How to Build a Haunted House : The History of a Cultural Obsession

Do you have what it takes to cross the threshold?

Crumbling turrets, crenelated walls, creaking floorboards. We all know a haunted house when we see - or feel - one. That creeping sense of wrongness. An icy shiver stealing down the spine.

But why do certain structures set this super-sensory alarm bell jangling, while others leave us unmoved? Can a house be purpose-built to be haunted? And does a building need a bloody legacy to set the skin tingling?

Tiptoe through the haunted gallery at Ha