The Haunted House.
This is a big one. Numerous tales have been told of the house down the street where bad and mysterious things happen. Some dark period of history that refuses to live in the past and forcefully haunts the present in a particular place.
There as such examples as the movie House, where a writer moves into his deceased aunt’s house, which is haunted by the dead and a powerful Aztec skull. The animated movie Monster House (for only the bravest of little kids), where the house itself is the monster, eager to gobble up a stray neighbor or dog. Luther Heggs is frightened nearly to death by the house in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (dig that groovy theme music).
Of course, there is the wonderful Haunted Mansion ride at the Disney parks. A wonderland of ghosts and ghouls parade for your amusement and dismay in that dark great house, where the grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize.
Haunts are not confined to houses alone. I can think of a couple of great movies that feature a haunted hotel, The Shining and The Innkeepers. Check in to both of the featured establishments in these films, but you may never check out.
Literature has the House of Usher and Hell House, of course. However, I often search for some great new haunted house novels, and find the selection lacking. Please recommend your favorites, so I can turn the key in a new lock and open the door to a new haunt.
Brandon Jimison 