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[Captain Audio]

When I was younger there were a number of 19th century mansions near where I lived. Long gone now due to simple neglect and rot due to the climate here in the south.
A few when torn down were found to have cannon balls buried in the walls from a Civil War battle that raged through the center of town.

The old horror comics always featured the same sort of old dark house I saw every day on the way to school. Spooky and a bit alien, rambling and very individualistic with towers and balconies.
A couple were over grown by trees with hanging vines, old gardens turned into jungles.

Any houses like that where you live or lived as a youngster?

[profh0011]

Now this is wild. Just last night I was reading up on one of my favorite fictional mansions (and the real-life place that was used to depict it)...




http://www.hudsonvalleyruins.org/yasinsac/spratt/spratt.html


Never knew this place was the victim of arson back in 1969 (only the foundations remain since).  Also, it's right next door to "Lyndhurst", the mansion used in the 2 DARK SHADOWS movies.  Had this place still been standing in 1970, it would have been easy to have used it in the movie HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS, instead of them having to find another one.


Among the location oddities of the DS tv series is that the houses used for "Collinwood", "The Old House" and parts of "Collinsport" were in 3 different states!  (NY, RI & CT).




While these days much of the entire city of Camden could be said to be "in ruins", in my own neighborhood, about 6 blocks from here was one house (not that big, really) which always reminded me a bit of The Addams Family house. As far as I know, it's been boarded up for decades.

[Captain Audio]

That reminds me of a letter i found when dealing with my mother's estate.
One of her relatives, her side of the family being some of the earliest settlers of the American Colonies, had traced an ancestor and found his home had been declared an historical preservation site and it was on the campus of the state university in New Jersey. The house apparently predated the building of the university.
He was said to be the first judge in the American colonies authorized to try Capital crimes and pass a death sentence. Before that any capital offense had to be dealth with in an english court, the accused being shipped back to England in chains. Military governors probably could order a man put to death, the first few colonies likely had extra judical executions, with whoever was in charge having power of life or death as would a sea captain or an officer during combat.

Glad I was reminded of this, I've been meaning look up the details on this gentleman.

Mom was also distantly related to General Robert E Lee, his mother or possibly grandmother being desended from the judge I spoke of.
I also traced the ancestors of mom's mother to a special land grant issued to those who had made multiple atlantic crossings in the 17th century in establishing the first colonies.

Thats a bit far from the main topic though.

I've heard that there are a number of unfinished mansions in the smokey mountains near here. These had been part of a fad for secluded mansions in these heavily forested and still wild mountains.
The majority of the multi millionaires who had commisioned these stately homes died when the Titanic went down.
From what I've heard there is a system of private rail lines there connecting the estates.
One of the few such homes to be completed is still a major tourist attraction, called "Biltmore House". A huge and oppulent manor with its own private movie theatres among other things. Even Bruce Wayne would be jealous.

[narfstar]

Biltmore House was used in the movie Being There and probably others. My US lineage starts with my Great Grandfather coming over from Germany after WW1. I would like to know where in Germany we came from

[Captain Audio]

Heres an odd little book using Biltmore House as the setting for a mystery/supernatural events game.
http://books.google.com/books?id=LbLzrOysbuEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=biltmore+house&source=bll&ots=Gsn9slcKba&sig=xE_zrHHa6wGus0z3YejF5eDfie0&hl=en&ei=YyteTaeDN5Ggtwedy43PCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=21&ved=0CJwBEOgBMBQ

An old friend who died awhile back lived in a very old house that in itself would be a great setting for a horror story, but the smaller building out back was even more unusual and spooky. It had been a stable and tool shed, but later modified. The eaves have very decorative scroll work.
I'd been considering using that building in a short film based on "The Damned Thing", to pass for the hunter's cabin.

[narfstar]

Sounds like a fun project Captain

[deni]

Back in the 1970's when I was a college student, I lived for awhile in an old mansion similar to what you described.  It wasn't totally rundown or rotting but it was a dark old building which would fit in on Dark Shadows.

I lived there with about fourteen other young adults in the Bohemian lifestyle of the day.  The lights were never on anymore than necessary.  People where living on all three floors plus the attic.   No one ever went down to the basement.   There was the largest tomcat that I have ever seen which lived in the house but belonged to no one.  I didn't even know there was someone in the attic for the first two months until one eerie night he wandered down to the living room when I was there alone.   It was a spooky place late at night.