Haunted House was a game played with a 3D board. When set up, it consisted of 4 rooms, a staircase, and a central chimney. The game pieces moved round the board; you drew cards which would turn you into a mouse (which meant you couldn't move) or turn you back into a child, or let you drop the Whammy Ball down the chimney - this was a steel ball that could come out in any of the 4 rooms, and triggered a moving piece that knocked down any game pieces in the vicinity, forcing them to go back to a safe spot on the board.
The ultimate goal was to make it up the staircase to the Charmed Circle where you were safe - the first person to get there won, but you weren't safe on the way up the stairs... "Be very careful on the stair, The whammy ball could get you there" was one of the pieces of doggerel you could come across in the game.
Most of the web pages I found gave the name "Which Witch" - I thought I was going crazy, as it was obviously the right game, but I was sure it had been called 'Haunted House'. I finally found a site that said "Which Witch" had also been sold as "Haunted House". To add to the confusion there was a different game also called 'Haunted House'.
The one I'm thinking of is pictured on this web page: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/12472
I loved the game, and played it on my own when no-one else wanted to play.
Do You Remember Haunted House?
Do You Remember Haunted House?
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norton
on
Was 'Glenda the good' another witch?
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norton
on
I have a feeling that one of the witches was called wicked wanda
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ron
on
hi i bought scream inn and hh 3 £12 each on ebay hhouse and ghost castle were both sold in the uk hhouse from 1971 gcastle from 1985 i'm 41 so remember hhouse and they are the same game just diff era's
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Chris T
on
When we had the game it was called Haunted House. Looking at the pictures on the website mentioned above it certainly looks like Ghost Castle is a later version of the same game. I remember you had to make sure the game was on a perfectly level surface or the ball would come out of the same hole almost every time! Thanks Gojira, I had been trying to remember the names of the witches.
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Orbz
on
I also loved this game when I was about 5 yrs old but one night I was looking at the pictures of ghosts on the side of the box from my top bunk bed and was so terrified I tore the whole game to shreads! Now Im older and tougher, I want to get the game again.
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Gojira
on
I've still got my Haunted House. The witches in the game were Wanda ith Wicked (who turned you into a mouse), Glenda the Good (who turned mice back to humans) & Ghoulish Gertie (who dropped the Whammy Ball down the chimney). This game often came out a Christmas. I seem to remember that the corners of the cardboard walls wore away from constant use.
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Jacamanda
on
My version was 'Ghost Castle' too. Was Ghost Castle a modernized version of 'Haunted House', hence the name-change? Haunted House certainly looks older than Ghost Castle.
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marriott
on
Like a previous person said; I loved this Game, and I too spent hours (literally) playing this fascinating Game on my own when I had nobody to play with at a time when children were more innocent. Denys Fisher was the Maker of some truly fantastic 'spooky' Games at the turn of the 70s. Ghost Train was another from 1974/5 - followed by Scream Inn etc. Another great spooky Game (but not by Denys Fisher) was a one you played in the dark called 'Screech'! Brilliant!
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Anonymous
on
It was the best game i ever had,hours of fun.Bring it back so todays kids can see whatn they've been missing.
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Anonymous
on
I was in the UK and my version was definately called Haunted House, as was a friend's version. Never has so much fun been had dropping a ball bearing down a chimney!
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