Nightmare Houses

## History

There are many cases of haunted houses in the world, ranging from the odd to the genuinely bizarre. Going beyond being lairs of ghosts and other supernatural sorts, what of those houses that seem to be phantoms in and of themselves? There have long been tales of whole houses looking to dissipate from view, to blink into nothingness, often to reappear just as mysteriously.

One instance of a pervasive tale of a phantom house occurred in the early 20th century in Versailles, France. There is also the tale of a phantom house that seemed to randomly warp about in the region of Suffolk, England. Sightings of this red brick structure were documented by several persons in 1860, 1912, 1926, 1934, and even as recently as 2007. On most occasions, this stunningly beautiful red brick manor would linger long enough for several persons to note it had not been there prior and would have disappeared when they returned with others, leaving only weeds and an empty lot in its wake.

Moving over to the United States, there have been reports of the same stone structure appearing upon and near the many different battlefields of the American Civil War. Sometimes this structure's sudden disappearance even left behind fences and a well that had not been there prior. Also in the United States is the spectral house of Cuba Road, in Lake Zurich Illinois. The road in question meanders through the affluent towns of Lake Zurich and Barrington, and is already imbued with all manner of tales of the strange with the many reports of inexplicable, and eerie lights reported from the nearby White Cemetery, as well as numerous ghost sightings. This ghost house lies is so expansive that it is believed to have been an old asylum. The estate sits right by the aforementioned White Cemetery, which dates to at least the 1820s and known for numerous hauntings and bizarreness, including phantom vehicles, dancing orbs of light, and shadowy wraiths. It is said that there is also a modest shack that occasionally will appear in the woods right next to the cemetery when this house appears. This shack is inhabited by an elderly woman who is sometimes reported as holding a lantern.

What are these vanishing houses? Have these structures somehow been etched into the location through some mysterious means, as if an image burned upon film? Can a place have the memory of a house pervading it? Or are these instances of time slips, in which scenes from different eras become visible for brief stretches? Could it even be that other realities are bleeding over into our own, with these houses being denizens of another dimension temporarily crossing over into our own reality through some thin spot in the veil that separates us? Perhaps it is just mistakes and memory glitches? These are questions for which we have no real answers until Mystery Incorporated gets around to investigating these specific cases.

However, a similar, though also profoundly different phenomena exist among the seven Nightmare Houses. These manors are all structures that share their real estate with the real world and the Dreaming. Believed to be built by the same unknown architect, these powerful occult relics are capable of changing their structure to suit the needs of their occupants or torment those who trespass within. Most of these manors choose a caretaker or caretakers and house them for years, decades, or even centuries, though what role these caretakers fulfill is unknown as the houses seem to be sentient and quite capable of caring for themselves. Interestingly, many of these caretakers seem to become curators of tales or storytellers themselves.

## The Nightmares Houses

### 1. House of Secrets

(also known as the "House of Victims")

* Caretaker: Abel
* Residents: Emily Nashton, Scandal Savage, Kaye Ou, Thomas Blake, Lori Zechlin, Izzy Bowin, Jeanette Halmi

The House of Secrets is an old dilapidated mansion located on the site of a cemetery. Its weather remains consistent with an area of rural Vermont leading many to believe that is where it was originally constructed. It is always appears across the road from a similar edifice commonly referred to as the House of Mystery or the House of Murderers (see below). The House of Secrets is the home of Abel, the Biblical "First Victim" and a master storyteller. It is not known how long Abel has occupied the building, but considering that he is immortal, it is fair to assume that Abel has resided in the house for many years.

The architecture is indeterminate and actually changes periodically. The same holds true for the inside of the house: the rooms constantly shift about. The House of Secrets is a focal location at the crossroads into the Dreaming. Recently, Abel has leased much of the residence to the Secret Six in exchange for "tales of their adventures."

### 2. House of Mystery

(also known as the "House of Murderers" and the "House of Weirdness")

* Caretaker: Cain
* Residents: Mr. Mxyzptlk, Bat-Mite, Philly

The House of Mystery is usually connected to the House of Secrets by a graveyard. It exists simultaneously in reality and in The Dreaming. Very little is known about the House of Mystery in general. The architecture is indeterminate and changes periodically, much like the House of Secrets.

Cain is not the only person to have resided within the House; in addition to its cosmically powered boarders, including Mister Mxyzptlk, Bat-Mite, and Philly, it is rumored that the place is a safe haven for any and all "vorpal muses". Though the House of Mystery possesses sentience, along with mystic powers, it seems to also have multiple personalities: three to be exact. As the House of Mystery, the house is creepy but harmless. As the House of Murderers, the house is dastardly and evil. As the House of Weirdness, the house is playful, silly, though still dangerous to some (especially those deserving a good comeuppance). The House can also possess people and on at least one occasion, it merged with the House of Secrets.

The House may also be connected to many other "houses of mystery" (note the lower-case spelling), as many people who think they have entered the House of Mystery only come to find out they had wandered into a more common house of mystery and were unable to find the right sequence of passageways to traverse to the real House of Mystery.

The House of Mystery also hosts the team of detectives called the Croatoan Society, which counts both Detective Chimp and Ralph Dibny as members. Once every three months, the House of Mystery arrives at a secret location to allow the Croatoan Society to conduct their meeting. Cain claims he is honor-bound to fulfill the role of the gracious host during these meetings due to some potent pact.

### 3. Sinister House

* Caretaker: Elvira
* Residents: Fig Keele, Ann Preston, Harry Bailey, Rina, Cress, Eduard St. Germain, the Coachman

Interestingly this house houses a bar and grill on the ground floor. It "employs" many different persons, holding them captive to run the bar and urge the patrons to dedicate a story to the house on a nightly basis.

### 4. Ghost Castle

* Caretaker: Lucien
* Residents: Dream of the Endless, Matthew the Raven, Rover

Home of the Lord of the Dreaming. Usually the largest of the Nightmare Houses. It is guarded by a massive gryphon and contains an impossibly large library as well as Dream's magical gallery. It rarely moves, remaining in a set location in Eastern Europe and the central focal point of the Dreaming.

### 5. Wheelhouse

(also known as the "Doorway to Nightmare")

* Caretaker: Nimue Inwudu
* Residents: John Constantine, Jason Blood, Alba Garcia, Alec Holland, Abby Holland, Tefé Holland, Boston Brand

The Wheelhouse is the main base of Dark Justice. It is currently "haunted" by Boston Brand and his crypt is located therein. It is the only Nightmare house that exists simultaneously in three locations Slaughter Swamp (Gotham City, NJ), Nanda Parbat, and Khandaq. It is also the only Nightmare House that isn't always found in the Dreaming. Where it should be in the Dreaming is an empty fenced-off lot with a sign that reads "Be Back Soon. -John"

### 6. House of Whispers

(also known as the "House of Forbidden Love")

* Caretaker: Erzulie Fréda Dahomey
* Residents: Unknown

Welcome to the House of Dahomey, the houseboat of Erzulie Fréda, which floats upon the River of Dreams in the Dreaming and also upon the waters of Earth or other dimensions. Many souls of Voodoo followers are drawn to the House of Dahomey, hearing whispers that beckon them to it in both the Dreaming and in the real world, should they happen to be in the proximity of its current location.

Those who enter the House will find a party is in full swing, filled with all kinds of fabulous and fierce folk, while fish fry and music blasts. Visitors to the House often beseech the flirtatious and tragic goddess to grant them their hearts’ desires or counsel them on their futures and fortunes.

### 7. Shadowpact Sanctuary

(formerly known as "Wintersgate Manor")

* Caretaker: Baron Winters
* Residents: Bobo T. Chimpanzee, Rex, Eve Eden, June Moone, Danielle Cassidy

Once located in Washington, DC, Baron Winters leased the home out to the United States government in the aftermath of the Manhattaning, which the house survived due to its mystical nature. It is currently a DEO safehouse, having relocated to a classified location near National City and serving as headquarters to the CBI (Covert Bureau of Investigations) specialized task force known as Shadowpact.

## Trivia and Notes

### Trivia

* The Nightmare Houses iare siblings of a sort. They have their sentience and disrupting their residents would disrupt the homes themselves. If residents of one house harassed residents of another, the house would not tolerate continued dwelling.

### Notes

* The curators being storytellers is a nod to various horror anthology series *House of Secrets*, *House of Mystery*, *Sinister House of Secret Love*, *Tales of Ghost Castle* and *House of Whispers*.
* House of Secrets being the base of the Secret Six is a nod to *Secret Six Vol. 2*. It's not specified the team was housed in the same House as the one from the anthologies, but it's implied there are more than one House of Secrets.
* In the comics Elvira took over the House of Mystery. Its residents were also connected to the House of Mystery.

## Links and References

1. ↑ Dinkley Files: Nightmare Houses
2. ↑ VOX Box: Glory to Gemworld 3