D100 Haunted House Effects

Castle Gormenghast by Ian Miller

So, now that I have put together a list of Mansion Rooms to pull from, I needed some creepy stuff to fill the rooms with. At first one might consider filling it with ghosts and monsters and traps, but I find that this quickly just makes a Haunted Mansion into an above ground dungeon. Sometimes the room is empty of any serious or real threat but it still presents a space to create ambiance, hint at nature of the house, or just plain unnerve folks. Not everything here is necessarily appropriate for all rooms, but you can of course always cherry pick or simply reroll. I suggest not rolling for EVERY room, because that quickly becomes tiresome. A few of the Events have a d4 or a d6 with them and have sub-categories in the descriptions below the table. As a haunting intensifies or as the players confront the spirits of the Haunted House, some rooms may have multiple Events occurring simultaneously. When using this table, keep The Amityville Horror and Hell House in mind. Or Scooby Doo if you want to lighten the tone.

Roll	Event
1	Bleeding Walls
2	Rain of Stones
3	Faces Through Walls
4	Staring Paintings
5	Possessed Mirror
6	Staring China Dolls
7	Slamming Doors
8	Stairs to Chutes
9	Voices from Basement
10	Voices from Attic
11	Inexplicable Chanting
12	Inexplicable Singing
13	Inexplicable Rhyming
14	Flying Furniture
15	Shadow people
16	Sounds of Footsteps
17	Flaring Candles
18	Sudden Darkness
19	Cold Spots
20	Inexplicable Scratching
21	Messages Written In: d6
22	Decaying Room
23	Flashback Room
24	Windows shattering
25	Mirrors shattering
26	Inexplicable children’s laughter
27	Single Person Hallucinations
28	Multiple Person Hallucinations
29	Sound of scratching quill/pen
30	Reversed Grandfather clocks
31	Windows opening and shutting
32	Horror Feast
33	“Meat Moss”
34	Wet, Meaty Slapping
35	Rats in the Walls
36	Blood Flood
37	Ominous Music Box
38	Flying Books
39	Possessed Puppet
40	Upside Down Room
41	Ominous Bird calls: d4
42	Quicksand Floor
43	Living Taxidermy
44	Eyeless Portraits
45	Gunther von Hagens Sculptures
46	Grasping Arms from Walls
47	Constricting Furniture
48	Hungry Piano
49	Location Flashbacks
50	Infinite Hallway
51	Sudden Thunderstorm
52	Bathtub full of: d6
53	Book of the Dead
54	Knocking
55	Rapid Aging Photographs
56	Repeated Room
57	Dozens of Identical Doors
58	Statues/Paintings Crying: d4
59	Walls Closing In
60	Bird Flying Through Window
61	Bats from fireplace
62	Flaring Fireplace
63	Food suddenly rots/goes stale
64	Water turns into: d4
65	Rapidly spreading stains
66	Swarm of: d6
67	Moving/Hostile Armor
68	Ectoplasm Coating
69	Sobbing/Weeping Sounds
70	Caterwauling
71	Ouija Board
72	Severe Nightmares
73	Odor of: d4
74	Levitation
75	Inverted Holy Symbols
76	All animals go silent
77	Inexplicable itching
78	Goose pimples/hair stand on end
79	Tinkling of bells
80	All the clocks ring at once
81	Phonograph plays itself
82	Reflected Room
83	Involuntary Dancing
84	“Organ” Room
85	Melting Room
86	Burning Room
87	Charred Room
88	Cracking Room
89	Windows into the Other
90	Shifting Statutes/Paintings
91	Endless Countdown Clock
92	Automatic Writing
93	Writhing Under Skin
94	Spider/Insect Vomit
95	Breathing on Neck
96	Stone Tape Phenomena
97	Curtains/Rocking Chairs Shift
98	Ectoplasmic Mist
99	St. Elmo’s Fire
100	Miniature House Replica

The Addams Family Mansion

1. Bleeding Walls- Because it is classic! Bloods just oozing down the wall like the aftermath of 70's chainsaw killer movie.
2. Rain of Stones- Stones manifest and crash around the room. Each character is targeted by these rocks every round they remain in the room for 2d6 rounds. Save vs. Dex each round or take 1 damage.
3. Faces Through Walls- Faces pressed through the wall, moaning silently and writhing. This crap scared the hell out of me in The Haunting.
4. Staring Paintings- Another old classic, very Scooby Doo. Eyes that follow folks through the room, subtle yet disturbing.
5. Possessed Mirror- Your reflection isn't there. It isn't repeating your actions. Its the back of your head. It is rapidly aging. There is a lot to do with this one.
6. Staring China Dolls- Dolls are freaky, okay? Dolls with china faces and deep black eyes are worse. This is the step above staring paintings. Especially if the doll's head moves ever so slightly.
7. Slamming Doors- A pretty common psychokinetic haunting phenomena, especially when it is the entry door. May or may not resist being opened again.
8. Stairs to Chutes- Another very Scooby Doo carnival haunted house sort effect. Stairs turning into a slick ramp sending climbers back to the floor or perhaps into a trap door.
9. Voices from Basement- Y'know what is really creepy? Muttering voices coming from below your feet.
10. Voices from Attic- Y'know what is creepier? Muttering voices above you.
11. Inexplicable Chanting- Latin is a classic for this one, but really I personally find German more intimidating.
12. Inexplicable Singing- Could be rhythmic moaning or humming or actual lyrics.
13. Inexplicable Rhyming- Very Freddy Kruger here, even creepier when the voices are that of children.
14. Flying Furniture- Poltergeists like to toss stuff, usually something light. But if the situation has gone downhill enough, expect some tossed wing-back chairs and armoires. 
15. Shadow People- Not quite full manifestation ghosts, these are shadows seemingly belonging to no one slithering across the walls and floors. More likely to be something caught at the edge of your vision. 
16. Sounds of Footsteps- Self explanatory, might sounds like it is happening in an adjacent room or right next to you. 
17. Flaring Candles- Candle flames suddenly intensify into momentary jets of fire, may melt entire candle away or singe anyone holding them.
18. Sudden Darkness- All light sources suddenly fail. Torches and candles sputter, magic is dispelled, electric bulbs burst. 
19. Cold Spots- A sign that a spirit might be gathering energy for a larger or more dramatic manifestation.
20. Inexplicable Scratching- Scraping, scratching noises, possibly sudden rakes down the walls or floor.
21. Messages Written In: d6
1. Blood
2. Slime/Ectoplasm
3. Scratches on Walls
4. Scratches in Flesh
5. Spider webs
6. Fire
22. Decaying Room- An otherwise ordinary space suddenly falling to rot and time at high speed.
23. Flashback Room- An old, decayed space that gives the party a momentary glance of its brilliant heyday.
24. Windows shattering- Blowing outward from some kind of internal pressure, blowing inward from thrashing branches or forces unknown.
25. Mirrors shattering- Every reflective surface shatters.
26. Inexplicable children’s laughter- Pretty obvious this one. A child's laughter is a wonderful thing, unless it is heard in the dark in a place where no child should be.
27. Single Person Hallucinations- A single member of the party experiences another manifestation off of this list, but no one else sees it. 
28. Multiple Person Hallucinations- Everyone BUT a single party member experiences another manifestation off of this list.
29. Sound of scratching quill/pen- Could also be the sound of a typewriter, more subtle and purposeful sounding that mere scraping on the walls.
30. Reversed Grandfather clocks- Big brass and oak clocks running in reverse.
31. Windows opening and shutting- Could be the shutters pounding against the house or the literal windows slamming open and closed repeatedly.
32. Horror Feast- This space is decked out in an opulent feast. Anyone attempting to eat or drink anything instead gets a mouth full of spiders then the whole feast turns into rotted viscera and insects.
33. “Meat Moss”- Pulsing veins and unnatural meat writhe across the room. 
34. Wet, Meaty Slapping- A noise from the next room, sounds someone slamming a carcass against the floor.
35. Rats in the Walls-Directly Lovecraft, the sounds of dozens and dozens of scampering rats filling the walls, always heading DOWN. 
36. Blood Flood- This. 
37. Ominous Music Box- The haunting tinkling noise of a music box playing. There may or may not actualy be a music box in the room.
38. Flying Books- Instead of merely being thrown, these books are actively flapping and flying about and in some cases dive bombing trespassers.
39. Possessed Puppet- Because what is creepier than a doll whose eyes follow you around the room? One that actually follows you around the room. It might shift around like a Weeping Angel or it might actually chase after you. Give it a dagger and you've got Chuckie.
40. Upside Down Room- Classic carnival style haunted house room. Players enter and the ceiling and floor are switched, they'll have to navigate across a ceiling and might need to do some climbing to get to another door.
41. Ominous Bird calls- Just some classic sound effects, and if you don't find the call of a whippoorwill at dusk haunting, you haven't rad enough Lovecraft.
1. Raven
2. Owl
3. Whippoorwill
4. Vulture 
42. Quicksand Floor- A normal looking floor suddenly begins to suck people under. Maybe a Dex save to avoid it by jumping onto some furniture. If you are on the second story or above, you'll be falling into the room below. If you are on the ground floor you might fall into the basement, or be consumed by the earth and begin suffocating.
43. Living Taxidermy- The moose head on the wall thrashes its antlers, the stuffed minks go for the jugular, the posed bear goes for the kill. They bleed stuffing and make absolutely no noise.
44. Eyeless Portraits- None of the portraits have eyes. Might be just covered up flesh, or bloody holes.
45. Gunther von Hagens Sculptures- Plasticized bodies, not for the faint of heart.
46. Grasping Arms from Walls: Reaching arms from the wall attempt to claw and constrict players. Think the "helping hands" only even less helpful. 
47. Constricting Furniture- Same idea as above, only when you take a seat on the winged back chair, it suddenly straps you in tight, ready for whatever nasty might have plans for you.
48. Hungry Piano- If you played Super Mario 64 as a kid, you know what I'm talking about.
49. Location Flashbacks- This room gives the party a momentary view of something that occurred here before the location became cursed/haunted.
50. Infinite Hallway/Stairway- This space is significantly larger than it should be. Both walls have an endless series of doors. Opening any door but the one the party came through rolls on this table. Going back through the entrance put them in another room entirely. 
51. Sudden Thunderstorm- A good mood setter, crash of thunder, flash of lighting, sudden beating rain.
52. Bathtub full of- Might not work of all rooms, but good for the squick factor.
1. Filthy Water
2. Blood
3. Slime
4. Insects
5. Viscera 
6. Pus 
53. Book of the Dead- A book is laid out on a table or a lectern in this room. It describes the party's journey up until this point. It describes how the party is going to die in the next room.
54. Knocking- Seance style knocking, throbs coming from the walls or under a table or from the door to the next room. Might be knocking in code.
55. Rapid Aging Photographs/Portraits- Pictures of some sort in this room rapidly age until the subject becomes a rotting corpse.
56. Repeated Room- This room is the exact room that the part was just in. They might see themselves exiting from across the room.
57. Dozens of Identical Doors- This space is full of doors that all lead to the same place.
58. Statues/Paintings Crying: 
1. Tears
2. Blood
3. Glass
4. Snakes
59. Walls Closing In- 50% chance it is illusionary, 50% chance the party actually only has a few minutes to flee or they get crushed. If it is one the first time, it is the other the next.
60. Bird Flying Through Window- A good cause of confusion, a bird crashes through a window pane, squawks and flies about then drops dead.
61. Bats from fireplace- As soon as the fireplace in investigated in any way, a swarm of bats flood into the room.
62. Flaring Fireplace- A cold fireplace suddenly blazes to life, might cause anyone close by some fire damage.
63. Food suddenly rots/goes stale- All of the party's rations suddenly age/rot into dust and mold.
64. Water turns into: Party's water supply suddenly transmogrifies. Might chance back in the next room.
1. Blood
2. Spiders
3. Slime 
4. Ice
65. Rapidly spreading stains- Silent Hill type transitions. 
66. Swarm of:
1. Rats
2. Bats
3. Spiders
4. Roaches
5. Flies
6. Crawling Hands
67. Moving/Hostile Armor- Very Scooby Doo here again, unoccupied armor comes to life. Might attack like a trap, just a single swing of an ax. Might pursue players.
68. Ectoplasm Coating- This room has an unidentifiable slime coating one of the surface, a ghost might have been interacting with something here recently.
69. Sobbing/Weeping Sounds- Just some classic mood setting noises.
70. Caterwauling- More noises, terrible animal shrieking 
71. Ouija Board- You know how Ouija boards work, this one is just...aggressive. 
72. Severe Nightmares- Anyone sleeping in this space will experience extreme nightmares and get no benefits of rest, otherwise unremarkable. 
73. Odor of: 
1. Rust
2. Blood
3. Feces
4. Rot
74. Levitation- A player at random is suddenly levitated from an unknown force. Might stick them on the ceiling, float them for a moment then drop them, or violently toss them against a wall.
75. Inverted Holy Symbols- Holy symbols in this room are inverted into something profane and may not function correctly.
76.  All animals go silent- Any animal noises cease in this room, no crickets, no meowing cats, even familiars and animal companions are silent and anxious.
77.  Inexplicable itching- Itching all over like fire ants across your body. Save vs. Con or Poison or whatever or be unable to do anything but scratch furiously. After three rounds, take a point of damage for each round still scratching.
78. Goose pimples/hair stand on end- Vague unease in this room, no obvious reason why.
79. Tinkling of bells
80. All the clocks ring at once
81. Phonograph plays itself- Might have a message for the party, if you've read Hell House by Richard Matheson, you know exactly what to do.
82. Reflected Room- This room in the same as a previous room the party has been in, but everything is inverted.
83. Involuntary Dancing- Party must save vs. Charisma or magic or something, or be overwhelmed with the urge to dance to ethereal music. They can save again on the next round, then the next hour, then the next day. Failing all three will result in them dancing until physically removed or they drop from hunger/thirst. 
84. “Organ” Room- The majority of this room is taken up by a giant pulsing organ, such as a stomach or a heart.
85. Melting Room- This room is in the middle of melting like a Salvador Dali painting.
86. Burning Room- THIS ROOM IS ON FIRE!
87. Charred Room- This room was on fire. 50% of being recent and still warm to the touch, otherwise it has gone cold.
88. Cracking Room- Cracks are rapidly spreading through this room. It might cave in or something might try to reach from between the cracks.
89. Windows into the Other- The windows in this room don't look out upon the outside, rather it shows somewhere else entirely.
90. Shifting Statutes/Paintings- The statues and paintings in this room move and change when not being actively looked at.
91. Endless Countdown Clock- A huge grandfather clock in this room is forever approaching midnight. This room eternally experiences a single 11:59 PM.
92. Automatic Writing- There is a quill and a pad of paper in this room. Anyone who picks up the quill  will find their arm out of their control as they begins to furiously write some message from the spirits. 50% of there being ink, 50% chance the quill stabs the player's other hand, dealing 1 point of damage then writing in their blood.
93. Writhing Under Skin- A character at random suddenly feels a writing under their skin. Save vs. Con or Poison or something or the writhing intensifies dealing 1d6 damage. If something isn't done (extraction, holy symbol, magical healing) one minute later the character skin sunders as maggots and flies escape from their body, dealing 1 Con damage.
94. Spider/Insect Vomit- If anyone consumes anything in this room, they must Save vs. Con or vomit a swarm of spiders or beetles.
95. Breathing on Neck- A character at random feels breathing on their neck, hot and wet.
96. Stone Tape Phenomena- Not quite a ghost, the events that happened in this room so long ago left such a great and terrible impression that they are recorded into the very room itself. The event repeats over and over again until the room is somehow cleansed. 
97. Curtains/Rocking Chairs Shift- Just a little movement, enough to put folks on edge.
98. Ectoplasmic Mist- This space is filled with a dense, cold, and cloying mist. It significantly reduced all senses and snuffs out all but the most well protected light source. 
99. St. Elmo’s Fire- This space is so dense with energy that it seeks ways to ground itself. Anything pointed in this room glows with blue light and lets of small static discharges. Anything supernatural in this room counts as having 2 additional HD as they have more energy to manifest/feed off of.
100. Miniature House Replica- On a table in the middle of this room is a to scale replica of the house. Upon closer inspection, one can look through the windows and see the movements of all within. Anything done to the replica effects the house at large, but roll three on any wandering monster tables when the replica is damaged as the house attempts to protect itself. It cannot be moved from this room without negating its supernatural powers.

The Amityville Horror House