The Haunted Dollhouse

in bizarre, more than meets the eye

This post isn’t funny, and I apologize for that, but it’s not sad either, so I think we’re even.

If you don’t like Halloween, miniatures, or horror books you should just skip this post.  Seriously.

If you’re a long-term reader you already know that I’ve been slowly building a haunted dollhouse for the last eleven years.

It’s filled with references to horror/fantasy books and movies that made me the possibly-twisted person I am today, and every year around Halloween I give an update showing the latest pictures.  This year, however, I’ve been fighting off a bit of depression (which is exactly why I love to make tiny bottles of bezoars or miniature Victorian vampire killing kits, so I can escape from reality when I need to) so I haven’t been up to writing anything about it yet.  Luckily, I didn’t have to, because other sweet people did it for me.

Click here to check out the slideshow on Kirtsy featuring all of my very latest dollhouse pics.

And then click here to see even more on HGTV.

Happy Halloween, y’all.

PS.  I have allusions to hundreds of books and movies in the dollhouse, but I always worry that I’m missing some.  Leave me a comment with the horror/fantasy books that made your mind change in fabulous ways and I’ll check them out.

523 thoughts on “The Haunted Dollhouse”

Read comments below or add one.

  5. Don’t have da sads, Bloggess lady! We love you, Bloggess lady!

    I offer you flesh face meat skull to admire, Bloggess lady? It cheer you up? Then you have good dreams about prosciutto faces? Bloggess lady?

    http://www.badmamagenny.com/2011/10/27/boo-mama-genny-the-flesh-face-meat-skull-or-well-hell-that-pretty-much-says-it-all/#axzz1bwGd1syH

    Yay, I fixed everything! And also, have developed a pervasive speech impediment named after you!

    You are really moving up in the world. Bloggess Lady.

    Bad Mama Genny

  6. Wow. This is so incredible. I can’t even imagine how much work you’ve put into this!

  7. Have you read anything by Poppy Z. Brite? Or Caitlín R. Kiernan? Their horror stories are pretty good. 🙂

    I love your doll house, Jenny. I wish I had the dedication to do something like this!

  8. Your dollhouse makes me ridiculously happy. Furiously happy, even. In fact, I am ridiculously and furiously jealous and if I knew where you lived, I would break into your house and steal it. Beyonce is safe, but I’d lock that dollhouse up if I were you. Just kidding. Maybe.

    Happy Halloween!!

  12. Dear Jenny,

    BEETLEJUICE! BEETLEJUICE! BEETLEJUICE!

    I know it doesn’t fit exactly but I had the urge to say that as soon as I saw that house.

    -Tony

  13. That is A MAZ ING.

    Is there a beating heart under the floor boards?

    (Holy crap. I can’t believe I forgot that one. Adding it to my MUST-ADD list now. ~Jenny)

  14. Three words: Blair. Witch. Project.

    At 25, I slept with the light on for WEEKS because that movie scared me so damn bad. The fact that none of those actors have done movies since just confirms my theory that the fucking thing was real.

    GORGEOUS doll house, btw! I’d love to do something like that sometime. But that would mean I’d have to get off the internetz long enough to do that. And we all know THAT isn’t gonna happen.

  16. first of all, i love this.
    my favorite creepy movies are touch of evil and les diaboliques.
    because charlton heston playing a mexican and saying this like dios mio is the best.
    and the other one is in french and reading subtitles while creepy stuff happens is double scary because you are caught off guard when you are reading and aren’t watching the screen too closely.
    so you should find a mini charlton heston figure and put him inexplicably in there with a spanish thought bubble. duh.

  17. Hi Jenny!
    I was wondering, are there any Coraline references in your dollhouse? I’m sure there must be, as you and Mr. Gaiman are such buds.

    PS, I had a dream with you in it last night. You were wearing a confidence wig, that’s how I knew it was you. You had taken over a commuter train on its way into a city by virtue of your awesome superpower (you could shout so hard you reduced men into fine powder, but only men). I was really glad that you had, since the train was moving fast, so it meant I was going to make my appointment.

    I am not even making this up, I really did have this dream. I like to think it was my subconscious reaching out and giving you a fist-bump.

  18. I reject this on the grounds the you are funny and people should not be allowed to be funny and talented. Choose one. Stop hogging all the talent. 🙂

  19. How the hell did I never see this before? That’s a kick ass haunted dollhouse! Thanks for sharing.

  20. It’s just a short story, but The Yellow Wallpaper terrified the **** out of me! Seriously – the scariest thing I’ve ever read.

  21. The Death Gate Cycle series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Definitely heavier into fantasy than horror but there’s some pretty creepy stuff that happens, none the less! I love them dearly.

  22. Wow – you’re super talented. And creepy. Love it.

    After seeing your amazing dollhouse I’m totally giving up on the Haunted Toilet I’ve been working on…

  23. I agree with StephanieC… Insomnia is one of my favorites!
    No need to defend Mr. King, the man knows what he’s doing

  25. Happy Halloween! Hope your weekend goes well and you are feeling better. Amazing Doll house!
    Phantasm (movie)- stainless steel flying sphere in a mortuary still haunts me to this day…every time I a see a stain steel flying sphere that is…joy.

  26. not sure if you have any references to “event horizon” in there, and it might not fit in with a victorian themed dollhouse, but it’s easily one of my favourite horror movies that had such an impact, i walked out of the movie theatre with the shakes. if it’s too sci-fi for your house, it has very strong similarities to “hellraiser”, albeit crossed over with “aliens”.

  28. Very nice! I always like to suggest renting the movie Session 9. Scary movie without all the gore. We rented it not knowing anything about it. One of the best scary movies I have seen! Have a fantastic day! Love reading your posts. 🙂

  30. I don’t think I have read a truly modern horror book except for Stephen King’s ‘Christine’ but do like a good horror movie. ‘Christine couldn’t have made much of an impression on me either as I can remember reading it and it is in my book collection but can’t remember anything much about it! Maybe it scared me too much!

    You get better soon, and if a bit of laughter helps, check out my latest blog as I laugh at the wife!

  31. I’m currently loving the Abarat series by Clive Barker. Not his usual horror stuff at all.

    I imagine I could spend a few hours staring at the pics of the house trying to name the story. Can I tell my boss it’s your fault I’m not working?

  32. I’m not a horror fan, but I totally get needing to escape. It’s awesome that you have the dollhouse! I crochet and write. I can knit too, but my doctor has said to lay off the knitting because my wrist hates me. It’s not carpal tunnel, but NaNoWriMo isn’t going to be fun if it doesn’t straighten up. 🙂

  33. The Stand is why I cannot drive through tunnels without having a panic attack. The Handmaid’s Tale (not specifically horror, but certainly horrifying) kept me from using my ATM card in stores instead of cash for several years. I should probably find some things to read that don’t add to my neurosis! 🙂

  34. I vote that my last comment be stricken from the record. I just went and re-looked through your Flickr set, and of COURSE you already had a Coraline nod in there.

    Can I change my question?

    Any Lovecraft pieces that I’ve somehow missed?

  35. Beautiful house. Thank you. The scariest horror film I ever saw was The Innocents, with Deborah Kerr, based on the novella, The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James, which I read, trying to figure out what the hell happened. I could not figure it out, which, I guess is why scholarly types love it, though it IS a ghost story. I saw The Innocents again recently, and was still scared. The Others, with Nicole Kidman, also scared me, and I had heard it was somehow vaguely based on the James thing…but…well, no. I don’t buy that.

  36. Its like Jenny’s version of The Winchester Mystery House, but tiny. That crazy old bat would be so proud of you! 🙂
    PS Jenny’s my FAVORITE! When Im lauging like I should be institutionalized while sitting in my office (my assistant reads The Bloggess too so she understands) or showing my husband pictures of a mongoose/cobra death battle that I HAVE to have and he is looking at me like I’m off my rocker, I find comfort in the fact that I’m not alone! 😉 haha!

  37. That is like a work of art. I think you should curate a novelty museum of haunted things. It could be a tourist attraction like those wax museums only way less creepy.

  38. I am still unable to watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Traumatized by The Child Catcher. Just walking by it in Target or other stores sends chills down my spine.

  39. I now think you are even more awesome. Since you love minis, you may enjoy this virtual exhibition I curated when I worked at The Kruger Collection; a museum of miniature furnishings and decorative arts: http://krugercollection.unl.edu/gallery/simpleviewer_v17/gallery.html
    Each image will link to an object description, detail shots of the furniture, and a quicktime movie that allows you to grab and turn the objects and watch them animate their functions: such as a concertina-action card table folding and extending. I got to be pretty good at stop-motion after this. I was almost tempted to have little skeleton warriors make an appearance.

  40. Do you have Amityville Horror in there? It looks like the priest from Exorcist is looking in the window. But it is frickin’-amazing!

    (I do plan on having blood dripping from one wall when I’m closer to the end. And the guy looking through the window is Ichabod Crane. ~Jenny)

  41. Every now and then I think ‘How did the Bloggess become so famous?’
    And then you post shit like this.
    And I remember.
    Because you are a GENIUS.

  42. His Dark Materials, Dreamhunter Duet, Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents…I read these books once a year. Totally mind altering…and would provide excellent fodder for your most excellent dollhouse.

  44. I can’t help but think about living in there. While I *would* enjoy the mandatory porcelain skin and deep cleavage of the evil-cool and wicked heroine, I worry that I would blow my cover by crying a lot. And hiding under blankets.

    Amazing work, Jenny. Holy shit.

  45. I was obsessed with the movie/book The Dollhouse Murders when I was a kid. For serious.
    Which is really weird considering I hate all things scary now. Maybe that’s why?!

  47. The Witching Hour by Anne Rice. I prefer it to all her Vampire stuff. Witches, ghosts, and assorted creepiness in New Orleans (which is creepy enough by itself), plus some good smut to boot.

  48. I don’t remember the title (which is what you are looking for, I know! Sorry!) but there was a book I read in 8th grade that I still freak out about 20 some-odd years later. It had a hand as the main horror thing that terrorized people and I remember something about building being build on a native american burial ground (of course). But this hand would crawl around behind walls and under building in tunnels of the burial tombs. Just picturing that thing s crawling under my house and out of an air duct in my house in the middle of the night after hearing the nails scritching and scratching through walls and under floors….AAAAAAHHHHHHH!

  50. Your haunted dollhouse is brilliant! It looks like it is straight out of a Victorian horror novel. There is actually a house in Cape May, NJ that looks quite a bit like it, and I believe it is on the “Haunted House Tour” (an actual thing).

    About books, I’m sure you’ve already got this one covered, but “The Shining” was seriously the scariest book I’ve ever read.

  51. I’m pretty sure American Horror Story deserves a Cameo in that creepy little house! I’ve never really liked horror until just recently. It all began when I started watching Supernatural and I realized “hey, this is about ghosts and poltergeists and shit, and I’m not scared!”
    Then my wonderful boyfriend drug me to see Paranormal Activity…and let’s just say if you can sit through that whole movie, you can watch any level of horror.
    So now I’m completely obsessed with American Horror Story…and I think you should make a creepy latex suit guy to stick in there!!
    http://eatwatchrun.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/2011-08-22-american_horror_story-533×394.jpg

  52. This is the absolutely coolest thing EVER. For serious. I would have killed to have this before I had kids. My kids would be way freaked and would probably wreck it trying to play with it. I can’t imagine the patience and creativity you possess! Such an incredible work of art, woman. So super impressed. Hope your Halloween is exactly as you hope it to be 🙂 Wondering what sorts of costumes you and your family will wear!

  53. The dollhouse is STUNNING! Do you make all the dolls, furniture, and accessories yourself? What an extraordinary project.

    Are there any Coraline references in there? I find the Other Mother with the button eyes particularly horrifying.

    (I’ve made, collected or bastardized all of the pieces in the house, but only a few are completely made from scratch. For instance, I bought the witches head and hands already cast, then I made her wig, body, and clothes. But Ichabod Crane outside the window was bought pre-made. And all of the really intricate furniture pieces are bought. The house itself was built from a kit (it took me a year to build it) but I bastardized it so much it’s almost unrecognizable from what it was supposed to have been.~ Jenny)

  55. The Ring. Creepiest movie ever. Period.
    Oh, and The Raven, High Tension (excellence in gore), MINE (Robert McGammon), The Picture of Dorian Gray…shall I go on? But I swear if there is one thing in there from that hommage to crap, Twilight, I will personally find that house and destroy until it changes it’s basic makeup to a liquid. Then I’ll throw you down, grab your hair and call you Sally. I’ll do it. Don’t test me on this.

    I think that just about covers it…

  56. Holy smoke Jenny! You are one talented lady! Funny and can build haunted doll houses! You are amazing! 🙂

  57. Hmmm…horrror/fantasy suggestions, huh?

    If you’re including classic Fantasy, how about Mrs. Who’s glasses from A Wrinkle in Time? On the horror side, I was always freaked out by the images of Gary Oldman (in Bram Stoker’s Dracula) licking the blood off of the razor and later floating outside the window. Haven’t seen it in 10 years and it still creeps me out.

  58. I went through your Flickr one day to see photos of the dollhouse and I adore it. If I wasn’t afraid of my cats eating it, I’d love to make one of my own.
    But, like I said, my cat likes to eat non-edible things… like pottery…

  60. From literature: Rappaccini’s Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne- scary and full of good poison
    From film: Angel Heart- Lots of good blood and voodoo and the devil.

    The house is wonderfully sweet and creepy.

  61. Every time I look through those pictures, I find more and more literary awesomeness. These pictures make me #FuriouslyHappy. Thank you.

  62. I searched all the pix in vain for a St. Bernard. Cujo scared the living crap out of me (the book, not the movie).

    The first literature I ever remember reading in school was the Cask of Amatillado. I think we got to listen to it on audiotape while reading along. In 2nd grade. 2nd grade! Awesome Catholic School I went to. So kudos for having a cask of amatillado in the greenhouse.

  63. My very favorite (possibly first) fantasy book that I read as a child was Timothy and the Two Witches by Margaret Storey. I want my very own tree that grows cakes in my kitchen. And I want my bed to turn into a boat every night.

  64. Lady In White. Lukas Haas. Saw that when I was ten and I’ve never fully recovered. I feel like your house will never be complete–nor should it be. There’s such a sadness in actually FINISHING something and no one ever really talks about that.

  65. I read a Stephen King short story, The Boogeyman (from the book Night Shift) when I was 10 or 11…still creeps me out to this day. Probably because, like in the story, my sisters and I had a closet door that was always popping open…just a crack.

  67. Have you ever read “The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty” by Anne Rice?? It was the most FUCKED UP book I’ve ever read in my entire life! I read it when i was about 22 years old and it made me realize that there was so much more to sex than I had even known. I will never be shocked by anything again after reading that book. There are two more in the series and I think I am only just now mature enough to read them.

  68. You are officially the most awesome person… EVER. Seriously, I am IN LOVE with this house. Before I start drooling all over myself (too late)… one of my fav horror books is Salem’s Lot. Stephen King is the master.

  69. My first two thoughts for additions were (i) windchimes from The Hand that Rocks the Cradle and (ii) popcorn on the stove like in the original Scream. But maybe those are too modern/not classic?

    Also, PLEASE tell me you are watching American Horror Story on tv. It is the creepiest show in the history of television.

  70. I had 6th grade in a trailer behind our school. It was AWESOME. Mrs. Kearns was the greatest teacher ever. One day, a college-aged boy showed up at our door. Now, because we weren’t in the school (and no one thought to give her a phone…this was 1985) we all freaked out that some deranged killer was in our midst. Turned out, he had Mrs. Kearns years earlier for second grade and she told his class that if she had a rocking chair, she would read to them all day and do no work. Well, he brought her a rocking chair in a flat box, put it together and she read a book to us called “Callie” for the rest of the day. Horror story, ghosts, old ghosts, etc. Very cool.

  71. LOVE the dollhouse!

    I’m so sorry that you’re battling depression. It is a ruthless enemy. I fight it, too. Had a bit of a setback this week, but I’m on my way back up.

    Last spring I read Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book. It is now one of my favorites. I really illustrates that it takes a village to raise a child and not everyone in that village has to be alive. Or human. I cried at the end of that book, but not because it was sad (it was a little bittersweet), but because it was over.

  72. I LOVE the dollhouse, for real, and the literary references just make me squee! Stephen King’s “It” was my first horror novel ever and Clive Barker is one of my favorite authors. “House of Leaves” by Mark Z. Danielewski is one of the few books I’ve ever read that really creeped me out and the layout of it in some of the later chapters is brilliant and only made it creepier.

  73. Oh, and I know it’s not exactly Horror, but the kids book A Wrinkle In Time is seriously freaky. A brain kidnapping people and enslaving the kids who come looking for them? Yikes. Seriously warped for a little kid.

  77. You are brilliant! My mind boggles at the brilliance of you. I may have missed it but are there any Elder Gods running around in your haunted house? Cthulu would be right at home there.

  78. Well, I was going to suggest something…anything…from Sir Pratchett’s Discworld series of books, but the first slide I saw was the dragon in the cage – SQUEE!!!! – so, never mind….unless you weren’t referencing his books in which case you need to…or not…as the dragon can do double duty here.

  81. It’s not scary, but I loved the YA book “Summers at Castle Auburn” by Sharon Shinn and read it like some sort of fanatic. I didn’t spot golden shackles or a gold key in your dollhouse, but tons of other literary allusions. Lovely!

  84. American Horror Story. Just the opening scene from last night’s episode scarred me for life.

  85. The swan bed from Children In The Attic. That was the scariest book I ever read when I was a kid. A mother who locks her kids in the attic and poisons them to death…all while sleeping in a fancy bed?

    Or…

    Anything from Neil Gaiman’s Coraline…which was the scariest book I read as an adult. People with button eyes living in a super spooky mirror of your own world. I couldn’t sleep for days.

  86. I don’t even know if your dollhouse has a bathroom but years ago when I ready nightmares and dreamscapes by King there was one story about a really long finger scraping it’s way out of the sink drain that freaked the hell out of me. Also, something easily incorporated, in the book Geralds Game, also by King, the is a…creature(?) with a box of jewelry, but the jewelry is still attached to the original owners appendages. Rings still on rotting fingers and such. I’m not describing it right, but it still makes me panic-ie years and years later when I can’t sleep and start thinking out it.

  87. Love the house! I read The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson to my daughters at bedtime. I’m already saving up for their therapy.

    I have a book coming out next May, The Girls’ Ghost Hunting Guide. Would you like an ARC to learn how to find ghosts yourself?

  88. Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan
    We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

  91. You know… Ms Havisham at her dining table with that rotten wedding dress and one shoe is also a strikingly terrifying image in my head. So Cthulu or Ms Havisham

  92. Shirley Jackson is, in my opinion, the absolute master of the genre. The Haunting of Hill House is her most famous and most horror-y, but We Have Always Lived In The Castle is pretty fucking amazing.

    As for movies, I would be pretty tickled to see reference to William Castle (13 Ghosts, House On Haunted Hill) (the originals).

  94. it doesn’t exist in real life, but i would like you to include ‘zombie shopaholics from outer space’. i feel it is probably a VHS rather than a book.

  95. I was looking for a Psycho reference in the house, maybe with Copurnicus as Janet Leigh, and Posey as Norman. Then just for shits and grins, Beyonce outside the window dressed as The Raven.

  96. When I was a kid one of the creepiest stories I read was The Pit and The Pendulum… a pendulum in there somewhere would be amazing!!!

  97. What a super idea! I love it. Stephen King has been my go to author since I was a teen, so I guess my little brain is thoroughly twisted!

  98. As a child, horror movies – Fright Night (original), Lady in White (Ghost story that is one of the few I can’t watch to this day with the lights off), television shows – Friday the 13th the Series (Take Warehouse 13 and make it more gory, especially for the 80s, and less humor).

    Books throughout the years: Ghost Story, Coraline (Neil Gaiman, I read it a few years ago, I’m not sure that should be a child’s book!) ; Twilight series (NOT the vampire series of now. This is a series of books that were out when I was a teenager that had the theme of horror – one of the books was about a haunted amulet that was killing people, one of the books was about a group that got sucked into a D&D game and had to play it for real, etcetc. Some of the books weren’t horror as thriller/suspense, but..); IT by Stephen King, any amount of short horror.

    Also, while not specifically horror, fairy tales from countries like Japan and China – those aren’t happy wings you have there. 🙂

  99. Two more- from above – Lois Duncan (I can’t believe I forgot that one!) and as others have said, Shirley Jackson.

    Definites.

  100. There are 2 movies from my childhood that shook me so badly that I can barely stand to say the names of aloud. I’m shaking just typing them…
    1. The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (Jody Foster & Martin Sheen 1976)
    2. Magic (1978)

    I know I watched both of these before my 8th birthday. Who in the hell was monitoring my media exposure back then?!?

  101. Have you or Hailey ever read “Bony Legs”? It was my FAVORITE book as a child. It’s a scary children’s book. It’s about a witch who lived in a house that stood on chicken feet. You should check it out…..

  103. My co worker emailed me about cool dollhouses first thing this morning. And I was all “OH! Do you know about the Bloggess?”

    And she was all “What’s a Bloggess? I don’t know these new blog terms.”
    And I was all “It’s a who. You’d love her. Read this: *link to ‘Pick Your Battles’*”
    And she was all “BWAH HA HA HA!” with coffee leaking down her chin.
    And I was all “SEE! anywho, she has a dollhouse.” So I scrolled ALLL the way down your twitter feed to the link to the dollhouse picks, sent them to her, only to see that you just posted this.

    Bottom line. You owe me an hour for the twitter stalking. And my coworker some coffee and a keyboard. She’ll take payment in the form of dollhouse advice.

    Also. I’m sorry to hear about your depression. You make all of your readers furiouslyhappy, so let’s just hope karma is real.

  104. I’m obsessed with horror films and books. Ghost stories, possessions, hauntings, zombies, anything of that nature….my FAV.

    My earliest “scary” movie obsession? The first Poltergeist.

    Theyyyyy’rrrrrrreeeee herrrrreeeeee……

  105. I’ve been obsessed with your awesome doll house for years. My obsession has now expanded to include the plexiglass box. Where on Earth did you get that thing and how can I find one for my own dollhouse?!

    (Victor had it made for me at a plexiglass store for Mother’s Day last year. They added a plexiglass door in the back so that I can open it and move things around. It keeps the cats out, but it attracts dust and fingerprints like mad. ~ Jenny)

  108. Beautiful! I am in awe and could spend hours looking at every small detail. How about a rubber red, white and blue striped ball like in The Changeling? That movie still scares me to death…… Joseph…. my name is Joseph…. just thinking about it gives me the shivers!

  109. Can I just say I am in love with your doll house. I love whenever you post pictures of it, I could spend hours looking at them. I’m amazed at all the things you have created for it. That dollhouse is truly an amazing piece of art.

  110. Crossroads. Wait, Britney Spears movies aren’t horror flicks? My bad.

    I know Victorian homes didn’t have swimming pools, or televisions, but if you could swing a swimming pool that was on an Indian burial ground and have a little girl watching static in one of the rooms, that would satisfy most of my creepies. Or a pet cemetary in the back, with that little boy (Gage, I think?) wandering around in it. That book scared the bajeezus out of me. Didn’t help the cat had glow in the dark eyes on the cover.

  113. Holy shit Jenny you are amazing. When I was a kid my parents promised a dollhouse if I kept my room clean for a week. I did and they upped it to a month because they hadn’t expected me to manage it. I did. My mom claimed it was 6mo/1yr or something like that. So I got pissed off and quit keeping it clean. I’ve always wanted to have my own big dollhouse to decorate up in miniature.

    I saw Fawkes and doubted myself until I saw you mention “fantasy” books along with horror. Sly. The room with the pumpkin-headed man sort of looks like the attic in Charmed.

  114. You need to read some Neil Gaiman if you haven’t already. Actually you can listen to him read to you (in his fantastically droll British coice) on CD… the kids and I loved “The Graveyard Book” and, of course, “Coraline.”

  116. When I was in college, a couple of *genius* professors had to idea to do a joint Geology and English class, they called it the “Monsters Class.” We studied some classic monster novels (Frankenstein, Dracula, The Metamorphosis, etc. ), but we also got to read some of the more recent novels about less traditional novels. My FAVORITE book that we read in that class was “Geek Love” by Katharine Dunn. I keep hoping that Tim Burton or Baz Lurman will make it in to a movie because it would be SO AMAZING!

    Also, have been battling my own depression/anxiety as of late. I’m sorry that you have too.

  117. that’s freakin fabulous…. I wish I had skill enough to make something like that.. I’m super jealous! My first horror movie… “The Candyman” … bees are creepy, ok.

  119. My therapist would give you kudos for having a hobby while depressed, even it does include imagery of death….

  121. Exquisite and awe inspiring. It’s gorgeous and I want it, or I want to be able to admire it close up and squee over little details.

    Also I don’t know if you’ve read any John Bellairs books? His books are aimed at the young adult market but I found him by accident when I was a teen and fell in love with not only his ability to write stories that made my skin crawl and leave the light on, but for his ability to write coming of age stories about awkward teenagers at the same time!

    Worth a look if you want a creepy story that isn’t as heavy as some adult books.

  122. Very impressive doll house!
    I think you need a plate of powdered donuts on the attic, from Flowers in the Attic.

  124. Toddlers & Tiaras terrifies me. I know it’s not a horror movie or book but it’s disturbing!

  125. This is simply amazing! I’ve always been fascinated by dollhouses and miniatures, but not enough to really get into them– so many of them are so twee. This totally rocks!

  128. THAT – is a totally BITCHIN dollhouse. And now I am also depressed. Mostly because I don’t have a dollhouse like that. But for other reasons too. Like I didn’t come up with that idea.

  129. You probably have this….but…..IT.

    Seriously, clowns are scary – but killer zombie clowns are scarier…(zombieland, funniest zombie movie I’ve seen so far)

  131. You need an old antique wheelchair in the attic along with a red an white rubber ball sitting in it for the best ghost movie ever THE CHANGLING starring George C. Scott. Love the house by the way I always wAnted to do one up like that.

  132. For the cover visual alone : The Replacment by Brenna Yovanoff and Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (newer FABULOUS book)…oh, and anything in the Darkfever series.

  133. Another of the many, many reasons I have a Girl Crush on you. I love that you have found a way to express your darker side without being dark (even though I know you are depressed), you know what I mean?!?!? Hope the funk (what I call depression) passes soon!

  134. THIS IS WONDERFUL!!!!! I have a doll house I was given when I was 16 that my grandfather had built years before from scratch. Now at 33, I still have not done one thing to it and honeslty think that it all by itself is haunted. But now I know exactly what to do with it!!!! Oh the possibilities! I don’t even know where to start, but I do know that I need to start adding room immediatley. Off to Pat Katans!!!!!

    Thank you! My husband will love this…..

  135. I know it wasn’t the most popular of movies – but Bedknobs and Broomsticks was always a favorite of mine as a kid – the trippy flying bed, the animals of Naboombu and of course, the reanimated suits of armor, which fight back the Nazis. If you don’t know this film – you certainly must watch. And I think it’d be the perfect edition to your “haunted” house.

  136. I’m sorry for your depression. It’s an affliction of many brilliantly creative people. You are one of the most talented.

  137. One of the scariest books I ever read was Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination (available on Kindle too) – short horror stories from Japan, where things are just weird in general. The Human Chair and The Caterpillar are two tales that have stuck with me since I was young. Perhaps your dollhouse could use a human chair…. yeah, it’s as creepy as it sounds.

  138. _Watchers_ by Dean Koontz. There was a short section in there that I was too scared to read and yet at the same time I would have KILLED for that dog. Best freaking-me-out, yet wanting-to-be-in-it book ever!

  139. By the way, I meant to mention Terry Pratchett. Any of the Discworld books would do, but his series on Tiffany Aching, young witch, is particularly appropriate (The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith and I Shall Wear Midnight). Also the Lancre witches (see Equal Rites). I also enjoy Sharon Shinn and Joanne Harris (Chocolat et al.).

  141. The carpet from Clive Barker’s _Weaveworld_ would be an awesome addition, though I’m not sure how you’d do it. That book scared me on a much deeper level than most horror.

  143. Can a haunted dollhouse be delightful? Because I’m in delighted aw over this whole thing. You’re super talented.

  144. Dear Jenny,

    As someone who reads your blog whenever I go through MY depression, you should know that you are loved, and you are awesome. Not just because you’re so funny…. but just because you are!

    Happy (almost) halloween.

    -Hannah

  146. Jane Eyre has great allusions, the woman in the attic is a pretty classic horror concept.

  147. I read Stephen King’s The Mist…. a short horror story where this dense fog envelopes an entire town — and then eats people. I was young and developed an irrational fear of fog. Needless to say, your photo of the Haunted Dollhouse captures that foggishness perfectly. I’m now curled up in a fetal position under my desk.

  150. I’ve been admiring your dollhouse for quite some time. The attention to detail is fantastic. I’m not particuarly good at handling horror and gore but I am avidly enchanted by the suspenseful and macabre. Hitchcock’s work (Notorious especially, does your dollhouse have a poisoned cup of coffee?) Agatha Christie, the old time radio plays of Suspense and the Whistler. Though significantly less creepy, I also love Disney’s Haunted Mansion and, its Parisian sister, The Phantom Manor. Clocks that strike the thirteenth hour and an eternal bride, waiting for her groom, make any haunted house. Also, I’m not sure what the house’s dimensions are, but a Clue boardgame might provide some very handy murder weapons.

  151. I came to your blog recently, so I’m still catching up on things and still getting to know you, but … can I just say … you keep getting awesomer and awesomer!

  152. Please tell me you have a reference to “Flowers in the Attic” in the house…and in particular, in the attic!

  153. I can’t believe you know what a bezoar is. Our last gerbil was named Bezoar. I thought that outside of doctors, I was the only pedestrian who knew. But of course you knew. Kudos.

    Here’s another one for you: teratoma. It has teeth. I once made a mobile of styrofoam teratomas (?). But I bet you already know all about them, too.

    (I learned about bezoars from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. And I learned about teratomas from Lucy, Daughter of the Devil. I can’t recommend either of them enough. ~ Jenny)

  155. You are a genius. This is the most amazing (and probably most time-consuming) project I’ve seen in a long time. And a pretty cool one, too.
    I hope you made a list of all the references you used in the house so far so that you can keep track (and share it with us, of course!).

  156. Don’t tell anyone but I once took apart a Doll House that my family left in my garage because they’ve confused my house with a storage unit. That means I have all sorts of creepy Victorian stuff in my garage that’s too small for me to sit on.

    You’re probably wondering where I’m going with all of that. Nowhere in particular. Unless you have a need for creepy Victorian stuff and then you can have it because my garage is a storage unit for MY shit and not my family’s shit.

  159. I agree with Becca

    — Jane Eyre. It’s supposed to be a love story (and by love story, it’s one real fucked up one). But the guys “wife” lives secretly in the house, and Jane swears it’s haunted. She (the wife) even goes so far as to attempt to burn the place down. She dies when she makes a final attempt (successful) either by jumping out a window while it’s burning, or she burns to death. I can’t remember which the book says, but the movie death is different than the book.

    Anyway, the honey-do husband locks her in a room in his mansion, which she sneaks out whenever the maid gets drunk. I’d drink heavily if I had to put up with her, too. She realizes that Jane and her husband are in love, and she does crazy stuff around the house in secret, trying to drive Jane away.

    I’m sure you’ve read the book since it’s considered a classic… so I have no idea why I thought the need to rehash the whole story here.

  161. For horror that affected me, I would say the Stephen King story ‘Grandma’. Not so much his story, but the creepy as hell short they did of it for the new Twilight Zone series in the 80’s/90’s. It was in the pilot episode and really got me.

    For the dollhouse, I keep watching to see some Weeping Angels from Blink.

  163. This is ridiculously, amazingly detailed. And it could never live in my home unless encased in glass because every item in that home is a potential toy for a certain kitty and it would all end up lodged under the fridge or stove.

    Seriously, this is really really cool.

  164. Goldie the Gargoyle from Cain and Abel’s house in Gaiman’s Sandman series would be a perfect addition, if he’s not already lurking in there!

  165. The Creature Wasn’t Nice. It might not technically fit your theme but it is the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. Think Muno from Yo Gabba Gabba dancing and singing show tunes about eating you piece by piece. “I Want to Eat Your Face.” Gave me nightmares as a kid. If the creature doesn’t scare you the movie certainly will. It’s that bad.

    Did I mention it stars Leslie Nielsen?

    http://youtu.be/BEyEL-BvbqQ?t=2m24s
    You can thank me later!

  167. No book is as totally horrifying as Pet Sematary but it is so horrifying that it has no place in a doll house…or, does it?

    Your creations are amazing…but I even find friendly doll houses scary.

    Happy Halloween, Jenny!

  168. OMG I love you so much right now! Even more than yesterday when you emailed me! I love dollhouses and have always wanted to do a haunted one, but I never get finished with the ones I’m working on. They are always a work in progress.

    I think I love you so much I’m going to have to become your stalker now, but Texas is too humid for me. Last time we were there we put our bathing suits out on the line to dry, and they didn’t dry, they mildewed. Overnight. It would be much more convenient for me if you would move to Oregon so I could stalk you. You’ll like it here, we have Xanax, and I live in the middle of Oregon’s wine country.

    You could move here and have your own winery! James Garfield would love it. Oregon is his kind of place.

    Seriously. Think about it.

    I’ll wait. I’m a very patient stalker. Also lazy, so it’s easy just to sit here while you’re deliberating. Victor could come, too. If he feels bad that he doesn’t have a stalker, I could find him one, or stalk him part time, which I’d probably already be doing since he’d be with you a lot of the time. That would make it much easier. Thank you for that. Its very considerate.

  169. The Haunting of Hill House. Book by Shirley Jackson and an amazing old movie. Don’t watch the remake. There are lots of elements in the movie that would be fabulous additions to your doll house, which is awesome, by the way.

  170. Coolest haunted doll house I’ve ever scene (well the only one, but still the coolest!)

  171. In The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern, there’s a character that builds a miniature version of the circus so he can control magical aspects of it remotely. I’m picturing a miniature of him in the room, looking down at the miniature circus. IT’S SO PERFECT!

  173. o.my.gosh. This is easily the coolest thing I have ever seen. I feel like a kid in love with a boy band. Except I am the kid and the boy band is a haunted doll house. Ok. So, with that being said, I really hate new horror movies. They just don’t have the same pizazz, and they freak me out. I do love old horror movies though. So, if you’re looking for suggestions, here you go:

    1. wire hangers in the closet (Mommy Dearest)
    2. animal topiary in yard (Edward Scissorhands or Shining too I guess)
    3. Room 217 (or 237 if you’re going by the movie) (The Shining)
    4. a Bad Seed or Omen or Evil Dead reference maybe?
    5. prom crown or vat of pigs blood

    Jenna
    callherhappy.com

  174. I am a new-ish reader, and not a huge horror person, but that dollhouse is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen! I am so SO awed by your dedication and attention to detail – the house gorgeous and absolutely fascinating!

  175. _Boy’s Life_ by R.R. McCammon. A set of stories from the view of a 12 year old boy. The writing is excellent, the story is horror and mystery and fun.

  176. “Inkheart” “Inkspell” “Inkdeath” are 3 fabulous books by Cornelia Funke (do not watch the movie!!! it is not true to the novels in any way!) … And along with the Narnia series and “Lord Of The Rings” I grew up reading Eion Colfer’s Artemis Fowl series and Neil Gaiman’s “Books Of Magic” Comics…. Fantastic reading truely although only the first four comics were penned by Gaiman. I would suggest Cornelia Funke and Eion Colfer as good reads for your daughter when she gets a bit older.

  178. Jenny, this is fabulous! I love the new pictures. You are quite an artist, really.

    I finally started reading H.P. Lovecraft this year and am slowly working my way through all of his stories. Wow. His work is so creepy and poetic. Love it!

  179. I realize I’m probably not looking hard enough, but where is the monkey’s paw, Jenny? Hmmm?

    (It’s in a wooden box on the shelf. ~ Jenny)

  180. This is wonderful. You are wonderful. Best doll house I’ve ever seen.
    I like Tim Burton’s works, so I love that you have “Scraps”, though I would prefer “Zero” or “Frankenweenie”.
    Nobody told me about Neil Gaiman until I was grown up and he was with Amanda Palmer. I have missed out, and will add some of his works to my ever-growing list of things to read.

    Is the wallpaper pattern from the hotel in “The Shining”? It looks familiar.

    There are so many things I could recommend adding to your doll house, but it’s yours and not mine and so don’t take my suggestions seriously (ha!).
    A “Nightmare Before Christmas” reference (maybe a tree door sign?), the hair in the corner for “The Grudge” (only if the original movie had it though), a rain gutter with a red balloon in it (“It”), pink goo (“Ghostbusters”).

    Something to do with Clive Barker’s “The Thief Of Always”, the baby-head/metal spider thing from “Toy Story” (what?), gloves/claws of Freddy Kreuger and/or Edward Scissorhands, creepy Furby/Gremlin/Chuckie dolls (you could even go all out and make a bedroom with the “Sixth Sense” tent, and Omen(?)/E.T. white-veiled child/monster).

    Yes, Pet Semetary too. But I’d rather have the dragon head on the wall with the see-through eyes from the book “Eyes Of The Dragon” (come on, it’s a horror/fantasy King novel where he stops to describe how they watch the king pick his nose!).

  183. If you want a scary book, read House of Leaves. It’ll FUCK YOU UP. I actually got dizzy while reading it, which is not something you can say for many books.

  184. BTW – I know that you asked about books, but I want to tell you that the scariest movie I know is the original black and white version of “The Haunting.” You never *see* anything, but it had me on the edge of my seat throughout.

  185. I’ve been afraid of closed closet doors, raggedy ann clown dolls and puddles of water in those big concrete parking garages ever since I saw the Poltergiest series.

  186. Happy Halloween, Jenny 🙂
    It’s my absolutely favourite time of year, and your dollhouse captures so much of the mystery and wonder.

    I’ve personally always been a huge fan of the human skin spell book from Hocus Pocus.

  187. I am sad to hear you got that depression thing to shake … Chin up and hang in there. Your dollhouse is just amazing. I have been following for a while, so I am always happy to see updates on your progress.

  188. Oh, and I forgot. My doctor once told me that only brilliant people get depressed. I still have issues off and on, but I just go around thinking “well no wonder I’m depressed! I’m fucking brilliant and I’m surrounded by dumb-asses.” Not politically correct, but it makes me smile — of course the dumb-assess would probably revolt if they knew what I was thinking so I don’t tell them!

  189. I am in love with this dollhouse. There are just so many intriguing pieces in there! I didn’t spot any references to Carnacki the Ghost Hunter (one of my favorites), but I may not have been looking closely enough.

    Carnacki is the subject of 6 short stories by William Hope Hodgeson, some of which result in a mundane explanation of a haunting and some of which uncover malignant supernatural forces. His electrical pentacle is used in several of the stories, and I love it as a conceit. Probably too big to be included, however, since it’s large enough for a grown man to sit in the center of it when it’s laid out.

    My favorite story is probably “The Whistling Room.” PodCastle had a reading of it in October of last year, which is how I was introduced to Mr. Thomas Carnacki. I’d really encourage anybody to listen to it, it’s a great story for this time of year. I won’t spoil the ending by telling you what you could add to the dollhouse from this story.
    An easy Carnacki reference to include would be the Luck Ring from “The Gateway of the Monster.” It’s a five-sided ring, sized for a man and made in a dull silvery metal. Just don’t put it on anybody’s hand unless you plan on including the monster as well. =)

  191. I am always so inspired with your doll house. I could look at it for hours!
    Your miniature places must be better than mine! You have such awesome stuff!
    Someday, someday…..mine will be done…..

  194. Children’s books that aren’t really and that freaked me out are:
    Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr (the idea behind the Paperhouse movie)
    The Owl Service by Alan Garner (you should SO have some Owl Service china on your dresser)
    Leon Garfield wrote a short story for the Puffin Club magazine, about a boy who is painted with phosphorous to look like a ghostly drummer boy, to work for smugglers I think. He dies, horribly.

  196. You need to install Ken with red spray paint on his face like James Spader In Tuff Turf

    Whats scarier than a vandalized James Spader? Marry me James….

  197. Purple waves!

    Have you ever read The Westing Game? It’s not a horror story, but there is a supposedly-haunted house that figures importantly in the beginning. Two adults tell these kids a scary story about two people who had gone into the house on a one-dollar bet, and weren’t in there for more than five minutes before fleeing in terror. One ran right off a cliff and died, and the other sits in a mental hospital staring at his hands (which were dripping with blood when he came out of the house) and saying “purple waves” over and over again.

    Thanks to this story, Turtle Wexler goes into the house on Halloween, finds a dead body, and the plot begins.

    It’s a fantastic book, and if you haven’t read it you should. Put purple waves somewhere in the dollhouse! 🙂

  199. Ok, I know this sounds crazy, but when I was a little girl I had an old fashion dollhouse that actually WAS haunted. Things would move around on their own and I would see weird shadows on the back walls. Some of the shadows were normal, human shaped, but some were animals. It scared me so much that I made my mom give it away. Your dollhouse is awesome compared to that one.

  201. I ADORE your dollhouse!!! And if you’ve never read it, China Mieville’s Perdido Street Station rocks and is quite creepy.

  202. My most recent favorite horror series–The Republican Primaries. Some of those characters seem almost REAL, and they are *&%$^#@ scary!

    Stephen King’s “The Stand.” And, if you’ve got about a hundred years of free time for reading, the Dark Tower series. It’s the mother of all horror/sci fi adventure.

  203. Dear Jenny:
    Please, adopt me. I’m 14 and love Halloween, but my parents think I’m insane. The whole creepy magical aura of Halloween, or, National Cosplay Day, is my favorite time of the year completely misunderstood by my Christmas-loving (understood but still) parents. Not only is there free candy and being able to dress up like how I wish to all year long without funny looks I also get to see a more creative side of people. I read your blog often and you actually prompted me to write my own, not that it turned out well as each post leaves me with nerve-wracking pain that I am no where near the awesomeness that I see is you from the brief glimpses I get online. The dollhouse in question is something that makes me want you to adopt me, or, if that doesn’t work out, threaten Victor to be crushed to death by a giant metal chicken until you give me it.
    Or just adopt me. Because that would be amazing.

  206. Oh. My. God.
    I love this so hard it hurts me….
    oh wait that might be the kidney infection. But I still love it hard.

    Do you have a little Micheal Myers in there? Or how about Leatherface? Also I think you should have a wee cricket bat in there in honour of Shaun of the Dead!

    Also, feel better oh hilarious one!

  207. Way too cool for words. I’m a King fan, early stuff, favorite The Stand but the story that has made a lasting impression on me is Whispers by Dean Koontz. Read the book and every time you hear the song Hell Is For Children by Pat Benatar you will think about Bruno.

  209. Oh oh oh! Something from Good Omens! But I guess an ordinary bike and an ordinary dog named Dog wouldn’t quite fit…

  210. Oh my gracious goodness! Your haunted dollhouse is amazing! I am sorry that you have the sads. They suck ass.
    I read The Shining when I was sixteen and I slept with my light on for quite a few nights.
    The movie “Magic” starring Anthony Hopkins still has me creeped out by ventriloquist dummies 30+ years later. I hate those damn things. Feel better soon, Oh Bloggess. Happy Halloween! *hugs of healing*

  211. “Don’t be afraid of the Dark” is a cheesy yet horrifying made for tv movie I watched in the 70’s as a kid. Yes…my parents allowed me to watch inappropriate things such as this, as well as The Exorcist and Apocalypse now….but I had 5 older sisters who taught me many things way early, and a younger brother I enjoyed torturing who had to sleep with the hall light on.

    Don’t be afraid of the Dark starred Kim Darby, the guy who played Ellery Queen in the tv series, and cranky old Uncle Charlie from My Three Sons (he was the groundskeeper who knew all the secrets of the house). The premise is this: a young couple moves into an old house; house gives wife the creeps; husband has to leave on a business trip; wife decides to open tiny, boarded up door near fireplace even after Uncle Charlie warns her not to; wife ends up dragged down into the tiny door pit of he’ll by tiny little demons with sewn shut mouths!

    Still gives me the creeps today. And yes, they made a remake starting Tom Cruise’s wife…..horrifying!

  213. My boyfriend LOVES miniatures. I can’t wait to show this to him! Also: Scraps is ADORABLE.

  214. I LOVE this house. It is amazing!
    I hope you feel better soon! There’s nothing worse than feeling blue.
    Happy Halloween!

  215. I was always scared of “The Watcher In The Woods” as a kid, then again in college when I wrote a report on it. All you’d need to add is a triangle to one of the upper floor windows…or some paper-cut-out men… But that’s just me. And your dollhouse is AMAZING as it is. 🙂

  216. I second the “Dollhouse Murders” – way creepy as a kid and still an awful spooky story for such a young main character.

    The Langoliers was another good “freak you out without being gory” short that Stephen King wrote. The movie was cheesy (effects hadn’t come very far at the time) but the premise is one that stick with you.

  217. Jenny, where did you get the original dollhouse? And do you find furniture and stuff online or in stores?

    I ALWAYS wanted a dollhouse, but I think a really creepy, haunted dollhouse would be so cool and awesome. Any tips for getting started?

    (I bought the Apple Blossom kit at a hobby shop. It took almost a year just to get the bones of it built. Then I started scouring antique stores, thrift stores and dollhouse shops. Also, railroad and model car shops can have some cool stuff. And wood shops for finishing, shingles, etc. There are a lot of great vendors online now that give great tips on building stuff. For example, the books are just squares of wood I painted gold and then I glued covers on them and burned the edges to make them look old. The hard part is making hundreds of them without going completely insane. ~ Jenny)

  218. It just keeps getting better! My kid thinks it’s awesome too, and that’s way high praise for a boy who is normally disdainful of dollhouses. You know I adore you and I hope you’re feeling better soon. xoxo

  219. I don’t know why, but I’ve always been fascinated by the scene in “Legend” where the girl ends up magically changing into scary goth clothes just by dancing with some freaky looking thing in a glittery black skin-suit! Maybe some doll dressed as her or someone killing a unicorn would look good in the basement of your dollhouse!

  220. First, WOW!!!

    Second, I would rec. a Sweeny Todd reference if you dont have one
    maybe something from Rocky Horror?
    Rosemary’s Baby
    and someone else said it but a pendulum.

    This house is amazing sa are you, thank you Jenny for being you. cuz you are amazing.

    I think i have a crush <3 <3

  221. Oops, sorry, I see that you built the dollhouse from a kit and turned into your own.

    Do you remember the Trilogy of Terror shows that came on television back in the ’70’s? There was this doll with a necklace on and if the necklace fell off, it would come to life and chase whoever owned it around with a little knife or something. Can’t watch horror ever since then and it still gives me the creeps!

    Also, the Exorcist scared the holy crap out of me. After someone made me watch it, I never watched another horror movie again – unless you count The Shining and other Stephen King movies, for which I make an exception. Best story teller ever.

  223. Just started reading your blog and I LOVE this house! It’s so dark and twisty-just like us! And is that the Pumkin King in the attic? LOVE!

  224. WOW. I don’t really like scary, or creepy, or dollhouses, or that part of Halloween. But I ignored you and kept reading any way, and looked at all the pictures. Amazing. You’re quite talented!

  225. You should include something from the Pit & the Pendulum and perhaps something from the Cat People! Like a mini statue of King John of Serbia (stabbing a leopard) and maybe an iron maiden!

  226. I interned at a toy and miniature museum, and I find stuff like this fascinating! This is awesome!

  228. I’m sure you,
    ‘ve seen the new series out: American Horror Story…… Isn’t it fantastic?

  229. Jenny,

    Have quietly lurked and laughed for a while. Amazing dollhouse– the layers of meaning and symbolism that have been laid down are impressive. It’s clear that it took years of care and thought to make. It does seem unfair that you should be talented in so many areas.

    Sorry depression has you in its grip; do what you need to in order to hold on, hold out, and emerge on the other side. Thank you for regularly brightening my day with your blog.

    I love Neil Gaiman’s “god” books – Anansi Boys and American Gods. Not horror, but Gaiman always explores the dark side of things. Reading is my vice ,and a book that has stayed with me long after reading is Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell. It’s not horror or fantasy, but doesn’t flinch away from the ugly, but real aspects of life, while ultimately celebrating our ability to rise above them. The movie was almost as good.

  232. The book Dracula by Bram Stoker is definitely the scariest book i have ever read. I’m sure you already have that covered, i’m not sure what you could have left out, that dollhouse has everything!
    When i first saw the Ouigi board i though it was a refrence to the movie VanHelsing. i thought it was the part if the map that they needed to find dracula’s castle. I think that movie is a perfect easy horror movie.

  233. the hound of the baskervilles (does that even count as horror? clearly not my forte) I read it for school and wrote a whole essay on how it was not the dog’s fault but was all due to his upbringing…. I started to think I was a bit weird back the. my class mates agreed.

  234. When I was a little girl, I was obsessed with Colleen Moore’s dollhouse. I still kind of am. So, this is IMMENSELY COOL to me.

    What about a reference to the telltale heart? But I don’t know if you have floorboards to put hearts underneath.

  235. Dear God, please tell me you’ve read the Kushiel books! Totally rocked my world, totally need to read them!

  236. Wow, you are quite talented and patient.

    Wizard of Oz scared me when I was little, that nasty witch. I didn’t see any witch boots poking out from under your house. And I love the Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles books; I highly recommend them if you never read them.

  238. We have always lived in the castle–Shirley Jackson
    Horns by Joe Hill (he also did Heart Shaped Box)
    The Ridge by Michael Koryta

  240. Beetlejuice, where they open the front door, and there is the sand snake. That’s a good one.

  241. Since I got married to my wife some 15 years ago I stopped watching scary movies because she is a great big scaredy cat. However, there was this space movie that came out a few years ago, Event Horizon, that we saw that turned out to be a cheesy horror/suspense flick. It gave us both nightmares for years. It may have had something to do with our washer made the exact same noise as the evil spaceship but who knows?

  244. absolutely in love!
    in 198somethingorother, my grandfather made me a dollhouse and then I grew up, moved out, family loaned out the dollhouse since I had no room for it in apartments, tracked it down, & got it back 10yrs later……
    JUST so I could do my own Dollhouse of Horrors. I’ve been slowly accumulating books for making miniatures and clay and minifloorings and stuff….but haven’t actually started it yet (being completely unable to focus on one project at any given time).
    It makes me so incredibly happy that you’re working on something similar & have been at it for 11yrs.
    this is so fantastic.

  245. OH!! i forgot!! i also thought it would be cool to see an Alice and Wonderland reference in there!

    maybe the cheshire cat? or the tiny door and a key on the table with cakes??

    Just a suggestion 😉

    Love ya Jenny!!

  246. The Company of Wolves, an early 1980s gothic fantasy horror film that my mother took me to when I was four (when I was six, she took me to Heavy Metal because she couldn’t find a sitter).

    Feel better.

  247. This is freakin’ amazing. I am in AWE. Such creativitiy, talent and cursing all wrapped up in one person. You are da shit. In a good way, of course.

    Suggestions? Sounds silly, but…How about a video of Michael Jackson’s Thriller on a very old TV in a corner somewhere.

    Thanks for sharing Jenny!

  248. your house is hauntingly beautiful!! I have dollhouse envy

    (ps: keep your head up!!! kick that depression’s miserable ass! I love you!)

  249. Your eye for accessories and interior design is phenomenal. You need your own HGTV show.

    Angie

    P.S. Kiss the Girls (the book) by James Patterson and Desperation by Stephen King. Creepy.

  250. my seniors read one too us my freshman year in college about the boogey man. i think it was by stephen king. to this day, i am obsessed with making sure all the doors in the house are closed.

  251. This is utterly fantastic.
    Tell Tale Heart by Poe would be a wonderful addition. I’ve loved that story since I was little, so maybe a lantern for it?
    And absolutely anything to reference any of H.P. Lovecraft’s fine works.

  252. oh! and michael jackson’s thriller video gave me nightmares. (i was ten. and afraid of everything, so maybe that won’t mean much, but there it is.)

  253. Oh, for me its House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. I can’t say its straight up horror but its certainly eerie and I’d give it a few points in fantasy or at least magic. Turned my world upside down.

    Oh and strictly fantasy: Sabriel by Garth Nix

  254. I’ve been watching “American Horror Story” on FX, and this dollhouse reminds me of that house! Your dollhouse is kick-ass!

    The book that gave me the creeps: Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood.”

  255. God, that’s cool! I’ve always loved miniatures (ever since childhood visits to Colleen Moore’s fairy castle at the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago) and have gone to miniatures shows, etc., but never really picked up the hobby. Now that I’ve seen your house I want to do something personalized like this! LOVE it.

  258. The Company of Wolves, an early 1980s gothic fantasy horror film that my mother took me to when I was four (when I was six, she took me to Heavy Metal because she couldn’t find a sitter and she said she needed to study the colors).

    Feel better.

  260. ugh. to, not too. and it’s just closet doors, not all the doors. and it was just the beginning and ending scenes of thriller that freaked me out. and i thought of two more: the first power (the spirit of a serial killer overtakes the body of a nun or something like that. devils messing with the devoutly holy always disturbs me). in the same vein, the silver bullet (a priest is a werewolf. i really hate those things.) and many, many moons ago, william peterson starred in a rendition of thomas harris’ red dragon called manhunter. really bad movie. but the book is awesome. really, really badass, actually. and the bad guy in it, he’s really, really messed up. whenever i’m home alone, i am reminded of a scene from the earlier film where the bad guy cuts all the power to the house, then stands in the doorway and shines a flashlight on the wife. as soon as the light wakes her up, he turns it off. and the knowledge of what happens next (which i remember from the book, but isn’t shown in the movie, because it’s so heinous) is very unsettling.

    and that is my contribution to your house. ciao.

  261. OK, I don’t know if it would fit your theme but the one movie that really freaked me for some reason, and even as a little kid I could handle scary movies, not like my scarey-cat little brother, was “The Legend of Boggy Creek.” Some reason that really freaked me out.

  262. Jenny,
    Despite the macabre theme, the dollhouse is delightful. No snark here. I just love it to pieces. I especially loved the oil can, hour glass, and ruby slippers on the mantle. This is so clearly a labor of love even with the spookiness.

    If I had to make one itty bitty suggestion……it would be to position Beyonce on the other side of the glass doors, behind the dollhouse, looking longingly into the living room….with Copernicus sitting on the couch with the cat…perhaps hugging her. (sorry; I just couldn’t help myself.)

    Happy Halloween!

  263. I love this! Wow! You mentioned Ruth Chew books the other day in you Good Mom/Bad Mom post and that brought me back! I love her books as a kid! If your daughter (or you) are ready for some creepier fare, you should try out Mary Downing Hahn. I teach third grade, and I have several of her books. Seriously, they can still creep me out, even though I have read them all about a bazillion times! Thanks for being here!

  264. I have to apologize for my horrible spelling mistakes earlier, especially because I said I was a teacher. OUCH! Perhaps I should learn to reread!

  265. For all you Coraline fans, be sure to read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Wonderful story about a baby who is raised by the ghosts in a graveyard after his family is murdered. Think Jungle Book, but with ghosts.

    Also I love Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series. It’s a fantasy series that focuses on the fairy kindgdom and the horrible things some of the fairies do.

  266. Definitely “Return to Oz”, starring a young Fairuza Balk. The part of this really quite horrible movie that thrilled my sister and I (and still terrifies my 26 year-old brother), is the part in Mambi’s walk in closet of heads. She cut them off the townsgirls of Oz and changes them like most change underwear. I’m thinking you could add a head that sits under a glass cake-cover. If you haven’t seen this straight-to-VHS movie, I highly recommend it as inspiration for your lovely house. Going over your photos in detail and being able to recognize the obscure references in your home makes me smile – I feel much less like an oddball now. Thank you.

  267. Totally (1) When a Stranger Calls – was to this very day the scariest movie ever, and (2) Something Wicked This Way Comes.

  268. Totally (1) When a Stranger Calls – was to this very day the scariest movie ever, and (2) Something Wicked This Way Comes.

    P.S. – I am totally plagiarizing this idea.

  269. To call you creative is an understatement. Yours is the only one I’ve ever seen.

    Does it have to be book references? I’m more of a movie gal and love the old horror flicks. Something in your dollhouse reminded me of the old Ray Harryhausen movies like “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad”, “Clash of the Titans”, “The Three Worlds of Gulliver”, and “Mysterious Island” and Ray Bradbury’s and Harryhausen’s “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms”. And of course Tim Burton’s “Corpse Bride” and “Nightmare Before Christmas”.

  271. I was neither here nor their about clowns growing up, but then at 18, I read Stephen King’s IT, and am scarred for life. Thankfully I’ve never cared for parades, and circuses, otherwise, that book would have killed fun for me. Oh, and I have never read Stephen King again. So from a book, I developed a fear of clowns, and Stephen King novels. Does that phobia have a name yet? I’m gonna create one, but I’m tired tonight, so I will do it tomorrow…Maybe. I’ll probably forget. I forget to do a lot.

  273. Wow, Jenny, your haunted house is incredible! If you’re looking for any additional creep factors, might I suggest clowns? From the clown doll in Poltergeist to the clown in King’s IT, they’ve been terrorizing us all for years. But if it needs to be a pop culture reference, how about the Gentlemen from the Buffy episode “Hush”? You could include a mini music box that plays that creepy song from Buffy’s dream. *shudders* Fantastic. Now I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight.

  274. That is the most awesome dollhouse ever!!! It is amazing and I am astounded by your creativity. More pictures please!

  276. I saw that someone else mentioned “The Yellow Wallpaper”. You for sure need a Yellow Wallpaper room! That story freaks me out everytime I read it!

  277. Amazing house! Have a good Halloween and I hope you feel better 🙂 If I were you i’d be singing my liver off at my beautiful haunted house

  279. This short story is horror because it is based in reality, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It is a first person narrative about a woman’s descent into insanity, I think you’ll like it:) Thanks for the great posts!

  280. Are you watching American Horror Story? I thought I was good, but woke up at 4 am with AHS dreams. Not good. But the show is awesome!

  281. That’s got to be one of the best works of art I’ve ever seen! All I can think of is the shower scene or the “Mother” outfit from Psycho, maybe you could tie those in? Something tells me this house will never be finished, but I assume that’s the whole point.

  283. Dear Blogess, the haunted house is awesome. I have a question for you completely off topic and since I could not figure out another way to get in touch wit you I thought i should at least try this way and see if it works. I would like to know if you are thinking of attempting the Christmas gift card miracle thing again this year. If you are please let me know I would like to be on your donors list.

  284. How about The Changeling…with George C. Scott. A red ball, an antique wheelchair, a piano, a bathtub or “It’s a hand!” All would make an easy addition…

  285. One of the scariest books I read growing up was The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Especially the parts where the wall in one room transformed into lips that were whistling, and where the girl thought she was holding her friend’s hand in the dark while the ghost banged on the door, but when the light came on her friend was actually across the room. Creepy!

  286. I am so not a scary book/movie fan. But that house is absolutely beautiful. You are truly talented and I love your attention to detail.

  287. Since you asked, have you read any of the Black Jewels Trilogy (Daughter of the Blood [Book 1], Heir to the Shadows [Book 2], and Queen of the Darkness [Book 3]) By Anne Bishop? They aren’t horror-creepy, but they are very dark fantasy. The world she built is the world I would live in, if I ever had a choice.

  288. I love the dollhouse pics. It’s a wonderful creation. If you haven’t read it, The Shadow of the Wind might be something you’d enjoy. Historical fiction with touches of horror and the fantastic.

  289. I fell in love with Kim Harrison’s Hollows series featuring all sorts of super natural beings/horror/drama/mysteries. It is one of the best takes on the modern vampire/witch. It changed my world view and helped me open my eyes beyond my old world view.
    Also Kelley Armstrong’s Women of Otherworld is a strong series.
    Thank you for being awesome. Let me know if you’ve read any of the books.
    Hope you get over your depression soon. I’m trying to do the same.

  292. You are so talented!!
    How about ‘the shining’. That book still messes with my mind. Really all Stephen king stuff messes with my mind. That’s why I love it!
    Big hugs for you xx

  293. I personally hate scary things, but your dollhouse is pretty damn sweet.
    Since we are speaking of depression I thought I should mention
    that my boyf and I live 800 miles apart and occasionally fall into our own bouts of depression because I work with violent abused children and his mom just died.
    During his last terrible day I said
    “ooooh boyfriend, I know exactly what will make you feel better.”
    And we read about Beyoncé. And then we read about the snuffleupagus donkey, and then we read about Copernicus and the weasel/snake attack and we read them out loud together which is such a vomitous thing to do (why doesn’t spell check have vomitous) but whatever fuck you judgers of vomitous behavior. We are combating depression here.
    So doesn’t that make you feel better?
    You might be depressed, but you helped us not to be!
    No?
    Well maybe you’ll appreciate this post later then.
    Thanks for your amazingness.
    Spell check has made it clear that half my vocabulary is made up so I’m going to stop writing now.

  294. Do you have “Rose Red” from the Stephen King movie going on yet? Though the architecture fits well enough in general 🙂 Then there’s the movie “House” from 1986. Scared the crap outta me, though I was only like 8. There’s “The Haunting” and “House on Haunted Hill” (less stars = better, when it comes to horror).

  295. Jenny,

    I just read through all 287 of the previous comments, and found no mention of any of the three suggestions that popped into my head. So!… here’s three things to add to your “To Do And Freak Out About” List.

    (1) “Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark”, by Alvin Schwartz. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scary_Stories_to_Tell_in_the_Dark) I read these when I was 8 or 9. The stories were good and kid-friendly. The drawings were -not-. See the book-cover picture on the Wikipedia page? That’s -nothing-. The other illustrations will keep you awake at night. You go to Google and type “scary stories to tell in the dark”, then click Images. That’ll show you most of them. Oh, did I mention this is a “children’s book”?

    (2) Fire In The Sky. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_in_the_Sky) It’s an alien-abduction movie, about a real incident in Arizona in the 70s. The first hour of the movie is no big deal. The last half hour, is the main character recounting his abduction. It was terrifying! I have only watched the movie once since I first saw it at age 13, and that was a decade later at age 23. It still scared me.

    (3) Cannibal Holocaust. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibal_Holocaust) No gore/murder/slasher movie, before or since, rivals this one. Not even close. It’s so well-made, so believable, that the director was ARRESTED FOR MAKING A SNUFF FILM. The catch – it’s not a snuff film. It’s just well-done. (Side note: the last scene involves gang rape, dismemberment, castration, and cannibalism… but, because of what happened -earlier- in the movie, you can watch the scene and think “Oh, that’s not so bad”.)

  296. “Leave me a comment with the horror/fantasy books that made your mind change in fabulous ways and I’ll check them out.”http://

    http://www.thebloggess.com/ — you should read her. She’ll freak you the fuck out. You might even want to look in your mirror and she if she’s following you… No, seriously.

  297. Oh, and of course… I love your work, particularly your real-life stories, and I hope you get to feeling better!

    –Wood

  298. I read Coraline when I was in middle school during a thunderstorm, and it scared the living crap out of me. I know that you and Neil Gaiman are basically BFF’s, so any kind of reference to that book would be awesome. I reread it a few years ago in high school, and it still creeped me out. I’d love to see some button-eyed people.

  300. Christ on a cracker, woman, you are pure magic! I have been searching for the antidote for the sads this year, only to find it’s hidden in the gut of some tiny, digestively challenged creature.

  301. Please tell me you have some Terry Pratchett/Discworld references in there. That house is pretty amazing, I’m in awe 🙂

  302. I don’t know if anyone’s mentioned it yet, but I LOVE all things written by Peter Straub (Check out Floating Dragon or Shaddowland – the first book I read by him that just warped my brain completely) and Richard Laymon. <3

  304. This is brilliant!! I don’t read horror or watch scary films but was into the Hitchcock ones when I was young and have a couple ideas…a ‘psycho’ style shower for the bathroom, with menacing shadow on shadow curtain and the little tree beside the house would be an awesome spot for a whole crowd of ravens (‘the birds”)….also after you’d finished decorating the tree with birds you could say you’d ‘put a bird on it’ :o) …get well soon Jenny, if only you could absorb all the happiness you give out via your hilarious blog posts…

  305. That is amazing. Well and truly awesome!

    My all time biggest horror movie scare is that lanky haired chick who crawls out of the TV in ‘Ring’… Still gives me the heebeejeebies (sp?!)

  306. I hope you haven’t got any spiders in there cause that is what freaks me out. I couldn’t even buy fake earring ones for my halloween stuff cause they are SPIDERS. One chased me at work and the person I called to save me was scareder than me. The sook. I just stood on a table she screamed and ran away. Don’t put spiders in your dolls house Jenny they will grow into football sized spiders with fleas and chase you around the house. Oh and I vaguely remember watching a movie about spiders where they engulfed the whole town with icky spider webs and ate everybody. My 5 freaking brothers terrorised me with spiders so it is their fault the bastards. I think the movie was called “Spiders” Hugely scarey. Don’t watch it.

  308. Three books that have recently rewritten my brain:

    Vellum – by Hal Duncan
    John Dies at the End – David Wong

    This one got me back in high school:
    Illusions by Richard Bach

  310. Do you have “The King In Yellow”? It’s a short story about a play by the same name; the second act of the play is supposed to drive anyone who reads it insane.

    “The Necronomicon” by the Mad Arab Abdul Al-Hazred, of course. Actually, anything by H. P. Lovecraft, either actual books or stories that he authored or the fictional grimoires that populate the Cthulhu Mythos.

    “The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows” the Satanic grimoire from the Johnny Depp film “The Ninth Gate”.

    And since everyone is naming suggesting Stephen King titles, I will put forward “‘Salem’s Lot” as one worth having on the shelves of a haunted dollhouse.

  311. The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman (which you’ve probably already ready) helped change my world. The simple beauty of a boy living in a graveyard, being parented by ghosts and becoming a happy, well-adjusted adult was the epitome of alternative lifestyle for me.

    The Chronicles of Narnia were the first fantasy books I ever read; they started my imagination bubbling at the age of 9. They were followed suit by Lord of the Rings and the Neverending Story.

    You don’t have to include any of these, but if you require some extra fodder, hopefully I can provide it.

    This house is absolutely gorgeous. A haunted dollhouse is such a beautifully twisted idea.

  313. All I can say is, the Good Lord certainly made you speical. I’m just gratetful he made you weird and wacky too.

  314. Oh, and also, Barnes and Noble has been selling something called “Tim Burton’s Tragic Toys for Boys and Girls”. Not exactly sure it’d be to scale, but perhaps Scraps would like some cousins.

  315. I’ve dealt with depression (I like using the phrase “dealt with” in regards to things like this. It sounds like I put on my brass knuckles and/or ran over it with my car. My depression? It’s been…”dealt with”). It’s not fun. I hope that things will start to feel better sooner rather than later.

    In the meantime, I thought this post was going to go in a horrible and scary direction – something along the lines of when my sister was a kid and so sick that she was delirious. She thought she heard her dolls (a bunch of them, all lined up along the wall) giggling and then it seemed like they rose and started to walk towards her.

  316. Bow down! Bow down! You are AMAZING! …but we already knew that.
    I love love love all of the references you have in there — what a SUPER! COOL! IDEA!

    And what a fun game (mini scavenger hunt) it could be!

    You may have one/a reference and I just missed it (I have a self-diagnosed “sydrome” that makes me a bad finder, so don’t ever ask me to help you look for something) but I wanted to suggest a clown/clown mask (IT) or even cotton candy (Killer Klowns from Outer Space) — as they are both movies that scarred many people in my generation… practically a whole generation SCARED OF FREAKIN’ CLOWNS.

  317. Jenny, YOu are awesome!

    Seriously, a haunted dollhouse would have been the best Christmas Present Ever.

    Movies or Books that gave me irrational phobias:
    Poltergeist- (There HAS to be a terrifying clown doll under one of the beds)

    The Stand- I cannot go into tunnels without having heart failure

    Gerald’s Game…not kidding, it gave me clausterphobia and restraint terror

    Salems Lot (Original)- Hang Danny Glick out one of the windows, lol

    Triology of Terror- The voodoo doll thing scared the crap out of me

    Original Don’t be afraid of the dark…still gives me nightmares.

  318. This is the most wonderful dollhouse ever. I want to make one, and although I may steal the idear from you, it never be as full of awesome as yours!

  319. Fantastically awesome, my small peeps LOVED the pictures and advised that there is always room for more dragons (Eragon is currently a favorite story in our house).

  320. Wow, this is totally amazeballs – go you.

    I hope this doesn’t just stop with the house itself btw. Hope you take it further by at least stationing the structure on some Island of sorts. That way you can go even more haywire with themes and references etc (grave-yard with beettle-juice headstone, grim reaper boat on a stream, cave of doom thingy from pan’s labyrinth, Whommping Willow tree). Just a thought!

    Story favs/creeped-the-hell-out-of-me moments =
    Woman in Black (80’s version)
    Pan’s Labyrinth
    Darkness
    Return to OZ

    Keep up the fabulous work!!! 🙂

  321. Beyond my tiny imagination. It is beautiful. Your talents continue to amaze me. Here’s to a great holiday.

  322. This has probably already been said, or you’ve probably already read it – The Hunger Games trilogy blew my mind. I loved every minute of it and read it all in about 3 days. A very nice amount of creepy and an easy read. It’s billed as a teen book, not so much.

    I also liked Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom – it was pretty interesting.

  323. Damnit – I hit the ‘enter’ button. I also meant to say that your dollhouse is absolutely a work of art. You’ve interested me in the world of miniatures, I’ve already started making things specifically for dollhouses, and for myself. Thanks for that, it makes my days a little bit more interesting, and has made other people happy too.

  324. Beautiful work! I loved the Harry Potter references.
    Also, the Jimmy Buffett element (Parrot on a stand) made me break out in a cold sweat.

    One question – what scale is this in?

    (Thanks! It’s in 1:12 scale. ~ Jenny)

  325. Just wondering where Copernicus is – I might have missed him in miniature because there is so much incredible detail, but if he’s not in there, he certainly should be!

  327. This is amazing!! And it made me think of a book I fell in love with when I was in school.

    It’s called “The Dollhouse Murders” and is by Betty Ren Wright.

    It’s actually about a girl and her sister who witness the decades old murder of a family member by watching it being acted out in the actual dollhouse.

    Just seemed somewhat appropriate. Thanks for all your awesome posts!!!

  328. The most deeply scarring book I was ever read as a child was The Ankle Grabber by Rose Impey.
    It’s a book meant to reassure children that their fears are unfounded, but instead it planted the seed for one of my deepest fears. I know it sounds silly, but to this day I feel uncomfortable standing next to a bed for a prolonged amount of time, and whenever I watch a horror movie or share ghost stories with friends I will pull my feet up into my chair for protection. Perhaps this is why I prefer sleeping on a futon on the floor?
    Also, The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. Saw the animated movie as a child, and promptly forgot most of it except this feeling of panic and dread, with swirling evil pumpkin faces.
    Love the Neil Gaiman references, by the way. What an AMAZING haunted dollhouse!!
    Happy Halloween!

  329. Girl – I am just fascinated by this dollhouse! I’m not really into horror that much (I have an overactive imagination and I don’t need to compound it with scary stuff), but my dad built me a fabulous dollhouse when I was a kid and in the town I grew up in there was a wonderful dollhouse shop that my mom and I would go to and buy all kinds of cool miniature stuff to fill it up with over the years. So I really appreciate dollhouses and things in miniature, and your attention to the tiniest detail is terrific.

    Since I’m not much of a horror aficionado, I don’t have much of a really cool horror book or movie to tell you about. However, when I was a very young adolescent girl with hormones starting to rage through my system, I saw Dracula with Frank Langella (you know, the old guy who played Nixon in Frost/Nixon), and let me tell you, girl, back in the day (and even now) Frank Langella was the sexiest vampire on the face of the planet! I’m sorry, but neither Robert Pattinson nor the dudes from True Blood can hold a dusty, cob-webbed candelabra next to Frank Langella in the vampire dept. You need to see that movie if you haven’t already – hell, I need to see if I can rent it and watch it again myself.

    If you can get a sexy Dracula doll in your dollhouse, I’ll love it even more. I hope that doesn’t make me perverted.

  330. Cujo scared the SHIT out of me! Not exactly along the lines of what you’ve got going here (which is *amazing* BTW), but still. Scared the SHIT out of me!

  333. O…M…G… this is seriously just another reason why I love you. Love reading your blog, love your insight, and really love your twisted mind that came up with the serious freakiness that is your dollhouse.

    Halloween is my favourite time of the year – ever since I scared myself stupid when reading Stephen King’s “The Shining” at age 12, horror has been a part of me. You ever read Ray Bradbury’s “Something Evil This Way Comes”? That started me on my road to spooky in my young and impressionable years. Peter Staub’s “Ghost Story” was next to perminantly align my soul to the dark.

    I really hope you start feeling some of the great energy here and that helps pull you out of your funk!!!

  334. First of all, you are a hilarious, amazing & wonderful SUPER GENIUS (like Wyle E. Coyote). I’m sorry about your depression- I know firsthand how much it, well, sucks. (Figuratively & literally sucking the life out of you, some days) This dollhouse is brilliant. Every detail. The tarot cards sent me over the edge. You are freaking awesome.
    Your readers are also amazing, and I wish there was some way to “LIKE” their posts on this thread! I especially loved Zena Zee’s post. Shoutout to Zena Zee- if you’ve never watched Winona Ryder in Beetlejuice, find it and watch.
    Ok, my suggestions: Beetlejuice- maybe an odd stone sculpture out in the yard or a bowl of bananas for the Banana Boat Song. I read “Let the Right One In” earlier this year and it has stuck with me. Maybe a tiny trophy in a bush outside the house or a little piece of paper attached to the wall with morse code on it. From Amityville Horror (I read this over one afternoon in high school and didn’t sleep for a few days) if there’s any way to make “Jody’s” red eyes peering in- maybe just 2 red dots on a window. Lastly – I will always love Labyrinth and wanted to marry Jareth (or Bowie… whichever). Maybe a few magical small glass balls?

  335. H.P. Lovecraft!! In particular, At the Mountains of Madness and its corresponding movie, In the Mouth of Madness (scariest shit I ever seen).
    Your dollhouse makes me happy. Reminds me of growing up in England and the abandoned servants quarters attached to the 300-yr-old house we lived in. The creepy cellar so deep & wide (and partially flooded) that we never could find the edges, and the cellar staircase leading nowhere… Oh, yes, we DID decorate that shit for Halloween. Oh yes.

  337. Love the dollhouse – it is absolutely amazing!

    My favorite horror books: The Haunting of Hill House
    The Yellow Wallpaper
    The Monkey’s Paw
    The Dunwich Horror
    Phil Rickman is a really good supernatural author as well. I love everything he’s written so far.

    Favorite Movies: The Shining
    In the Mouth of Madness
    Hellraiser (for some reason will give me nightmares every time!)

    And thank you all for some great ideas for future reading!

  338. Apologize if I’m repeating, but King’s Pet Cemetary scared the crap out of me. To this day I have images from the book in my mind.

  339. I’ve been reading your blog for some time now and I just have to bow to your irreverent amazing funny intelligent style. I’m a single mom struggling really hard and sometimes your blog is the only thing that makes me laugh and gets me through the day. I absolutely loved your dollhouse but I have to say, the thing that scares me the most in this world is CLOWNS due to a very scary experience at my 7th birthday party. And I’m looking for a great big Beyonce to put on my front step but facing outward so everyone else can get the message.

  340. Anything by Octavia Butler, but the Xenogenesis series was the first ‘what the hell’ moment. They are science fiction/fantasy books with some creepy to them.

  341. I think I see a reference to “The Changeling” in there; great horror flick with George C. Scott. But also see so many literary references that it makes my heart happy!

    Happy Halloween Jenny! I will have you know that I am wearing a necklace that says “Zombies are coming!” today…I consider it a PSA.

    p.s. -always remember just how much you truly inspire so many in so many ways.

  343. this is awesome and creep-tastic! the only things missing are a little mini Copernicus-the-homicidal-monkey and/or mini cobra/mongoose deathmatch…

  345. Thing one: I would like to live in your haunted dollhouse, pleaseandthankyou.
    Thing two: Scariest book ever… The Lottery (Shirley Jackson) although We Have Always Lived in the Castle was scary, too.

  347. I always wanted a doll house but my dad wouldn’t build one for me, bastard… I have sons and they’d have NO interest in a doll house… but a haunted house… that ROCKS!!!

  348. Scariest books and favorite fantasy: Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, Cujo by Stephen King (the ghost dog in the closet still scares me), Wrinkle in Time, Bunnicula, Harry Potter. Do you have the armored bear from the Philip Pullman Dark Materials trilogy? If not, then you need an armored bear. My sister had me read a short story when I was 10 about a woman walking home from a party and realizing she was being followed. There was a man strangling women in their town and she runs for fear it’s him. Of course he’s waiting in her house when she gets home. I have no idea the name of the story or the author but it terrified me and still does.
    For movies, the original version of The Haunting is fabulously creepy. Stir of Echoes also freaks me out, as does the little girl in The Ring.

  349. this is the most beautiful dollhouse I’ve ever seen… I’m so jealous! it’s those little touches like the snake slithering by on the floor and the dragon coop!

  350. Having a project that helps externalize some of that depression seems like a tremendously clever idea. So there. You get to be clever on many fronts.

    I love Halloween and only Halloween when it comes to holidays. It seems the only honest one in the bunch.

    May your darkness lift enough that you are able to enjoy the upcoming Dark Day.

  352. Coraline, the book more than the film, shit me up pretty bad. oh and the house is amazing, wish i was tiny so i could live there!

  353. i LOVE halloween! i LOVE your haunted doll house…i’m very, very jealous…thinking i should make a LEGO version? i hope you have a terrifying halloween!

  354. I have to say one of the most compelling stories I ever read was Stephen King’s “It”. (The TV movie that was made was abysmal – except for Tim Curry, who NAILED IT.) I read this book when I was pretty young because my mother failed to censor anything I read.
    But this book, despite the horror, had some magic in it – elements of childhood beliefs and friendships that stand the test of time.

    And Pennywise the Clown was HORRIFYING.

  355. Hey, you’ve always helped me when I’m battling the curse of depression. I’m sorry to see the references to depression in your blogs and admire your ability to keep on. Just the other day, my few friends were hounding me about not posting to my (boring if you don’t actually know me) blog, and I was thinking: how does the Bloggess do it?

    Just wanted to let you know how much I admire you and enjoy your postings.

  357. Your dollhouse is awesome, and I’m glad it’s giving you an outlet to work out your glooms.

    The description of the eponymous doll in Jonathan Coulton’s “Creepy Doll” is quite scary. It has “a ruined eye that’s always open” and “a pretty mouth to swallow you whole.” The song has been stuck in my head ALL MONTH. Apparently I’m ready for Halloween. xD

    I don’t like horror movies as a rule, but I’ve just now realized I’m a glutton for many other forms of horror, mostly books and music. I’m listening to a song from Silent Hill 4 right now, as a matter of fact.

  358. I love that the ruby slippers are in there. I have no idea why Wizard of Oz freaks me out – is it the lollipop guild? the flying monkeys? glinda? – but it gives me the heebiejeebies to this day.

    What struck me the most about this dollhouse is that a mini-Copernicus would so gracefully fit in, in just about any room.

    Hope the clouds don’t linger too long.

  359. If you haven’t read the Shirley Jackson classic, The Haunting of Hill House, you should. Such a wonderful, wonderful ghost story—beautiful, witty, and absolutely terrifying. It is the model upon which all ghost stories ought to be based.

  361. I started reading the comments, but decided to finish them when I could have my Flixster and Goodreads lists in hand. Can’t let these suggestions get away without putting them on my To Watch/Read lists. 🙂
    I’ve got my own suggestion for you: Marble Hornets. It’s a YouTube web series. The story has been unfolding for 2 years now, broken up into short 3-10 min. episodes, and it’s just getting better as it goes on. Part horror, part mystery, part puzzle. I recommend using the wiki at marblehornets.wikidot.com to watch it. Start with Intro and keep hitting next. You can find the decoded stuff in the text for each entry, but you can enjoy the story without them. Genuinely scary, mess-with-your-head stuff. Runs a few hours if you watch it in one sitting.

  364. Holy Shitsnacks! This is beyond awesome. Thank you so much for sharing , I can’t wait to show my boys.

  365. This is the kind of thing that makes my brain tingle in a good (but not sessy) way. For the same reason, I buy vintage photos of people who are probably dead. It sounds really strange to say that, doesn’t it?

  366. Love it.

    I think your haunted dollhouse is *gorgeous*.

    For books, Bradbury’s “Something Wicked This Way Comes”, Gaiman’s “Smoke and Mirrors” (which I know you’ve read!), Stephen King’s “The Stand”, Murakami’s “Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World” (will blow your fucking head off with its awesomeness).

  367. @Jennifer, Comment #347:

    It’s from Ray Bradbury’s “Dandelion Wine”, and the killer is called “The Lonely One”.

  368. Do you have an archenemy walled up in the basement of the dollhouse? I really learned to love classics (of all genres) when I read “The Cask of Amontillado.” I don’t even really love horror/thrillers, but it was so timeless that I wondered what other stories were holed up in the “old” books.

  370. See??? THIS is why you’re my hero!!!! I totally need a dollhouse like this!! So awesome!

    The only two movies that have ever kept me up at night:
    The Changeling (George C. Scott, NOT Angelina Jolie) – That little wheelchair is fucked up.
    The Exorcism of Emily Rose – When she was all posessed and shit she did this crazy looking jump so she could claw at the wallpaper in her room. Freaked me right the hell out.

    Happy (Almost) Halloween. I hope you manage to kick this bout of depression squarely in the nuts in time to enjoy this most wonderful time of year.

  371. This is pretty much the coolest thing I’ve seen all month. I love it, and it made my whiny, pouty, bitchy self smile today.
    Thank you!

  372. Type “haunted miniatures” into the search bar on Etsy for items your house needs such as a Ouija board and “The Handbook For The Recently Deceased” from the movie “Beetlejuice.”

  375. I LOVE the fairies! I agree w/ the people mentioning Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House.” The original (1963) version of “The Haunting” (based on that story) is my favorite creepy film! Also, how about that horrid creature from “Pan’s Labyrinth” that is sitting at the table and has eyes in his hands. SO DISTURBING!!!

  377. Seriously?! Ah. Maze. Ing. I love the Coraline reference.
    You have made my heart smile, once again.

  379. I am so super stoke about this because of MANY things BUT…The Changeling is one of my ALL-TIME FAVORITE HORROR MOVIES EVER!! I tried to show it at a sleep over for my 12th birthday and all my friends laughed at me because they were noobs who didn’t get it!!!

    Also, is that Jack from Return to Oz in the attic!?

  380. I love that Copernicus is in the attic. If I ever start a band that’s the name. Or write a book.

  382. HGTV? Get on with your bad self! I’d love to see the pie from Thinner by Stephen King. It was the first horror book I ever read, it would be relatively easy to add, thought it would probably only delight me. Anyway. Carry on…

  383. A typewriter with the paper in it saying, “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.” Sorry if this is a repeat of an earlier comment.

  384. Not sure if you’ve read these, but zombie books… Mira Grant – Feed & deadline. JL Bourne’s books. Rhiannon Frater has some zombie books that are easy to read, and there aren’t any slow parts, so it can keep you wrapped up for a while.

    I need some good reading myself. It does help to escape life temporarily. Hope you start feeling better soon. At least the weather is finally a little cooler which makes it easier to go for a quick walk.

  386. Is OCD infectious? I just crawled through every picture I could find of this house until I discovered the box on the shelf with the monkey’s paw in it. Worth it.

    Happy Halloween. x

  387. This house is truly the coolest thing EVER! Thanks for sharing it with your many readers.

    As to what movies or books I’ve read that made an impression…

    The movie “The Ring” [American version] had me sleeping with the lights on for about a week. So maybe a well out in the yard? Or a picture on the wall with a 3D fly…? You could also get a 1958 Plymouth Fury in red to park in the driveway [from the book “Christine”].

  389. I first found your blog in the process of Googling “taphophilia” to research my creepy childhood obsession with graveyards and came across the pictures you took of Hailey in the cemetary with the angel statue, and her talking about the “peoples” in the mausoleum. (I think Hailey must “shine”.) The photos were beautiful and the rest your blog was hysterical, and I have been a fan ever since. I am 800 shades of green with envy at your haunted dollhouse – it is one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I don’t read a lot of horror, sci-fi, or fantasy (although I do have an affinity for haunted house novels), but for me the book your dollhouse most reminds me of is Among the Dolls by William Sleator (the edition with the terrifyingly beautiful illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman). I read it when I was nine, and I never played with dolls again. . .

  390. I am in love with your dollhouse! You’ve made a wonderful creation. If I ever get a house anything close to this will you help me decorate?

  391. How about a reference to Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury?
    I love your dollhouse!

  392. @Rebecca (#366) thank you so much!!! I can’t believe someone here knows that story – okay, I really shouldn’t be surprised, where else, right? Thank you, I’ve been wanting to read it again to see if it still scares me and now that I know the title and author I can. You are awesome!

  393. That dollhouse is amazing. You’ve put a lot of love and devotion into it and it shows. The tiny Ouija board on the desk by the wheelchair is my favorite part. I’m so sorry about the insidious depression; it’s like an unwelcome house guest only by house I mean soul. I hope you have some relief soon. The scariest books I ever read were Helter Skelter, Salem’s Lot, and Pet Sematary. I saw the original Nightmare on Elm Street at the drive-in when I was a teenager and I was so freaked out it gave me a stomach ache.

  394. Kingdom of the Spiders…not sure what is more scary, the spiders or William Shatner. Keep your chin up and remember to laugh at yourself.

  396. I want to live in that house. I wasn’t sure if I saw a “Turn of the Screw” reference, but I can imagine there is. Seriously. I want to live in that house.

  397. Robin McKinley’s Sunshine. A vampire story (written before Twilight). I never thought I would love a book that used the word “gobbet,” but I could not help myself.

  398. That is quite possibly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Wish I’d thought of it. Would you feel robbed if I tried to do something like this?

    Also, have you heard about the book The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, as well as documentary: http://www.ofdollsandmurder.com/?

    Feel better,
    K

  399. Simply amazing!
    I don’t watch horror films anymore; the psychological analysis I do on myself, family and friends is terrifying enough:)
    Hope your spirits lift soon; although your dark mood is well-timed for Halloween and Mexico’s Day of the Dead!
    On a serious note, try yoga Jenny. It, too, is simply amazing. <3

  400. And WHERE did you get it all? Are there places to buy tiny tarot cards, or did you make them yourself?

  401. I haven’t watched a horror movie since I was 15… (which is a LONG time ago, but I ain’t sayin’ how long). Ya gotta be careful whatcha put in your head, ya know. Of course, with what you’ve got in there already perhaps I’m too late with a warning ;p I do love your attention to detail though, I don’t have the attention span to stick with anything I didn’t deliver or marry for 11 years.

  402. Oh, and the movies that scarred me permanently and turned me off horrors completely were Amityville and The Exorcist… and the last somewhat scary novel I read was Thinner. (Didn’t check to see if you already have references to those in your dollhouse)

  403. Please have the bulging door from The Haunting of Hill House (the 1963 version with Claire Bloom and Julie Harris). Or you could just pick out some wallpaper that somehow symbolicall indicates the simmering unrequited lesbian relationship between Claire and Julia. As you know miss smahttypants Bloggess that the movie is taken from a Shirley Jackson novella of the same name…..

  406. Although not scary and more disturbing, I’ve always been a fan of Creepy Susie: And 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children.

  407. I consider my friend Beth the greatest friend ever for introducing me to your site!
    I love dollhouses but spend my time writing poetry — have you seen Colleen Moore’s at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago? Yours is simply wonderful; I hear Halloween-style tinkly creepy music box tunes when I look at your creation!

  410. Another thought:
    Watched Rocky Horror Picture Show tonight as I do every October, I must say, you really should include a mini taxidermied jaguar with the snake arm (Early in the Time Warp number). I feel like it’s right up your ally. :]

  411. Love the dollhouse! I’m glad you mentioned it was supposed to be haunted cause frankly, it creeped me out just looking at it.

    When I’m depressed I draw or paint, when I’m anxious I sculpt. Funny how we escape the psychological crap by playing with messy shit. This year I scooped the innards out of a watermelon and carved him a creepy face. It worked 🙂 give it a go, it’s nothing if not tasty

    As for your dollhouse…
    You need a teeny sewer grate and a miniature IT peeking out. That friggin movie still scares the crap outta me.

  412. Wow, your doll house is immaculate; just perfect, even the tarot cards are placed in a Keltic cross spread. Congratulations on the recognition for your work, you so deserve it!

    I’ve got no suggestions for books but I will say that I collect vintage photographs, albums, and frames because I love the fashion and style of clothing, but so many of them have a spooky and haunting quality about them…I have a small collection of vintage 19th dresses with accessories that I wear as Halloween costumes. A lot of the photos are small tintypes and many in tiny and beautiful cases that might be used in a doll house.

    While driving on an interstate through a large city, I saw a house very much like your doll house and immediately took the next exit to find it and get a closer look. Standing in front of the house with the three story main tower…was both intimidating and creepy because it almost felt like the tower was looking down on me.

    I just have to ask, who is in the framed picture on the wall of the bedroom?

  413. Holy hell. How have I not heard of this blog until right now? You are brilliant. This haunted doll house is brilliant. I love that this site exists. I am so excited for a new blog to read and love!

  414. I haven’t read the comments, so I apologize if this is in here a thousand times, but your haunted dollhouse posts always remind me of my FAVORITE book when I was little, The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright.
    Very creepy and I can’t believe I first borrowed it from my grade school library.

  415. That is absolutely one of the most amazing things I’ve ever set eyes on. I could spend hours admiring it. WOW

    ((HUGS)) to you, I hope your spirits lift soon.

  416. Have you seen Child of Glass? It was a Disney Movie in the 80’s where these kids find a haunted doll in a well. That thing fucked me up but good! I still wish I could find it on DVD. Of course I have to mention The Changeling with George C Scott and Triah van Devere. The wheelchair at the top of the stairs! Freaked. Me. Out. And Dont Be Afraid of the Dark.
    Great. Now I have the creeps.
    The dollhouse is beyond. Just…beyond.

  417. The house is BEAUTIFUL! I would never have enough patience for something that immaculate or that detailed. So many little parts…It really is amazing!

  418. I’m so happy to have found you a few months ago. I’ve been following you avidly ever since, and sharing with all my friends. (Stand by for demonstration of relevancy, indeed!)

    For the Shirley Jackson fans, just a small pile of stones in the yard should do it. I still think that is one of the most truly frightening stories ever.

    For more modern literature, I *highly* recommend Nina Kiriki Hoffman, who along with fantasy wrote A Red House of Memories, which is quite a ghost story, and I’m sure you can find some inspiring stuff in there.

    I too have been battling Depression for decades (I know, you’re not yet old enough to have been in the fight that long–maybe I’m just proof you can survive) and YOU are now one of my best weapons. This week, the big D is winning, but I come to you daily, and you make me feel so much better. Thank you.

  419. I looked at all the pictures and was amazed at the beauty of your creativity (and everyone that helped you). I wish I could do something like this but with my own twist on certain things. However I do not have the space for such a project nor do I have the funds. I can understand how it took eleven years to get this masterpiece where it is today. Congratulations to you. You must love escaping to your haunted little corner of the world. 🙂

  420. I wish I had your creative edge and patience to make something like this. And maybe the time to do it as well…

    As for books you’re “missing” (how the hell could you be missing anything in all of that) I would suggest reading “John Dies at the End” if you haven’t already. It is completely beyond fucked up and has ruined me for all other books. Though finding something to represent how completely fucked and bizarre it is might be hard

  421. Beautiful dollhouse! And mad propz for being able to work on it through the fog of depression.
    Do you read Hyperbole and a Half? There’s a lot of that bad stuff going around lately. Speaking as a lifelong shadow-person, I’m so thankful that people are finally talking about depression and realizing that it’s an illness like any other.
    Hope you will soon be out of the shadows.
    xxoo

  422. I adore you doll house! I was suprised not to see a faceless dress form wearing the black bride-to-be gown presented by the devil to the princess from the movie “Legend”. I love the dancing black gown in that movie and the absolutely coolest looking devil ever done!
    Keep up the good work!

  425. If you haven’t seen Eyes Without a Face, you should. It’s seriously creepy, and there’s some great imagery that you might be able to recreate in the dollhouse of awesome you’ve got going.

  426. So “dont go down into the basement” wvas my first love in b horror, and you never forget your first
    Do you have it represented?

    Cheers
    Alan

  428. This is pretty spectacular! I am in awe of what you have done here… I am not a big dollhouse fan, but this one is very kickass! I hope the grey cloud leaves you alone soon!

  429. I’ve never been one for horror stories, but a fantasy book that I do so love is “The Empty Crown” by Rosemary Edghill (it’s three books! yay!). It is fantastic. It’s got an elf-lord in New York trying to recover his magical sword, which turns whatever human wields it into a Grendel, which eats human flesh. Quite gory and awesome. That and the whole story is awesome. So uh.. yeah.
    But it changed my mind in many ways. Especially the third book, with eves, a scifi convention, and a bipolar nurse/SCA member with an awesome sword.
    Shutting up now.

  431. ROSEMARY’S BABY!!! I would love to see the black bassinet from the movie in ;your dollhouse. Complete w/the upside down cross and maybe a butcher knife sticking in the floor next to it!

  432. Fantastic doll house! Did you read Wil Wheaton’s The Monster in My Closet? A really good scary story, just in time for Halloween. Your doll house needs a haunted closet…

  433. LOVE the dollhouse! Looks like the perfect home for my Elphaba doll!

    And Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”…AWEsomely freaky. Haven’t seen it in years, but from what I remember, FREAKY!

    Happy Samhain celebrations!

    Prevail~Tattoo Girl

  435. I’m speechless. I grew up obsessed with miniatures and dollhouses. My grandma and I would spend all weekend on it, every weekend, for most of my childhood. I think I exploited her love for me just to fill the tiny rooms with canopy beds and victorian sofas and really real looking plates of food. When my parents finally decided that they no longer wanted three dollhouses (one had electricity that worked!) in their guest bedroom I told them just to get rid of them, but save all the furniture. I didn’t want to know then, and I still don’t know where they went, but I have a closet full of magical miniature furniture that I occasionally still go through. What really got me about this post, besides the fact that my love of dollhouses hasn’t died – is that I do something similar. Not quite this fabulous or to this extent – but each Christmas, I set up miniature Christmas scenes around the house with all the old dollhouse stuff. It makes me really happy. So did this post. Thank you.

  436. Hi! So, I belong to freecycle.org locally in Columbus, Ohio. It is a site where people give away things. This was a post yesterday and you were the first person I thought of! I tried to get it, but sadly, someone else got to it first.

    “Freecycle Offer: Haunted Doll.

    It just showed up on our porch one day. She has no eyes but they used to be there. Creepy.

    She’s porcelain, I think. Her dress is dirty, but that’s to be expected for haunted doll. I think it can be removed to wash, but you’re not gonna’ catch me trying.

    Email contact only, and we can arrange convenient porch pick-up.”

  437. This is incredible!!
    …also, love the reminder you wrote to yourself on Twitter today. I keep “This Too Shall Pass” on my computer screen. I don’t always believe it when I need to, but I’m hoping someday I will!

  441. Shirley Jackson – the Lottery, but really anything; that woman could freak me out without even using any scary words….just normal normal until holy sh*t, what the heck just happened, I need to lie down and cogitate on that for 6 days.

  442. This is truly amazing. I have shared a link to it on Facebook and also suggested my readers come over and take a look in this morning’s blog post (I assume you won’t mind having some extra traffic come your way…?) What a spectacular effort, and a beautiful artifact you have created here! :o)

  443. Absolutely fantastic work! I used to “make” my own stuff for my dollhouses when I was younger. But that mostly involved stealing pieces from board games, using them for my own devices, and making my parents angry that they had to keep buying new board games.

    Are there Coraline references that I’m missing? I kept expecting to see a box with two black buttons, a needle, and thread…

  445. I hope you’ve read The Yellow Wall Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman! We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson was pretty creepy, too.

  447. I totally read that as “miniature Victorian vampire killing kilts” and now I want to make some of those!

  448. Poo. You don’t have a search feature. I want to find the other dollhouse posts.

    Mostly because I have a dollhouse in need of repair and this is inspirational. Mine is more classic Americana so I’ll have to do an American Haunting feel, less Celtic vibes. Still, this is bitchng.

  449. first off, that dollhouse is the most awesomest bit of awesome in all the land! as for suggestions, you should either do the well from H.P. Lovecraft’s The Colour Out of Space, or the metal brain containing knob controlled canisters from The Whisperer in Darkness from the same author, i think those would be cool, keep being amazing! <3

  450. I love this so much it just hurts!! When I was a child I fell in love with the series The Borrowers about the little people that live under our floorboards and build their own little cozy homes off of the odds and ends we leave laying about (they are the reason you can never find a hairpin when you need one.) It captured my imagination so much that I built my own Borrower house in the shelves that were built under my window seat. I spent so many happy hours making little things for it…I wish I still had it! And making your house haunted is so fucking brilliant…I’ve always loved creepy, supernatural and fantastic things. I second someone’s suggestion of The Pit and the Pendulum….truly horrifying!! The Supernatural tv series is awesome beyond the telling of it (maybe you can park a mini ’67 Impala outside your dollhouse?) and Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer is my life and is probably the only thing that got me through the highschool years. Obviously Narnia and His Dark Materials are masterworks and totally awesome inspiration. Some lesser knowns that I reread frequently are the Dreamhunter Duet, The Withern Rise Trilogy, and The Music of the Razors (recommended by Neil Gamain!) The ultimate creepy mansion story is Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast Trilogy (the first two books take place in the castle and have some of the most uncanny and fantastic imagery you can imagine…some people consider Peake the original fantasy writer rather than Tolkien). Thomas Wharton’s novel Salamander is not strictly fantasy, but part of the story takes place in an amazing mansion ruled over by a domineering inventor who has mechanized everything…there is this amazing scene in which the hero’s bed travels on a track throughout the house at nighttime and he sees all the creepy wonders of the place. And Harry Potter fucking rules.

    PS I’ve been there with the depression thing….it’s a bitch, but you are awesome!!!!!!

  452. Wonderful job on the house. I too have a doll house which I have been working on as an adult…since not having one as a child…no, I’m not angry…really. So, I can really appreciate the hard work you have put into the house.

  453. That is amazing!
    It isn’t horror so much as very black humour (the best kind) but that bed seems made for the Thing from Pat Rothuss’ The Adventures of The Princess and Mr Whiffle.

    Perhaps Jareth the GoblinKing’s crystal ball near the tarot cards?

    I assume we already have a ‘Turn of the Screw’ reference?

  454. Do you have any allusions to The Wheel of Time, the best-selling fantasy series by Robert Jordan, whose last book is going to be released in the coming year? (Jordan died a couple books ago, but he left notes and outlines for the rest of the series, and it’s being finished –quite well– by a young fantasy writer named Brandon Sanderson.)

    From that series, I’d recommending constructing an eeny weeny Dragon’s Fang to etch or hang on the front door; or an oath rod; or a twisted doorway terangreal in the attic; or a teeny Serpent ring for the finger of the woman at the table; or the Callandor sword; or the Bowl of the Winds; or a map of the Blight. Just off the top of my head. 🙂

  455. Fantasy wise, anything by Patricia A. McKillip.
    I remember reading a book called Brainchild by Andrew Neiderman. I read it once when I was 10-13, and I could STILL give you a pretty thorough summary. I’d highly recommend a little something from the book. The main character was doing experiments on her family, so you’d probably be able to make a little something for your haunted house like the chart she used to get track of results.

  456. I would like to note that if the secret passage has a window, it’s not much of a secret.

  457. Not sure if it classifies as a horror story, but Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery always creeped me out. Perhaps you could add a nice pile of stones in the yard?

  460. Love the dollhouse! You and your skills are awesome. How about a “Little shop of horrors” plant in there? Feed me. FEEEED me! Happy Halloween!

  461. My God, I can’t make it through these ten thousand comments, I have to go to sleep before dawn! So apologies if someone has already mentioned any of these…

    I don’t do horror, but I do do fantasy. However I once sat through Hitchcock’s “The Birds” and twenty years later it still gives me the willies. Ray Bradbury’s “Something Wicked This Way Comes” did me in, too. Other than that? For fantasy/sci-fi, P.C. Hodgell’s Kencyrath series, Steven Brust’s “The Gypsy”, and Lisa Mason’s “Summer of Love”, though her “The Golden Nineties” might fit the theme better.

  462. Oh, dear, and how could I forget Edward Gorey? He isn’t horror, he isn’t fantasy, he’s just …. odd. Eccentric. Strange, even. “The Gashlycrumb Tinies” — http://nac.tamu.edu/x075bb/poems/gorey/ :
    A is for for Amy who fell down the stairs,
    B is for Basil, assaulted by bears,
    C is for Clara who wasted away,
    D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh….

  464. I third the comments about A Wrinkle In Time. My absolutely favorite book of all time. I also loved the movie Fallen with Denzel Washington. Every time I hear the song from it, I get creeped out all over. More of a psychological than gory movie.
    Have you read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies? The idea of that makes me laugh!

    Rosemary’s Baby is a major creeper. I read it in a Reader’s Digest Condensed book when I was 10 and had nightmares.
    I bet any of the movies/works of Georges Méliès would be fitting.

  465. I have to agree with the few others who have mentioned House of Leaves. It’s strangely hard to read, but it will change you. I mean CHANGE you. Somebody mentioned that it literally made them dizzy while reading it. I can second that.
    Another freaky fantasy type book is Raw Shark Texts. I look at piles of books in a whole new way because of the imagery in that book. 🙂
    Your house is amazing!

  466. That is fucking awesome i wish my wife understood the macabre/dark side of life that makes everything else that much more bitchin

  467. I’d like to suggest a tiny set of handcuffs one end attached to the top of a bedpost and the other dangling with red paint on it to suggest blood for Stephen King’s book “Gerald’s Game.” That book scared the shit out of me when I read it.

  468. You are amazing and inspiring and hilarious. And creative! This dollhouse is amazing!! Thank you so much for being so honest and raw. It is a treat that I keep coming back for.

  469. You know, I’ve been building haunted houses for charity for as long as have been investigating the paranormal (over 7 years now) and I’ve seen a lot of cool and simply unexplainable things, but the dollhouse just literally makes me drool with envy. I’ve been following your blog (silently…yeah, a bit stalker-ish, but in a good way I swear!) since the giant metal chicken (which, by the way, actually made me laugh out loud for the first time in months) and I simply love your writing style…but the dollhouse…that’s just cool. Really! From the guy who builds haunted houses that have made grown men wet themselves, I tip my hat to you! I love it!

  470. Super awesomeness! Two movies that spooked the crap out of me were “House of Wax” with Vincent Price and “Blowout” with creepy looking John Lithgow and a young John Travolta. I will never go into empty restrooms the same again.

  471. Spooky looking doll house. It definitely looks nice and just in time for halloween. I wonder what would little girls say when they see this? The work is very detailed and I am sure that a lot of effort was put in to finish this. You got a keeper there and nice article.

  474. Neverland by Douglass Clegg. This isn’t a classic horror novel but it is the one that has always stuck with me as probably the most twisted thing I’ve ever read.

  475. i think a shiny red Christine car should be parked out front, or back…i never know with dollhouses.

    <3 your shit!

  476. I’m totally with Jillian. I like the Other Mother’s hand in the bell jar, but a box with two black buttons, a needle, and thread really would get Coraline into the house. (And could be so subtly creepy.)

    And the hand in the jar *could be* the Monkey’s Paw, which is pretty dang creepy.

    And I didn’t see a miniature Copernicus in those pictures. Just sayin’…

  477. I’ve wanted to build a dollhouse for years! Not a haunted one, necessarily, but this is really cool. I’m again inspired to work on my floorplans. Thank you!

  478. Astonishing. I want to make one, too. (Only different, obviously.)

    Did the original, basic house come from a dollhouse kit? Or did you make the whole thing from scratch? I’m sure you’ve already answered this question 8 billion times, but could I ask you to point me to a link where you tell how you started?

  481. I read a story in a horror anthology once that just rocked my world and has never, ever left my mind. The story was called “Time Heals” (I think) and it was in the anthology “Scare Care” which was put together to benefit child abuse charities.

    In the story, a man whose wife is about to give birth contemplates his life of abuse under his mother. Because his mother is in the hosptial dying. When he visits her, he sees all the old bruises she ever gave him appear on her flesh one at a time. He comes to realize she was as much a victim of the cycle of abuse as he was, that she hated abusing him. He also realizes that he does not want to continue the cycle of abuse but he doesn’t know what to do about it. It reminds him of the game children have “pass it on” where you hit someone and say “pass it on” and they hit someone – he can’t figure out how to end it. His wife goes into labor and at the same time, in the same hospital his mother goes into a coma. His wife dies after giving birth to a baby girl. His mother dies at the same time. He goes home and in his grief cannot stop thinking about how hard it is to break the cycle. So he finally pulls out the scalpel he stole from the hospital and begins cutting the tendons in his hand so that he can never make a fist, all the while telling himself “time heals… time heals… heal me, heal me”

  482. Didn’t have time to ready everyone’s comments but I think you could totally add something from The Shining. Maybe a hedge maze, REDRUM, Jack breaking in a door?

    Love the dollhouse!

  483. I love your dollhouse. It reminds me of my actual haunted house, where I seriously had to have a psychic come ‘cleanse’ so I can put what my husband calls my ‘biggest Halloween decoration’ up for sale!

  485. Just a suggestion for a book. The creepiest thing I have ever read is “House of Leaves.” Terrifying by far.

  486. First of all, I have to say I love your blog (a friend forwarded the Beyonce blog to me and I have followed since). I laugh until I cry and alomst pee my pants! I am a little behind on my reading, however, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Halloween, miniatures (my old dollhouse is packed away – I have two boys and they have no interest) and I love horror books! I am facinated with your house and I especially like the dog from Corpse Bride and the hidden room behind the cupboard! You are so creative in so many ways and I thank you for making me laugh and making me think… and giving me ideas to threaten my husband with! Cheers!

  487. I love the dollhouse!! You should really check out A Game of Thrones if you haven’t already. I’m one percent obsessed with the series!

  488. AMAZEBALLS!!!

    Might I humbly suggest a reference to House of Leaves? All you have to do is figure out how to make it 1/4″ bigger on the inside than on the outside (for starters).

  489. Well, not having the energy to peruse all 448 comments posted here, I find that some may have missed some of the most glaringly horrifice bits of “oh no … noooooo, don’t go in there peeing on the edge of your seat” dark cinematography to come to light on the face of the earth … #1 Hostel and #2 Wolfcreek (?what a bunch of silly gits to go rummaging around the outbackdownunder, at twilight, without a least a tank and a couple of AK-47’s) … which, to me, suggests that you may want to add to your ghoulish collection of hardware, in your fabulously haunted house of horrors, at least a few bloody chains and meathooks hanging from the rafters, and perhaps a fine pair of fingernail extractors resting on the nightstand … ooooh, ooooh, no wait … one of those eyelid gizmos that hold the eyes of the torturee wide open in a tragically unsuitable manner, bugged out and scared shitless, for hour upon unbearable hour, in a fixed state of rapt attention … or how about a peephole in the wall with a slimeball hunkered behind it peeking at “whatever” in an entirely unsuitable manner a la #3 Sliver … did you perchance forget about Hannibal Lecter’s “mouth sewn shut leather mask and skin bodysuit” to hang somewhere near that suspicious door leading to the cement cage in the basement. You know … just wondering and all. Hope all this creative inspiration perks you up a bit. BTW my miniature house is a lovely twee English cottage surrounded by foxgloves, morning glories and Queen Anne’s lace 🙂 TIC … although it does have a ghost or two lounging in the nooks and crannies … a wee bit of dry rot mould, and some substantial cobwebs dangling from the ceiling. And that noose in the closet … just a prank … really!

  490. Just found your blog. If I ever have a daughter, I want her to have something that fucking awesome. Way to inspire!

  491. have you thought about making a kids book? something like an Edward Gorey style Gashlycrumb Tinies? I think it would be wonderful and I would buy 10 copies at least. Christmas cards too… with different scenes from the house with dolls and the like? I cannot imagine that someone has not contacted you for use as a backdrop in an animated short or something. It is amazing.

  493. Have you heard of the Grimstones? It’s a children’s puppet show about understanding death, there’s a lovely dollhouse inside a book in it. Incidentally, the lady who made the show and all the puppets is deaf. http://www.thegrimstones.com/

  495. I LOVE this project and your blog. I am going to be sharing them both on my Facebook page. I also have an Etsy store you are going to flip for. Most of my 500 different pieces are haunted house or antique themed. They will be the prettiest and weirdest miniature accessories for dollhouses you’ve ever seen and they are super affordable. Check it out!!

    http://www.etsy.com/shop/LDelaney

  496. OMG!! This dollhouse totally inspires me!! I LOVE IT!! You need to put that one aside and use it for inspiration to make another!! Girl you are a true artist and should be making more and selling them!! There are those of us out here (talking about me) that could only dream of creating something like that…Your work is AMAZING!!! you should share it will us that are less creative…

    PS: I didnt see any mice anywhere..lol..and the secret passage is awesome..I dream of having one that looks like the Addams family house

  497. Very impressive! – I’ve wanted to do my own dollhouse but I don’t think I have the patience for 11 years 😛

  498. Do you have any references to Anne Rice’s The Witching Hour? It would be perfect since the main character of the story is a haunted mansion in the Garden District of New Orleans. Google 1239 First St. or First and Chestnut New Orleans. It’s not so much horror as a gothic. I loved it!

  500. Amazing….the movie that scares the begeezus out of me everytime is Darkness Falls! Im still afraid of that dark space behind you (you know like when your running up the stairs from the basement??

  501. This is the most sensational thing I’ve seen this week and makes me grateful you’re alive in the world. I’m also reconsidering my family (If I’d never had children, I TOO COULD SPEND 8 HOURS MAKING MICROSCOPIC TAROT CARDS, DAMN IT!!)

    There is one thing I found myself longing for as I perused the photo album… a Telltale Heart. You know, just pulsing. Beneath the floorboards.

    Thank you for this. You’re amazing.

  503. Is there a Pet Cemetery in the yard? Stephen King might find hmself quite at home in your house here. That was one of the scariest books. Oh! And Cujo! You could place a snarling teeth-baring attack dog in the front yard too!

    Love your writing…..you make me laugh.

    Ellen

  504. Not books, but I hope that “The Monkey’s Paw” and “The Lottery” are represented in that fabulous house.

  505. This is awesome!!! I have never been a girly girl and my dad and I have joked around for years that the only dollhouse I would ever had would be a haunted house. I have never heard of anyone else even talk about it and here you’ve been making one for many years! I love it!

    Some of the things my dad and i discussed were having a graveyard (complete with zombies, etc) and misc moving parts. My dad is into microprocessors, so we thought mini-animatronics would be a fun additions (trap doors/secret passages that open/close, hands that pop out of graves, LED eyes that blink from tiny bushes in the outside. The possibilities are endless.

    Great job on this!!!

  506. I just found the photos of your haunted dollhouse. I’ve always wanted to do this! I’m inspired……Love this and love you. You never fail to make me smile. 🙂

  507. That house is terrifyingly terrific. Is there a reference to the Exorcist in it? I didn’t see one but I know I lost some serious sleep over that movie.

  508. King’s IT, by far. The. Scariest. I slam the door on kids dressed as clowns (especially on Halloween night).

  509. Wow, inspiring! Suggestion for books, my favorite is “House of Leaves” by Mark Z. Danielewski. Seriously the scariest and best book ever in my opinion. It took the author 10 years to write it. It is also, sort of, a love story, and many other things. Even though it is a work of fiction it still has me wondering if it might, somehow, be real. Please please read it. It may change your world.

  510. neat concept! looks really cool!
    i don’t know the name of the book, sorry, but i read one that was about a haunted dollhouse when i was a tween!! it freaked me the hell out (b/c i had one!). the characters would move around at night, and there was a murder. turns out they were telling the kid a super important message about an unsolved mystery…. suspense! i was afraid to look at my dollhouse at night!

  511. I know this is WAY belated…but I love love love Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with the evil side to all of our natures. Excellent and yet disturbing 🙂 Also, Dorian Gray. Everyone need a painting of themselves that they cannot look at.

  512. Totally awesome. Now you just need the empty child standing outside by the front door to go with your angel. And/or a miniature Beyonce. That would rock.

  513. This is so wonderfully done – I cannot get tired of looking at it – as many photos as there are, I want more. I crave it with a longing so painful, it’s *almost* happy – if *that* makes any sense.

    Anyway, I admire it more than I crave it – which is saying a lot. I note that it’s “still not finished.” Of course – by their very nature, such things cannot be finished, only added to and re-arranged: forever. It’s part of the joy.

    I’ve made a tiny 1-room miniature library – not a patch on yours, but it’s fun – and also: never done. It has replicas of some of my paintings, and, of course, books. Please excuse the crappy photos, but I wanted to share w/ someone who knows the joy of combining their love of The Tiny with their love of books: http://www.quotergal.com/goners/photo-dollhouse1.jpg http://www.quotergal.com/goners/photo-dollhouse2.jpg http://www.quotergal.com/goners/photo-dollhouse3.jpg

    Thanks for showing yours.

  516. I absolutely love this. I found you because I wanted to build a dollhouse of horrors and was looking for other twisted and crafty minds. Your blog cracks me up and this house is amazing. I’m offically hooked on you.

  517. My dad and I got the idea to do a haunted dollhouse probably 20+ yrs ago and it was something we always talked about, but never did. I have been in a slump lately (combination of job stress and depression) and have felt like the creative side of me just disappeared. I remembered the idea (since my brother is working on a full size haunt – it’s awesome!) and was so happy to find that you made this!!!! Seeing someone who had a similar idea and brought it to like was certainly more of an inspiration to start mine. I never really even thought about the inside as I’ve been so focused on my thoughts for the outside – mostly landscaping and a graveyard (which, of course, will be animated… you can’t have a graveyard without things crawling out of the graves and glowing eyeballs in the bushes, right?). I am still narrowing down the selection on the house kit I want to buy, but I am excited. It’s one of the first times I have felt truly excited about working on something in awhile. That gives me hope of digging myself out from under the rock I’ve been under.

  519. May I recommend the Luggage from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series as being terrifying to all in it’s path and Dickens’ A Christmas Carol? That movie scared the bejeesus out of me when I was 8.

  520. Pingback: » Build A Bear Workshop Haunted House GameVergamet Game
  521. Pingback: Build Your Own Dollhouse Games | Gamentot

  523. I have ALWAYS wanted to make a dollhouse that was normal, yet…creepy. A severed hand under a pillow… Little Miss Sunshine sneaking some arcenic into Daddy’s drink… I just could never bring myself to spend $$ on a dollhouse. I guess it comes from 2 ex-husbands who managed money so tightly I got an “allowance” for groceries and kids clothes. And although I am independent now, I still cannot get up the nerve to purchase such a beautiful gift for myself.
    Guess I still have some work to do on myself.
    Thank you for sharing your house…I adore it 🙂

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