DEPARTMENTS

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

That Old House Down the Lane - D30 Spooky Houses

Every town has one, sometimes more than one; that house at the end of the lane, at the top of the hill, back in the woods, or sometimes right next door. Even the most mundane of them get our imaginations racing. Rumors fly around the school yards and playgrounds, maybe even whispered from the corners of our own parent's mouth.

"Did you hear the story..."

"Don't go into that old house or else..."

"I heard that..."

These same sorts of places can easily be inserted into any game setting to add a bit of spice and local color or even as an entire adventure unto themselves. They don't all have to be houses either, but there is something incredibly haunting about the humble home becoming an object of fear, suspicion, horror, or terror. Below are thirty things that might be wrong with that old house down the way. 
  1. Strange bestial sounds are heard emanating from the house in the wee hours of the night.
  2. A suspicious man visits the house occasionally, carrying large, awkward sacks into the house.
  3. The house has a collection of graves in the backyard.
  4. Everyone knows the house is lived in, but nobody sees who lives there.
  5. Every night the same haunting music plays loudly from inside the house.
  6. Several unusually large dogs roam freely over the property, but never leave the grounds.
  7. Children's toys litter the yard but there has never been any sign of a child in the house.
  8. Strange lights move about the inside (pulsing, odd color, moving in an unnatural way, etc.)
  9. The mailbox reads "Doctor" but doctor of what?
  10. The topiary in the yard seem to change position, follow you with their heads, and make low, quiet animal noises.
  11. Random screams come from the house but nobody else seems to hear or care.
  12. The house receives regular visits from important looking people in expensive vehicles.
  13. New statues appear on the house's grounds without delivery or any other explanation.
  14. The house is home to an old man who dresses as a priest and has a wild expression and broken and disheveled appearance. 
  15. The house is decorated with strange charms and totems.
  16. The house bears a subtle resemblance to a face, skull, or animal visage.
  17. The house seems to "breathe".
  18. Chittering sounds can be heard from inside the house if you get close.
  19. At certain times of the year ritual chanting, prayers, or other strange recitations can be heard from within the home.
  20. The yard is marked by odd footprints or other tracks leading in and out of the house.
  21. Ghostly figures can be seen in the windows of the house.
  22. Though the house is abandoned, the flag on the mailbox is up every morning.
  23. Phantasmal scenes can be glimpsed through the slats in the fence as you walk by but not from any other angle or when you stand still to get a good look.
  24. The grounds seem infested by countless numbers of a type of animal - cats, crows, rats, worms, etc..
  25. The family living there is always dressed in funeral attire.
  26. An electrical hum and static charge seems to constantly surround the house.
  27. Children are seen playing in the yard, going to school, and even interacting in the neighborhood, but no parents are ever seen.
  28. A kindly woman constantly comes from the house to borrow household items but nobody ever seems home should you visit.
  29. The trees in the yard, though appearing long dead, seem to move against the wind and track the movement of those that pass nearby.
  30. Roll twice.

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