheese puffs; he cackles, then turns the set off)'' Oh, that Horton. He's a real ''swinger!'' He's ''hangs'' out in all the right places. No wonder he's such a hit on live... or is it ''dead'' TV? ''(cackles and turns the episode off)''

* AdaptationalVillainy: In the comic, the television personality (there named Al Hunt) was just an average reporter who gets more than he bargained for when he went inside the house. Here, Horton Rivers is a jerk to his staff and has an ItsAllAboutMe personality.

* CassandraTruth: Downplayed: after Horton sees the ghost of an old man with a slit throat in the bathtub, he tries getting Trip and his production crew to believe him, even though they didn't see it. '''[[SubvertedTrope Immediately]]''' after this, ghostly activity starts up (slamming doors, music, flashing lights, the works).

** During the initial investigation of the house's kitchen, when he finds old foodstuffs and other items intact, Horton comments "It's as if, Eda Ritter never left."

* OhCrap: After a certain point, Horton's cameraman, Trip, goes silent and we don't see him again... until his dead body drops down from the rafters, hung from a noose... but one of the crewmen points out that someone is still holding the camera.

* SwarmOfRats: An extremely small swarm, precisely two, appear as Horton films in the kitchen. One of the crewmembers mockingly calls the rats Horton's family.

** After the first spurt of paranormal activity, Horton consults Dr. Wershafter and asks is he and the crew are in any danger:

** After seeing Trip's hanging corpse, Horton looks into the camera, just as one of the crewmembers realizes something:

-->'''Dr. Wershafter''': [[YouAreAlreadyDead You were in danger the moment you crawled through the threshold.]]

-->'''"Horton, who's got the camera?"'''

* NoodleImplements: At one point, Sam goes over the options for Horton's next show with the man himself. The topics listed include Satanists, impotent transvestites, soldiers of fortune, a black Neo-Nazi group, a culture show about breast implants featuring a group of strippers who were all in the same convent with one another (Horton selected them over another group of strippers who [[BestialityIsDepraved "used animals"]]), and a couple who were said to have snapped pictures of Jim Morrison having lunch with Marylin Monroe in Paris.

* PhonyPsychic: HUGELY subverted. Sam brought in Dr. Wershafter to the show to play the role of the "paranormal
expert" for the cameras, but Wershafter proves to be anything ''but'' phony and [[CassandraTruth warned Horton]] about the Ritter House. The crew learns this much too late as it costs them the lives of their boss and his cameraman.

* PhonyPsychic: HUGELY subverted. Dr. Wershafter gives off the initial impression of an opinionated TV "expert" brought to the show to plays things up dramatically for the cameras, but Wershafter [[CassandraTruth warned Horton]] about the Ritter House, and he was ''not'' fooling around. The crew learns this much too late as it costs them the lives of their boss and his cameraman.

Horton Rivers ([[Series/TheMortonDowneyJrShow Morton Downey, Jr.]]), the arrogant host of tabloid news program ''Horton Rivers Live!'', has his crew set up shop outside the Ritter House, an abandoned boarding house which is allegedly said to be haunted by the ghost haunted by the ghost of its previous owner: Eda Ritter, a psychopathic old woman who murdered twelve of her equally elderly guests so she could swipe their social security checks, then committed suicide. Horton and his cameraman Trip Anderson enter the long abandoned house and plan to use the ghostly atmosphere within to score the ratings boost of a lifetime. At first, the investigation at first is seemingly all hype and no horror, but little are Horton, Trip, and the show's crew aware that the Ritter house has some real sinister surprises waiting for them, letting them learn the hard way that some things are just better left alone.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/television_terror.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Sometimes it's best to let sleeping houses lie.]

[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mv5bymzjngnmzgytnwzimc00nzaylweym2etngm2yzywmdq3ndblxkeyxkfqcgdeqxvyntawotcxodc_v1.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:220:Sometimes it's best to let sleeping houses lie.]]

** Dr. Roland Wershafter, the paranormal researcher Horton interviewed before he went in the house, flat out warned Horton to not enter go inside due to the evil presence he sensed within it. Guess what Horton did in response.

* CassandraTruth: Downplayed: after Horton sees the ghost of an old man with a slit in the bathtub, he tries getting his Trip and his production crew to believe him, even though they didn't see it. '''[[SubvertedTrope Immediately]]''' after this, ghostly activity starts up (slamming doors, music, flashing lights, the works).

[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mv5bymzjngnmzgytnwzimc00nzaylweym2etngm2yzywmdq3ndblxkeyxkfqcgdeqxvyntawotcxodc_v1.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:280:Sometimes it's best to let sleeping houses lie.]]

Horton Rivers ([[Series/TheMortonDowneyJrShow Morton Downey, Jr.]]), the arrogant host of tabloid news program ''Horton Rivers Live!'', has his crew set up shop outside the Ritter House, an abandoned boarding house which is allegedly said to be haunted by the ghost haunted by the ghost of its previous owner: Eda Ritter, a psychopathic old woman who murdered twelve of her equally elderly guests so she could swipe their social security checks, then committed suicide. Horton and his cameraman Trip Anderson enter the long abandoned house and plan to use the ghostly atmosphere within to score the ratings boost of a lifetime. At first, the investigation at first is seemingly all hype and no horror, but little are Horton, Trip, and the show's crew know that the Ritter house has some real sinister surprises waiting for them, letting them learn the hard way that some things are just better left alone.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/televisionterror.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:350: Let sleeping houses lie.]]

-->'''Crypt Keeper:''' ''(looks into video camera)'' Hi Mom! I just love home videos don't you? Especially when the home is haunted! Tonight's twisted tale my dear couch potatoes is filed under 'T' for ''television'', Or should that be ''terror''? Mister Horton Rivers is about to find out, so stay tuned to this totally titillating tube!

Horton Rivers, a tabloid news show host ([[Series/TheMortonDowneyJrShow Morton Downey, Jr.]]) and his camera crew investigate an abandoned boarding house which is allegedly haunted by the ghost of the previous owner, a woman who had murdered twelve of her elderly guests and also had committed suicide. The investigation at first is seemingly all hype and no horror, but little do Horton and the crew know that the house has some real sinister surprises waiting for them, and learn the hard way that some things are just better left alone.
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* AdamWesting: Horton Rivers's personality isn't all that different from on-air persona of [[Series/TheMortonDowneyJrShow Morton Downey, Jr.]], who played him.
* AdaptationalVillainy: In the comic, the television personality (there named Al Hunt) was just an average reporter who got more than he bargained for when entering the haunted house. Here, Horton Rivers is a jerk to his staff and has an ItsAllAboutMe personality.
** The ghostly forces as well. In the comic, there are only three ghosts, with any murder in the backstory only being speculation. They do kill the paranormal expert, but Al Hunt commits suicide. Here, its one AxCrazy woman who murdered 12 (soon to be fourteen) people viciously.
* AllPartOfTheShow: The producers assume Horton being attacked by the ghost is part of the episode. [[TheShowMustGoOn Which is why Sam refuses to let Horton out of the house when he's being attacked.]] [[FatalMethodActing Which is what leads to his death.]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Horton told Sam that she needs to have a killer instinct to do this show. She reminds him of that, as he's pleading to be rescued from the house.
* BigOMG: One of the production crew has a low-key example after seeing what's happened to Trip, though Horton ends up going quite louder when he realizes how much trouble he's in.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Downplayed: The ending wraparound segment sees the Cryptkeeper watching Horton's show on his TV.
* CassandraTruth: Downplayed: after Horton sees the ghost of the elderly man in the bathtub with his throat slit, he tries getting his production crew to believe him, when they didn't see it. '''[[SubvertedTrope Immediately]]''' after this, ghost activity starts up (with opening doors, music, flashing lights, the works).
** The Paranormal Expert, Dr. Roland Wershafter, flat out warned Horton to not enter the house due to the evil presence he sensed within it. Guess what Horton did in response.
* ChainsawGood: Ms. Ritter's Ghost wields a chainsaw.
* DecompositeCharacter: Due to Dr. Wershafter wisely staying outside of the house, Trip takes his role as Horton's companion during their investigation.

* DoNotTauntCthulhu: Despite the stern warnings from the Psychic that the Ritter House is absolutely nothing to screw with, Horton Rivers exploits the house and the supposed supernatural hauntings going on inside for big time television ratings. By the climax of the episode, Horton is a blubbering wreck pleading for help to be rescued.
* DownerEnding: Trip is murdered by the ghosts, Horton not too long after by Eta Ritter's spirit itself. And remember, this was televised ''live''; if the amount of ringing telephones in the "Horton Rivers Live" van is any indication, the rest of the crew (Sam in particular) is in some deep, deep trouble...
* EveryManHasHisPrice: Averted. Dr. Wershafter tells Horton that no amount of money in the world could convince him to enter the house.
* EvilIsNotAToy: Horton Rivers took his television crew to the abandoned but allegedly haunted Ritter House for thrills and ratings. The ghosts are all the more happy (or angry) to oblige them. Horton ends up being disemboweled and hung for his trouble.
* EvilTaintedThePlace: The numerous murders of the Ritter House have effectively turned it into a supernatural hellhole, as pointed out by the Psychic, who smartly refuses to go inside.
* {{Expy}}: Horton Rivers is basically Downey's later character Tony Pope from ''Film/Predator2''.

** During the initial investigation in the kitchen and still finding foodstuffs and other items intact, Horton comments "It's as if, Eta Ritter never left."
** After Horton says his show's ratings are going to go through the roof, Sam retorts that they're going to "go out the goddamn window".
** The lore about the Ritter house also mentioned that Eta Ritter dismembered her victims after murdering them.
** After the bout of ghost activity, Horton gets in front of the camera to do a standup. The light of the camera makes his shadow look like it's hung from the ceiling.
** When Horton is trying to open a door that opened on its own, accompanied with a ghostly "Please help me", Trip's camera stops producing light for a moment. We don't see Trip again after that for a few moments...
* FromBadToWorse: The ghost activity in the house starts acting up, getting steadily worse, until angry spirits show up and start ''attacking'' Trip and Horton.
* GenreSavvy: Dr. Wershafter; he makes a point of telling Horton ''not'' to go inside the Ritter house, remains outside of it during filming, and point-blank tells Horton he's fucked prior to the climax.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Horton Rivers wanted to see and experience supernatural activity in a HauntedHouse and catch it live on camera and get big ratings for his television show. He gets ''exactly'' what he wanted.
* GhastlyGhost: The ghosts of the Ritter house are the murdered victims who kill Trip, not to mention Eta Ritter herself, who attacks Horton with a chainsaw.

* KickTheDog: Leaving Horton inside the house ''as he's screaming for help'' was kind of a callous move.
* LittleNo: Horton when confronted by Eta Ritter herself.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Sam and the other co-workers have this reaction after seeing Horton killed following leaving him inside thinking it's AllPartOfTheShow.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: When Horton begs for help when Ritter's ghost attacks him, Sam tells the production crew to leave him in the house. ''Literally one minute later'', he goes out the window, disemboweled and hung. '''''On live TV'''''.
* OnlySaneMan: Dr. Wershafter not only refused to enter the house but warned Horton and his crew to not venture in themselves.
* OhCrap: After a certain point, Horton's cameraman, Trip, goes silent and we don't see him again... until his dead body drops down from the rafters, hung. ...but someone is still holding the camera...
** The rest of the crewmembers when they realized that it wasn't AllPartOfTheShow and that they left Horton there to die.
* OnTheNext: [[BlackComedy Post-humorously]] done over Horton's hanging corpse at the end of the episode.
-->'''Horton:''' Hey folks! Whats it like to have sex with Satan? Meet four women and one man who say they have on the next edition of Horton Rivers! Live!
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: As to be expected from a HauntedHouse, though the ghosts in the Ritter House are far more deadly than one could imagine.

* RealAfterAll: Is the Ritter House haunted? Yes. Yes it is.
* RealTime: The entire episode takes place over the course of filming an episode of "Horton Rivers Live".
* SealedEvilInACan: The Eta Ritter house is metaphorically described as "A pit of seething evil" by the psychic. Also in a literal sense, as the house has been sealed and boarded up for five years.
* ShoutOut: Apparently, Horton's producers are afraid his episode on the Eta Ritter house is going to wind up being another [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mystery_of_Al_Capone%27s_Vaults Al Capone's vault]].

* SpiritualPredecessor: This episode can be considered to be a preceding VillainEpisode spin-off for Downey's {{Slimeball}} reporter character Tony Pope from ''Film/Predator2'' (which would be released in November, months after the airing of this episode in July), once again trying to exploit a horrific tragedy for his own selfish gain and getting LaserGuidedKarma as a result, only this time, it's much more [[AssholeVictim fatal]] then just getting knocked out cold by Creator/DannyGlover months later on after the airing of this episode.

** Horton makes an off-handed comment that its as if Eta Ritter never left at all, after finding everything basically untouched in the kitchen. He wishes he was wrong...
** The initial investigation of the house is seemingly a dud, as nothing happens while Horton and Trip explore the house. When asked to "spice the show up" by the producers, Horton asks how he make the show more interesting. Cue [[HellIsThatNoise a ghostly disembodied voice moaning for help from upstairs]].

** After the first spurt of paranormal activity, Horton consults Dr. Wershafter and asks is he is in any danger:
-->'''Horton''': Are we in any danger?

** After seeing Trip's hanging corpse, Horton looks into the camera...

** As Horton investigates some blood on the carpet, a pair of legs suddenly swings into the background. Horton looks up and sees Trip's corpse hanging by a noose.
** Soon after Horton sees Trip's corpse, he looks into the light of the camera, which gets knocked over, revealing a ghost.

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-->'''Crypt Keeper:''' Oh, that Horton. He's a real swinger! He's hangs out in all the right places. No wonder he's such a hit on live...or is it ''dead'' TV?

** The Paranormal Expert flat out warned Horton to not enter the house due to the evil presence he sensed within it. Guess what Horton did in response.

* DecompositeCharacter: Due to the paranormal expert wisely staying outside of the house, Trip takes his role as Horton's companion during their investigation.

* EveryManHasHisPrice: Averted. The paranormal expert tells Horton that no amount of money in the world could convince him to enter the house.

* GenreSavvy: The paranormal expert; he makes a point of telling Horton ''not'' to go inside the Ritters house, remains outside of it during filming, and point-blank tells Horton he's fucked prior to the climax.

* OnlySaneMan: The paranormal expert not only refused to enter the house but warned Horton and his crew to not venture in themselves.

** After the first spurt of paranormal activity, Horton consults the paranormal expert and asks is he is in any danger:

-->'''Paranormal expert''': [[YouAreAlreadyDead You were in danger the moment you crawled through the threshold.]]

** Horton trips in the room he was hiding in, but as he gets up, we see an old lady's shadow on the wall.