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* ''[[Film/HouseOnHauntedHill1999 House on Haunted Hill]]'', the 1999 remake of the above.

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* ''[[Film/HouseOnHauntedHill1999 House on Haunted Hill]]'', the 1999 remake of the above.above.

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[[redirect:HouseOnHauntedHill]]

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[[redirect:HouseOnHauntedHill]]House on Haunted Hill may refer to:

* ''[[Film/HouseOnHauntedHill1959 House on Haunted Hill]]'', a 1959 horror film by William Castle
* ''[[Film/HouseOnHauntedHill1999 House on Haunted Hill]]'', the 1999 remake of the above.

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! The Original

[[quoteright:151:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hauntedhill.JPG]]

->I am Frederick Loren, and I have rented the house on haunted hill tonight so that my wife can give a party. A haunted house party. She's so amusing. There'll be food and drink and ghosts, and perhaps even a few murders. You're all invited. If any of you will spend the next twelve hours in this house, I will give you each ten thousand dollars, or your next of kin in case you don't survive. Ah, but here come our other guests.

''Film/HouseOnHauntedHill'' (1959) is a [[BMovie low budget]] {{horror}} {{film}} directed by William Castle, regarding five people who have been invited to stay the night in a haunted castle. Frederick Loren (VincentPrice), an eccentric millionaire, is throwing his "party" for his fourth wife, Annabelle, with the stipulation that the power will be out and all doors will be locked at midnight, [[ClosedCircle allowing no accessible escape]]. Anyone who survives the night in the castle will be awarded $10,000. As the night progresses, however, it becomes clear that this is no game by the host - the partygoers are indeed trapped here with malevolent ghosts, murderers, and other terrors.

! The Remake
''Film/HouseOnHauntedHill'' was [[TheRemake remade]] in 1999, directed by William Malone and starring [[MysteryMen Geoffrey Rush]], [[HowStellaGotHerGrooveBack Taye Diggs]], {{Ali Larter}}, and JeffreyCombs. The setting for the fateful party is moved to an [[AbandonedHospital abandoned mental hospital]], the Vannacutt Psychiatric Institute for the Criminally Insane, said to be haunted by the malevolent ghosts of the murderous inmates. The head of the facility, Dr. Richard B. Vannacutt, performed grotesque experiments on his patients, killing many in the process. The hospital was only closed when a handful of inmates escaped, killing almost the entire staff and setting fire to the facility, while security gates trapped everyone inside.

Fast forward to the present, where amusement park mogul Stephen [[MythologyGag Price]] is leasing this facility for the Halloween party of his spoiled trophy wife Evelyn. The five invitees are given a similar challenge as in the original movie, only the pot has been upped to $1,000,000 for any survivors, plus the winnings of any who do not survive having their earnings added to those of any remaining survivors. Soon after the party begins, the security gates are tripped, and the partygoers are trapped inside the facility with the insane spirits haunting the facility - including not only all the inmates, but also Vannacutt himself.

The remake marked the debut of Dark Castle Entertainment, which went on to produce ''[[ThirteenGhosts Thir13en Ghosts]]'' and ''HouseOfWax'', both also remakes of William Castle movies. It was followed by a sequel, ''Return to House on Haunted Hill'', in 2007.
----
!! The original contains examples of:
* TheAlcoholic: Pritchard, after his brother and sister-in-law were murdered in the house.
* AmbiguousEnding: [[spoiler: Was everything that Annabelle and Dr. Trent caused really just one giant scheme built on superstition with no true supernatural elements involved, or is the house truly haunted?]]
* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler: Terrorize Nora into a state of hysteria thinking Loren is trying to kill her, causing her to kill him in "self-defense".]]
** OutGambitted: "Little did you know, as you were playing your game... that [[spoiler: I was playing too]]."
* TheBluebeard: Loren is on his fourth wife. The first one disappeared, and the second two died of heart attacks, despite being in their 20s. [[spoiler: The fourth one is scared to death during the course of the party. She was a GoldDigger planning to murder Loren for his money, however, casting an unsavory light on the intentions of the first three.]]
** In retrospect however [[spoiler: We can't be sure that his first three wives did die under such mysterious circumstances, since the person who described them was trying to create an alibi for Loren's eventual demise.]]
* CharacterAsHimself: The skeleton is credited as "by itself".
* CollidingCriminalConspiracies
* ClosedCircle
* CreepyHousekeeper
* DemBones
* DomesticAbuse: Loren skates along the edge of this as he prepares his reluctant wife for her party.
-->'''Loren:''' Are you ready, dear?\\
'''Annabelle:''' No.\\
'''Loren:''' [''grabs her hair and pulls it''] [[TermsOfEndangerment Are you ready, dear?]]\\
'''Annabelle:''' Yes, ''damn'' you!
** Annabelle, meanwhile, has tried to poison him at least once when the film starts.
* EmpathicEnvironment: That House is easily believable as haunted.
-->'''Lance''': [[LampshadeHanging If I were gonna haunt somebody, this would certainly be the house I'd do it in.]]
* EnclosedSpace
* HauntedHouse
* HauntedHouseHistorian
* HollywoodAcid: Doesn't eat at bone [[spoiler:or for that matter, [[SpecialEffectFailure strings]]]].
** Or the winery container it's stored in.
* ImpliedLoveInterest: Lance and Nora. He saves her several times, keeps her secret, and when he goes to look for a way out he says he'll come back for her if he finds one. She's very concerned when he gets locked in the basement, and even after she accuses him of not believing her she begs him to get her out. They also happen to have adjoining rooms.
* ItWasHereISwear: Happens to Nora a lot. When Lance finally sees one of the severed heads that she insisted was there, he just grabs it by the hair and brings it with him to show everyone.
* KansasCityShuffle
* LargeHam: Frederick Loren. He's played by VincentPrice, so would you expect anything less?
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: After all is said and done, [[spoiler: the existence of actual ghosts is left ambiguous.]]
* NoFourthWall: The film opens with both Pritchard and Loren speaking directly to the audience. This would have been even more blurry in the original theatrical run, where William Castle would dangle plastic skeletons from the ceiling during scare moments.
** TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: "They're coming for me now... and then they'll come for you."
* OldDarkHouse
* OminousPipeOrgan
* OnOneCondition
* OutDamnedSpot: The House has a blood stain that cannot be cleaned up, no matter what. It gets even creepier when it [[RainOfBlood starts dripping]] on Ruth's hand.
* ThePlace
* ProphetEyes: Mrs. Slydes.
* ScreamingWoman: Nora Manning. [[spoiler: Justified in that Annabelle's plan is entirely reliant on keeping Nora on edge the whole time.]]
* TakingYouWithMe / GhostlyGoals: [[spoiler: Subverted as part of Frederick's scheme.]]
-->But you're not going to live to enjoy it!
----
!! The remake contains examples of:
* AbandonedHospital
* AmusementParkOfDoom: Price plays with the line between "safe" thrills and "dangerous" thrills early on, when he sends guests for a ride on a roller coaster that is designed to fling the train ahead of you off the track, leading you to (logically) believe that you're about to die horribly, only for your train to continue over the same stretch of track unharmed. He thinks the whole thing is hilarious.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Subverted with Steven and Evelyn Price. In spite of both of their repeated attempts to humiliate and kill the other, there are moments that hint their may have once been real love in the marriage. Steven seems genuinely distraught when [[spoiler: he believes Evelyn has been murdered.]] Not only that [[spoiler: Evelyn fearfully calls out for Steven right before she is consumed by the [[EldritchAbomination evil spirit of the house.]]]]
* BackupFromOtherworld: Pritchard, after having died, appears as a ghost to help the last two escape.
* BlackDudeDiesFirst: [[spoiler: Averted. Eddie escapes with Sara]]. Played straight in the [[{{Sequelitis}} sequel]].
* TheBlank: During Price's [[spoiler: hallucination]], The Blank shows up swimming through darkness. It has no eyes, no face, but a mouth. And fangs.
* BloodierAndGorier
* BloodyHandprint: Prominently featured in the cover art.
* CanYouHearMeNow: Everyone has a cellphone. None of them work.
* ChairReveal
* ClosedCircle: This starts out apparently engineered, until it becomes quite clear that the sanitarium is calling the shots.
* CreepyBasement: ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
* DeathByGenreSavviness: Pritchard.
* DoomedDefeatist: Pritchard.
* EnclosedSpace
* FaceRevealingTurn: [[spoiler: Hey, one of Price's guys, maybe can help us escHOLY GOD WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS FACE...]]
* GenreSavvy: Pritchard. "The house is alive. We're all gonna die."
* HauntedHouse: A madhouse, to be exact. On a hill!
* HeroicSacrifice: Though usually not a very heroic character, [[spoiler: Price shoves Sarah out of the path of the resident EldritchAbomination, and is consumed by the monster himself.]]
* IronicHell: The last shot is of the spirits of Stephen and Evelyn Price still trapped in the asylum, being vivisected by patients for, one may assume, eternity.
* MadScientist: Vannacutt.
* MeaningfulName: Price. Also a ShoutOut.
* OnOneCondition
* ThePlace
* PunnyName: The head doctor heavily into vivisecting is named Vannacutt (say with a Transylvanian accent).
* TheRemake
* ScreamerTrailer: A similar effect is used in-movie.
* SinsOfOurFathers: The whole reason the house has called these particular guests [[spoiler: is because all of them are descended from the sole survivors of the fire that destroyed the asylum. Except for Eddie (adopted) and Sarah (lied about her identity).]]
* TooDumbToLive: The character who wanders alone into the basement with a video camera.
** To be fair, her character hadn't really seen any of the really horrific stuff going on in the house at that point and probably assumed the minor events so far were rigged by Price or had a logical explanation. By the time she realized the truth, it was already too late.
* {{Undercrank}}
----

to:

! The Original

[[quoteright:151:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hauntedhill.JPG]]

->I am Frederick Loren, and I have rented the house on haunted hill tonight so that my wife can give a party. A haunted house party. She's so amusing. There'll be food and drink and ghosts, and perhaps even a few murders. You're all invited. If any of you will spend the next twelve hours in this house, I will give you each ten thousand dollars, or your next of kin in case you don't survive. Ah, but here come our other guests.

''Film/HouseOnHauntedHill'' (1959) is a [[BMovie low budget]] {{horror}} {{film}} directed by William Castle, regarding five people who have been invited to stay the night in a haunted castle. Frederick Loren (VincentPrice), an eccentric millionaire, is throwing his "party" for his fourth wife, Annabelle, with the stipulation that the power will be out and all doors will be locked at midnight, [[ClosedCircle allowing no accessible escape]]. Anyone who survives the night in the castle will be awarded $10,000. As the night progresses, however, it becomes clear that this is no game by the host - the partygoers are indeed trapped here with malevolent ghosts, murderers, and other terrors.

! The Remake
''Film/HouseOnHauntedHill'' was [[TheRemake remade]] in 1999, directed by William Malone and starring [[MysteryMen Geoffrey Rush]], [[HowStellaGotHerGrooveBack Taye Diggs]], {{Ali Larter}}, and JeffreyCombs. The setting for the fateful party is moved to an [[AbandonedHospital abandoned mental hospital]], the Vannacutt Psychiatric Institute for the Criminally Insane, said to be haunted by the malevolent ghosts of the murderous inmates. The head of the facility, Dr. Richard B. Vannacutt, performed grotesque experiments on his patients, killing many in the process. The hospital was only closed when a handful of inmates escaped, killing almost the entire staff and setting fire to the facility, while security gates trapped everyone inside.

Fast forward to the present, where amusement park mogul Stephen [[MythologyGag Price]] is leasing this facility for the Halloween party of his spoiled trophy wife Evelyn. The five invitees are given a similar challenge as in the original movie, only the pot has been upped to $1,000,000 for any survivors, plus the winnings of any who do not survive having their earnings added to those of any remaining survivors. Soon after the party begins, the security gates are tripped, and the partygoers are trapped inside the facility with the insane spirits haunting the facility - including not only all the inmates, but also Vannacutt himself.

The remake marked the debut of Dark Castle Entertainment, which went on to produce ''[[ThirteenGhosts Thir13en Ghosts]]'' and ''HouseOfWax'', both also remakes of William Castle movies. It was followed by a sequel, ''Return to House on Haunted Hill'', in 2007.
----
!! The original contains examples of:
* TheAlcoholic: Pritchard, after his brother and sister-in-law were murdered in the house.
* AmbiguousEnding: [[spoiler: Was everything that Annabelle and Dr. Trent caused really just one giant scheme built on superstition with no true supernatural elements involved, or is the house truly haunted?]]
* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler: Terrorize Nora into a state of hysteria thinking Loren is trying to kill her, causing her to kill him in "self-defense".]]
** OutGambitted: "Little did you know, as you were playing your game... that [[spoiler: I was playing too]]."
* TheBluebeard: Loren is on his fourth wife. The first one disappeared, and the second two died of heart attacks, despite being in their 20s. [[spoiler: The fourth one is scared to death during the course of the party. She was a GoldDigger planning to murder Loren for his money, however, casting an unsavory light on the intentions of the first three.]]
** In retrospect however [[spoiler: We can't be sure that his first three wives did die under such mysterious circumstances, since the person who described them was trying to create an alibi for Loren's eventual demise.]]
* CharacterAsHimself: The skeleton is credited as "by itself".
* CollidingCriminalConspiracies
* ClosedCircle
* CreepyHousekeeper
* DemBones
* DomesticAbuse: Loren skates along the edge of this as he prepares his reluctant wife for her party.
-->'''Loren:''' Are you ready, dear?\\
'''Annabelle:''' No.\\
'''Loren:''' [''grabs her hair and pulls it''] [[TermsOfEndangerment Are you ready, dear?]]\\
'''Annabelle:''' Yes, ''damn'' you!
** Annabelle, meanwhile, has tried to poison him at least once when the film starts.
* EmpathicEnvironment: That House is easily believable as haunted.
-->'''Lance''': [[LampshadeHanging If I were gonna haunt somebody, this would certainly be the house I'd do it in.]]
* EnclosedSpace
* HauntedHouse
* HauntedHouseHistorian
* HollywoodAcid: Doesn't eat at bone [[spoiler:or for that matter, [[SpecialEffectFailure strings]]]].
** Or the winery container it's stored in.
* ImpliedLoveInterest: Lance and Nora. He saves her several times, keeps her secret, and when he goes to look for a way out he says he'll come back for her if he finds one. She's very concerned when he gets locked in the basement, and even after she accuses him of not believing her she begs him to get her out. They also happen to have adjoining rooms.
* ItWasHereISwear: Happens to Nora a lot. When Lance finally sees one of the severed heads that she insisted was there, he just grabs it by the hair and brings it with him to show everyone.
* KansasCityShuffle
* LargeHam: Frederick Loren. He's played by VincentPrice, so would you expect anything less?
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: After all is said and done, [[spoiler: the existence of actual ghosts is left ambiguous.]]
* NoFourthWall: The film opens with both Pritchard and Loren speaking directly to the audience. This would have been even more blurry in the original theatrical run, where William Castle would dangle plastic skeletons from the ceiling during scare moments.
** TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: "They're coming for me now... and then they'll come for you."
* OldDarkHouse
* OminousPipeOrgan
* OnOneCondition
* OutDamnedSpot: The House has a blood stain that cannot be cleaned up, no matter what. It gets even creepier when it [[RainOfBlood starts dripping]] on Ruth's hand.
* ThePlace
* ProphetEyes: Mrs. Slydes.
* ScreamingWoman: Nora Manning. [[spoiler: Justified in that Annabelle's plan is entirely reliant on keeping Nora on edge the whole time.]]
* TakingYouWithMe / GhostlyGoals: [[spoiler: Subverted as part of Frederick's scheme.]]
-->But you're not going to live to enjoy it!
----
!! The remake contains examples of:
* AbandonedHospital
* AmusementParkOfDoom: Price plays with the line between "safe" thrills and "dangerous" thrills early on, when he sends guests for a ride on a roller coaster that is designed to fling the train ahead of you off the track, leading you to (logically) believe that you're about to die horribly, only for your train to continue over the same stretch of track unharmed. He thinks the whole thing is hilarious.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Subverted with Steven and Evelyn Price. In spite of both of their repeated attempts to humiliate and kill the other, there are moments that hint their may have once been real love in the marriage. Steven seems genuinely distraught when [[spoiler: he believes Evelyn has been murdered.]] Not only that [[spoiler: Evelyn fearfully calls out for Steven right before she is consumed by the [[EldritchAbomination evil spirit of the house.]]]]
* BackupFromOtherworld: Pritchard, after having died, appears as a ghost to help the last two escape.
* BlackDudeDiesFirst: [[spoiler: Averted. Eddie escapes with Sara]]. Played straight in the [[{{Sequelitis}} sequel]].
* TheBlank: During Price's [[spoiler: hallucination]], The Blank shows up swimming through darkness. It has no eyes, no face, but a mouth. And fangs.
* BloodierAndGorier
* BloodyHandprint: Prominently featured in the cover art.
* CanYouHearMeNow: Everyone has a cellphone. None of them work.
* ChairReveal
* ClosedCircle: This starts out apparently engineered, until it becomes quite clear that the sanitarium is calling the shots.
* CreepyBasement: ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
* DeathByGenreSavviness: Pritchard.
* DoomedDefeatist: Pritchard.
* EnclosedSpace
* FaceRevealingTurn: [[spoiler: Hey, one of Price's guys, maybe can help us escHOLY GOD WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS FACE...]]
* GenreSavvy: Pritchard. "The house is alive. We're all gonna die."
* HauntedHouse: A madhouse, to be exact. On a hill!
* HeroicSacrifice: Though usually not a very heroic character, [[spoiler: Price shoves Sarah out of the path of the resident EldritchAbomination, and is consumed by the monster himself.]]
* IronicHell: The last shot is of the spirits of Stephen and Evelyn Price still trapped in the asylum, being vivisected by patients for, one may assume, eternity.
* MadScientist: Vannacutt.
* MeaningfulName: Price. Also a ShoutOut.
* OnOneCondition
* ThePlace
* PunnyName: The head doctor heavily into vivisecting is named Vannacutt (say with a Transylvanian accent).
* TheRemake
* ScreamerTrailer: A similar effect is used in-movie.
* SinsOfOurFathers: The whole reason the house has called these particular guests [[spoiler: is because all of them are descended from the sole survivors of the fire that destroyed the asylum. Except for Eddie (adopted) and Sarah (lied about her identity).]]
* TooDumbToLive: The character who wanders alone into the basement with a video camera.
** To be fair, her character hadn't really seen any of the really horrific stuff going on in the house at that point and probably assumed the minor events so far were rigged by Price or had a logical explanation. By the time she realized the truth, it was already too late.
* {{Undercrank}}
----
[[redirect:HouseOnHauntedHill]]
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Added DiffLines:

* AmbiguousEnding: [[spoiler: Was everything that Annabelle and Dr. Trent caused really just one giant scheme built on superstition with no true supernatural elements involved, or is the house truly haunted?]]
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Added DiffLines:

** Or the winery container it's stored in.
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* AmusementParkOfDoom: Price plays with the line between "safe" thrills and "dangerous" thrills early on, when he sends guests for a ride on a roller coast that is designed to fling the train ahead of you off the track, leading you to (logically) believe that you're about to die horribly, only for your train to continue over the same stretch of track unharmed. He thinks the whole thing is hilarious.

to:

* AmusementParkOfDoom: Price plays with the line between "safe" thrills and "dangerous" thrills early on, when he sends guests for a ride on a roller coast coaster that is designed to fling the train ahead of you off the track, leading you to (logically) believe that you're about to die horribly, only for your train to continue over the same stretch of track unharmed. He thinks the whole thing is hilarious.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* OutDamnedSpot: The House has a blood stain that cannot be cleaned up, nomatter what. It gets even creepier when it [[RainOfBlood starts dripping]] on Ruth's hand.

to:

* OutDamnedSpot: The House has a blood stain that cannot be cleaned up, nomatter no matter what. It gets even creepier when it [[RainOfBlood starts dripping]] on Ruth's hand.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* ImpliedLoveInterest: Lance and Nora. He saves her several times, keeps her secret, and when he goes to look for a way out he'll come back for her if he finds one. She's very concerned when he gets locked in the basement, and even after she accuses him of not believing her she begs him to get her out. They also happen to have adjoining rooms.

to:

* ImpliedLoveInterest: Lance and Nora. He saves her several times, keeps her secret, and when he goes to look for a way out he says he'll come back for her if he finds one. She's very concerned when he gets locked in the basement, and even after she accuses him of not believing her she begs him to get her out. They also happen to have adjoining rooms.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* ImpliedLoveInterest: Lance and Nora. He saves her several times, keeps her secret, and when he goes to look for a way out he'll come back for her if he finds one. She's very concerned when he gets locked in the basement, and even after she accuses him of not believing her she begs him to get her out. They also happen to have adjoining rooms.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


''HouseOnHauntedHill'' (1959) is a [[BMovie low budget]] {{horror}} {{film}} directed by William Castle, regarding five people who have been invited to stay the night in a haunted castle. Frederick Loren (VincentPrice), an eccentric millionaire, is throwing his "party" for his fourth wife, Annabelle, with the stipulation that the power will be out and all doors will be locked at midnight, [[ClosedCircle allowing no accessible escape]]. Anyone who survives the night in the castle will be awarded $10,000. As the night progresses, however, it becomes clear that this is no game by the host - the partygoers are indeed trapped here with malevolent ghosts, murderers, and other terrors.

to:

''HouseOnHauntedHill'' ''Film/HouseOnHauntedHill'' (1959) is a [[BMovie low budget]] {{horror}} {{film}} directed by William Castle, regarding five people who have been invited to stay the night in a haunted castle. Frederick Loren (VincentPrice), an eccentric millionaire, is throwing his "party" for his fourth wife, Annabelle, with the stipulation that the power will be out and all doors will be locked at midnight, [[ClosedCircle allowing no accessible escape]]. Anyone who survives the night in the castle will be awarded $10,000. As the night progresses, however, it becomes clear that this is no game by the host - the partygoers are indeed trapped here with malevolent ghosts, murderers, and other terrors.



''HouseOnHauntedHill'' was [[TheRemake remade]] in 1999, directed by William Malone and starring [[MysteryMen Geoffrey Rush]], [[HowStellaGotHerGrooveBack Taye Diggs]], {{Ali Larter}}, and JeffreyCombs. The setting for the fateful party is moved to an [[AbandonedHospital abandoned mental hospital]], the Vannacutt Psychiatric Institute for the Criminally Insane, said to be haunted by the malevolent ghosts of the murderous inmates. The head of the facility, Dr. Richard B. Vannacutt, performed grotesque experiments on his patients, killing many in the process. The hospital was only closed when a handful of inmates escaped, killing almost the entire staff and setting fire to the facility, while security gates trapped everyone inside.

to:

''HouseOnHauntedHill'' ''Film/HouseOnHauntedHill'' was [[TheRemake remade]] in 1999, directed by William Malone and starring [[MysteryMen Geoffrey Rush]], [[HowStellaGotHerGrooveBack Taye Diggs]], {{Ali Larter}}, and JeffreyCombs. The setting for the fateful party is moved to an [[AbandonedHospital abandoned mental hospital]], the Vannacutt Psychiatric Institute for the Criminally Insane, said to be haunted by the malevolent ghosts of the murderous inmates. The head of the facility, Dr. Richard B. Vannacutt, performed grotesque experiments on his patients, killing many in the process. The hospital was only closed when a handful of inmates escaped, killing almost the entire staff and setting fire to the facility, while security gates trapped everyone inside.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
relocation


* HeyItsThatGuy: In addition to the obvious VincentPrice, there's Elisha Cook Jr. as Watson Pritchard.
* HeyItsThatPlace: Ennis House, standing in for the spooky castle, was also used in ''BladeRunner'' and ''Film/TheRocketeer''.



* DeletedScene: Two. [[spoiler: The reason that Sarah survived is because her roommate gave her the invitation,]] and [[spoiler: Vannacutt leading Sarah's roommate to her death.]]



* FridgeLogic: If Evelyn's guest list [[spoiler: was shredded, and her lover Blackburn was not a descendant of one of the survivors, then how did he come to be there with an invitation?]]



* HeyItsThatGuy: And here I thought Jeffrey Combs (who plays Vannacutt) [[{{Necronomicon}} was]] [[ThePitAndThePendulum starting]] [[{{Frightmare}} to]] [[FromBeyond get]] [[ReAnimator typecast]]...
** And [[PiratesOfTheCaribbean Barbossa]] as Price.
*** And [[{{Ghostbusters}} Gozer]] as one of Vannacutt's nurses.
**** And [[BuffyTheVampireSlayer Spike]] as the cameraman at the beginning!
*** [[Film/{{X-Men}} Jean Grey]] is Evelyn.
*** [[HomicideLifeOnTheStreet J.H. Brodie's]] face has seen better days.
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-->I am Frederick Loren, and I have rented the house on haunted hill tonight so that my wife can give a party. A haunted house party. She's so amusing. There'll be food and drink and ghosts, and perhaps even a few murders. You're all invited. If any of you will spend the next twelve hours in this house, I will give you each ten thousand dollars, or your next of kin in case you don't survive. Ah, but here come our other guests.

to:

-->I ->I am Frederick Loren, and I have rented the house on haunted hill tonight so that my wife can give a party. A haunted house party. She's so amusing. There'll be food and drink and ghosts, and perhaps even a few murders. You're all invited. If any of you will spend the next twelve hours in this house, I will give you each ten thousand dollars, or your next of kin in case you don't survive. Ah, but here come our other guests.



The remake marked the debut of DarkCastleEntertainment, which went on to produce ''[[ThirteenGhosts Thir13en Ghosts]]'' and ''HouseOfWax'', both also remakes of William Castle movies. It was followed by a sequel, ''Return to House on Haunted Hill'', in 2007.

to:

The remake marked the debut of DarkCastleEntertainment, Dark Castle Entertainment, which went on to produce ''[[ThirteenGhosts Thir13en Ghosts]]'' and ''HouseOfWax'', both also remakes of William Castle movies. It was followed by a sequel, ''Return to House on Haunted Hill'', in 2007.
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!!! The Original

to:

!!! ! The Original



!!! The Remake

to:

!!! ! The Remake
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Added DiffLines:

* BackupFromOtherworld: Pritchard, after having died, appears as a ghost to help the last two escape.
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* DeletedScene: Two in the remake, [[spoiler: the reason that Sarah survived is because her roommate gave her the invitation,]] and [[spoiler: Vannacutt leading Sarah's roommate to her death.]]

to:

* DeletedScene: Two in the remake, Two. [[spoiler: the The reason that Sarah survived is because her roommate gave her the invitation,]] and [[spoiler: Vannacutt leading Sarah's roommate to her death.]]
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Added DiffLines:

!!! The Original

[[quoteright:151:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hauntedhill.JPG]]

-->I am Frederick Loren, and I have rented the house on haunted hill tonight so that my wife can give a party. A haunted house party. She's so amusing. There'll be food and drink and ghosts, and perhaps even a few murders. You're all invited. If any of you will spend the next twelve hours in this house, I will give you each ten thousand dollars, or your next of kin in case you don't survive. Ah, but here come our other guests.

''HouseOnHauntedHill'' (1959) is a [[BMovie low budget]] {{horror}} {{film}} directed by William Castle, regarding five people who have been invited to stay the night in a haunted castle. Frederick Loren (VincentPrice), an eccentric millionaire, is throwing his "party" for his fourth wife, Annabelle, with the stipulation that the power will be out and all doors will be locked at midnight, [[ClosedCircle allowing no accessible escape]]. Anyone who survives the night in the castle will be awarded $10,000. As the night progresses, however, it becomes clear that this is no game by the host - the partygoers are indeed trapped here with malevolent ghosts, murderers, and other terrors.

!!! The Remake
''HouseOnHauntedHill'' was [[TheRemake remade]] in 1999, directed by William Malone and starring [[MysteryMen Geoffrey Rush]], [[HowStellaGotHerGrooveBack Taye Diggs]], {{Ali Larter}}, and JeffreyCombs. The setting for the fateful party is moved to an [[AbandonedHospital abandoned mental hospital]], the Vannacutt Psychiatric Institute for the Criminally Insane, said to be haunted by the malevolent ghosts of the murderous inmates. The head of the facility, Dr. Richard B. Vannacutt, performed grotesque experiments on his patients, killing many in the process. The hospital was only closed when a handful of inmates escaped, killing almost the entire staff and setting fire to the facility, while security gates trapped everyone inside.

Fast forward to the present, where amusement park mogul Stephen [[MythologyGag Price]] is leasing this facility for the Halloween party of his spoiled trophy wife Evelyn. The five invitees are given a similar challenge as in the original movie, only the pot has been upped to $1,000,000 for any survivors, plus the winnings of any who do not survive having their earnings added to those of any remaining survivors. Soon after the party begins, the security gates are tripped, and the partygoers are trapped inside the facility with the insane spirits haunting the facility - including not only all the inmates, but also Vannacutt himself.

The remake marked the debut of DarkCastleEntertainment, which went on to produce ''[[ThirteenGhosts Thir13en Ghosts]]'' and ''HouseOfWax'', both also remakes of William Castle movies. It was followed by a sequel, ''Return to House on Haunted Hill'', in 2007.
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!! The original contains examples of:
* TheAlcoholic: Pritchard, after his brother and sister-in-law were murdered in the house.
* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler: Terrorize Nora into a state of hysteria thinking Loren is trying to kill her, causing her to kill him in "self-defense".]]
** OutGambitted: "Little did you know, as you were playing your game... that [[spoiler: I was playing too]]."
* TheBluebeard: Loren is on his fourth wife. The first one disappeared, and the second two died of heart attacks, despite being in their 20s. [[spoiler: The fourth one is scared to death during the course of the party. She was a GoldDigger planning to murder Loren for his money, however, casting an unsavory light on the intentions of the first three.]]
** In retrospect however [[spoiler: We can't be sure that his first three wives did die under such mysterious circumstances, since the person who described them was trying to create an alibi for Loren's eventual demise.]]
* CharacterAsHimself: The skeleton is credited as "by itself".
* CollidingCriminalConspiracies
* ClosedCircle
* CreepyHousekeeper
* DemBones
* DomesticAbuse: Loren skates along the edge of this as he prepares his reluctant wife for her party.
-->'''Loren:''' Are you ready, dear?\\
'''Annabelle:''' No.\\
'''Loren:''' [''grabs her hair and pulls it''] [[TermsOfEndangerment Are you ready, dear?]]\\
'''Annabelle:''' Yes, ''damn'' you!
** Annabelle, meanwhile, has tried to poison him at least once when the film starts.
* EmpathicEnvironment: That House is easily believable as haunted.
-->'''Lance''': [[LampshadeHanging If I were gonna haunt somebody, this would certainly be the house I'd do it in.]]
* EnclosedSpace
* HauntedHouse
* HauntedHouseHistorian
* HeyItsThatGuy: In addition to the obvious VincentPrice, there's Elisha Cook Jr. as Watson Pritchard.
* HeyItsThatPlace: Ennis House, standing in for the spooky castle, was also used in ''BladeRunner'' and ''Film/TheRocketeer''.
* HollywoodAcid: Doesn't eat at bone [[spoiler:or for that matter, [[SpecialEffectFailure strings]]]].
* ItWasHereISwear: Happens to Nora a lot. When Lance finally sees one of the severed heads that she insisted was there, he just grabs it by the hair and brings it with him to show everyone.
* KansasCityShuffle
* LargeHam: Frederick Loren. He's played by VincentPrice, so would you expect anything less?
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: After all is said and done, [[spoiler: the existence of actual ghosts is left ambiguous.]]
* NoFourthWall: The film opens with both Pritchard and Loren speaking directly to the audience. This would have been even more blurry in the original theatrical run, where William Castle would dangle plastic skeletons from the ceiling during scare moments.
** TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: "They're coming for me now... and then they'll come for you."
* OldDarkHouse
* OminousPipeOrgan
* OnOneCondition
* OutDamnedSpot: The House has a blood stain that cannot be cleaned up, nomatter what. It gets even creepier when it [[RainOfBlood starts dripping]] on Ruth's hand.
* ThePlace
* ProphetEyes: Mrs. Slydes.
* ScreamingWoman: Nora Manning. [[spoiler: Justified in that Annabelle's plan is entirely reliant on keeping Nora on edge the whole time.]]
* TakingYouWithMe / GhostlyGoals: [[spoiler: Subverted as part of Frederick's scheme.]]
-->But you're not going to live to enjoy it!
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!! The remake contains examples of:
* AbandonedHospital
* AmusementParkOfDoom: Price plays with the line between "safe" thrills and "dangerous" thrills early on, when he sends guests for a ride on a roller coast that is designed to fling the train ahead of you off the track, leading you to (logically) believe that you're about to die horribly, only for your train to continue over the same stretch of track unharmed. He thinks the whole thing is hilarious.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Subverted with Steven and Evelyn Price. In spite of both of their repeated attempts to humiliate and kill the other, there are moments that hint their may have once been real love in the marriage. Steven seems genuinely distraught when [[spoiler: he believes Evelyn has been murdered.]] Not only that [[spoiler: Evelyn fearfully calls out for Steven right before she is consumed by the [[EldritchAbomination evil spirit of the house.]]]]
* BlackDudeDiesFirst: [[spoiler: Averted. Eddie escapes with Sara]]. Played straight in the [[{{Sequelitis}} sequel]].
* TheBlank: During Price's [[spoiler: hallucination]], The Blank shows up swimming through darkness. It has no eyes, no face, but a mouth. And fangs.
* BloodierAndGorier
* BloodyHandprint: Prominently featured in the cover art.
* CanYouHearMeNow: Everyone has a cellphone. None of them work.
* ChairReveal
* ClosedCircle: This starts out apparently engineered, until it becomes quite clear that the sanitarium is calling the shots.
* CreepyBasement: ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
* DeathByGenreSavviness: Pritchard.
* DeletedScene: Two in the remake, [[spoiler: the reason that Sarah survived is because her roommate gave her the invitation,]] and [[spoiler: Vannacutt leading Sarah's roommate to her death.]]
* DoomedDefeatist: Pritchard.
* EnclosedSpace
* FaceRevealingTurn: [[spoiler: Hey, one of Price's guys, maybe can help us escHOLY GOD WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS FACE...]]
* FridgeLogic: If Evelyn's guest list [[spoiler: was shredded, and her lover Blackburn was not a descendant of one of the survivors, then how did he come to be there with an invitation?]]
* GenreSavvy: Pritchard. "The house is alive. We're all gonna die."
* HauntedHouse: A madhouse, to be exact. On a hill!
* HeroicSacrifice: Though usually not a very heroic character, [[spoiler: Price shoves Sarah out of the path of the resident EldritchAbomination, and is consumed by the monster himself.]]
* HeyItsThatGuy: And here I thought Jeffrey Combs (who plays Vannacutt) [[{{Necronomicon}} was]] [[ThePitAndThePendulum starting]] [[{{Frightmare}} to]] [[FromBeyond get]] [[ReAnimator typecast]]...
** And [[PiratesOfTheCaribbean Barbossa]] as Price.
*** And [[{{Ghostbusters}} Gozer]] as one of Vannacutt's nurses.
**** And [[BuffyTheVampireSlayer Spike]] as the cameraman at the beginning!
*** [[Film/{{X-Men}} Jean Grey]] is Evelyn.
*** [[HomicideLifeOnTheStreet J.H. Brodie's]] face has seen better days.
* IronicHell: The last shot is of the spirits of Stephen and Evelyn Price still trapped in the asylum, being vivisected by patients for, one may assume, eternity.
* MadScientist: Vannacutt.
* MeaningfulName: Price. Also a ShoutOut.
* OnOneCondition
* ThePlace
* PunnyName: The head doctor heavily into vivisecting is named Vannacutt (say with a Transylvanian accent).
* TheRemake
* ScreamerTrailer: A similar effect is used in-movie.
* SinsOfOurFathers: The whole reason the house has called these particular guests [[spoiler: is because all of them are descended from the sole survivors of the fire that destroyed the asylum. Except for Eddie (adopted) and Sarah (lied about her identity).]]
* TooDumbToLive: The character who wanders alone into the basement with a video camera.
** To be fair, her character hadn't really seen any of the really horrific stuff going on in the house at that point and probably assumed the minor events so far were rigged by Price or had a logical explanation. By the time she realized the truth, it was already too late.
* {{Undercrank}}
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