Ghost-Haunted House
The haunted manor house is a classic adventure locale. Every town and city—and many villages—has such a locale: an old, ill-favoured house lurking amid the myths, rumours and legends of the locality.
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Outside the Lair
A riot of weeds, thick bushes and several sickly trees grow closely about the haunted house.
A scattering of rotten, smashed furniture—perhaps thrown from the house—lies on the ground.
No vegetation grows within 15-foot of the house. The twisted trunks of several fallen trees lie stark upon the bare ground.
Deep shadows gather closely about the haunted house on all but the sunniest days.
What’s Going On?
A single crow perches on the house’s roof; at the sight of the characters, it flies away, cawing loudly.
The loud sound of something heavy being dragged across the floor comes from an upstairs room.
The wind moans through the house’s eves, giving the impression the building is sighing.
At the characters’ approach, the nearest door flies open and then slams shut.
Major Lair Features
Some of the house’s once stout floorboards are rotten and prone to collapse. Characters standing on such a floorboard may lacerate an ankle.
The supports of the main stair’s bannister are weak and collapse if leant on.
One part of the house caught fire long ago; here, the bricks and timbers are blackened and scorched. Such areas are likely unsafe and prone to collapse.
Minor poltergeist activity—small moving objects and so on—beset the characters wherever they go in the house.
Minor Lair Features
Cobwebs, covered in dust and pregnant with many tiny spiders, festoon the ceilings.
The floorboards creak throughout the house, making sneaking about harder than usual.
Dust—blown by the wind—sifts down from the attic in an occasional grey rain. Paranoid characters may think the house is breathing.
White sheets cover some of the house’s larger pieces of furniture, creating easy hiding places. When a breeze sighs through the house, they flutter and move throwing dust into the air.
Ghost’s Appearance
This faint spectral outline of swirling dust is vaguely man-shaped. As it moves, it picks up wind-blown leaves, scraps of paper and the like.
The sound of incessant sobbing presages the arrival of this child-sized ghost who drags its severed head along the ground behind it.
Clad in clothes of old cut, this translucent man has a huge bloody hole in his chest and is missing both eyes.
Drawn, haggard and wearing the clothes of a servant, tears streak this spectral woman’s cheeks.
Treasure
A gold locket, still attached to a fine chain, hangs from a nail driven into the back of a door.
A small leather-bound book, “Vilimzair Aralivar: How to Be More Like Him” lies forgotten on the floor. Examinations reveal many notes in the margins.
A crack in one wall reveals a secret compartment filled with old gold and silver coins minted in a far-off land.
Caught on a torch sconce, this beautiful white and dusty lace shawl flutters in the gloom and—at first glance—seems to be alive.
Trinkets & Trash
A bent and tarnished silver spoon lies amid the dust. A faintly engraved coat of arms decorates the handle.
With a big slash across the canvas and extensive water damage, this once fine, but now ruined, portrait hangs at a crazy angle on the wall.
Amid a pool of dried blood, a splintered wooden stake and a small mallet lie on the floor.
A slashed and torn blood-stained pillow lies amid a swath of dirty feathers.
Credit
This is a short system-neutral extract from Monstrous Lair #35: Ghost-Haunted House by Robert Manson.
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