In a recent email exchange with my friend Dawn Kravagna (who, by the way is a very talented cartoonist, humorist and author all rolled into one –check out her cartoon comic mystery series Cattle Capers to see what I mean), she mentioned how she was going to be making a Haunt Jaunt of sorts that I might be interested in. Her destination was Thornewood Castle, where Stephen King’s Rose Red was filmed.
She mentioned that it had a history of ghosts, and she was nervous about that. She hoped not to see any. But she was very excited to do their Murder Mystery Evening.
It sounded wonderful and made me want to go too! But until she said something I never knew that was a real place. I thought Rose Red had been filmed on a set.
Well, it had, but the set wasn’t just a Hollywood sound stage. There was a real mansion involved and that mansion was Thornewood Castle.
I wondered what other Haunt Jaunts like Thornewood Castle I was missing out on. (Ones that had a haunted history and were featured in a movie.) Since the latest giveaway is for a movie gift card and it’s the Halloween season, I figured that might make a fun post for today.
FINDING MOVIE LOCATIONS
The first place I turned to was Dark Destinations on TheCabinet.com. They break down haunted places and, well, dark destinations by category, including one for movie locations. (For those who may be interested, they also have one for literary locations.)
If you want to explore the places where scenes were shot for movies like Amityville Horror, Blair Witch, Burnt Offerings, Cloverfield, Ghostbusters, Goonies, The Lost Boys, The Shining, and the currently very popular Twilight series (just to name a few), this source will tell you where to find them. It even lists locations overseas for one movie in particular I’m a fan of –Shaun of the Dead!
Here’s some of the locations that I found most interesting that were both featured in scary and/or ghost movies and have a history of hauntings in real life:
- The Brooklyn Bridge – I’m sure the bridge has been in lots more movies than just Ghostbusters and Cloverfield. Also, even though a lot of deaths have occurred on it, the only ghost stories involve areas around the bridge but not directly on it. However, I was interested to read that the bridge played a role in an alien abduction case dubbed “the Brooklyn Bridge Encounter.” That’s kind of creepy.
- Dunsmuir Hellman Historic Estate – I’m not sure this one truly has a haunted history to go with it, but it has impressive movie credentials. It appeared in films like Burnt Offerings, the Phantasm series, and So I Married an Axe Murderer.
- The Flavel House Museum – This one I knew about from when I wrote about Hood to Coast Haunt Jaunts, but I figured it was worth a mention again. It boasts both accounts of paranormal activity and was in Goonies.
- The Stanley Hotel – Okay, I’d have to be an idiot not to know that this place has ghosts and was featured in the ABC remake of The Shining. Still, there may be some newbie Haunt Jaunters reading who don’t know so…now you do! (And this one qualifies for a Haunt Jaunts trifecta: paranormal activity, movie location, and literary location.)
- The Viewpoint Inn – If you’re a fan of the Twilight series and saw the first movie, the Viewpoint Inn was the scene of the prom. But it also has reports of paranormal activity. (Oh, and even though the Twilight series is based in Washington, this inn is in Oregon.)
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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You know, you got me wondering. The most fascinating place I’ve ever seen a scary movie done was “The Changeling.” Now, I’m wondering…that house must exist…
Those mansions and grand hotels make for a great place to film a horror flick. I toured some of the mansions in Newport RI and they are beautiful and some even come with ghosts. Mike and I along with some other friends still plan to stay at the Stanley Hotel someday.
The Changeling….interesting. I wonder if it does! You might have me doing some more digging… (Unless you find out first. Then clue me in will ya?)
Ooooo! I really want to head up to the NE, Julie. I’ve been to New York and New Jersey, but never higher than that. I’d love to see some of those old mansions. And you know, I grew up in Colorado and have seen the Stanley Hotel but never been in it. I remember when I went through my Stephen King phase hard starting at about 12. I think I was 13 or 14 and had just read the Shining (and seen the movie). I was fascinated by SK and amazed he’d based a spooky story in Colorado on a real place. But I was SOOOOOOO disappointed when I saw the Stanely Hotel for the first time back then and it didn’t look like the one in the original movie! Still, it creeped me out thinking ghosts were there and part of me wanted to go check it out…but at that time we had no money for that kind of hotel. Now that I’m older, I’d love to pop for a night or two there. It’s on my list of Spooky Stays to stay at one day too!