Haunts (Louis Porter Jr. Design)

Though the world of horror fantasy certainly has ghosts and other ephemeral horrors, they are not the same as the supernatural activity that can encompass a “haunt.”

A haunt is a ghostly resonance that can affect a creature that triggers it. Such haunts are very likely to occur in places of death and psychic distress, such as torture chambers, mass graveyards, and battlefields. The nature of each haunt is unique and can cause a milieu of terrible effects, from a scare all the way to death.

Formation of a Haunt

There are many reasons why a haunt comes into existence.

Most of these reasons, sadly, involve tragedy, pain, suffering, and horror. Deep, overwhelming emotions are most likely to create a haunt, especially when accompanied by death and tragedy.

Typically, a haunt begins when a creature dies in a painful or unusual way—especially a lingering death. If the creature perished alone, forgotten, or unmourned, the haunting may well involve feelings of sorrow and a need for closure, such as proper burial or being memorialized. If, however, the creature died because someone stood by and refused to help or took pleasure in the death, then the haunting often carries with it a desire for revenge and justice.

A haunting usually requires a focus. This focus may be an object important to the person in life, like a child’s favorite doll, a family heirloom, or a gift from a loved one. The focus could revolve around a specific place, such as where the person died. A weak haunting can often be cleansed by burning or otherwise destroying the focal object, or purifying the locale. A more powerful haunting, on the other hand, may require more unusual methods.

Other circumstances at the time of death may play a role in the formation of a haunt. The time of day the person died, the means of their death (e.g., a murder weapon, an accidental fall), and the reason for their death all can contribute. Did the deceased have unfinished business, such as family left behind, a need for justice, or an oath they failed to keep?

These elements, once known, can provide vital clues to cleansing a haunt.

Not all hauntings involve death or murder. A haunting can come about due to a mischievous spirit (e.g., a poltergeist) or strange energies suffusing a place. A haunting can develop simply because a deceased person refuses to accept the truth about their death. These hauntings are usually more of a creepy nuisance than a threat to life or limb.

After a haunting comes into existence, it almost always follows its programming each time it triggers. Thus, every time the haunting manifests it does so in basically the same way and following the same general sequence. Few hauntings possess any awareness of what they are or why they exist; they simply play out the same events time after time.

Creating a Haunt

A haunt bears several similarities to a trap. For one thing, a haunt follows what amounts to a program: it targets a creature or creatures entering its area of effect without much in the way of thought or tactic. A creature triggers a haunt much in the same way it might trigger a trap, usually by intruding into the haunt’s area. Along similar lines, a creature can shut down a haunt by performing a specific set of actions, in essence “disarming” the haunt like one would disarm a trap.

To design a haunt of your own, the best place to begin is by envisioning what the haunt looks like when triggered and how it manifests. Does a ghostly apparition or phantom noises materialize? Does a series of past events play themselves out over and over like performing a play? Do objects start flying around on their own?

Next, decide what degree of danger or impediment the haunt poses to characters. Is it intended to slow them down or expend resources (such as time or spell slots)? Does it inflict damage or conditions (e.g., charmed, blinded, frightened)?

As with traps, the best way to rate this threat down is with one of three levels of severity: Setback, Dangerous, or Deadly. A setback haunt shouldn’t kill or seriously injure any character, although it might cause minor damage. A dangerous haunt almost always inflicts damage and conditions. Finally, as the name suggests, a deadly haunt has the potential to kill characters or make them wish they were dead.

Once you’ve determined a haunt’s severity level, the following tables describe its typical statistics and features.

Haunt Severity	Save DC	Attack Bonus	Will Save Bonus
Setback	10-12	+3 to +5	+2 to +5
Dangerous	12-16	+6 to +8	+6 to +9
Deadly	16-20	+9 to +12	+10 to +13

Feel free to adjust the Save DC listed above to create a haunt that poses a more appropriate challenge to a higher-level party, especially for a haunting at the Setback level of severity. Be more careful, however, when adjusting the Save DC for a dangerous or deadly haunting, especially at lower character levels. As a general guide, you can adjust the Save DC of a Setback by +1 or +2 without unbalancing an encounter too much.

Haunt Damage Severity by Level

Character Level	Setback	Dangerous	Deadly
1st-4th	1d10	2d10	4d10
5th-10th	2d10	4d10	10d10
11th-16th	4d10	10d10	18d10
17th-20th	10d10	18d10	24d10

Haunt Initiative

When including a haunt as part of an encounter, you may need to know when in the initiative count the haunt acts. If no specific initiative order is provided in the haunt’s description, then assign it an initiative for its actions. In general, a haunt should go on initiative count 10, but a faster, more violent haunt may act on 15 or even 20, whereas a slower haunt might act on 5 or even 0.

Detecting A Haunt

Some haunts are easier to detect before they trigger than others. Each haunt described here lists a passive Perception number. If a character with that high of a passive Perception comes within 10 feet of a haunt’s area, they detect something unusual or out of place: a faint, phantom noise, an unexpected or out of place odor, a sudden drop in ambient temperature, the hint of an old stain, and so forth. This does not mean the creature knows that the area is haunted, only that they feel something is wrong and unnatural. A creature can detect the presence of a haunt yet still trigger it out of ignorance or carelessness. A wise person listens to the clues and uses caution to figure out how to avoid the area of the haunt.

Describing A Haunt

Regardless of which game statistics and numbers a haunt includes, the most important element of any haunt involves how the GM describes a haunt and its effects to the players.

While a haunt uses rules similar to those used for traps, any haunting nonetheless deserves evocative, creepy descriptions to make it come alive in players’ minds. For example, in game terms a haunt may attack its victims with a spell such as storm of vengeance, but the GM should describe the effects in terms appropriate to a haunting, not necessarily informing the players of the specific spell involved.

The words used to describe a haunt should rise from that haunting’s specific theme and origin. If a haunting came about due to a tragic death or involved tremendous suffering, then its effects should impart those emotions. Those characters who encounter a haunting should understand on a visceral, gut level what emotions are behind it—fear, rage, sorrow, loss, or desperation.

Subduing and Defeating A Haunt

Most haunts prove stubbornly resistant to removal or destruction.

Indeed, each haunt requires its own unique set of steps and actions in order to destroy it, with those steps often related to how the haunt formed in the first place. For example, cleansing a haunting left by a person’s murder might require that the murderer be brought to justice or that the victim receive some sort of proper burial or similar closure. Each of the haunts described below has its own way of being cleansed or removed.

Discovering how to cleanse a haunt might require some investigative work and research on the part of the adventurers; finding the reason for or source of a haunt could involve an adventure all its own. This could entail exhuming corpses, reading through old journals, questioning witnesses or relatives, and uncovering secrets of the haunted site itself.

Under certain circumstances, it is possible to calm a haunt on a temporary basis. Doing so ends any of the haunt’s ongoing effects, but not those effects already affecting creatures in the haunt’s vicinity. Calming a haunt doesn’t destroy or cleanse it and does not prevent it from being triggered again after its reset period, but calming the haunt may prevent immediate harm coming to those in the area.

There are two primary methods for calming a haunt: through use of the cleric’s Turn Undead class feature or by means of a quick consecration of the focus of the haunt.

When a haunt triggers, a cleric can use their Turn Undead class feature to attempt to calm the haunt. The cleric need not be within the haunt’s area of effect, but the haunt must be in sight and active. The haunt must make a Wisdom saving throw against the cleric’s Turn Undead DC (see the table above to determine the haunt’s Wisdom saving throw bonus). If the haunt succeeds, the turn attempt does nothing.

If the haunt fails this save, however, it becomes calm until triggered again after its reset period.

The other method, by means of a quick blessing and consecration, takes more time and has less chance of calming the haunt. This method requires a vial of holy water and a prayer or blessing spoken aloud by at least one character. While the holy water is sprinkled over the haunt’s area, the character must succeed at an Intelligence (Religion) check with the DC dependent on the severity of the haunt: DC 16 for a setback, DC 18 for a dangerous haunting, and DC 20 for a deadly haunting. This ritual takes one full round to complete, and the character must perform it while inside the haunt’s area of effect. If the character fails this ritual, the haunting may well target them with further attacks or effects if possible.

In some cases, a haunt can be calmed for a short time through other means, such as inflicting damage on some part of it, like a piece of furniture or an object, or even a manifestation of the haunt such as a phantom or spirit. Most of the time, only radiant damage can harm a haunt; the haunt’s description lists if other types of damage can affect it.

One useful weapon against a haunt is a flask of holy water.

A creature can either splash a flask of holy water at a haunt within 5 feet, or throw the flask from up to 20 feet away from the haunt. Splashing holy water at the haunt negates the haunt’s effects for 1 round. Successfully targeting the haunt with a hurled flask of holy water negates the haunt’s effects for 2d4 rounds. Alternatively, a flask of holy water might delay a haunt from triggering for 1 round if the GM feels this is appropriate to the type of haunt involved.

Modifying a Haunt

The following haunt templates can be applied to an existing haunt. These templates change how a haunt works or how it is perceived, making it more difficult to detect or more difficult to identify.

Elusive Haunts

A typical haunt can be harmed within the area of its manifestation, but an elusive haunt’s source exists in a separate location.

An elusive haunt can be damaged only at its true source, and can manifest far away from that source, up to 100 feet away. Unless characters know the haunt’s true location, they will have a difficult time calming it or destroying it.

Latent Haunt

A latent haunt’s effects are subtle and manifest only if a creature who fails a save against the haunt fulfills a particular condition, such as visiting a certain location or performing a specific action. For example, a latent haunt may rest among the graves of victims of a serial killer, and only demonstrate its effects if the affected creature enters the killer’s manor.

Latent haunts affecting a creature treat that creature as their source, and can be detected and damaged by any means that would detect or damage the haunt. A latent haunt works best if the DC of the Passive Perception to notice it is unusually high.

Tenacious Haunt

A tenacious haunt clings desperately to its existence. When the haunt is required to attempt a saving throw, it does so with advantage.

Unyielding Haunt

An unyielding haunt has all the properties of a tenacious haunt, except when it succeeds at a saving throw against a spell or effect that would normally deal it damage, it instead takes no damage (for those hauntings that can be damaged).

Using Haunts in Adventures

By itself, a haunt rarely offers a major challenge to characters by themselves. Most of the example haunts described here that have a severity rating of “setback” pose little more than a nuisance on their own. Thus, it is best not to view a haunt as a challenge or an encounter, but rather as an element that helps establish the mood and atmosphere of the adventure locale.

Another good way to use a haunting is to combine with a monster encounter immediately before or even during when the haunt manifests itself. Even a haunting with a severity of “setback” can become dangerous or deadly when combined with another type of encounter.

Atmosphere. A haunting follows its own rules; it follows a set “program” once someone triggers it. That being said, to adventurers encountering the haunt, they may not understand what’s happening or why—they only know something strange or spooky has occurred. A haunting gives the GM another tool to describe the adventure locale and to set the mood. If, for example, the party encounters a set of bloody footprints that suddenly appear on the floor, walls, and ceiling, they understand that something supernatural has occurred even if they don’t know why. This warns them that they’ve entered a haunted building or area and that they can’t always trust their senses, putting them on high alert. Think of it in terms of any haunted house movie you’ve ever watched.

An eerie noise, the abrupt movement of a piece of furniture, or a drastic change in temperature all put characters (and the audience) on edge.

Challenging Encounters. A haunting by itself, even a dangerous or deadly one, rarely offers a serious challenge to the adventuring party. When you combine the haunt with another type of encounter, such as a group of monsters, or have the haunting occur immediately prior to an encounter, the haunting becomes more difficult and threatening.

When incorporating a haunt into an encounter or immediately preceding one, use caution. Much like a trap, an encounter can make a standard encounter especially dangerous or lethal. For example, a haunting that by inflicts the frightened condition on a character isn’t too worrisome. When combined with a band of monsters or hostile NPCs, however, having a frightened character becomes a serious impediment.

If you incorporate a haunt with an encounter (or close to one) with three or more creatures, consider counting the haunt as one creature of similar Challenge Rating to the others for purposes of determining the encounter’s potential lethality.

You may find that you want to reduce the number of creatures by one, essentially replacing it with the haunt, to keep the encounter at an appropriate challenge level.

Sample Haunts

The following section list a variety of different haunts, each with its own characteristics and description as to how it works. Each haunt follows a standard template, described below.

Haunt Name

Severity: This section lists the haunt’s severity rating and the recommended level range of characters it is designed to challenge.

Location: This describes the most suitable place where such a haunt might be encountered.

Passive Perception: Compare the listed DC with a creature’s Passive Perception to determine if that creature detects the haunt before entering its area of effect. If no number is listed, the haunt cannot be detected before it is triggered or manifests. The haunt may give off small, subtle clues as to its presence: an out-of-place odor, a chill draft, an unexplained sound, or the feeling of being watched.

Trigger: The conditions that can cause the haunt to manifest are given here. Proximity-triggered haunts occur as soon as a creature enters the haunt’s area, as determined by the GM. If the area isn’t specifically listed in this description, assume it is a 20-foot radius centered around a space. A haunt triggered by touch does not activate until a living creature touches a specific object or location in its area. The haunt can sense (and thus target with its effects) any creature in its area.

Effect: This details the haunt’s effects, including a description of how the haunt manifests.

Weakness: Any weaknesses the haunt might have, such as if spells like invisibility can trick it, or if effects other than radiant energy can affect it, are listed here.

Reset: How much time must pass before the haunt can manifest again.

Destroying: This describes the steps needed to permanently destroy the haunt.

Arcane Rift

Severity: Setback (any character level)

An arcane rift is not a true Haunt in that no death caused its existence. Rather, an arcane rift is a flaw in the underlying structure of the universe, a place where the laws of magic and causality twist and die. Places near an arcane rift are marked by odd visual distortions. The spectrum of light in this area seems shifted towards the red end of the spectrum for several meters around the actual site of the rift. Plants grow larger and more fruitful here, but their taste and smell are cloying and foul. Animals shun arcane rifts, and humanoids walking through one notice the hairs on the back of their arms rising and crackling with static electricity.

Location: Arcane rifts occur in places where great battles occurred, where dozens of warrior-mages unleashed their spells, where artifacts were forged, and where gods incarnated.

Passive Perception: 5

Trigger: The rift triggers whenever a magic item, including a consumable item such as a potion, comes within 40 feet of it. Even if not triggered, an Arcane Rift emanates a reddish tint noticeable within 30 feet of it.

Effect: When the rift opens, the crimson tint in the air becomes darker and more obvious. Each unattended magic item within 40 feet becomes permanently nonmagical.

In addition, any carried or worn magic item brought within 40 feet of the rift must succeed at a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw (use the owner’s Wisdom save bonus) or become nonmagical. A consumable item that fails this save becomes permanently nonmagical. Otherwise, an affected magic item can attempt the saving throw after each long rest, regaining its magic with a successful save.

If a magical artifact is brought within 40 feet of the Arcane Rift, it focuses all its energies on draining that magic, thereby ignoring all other magic items in the area of effect.

The artifact must succeed at a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw with disadvantage on the roll. If the artifact fails this save, it becomes nonmagical for 24 hours, after which it regains its full power.

Once a magical item or artifact succeeds on the Wisdom save against the rift, it remains immune to the effects of any arcane rift for 24 hours.

Reset: This haunt resets one week after being triggered.

Destroying: If the Arcane Rift successfully drains any magical artifact, it overloads and is destroyed.

Baron’s Balcony

Severity: Dangerous (levels 1-4)

An old Baron died, halfway senile, in a tattered silk bathrobe after falling from the balcony of his equally ragged country home. Today, his lands lie mostly fallow, as the solicitors struggle to untangle the old man’s will. The home he died in was emptied by his heirs and shuttered, but occasionally a burglar makes the mistake of slipping inside. Weak willed tomb-raiders find themselves singing the praises of the small mansion’s last master before leaping from the same balcony where he died.

Location: Former baron’s bedchamber or its cursed balcony.

Passive Perception: 12

Trigger: Anyone entering the former baron’s bedchamber or its cursed balcony.

Effect: Anyone who triggers the haunt must succeed at a DC 11 Wisdom saving throw or become charmed. Initially, the effects of the charm seem harmless: for 6d6 minutes, the victim wanders around the small mansion, doing nothing but shouting his praises at the top of his lungs. Following this, the victim climbs up to the Baron’s balcony. They must then make a DC 11 Wisdom save. If they fail this save, they leap to the cobblestones 30 feet below and suffer 10 (3d6) falling damage.

Reset: This haunt resets after 24 hours.

Destroying: The old man’s spirit is fairly easy to appease. To permanently end the haunt, all that’s necessary is that someone visit the baron’s nearby tomb, staying for at least an hour, and leaving behind some token sacrifice worth at least 50 GP.

Bell Tower

Severity: Setback (any character level)

A bell-ringer fell down in this tower. Before he died he wished that the fall hadn’t happened…

Location: The inner shaft of the bell tower.

Passive Perception: 16

Trigger: Proximity.

Effect: When this haunt is triggered, the bell starts to ring as the ghostly body of the bell-ringer falls to the ground.

A moment later the same scene goes in reverse, with the body flying upwards together with everything inside the inner shaft of the bell tower. For six rounds the inner shaft of the bell tower is affected by reverse gravity (DC 15 Dexterity saving throw to grab the ladder to avoid falling upward). Creatures pulled to the belltower’s ceiling suffer 7 (2d6) falling damage.

Reset: This haunt resets in once a week.

Destroying: The bell must be broken by dropping it from the tower.

Bigot’s Spire

Severity: Deadly (levels 5-10)

In life, a half-elven wizard was defined by his bigotry. The arrogant mage despised regular humanity as barely civilized idiots and openly called for the extinction of what he called the “underfolk”: dwarves, gnomes, goblins and kobolds among many other burrowing species. His adventuring days long past and his fortune assured, Comas eventually murdered those who helped him gain his wealth and retired to a library-tower he built for himself on the edge of a major human freehold. The local folk saw his servants occasionally when they went into town for provisions, but Comas himself refused to associate with the common herd.

When a blast of lightning as brilliant as the sun struck the tower one rainy night, most of the townsfolk said good riddance. The matter would have rested there, if not for the fact something of his hatred remains, and occasionally, the broken tower belches lethal black smoke that emits the faint scent of burning ink and almonds.

Depending on the wind, this lethal mist might roll down the blasted hillside and into the city Comas shunned, or it may drift into the now shockingly depopulated and quiet forest.

Location: Top floor of a ruined tower.

Passive Perception: 20

Trigger: Any time a dwarf, gnome, kobold, goblin or other subterranean humanoid comes within 100 feet of the collapsed tower.

Effect: Once the haunt’s ire is raised, it generates a smoky black cloudkill spell that drifts down from the tower’s ruined alchemist’s laboratory and follows the direction of the prevailing wind. Any creature caught in the cloudkill must succeed at a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or take 22 (5d8) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Creatures are affected even if they hold their breath or don’t need to breathe.

Reset: This haunt resets after 24 hours.

Destroying: His burnt and twisted body still lies where it fell in the laboratory where he died. The magical accident that killed him as prevented his carcass from rotting, and it remains as it was on the night he died. The Haunt’s power can only be broken if a member of a race that Comas despised urinates on the charred corpse!

Black Taskmaster

Severity: Setback (levels 1-4)

The Black Taskmaster is an old ironshod whip taken from an infamous slaver and displayed in the library of the Sandoval College of Necromancy. Senior students and prefects alike know to avoid the display case bearing the bloody old weapon, though a common hazing ritual forces underclassmen to endure the frightful spirits surrounding the whip.

Location: Display case housing the whip.

Passive Perception: 12

Trigger: A living creature approaching within 5 feet of the display case housing the Black Taskmaster.

Effect: Anyone walking within the haunt’s sphere of influence must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw or suffer two levels of exhaustion. A creature that succeeds at this save only gains one level of exhaustion.

Characters may attempt a DC 11 Dexterity (Stealth) check to sneak past the haunt without triggering it.

Reset: This haunt resets after 24 hours.

Destroying: A freed or escaped slave must remove the Black Taskmaster from its case and cut it to pieces with a knife also owned by a former slave.

Bloody Handprints

Severity: Setback (levels 1-4)

A murder or other violent death left behind a permanent stain on a wall or similar surface. This haunt manifests as bloody marks upon any creature examining or touching the soiled surface.

Location: Any surface.

Passive Perception: 5

Trigger: The haunt triggers if any creature examines the dried bloody prints.

Effect: Bloody handprints slowly appear, one after another, along on the surface. Anyone witnessing the haunt or touching the surface takes 3 (1d6) necrotic damage.

Reset: This haunt resets after one hour.

Destroying: The bloody handprints vanish if the surface is thoroughly cleaned and scrubbed with holy water.

Righteous Rampage

Severity: Setback (any level)

Previously a simple rancher, the half-orc found depths of hatred and violence in himself he never knew existed. He slaughtered his home town’s hedge wizard and the alchemist who refused to treat his sons, the town’s sheriff and three of the settlement’s wealthiest merchants before an angry mob finally ended his rampage. That was a year and a day ago. Now, the townsfolk of small farming community are plagued with hideous visions.

Before the horrified eyes of their friends and family, the afflicted become the species they once shunned. Half Orcs that were once humans hide within their homes, wrapped in shawls and blankets to cover their shame, and community has become, literally, a ghost town.

Location: Alley behind the town’s general store.

Passive Perception: 14

Trigger: A humanoid creature walks over the alleyway behind the town’s general store where he made his final stand.

Effect: Any humanoid entering the alley must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or become affected by a polymorph spell that transforms them into an average half-orc of the same gender.

Reset: This haunt resets after one hour.

Destroying: His mutilated body must be dug out of the midden pit it was thrown into after his rampage and buried with his children at his homestead.

Butcher’s Hill

Severity: Deadly (levels 5-10)

The Butcher’s Hill had another name before the war between two neighboring fiefdoms ended there. By the time the day long battle was over, more than 3,000 men and women lie dead atop the hill, and the ground was literally stained red with their blood. Even though priests from a dozen temples sanctified the ground, that much anger and pain never truly goes away.

Butcher’s Hill has become a memorial, but no one visits. The stories of the horrible, often fatal injuries inflicted upon the unwary by the Hill’s angry ghosts are well known. Veterans of the last war, unable to cope with their trauma often return to Butcher’s Hill to commit suicide, letting the angry spirits of their former comrades. in arms tear them apart.

Location: Summit of Butcher’s Hill.

Passive Perception: 10

Trigger: This haunt triggers when a creature carrying any sort of weapon—even a dagger or carpenter’s hammer— sets foot on the hillside.

Effect: The haunting attacks on initiative count 20, 15, 10, 5, and 0. On each of those initiative counts, the haunting makes a melee spell attack with a +7 bonus against one creature standing on the hilltop, armed or not. The haunting only attacks each individual creature one time per round. If the attack hits, the haunting inflicts 22 (4d10) slashing and bludgeoning damage.

The Butcher’s Hill can attack up to five creatures in a round. If more targets exist than it can afflict, it first attacks those creatures with the highest proficiency bonus before attacking noncombatants.

Reset: This haunt resets after one hour.

Destroying: A blood member of the ruling family of either of the two nations involved in the war must be murdered atop the hill top to appease the spirits of those who fought and died there.

Camel’s Graveyard

Severity: Setback (any level)

There is a point of no return in some deserts, a place almost exactly between two oasis cities, where supplies are far more than half exhausted and the only way to survive is to press forward. Over the years, hundreds of caravans have ended somewhere near this mythical point of no return, and the bleached and sandblasted bones of hundreds of camels lie half-buried by the dunes. Animals fear and hate this place, and so they often turn on their masters, leading to their death and the deaths of those whom depended on them for survival.

Location: An unremarkable patch of desert.

Passive Perception: 20

Trigger: The haunt manifests when any beast approaches within 30 feet of it.

Effect: Any beast passing within 30 feet of the Camel’s Graveyard become frightened. The animal turns on its handlers, bucks off riders, snaps its reigns, or throws off cargo bundles if possible. The maddened beast attempts to kill or knock out their masters before running off into the desert to die. A beast frightened by this haunting remains mad with fear for 8 rounds.

A character can attempt a DC 13 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check to calm an affected beasts for 1 hour, but they must then move the animal away from the haunting. Upon doing so, they may attempt another Animal Handling check. If this check succeeds, the beast is no longer frightened. If this check fails, the beast remains frightened for the full 8 hours.

Reset: This haunt resets after one hour.

Destroying: At least 20 gallons of water must be poured over the skulls of one of the long-dead camels to appease its panicked spirit.

Cast Upon the Rocks

Severity: Deadly (levels 11 or higher)

A merchant ship went down in a sudden squall and its sunken frame now rests on an undersea plateau. So clear is the water that the wreck can almost be seen through three hundred feet of warm water Though the ship went down in a common shipping lane, no brave soul has attempted to salvage the wreck, and common sailors avoid its last known position. The ocean near the wreck site has ‘gone bad’ and regularly kills sailors with impossible weather.

Location: Ocean above the sunken ship.

Passive Perception: 20

Trigger: The haunt manifests when any vessel passes over the sunken wreckage of the ship, regardless of its depth.

Effect: A storm of vengeance descends upon any vessel unfortunate enough pass over the wreck of the ship. The storm continues for as long as it takes for the ship to pass over the undersea wreck or 10 rounds—whichever occurs first.

Reset: This haunt resets after one hour.

Destroying: A humanoid sailor must be bound and strangled, after which their corpse must be tossed overboard to rest within the wreck of the ship.

Creeping Ectoplasm

Severity: Setback (any level)

This minor haunt, devoid of any shred of individuality or history, manifests as a shapeless blob of ectoplasm.

Location: Any indoors.

Passive Perception: 13

Trigger: Proximity.

Effect: When this haunt is triggered, a mass of ectoplasm appears out of nowhere, covering the area with a blanket of luminescent green goo that acts like a grease spell (spell save DC 11).

Reset: This haunt resets at sunset each day.

Destroying: The area where it manifests must be consecrated or hallowed, even temporarily.

Dead Tree

Severity: Dangerous (any level)

The Dead Tree is a haunted leftover of a garden, orchard, or the last patch of a forest and includes a lone dead tree standing amid a barren landscape.

Location: Barren land surrounding a dead tree.

Passive Perception: 20

Trigger: Proximity.

Effect: When this haunt is triggered, a mass of wriggling roots bursts from the ground around its trunk. Any creature within a 20-foot-radius of the trunk must succeed at a DC 13 Strength saving throw or become restrained for 1 minute. In addition, any Medium-sized or smaller creature failing this saving throw is slowly dragged deeper into the ground. A restrained creature can attempt another Strength saving throw, but with disadvantage, at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself with a success. If the creature is not freed of the entangling roots after 1 minute, it is buried beneath the ground and begins to suffocate.

Use the standard rules for suffocating thereafter.

Reset: This haunt resets after one hour.

Weakness: This haunting suffers damage from fire-based attacks.

Destroying: The dead tree must be burned down, and the seed of a new tree must be planted in its ashes. The haunt will rise again if the seed fails to grow into a healthy tree. The tree has AC 5 and 100 hit points (the GM can increase or reduce this amount depending on the level of the party). The tree is immune acid, cold, lightning, necrotic, poison, psychic, and thunder damage, as well as piercing damage. It has resistance to bludgeoning damage, as well as resistance to slashing damage from nonmagical weapons. It is immune to all conditions.

Devil’s Anvil

Severity: Deadly (levels 11-16)

This black iron anvil sits in a back corner of the ruined remnants of a smithy, half-buried in rubble. According to local legend, the blacksmith, a fat and ignorant man named Hodge hammered swords for pit-fiends on his anvil. Eventually, doing hell’s work caught up with him, and Hodge and his three idiot sons died in an unexplainable blaze. Whatever the truth of Hodge’s life, in death his small shop has been uniformly shunned. People vanish there and screams have been heard at night from somewhere within the ruins.

Location: Anvil in an abandoned smithy.

Passive Perception: 15

Trigger: Any living creature touching the Anvil.

Effect: Anyone stupid enough to touch the Devil’s Anvil must succeed at a DC 20 Constitution saving throw, taking 99 (18d10) damage on a failed save or half as much damage with a successful save. If the victim is reduced to 0 hit points, they are slain and rendered down into ash.

The only way to restore life to a character destroyed in this fashion is with resurrection, true resurrection, or wish.

Reset: This haunt resets a midnight each day.

Destroying: Either the heart, liver or the sexual organs of any devil must be burnt on the Anvil and the ashes must be splashed with a vial of holy water.

Devouring Mists

Severity: Dangerous (levels 5-10)

A pack of ghouls ambushed and devoured a group of people as they were passing this bridge on a foggy night.

Memory of this event still lingers and hungers for flesh of the living.

Location: A bridge over a stream.

Passive Perception: 13

Trigger: Proximity.

Effect: Mist rises from ground, thickening and turning from white to sickly green. Vague, ghoulish shapes form in the mist as it becomes a corrosive, ectoplasmic acid fog that consumes flesh. The mist billows out as a 40-foot radius cloud. Each round a creature starts its turn inside the cloud, it must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, suffering 22 (4d10) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful save. A creature that drops to 0 hit points while within the cloud dies after failing two death saving throws. One minute after the creature dies, it rises as a ghoul.

Reset: This haunt resets at sunset each day.

Destroying: The bridge must be collapsed and a new bridge constructed from the consecrated rubble of the old.

Doors to Damnation

Severity: Setback (levels 5-10)

A soldier guarded this door against overwhelming forces and cursed the invaders with his dying breath when he finally fell.

Location: A door.

Passive Perception: 14

Trigger: Proximity (passing through the door).

Effect: When this haunt is triggered, it curses the first creature to pass through it each round. The creature must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw. If it fails, randomly choose one ability score. While cursed, the creature has disadvantage on ability checks and saving throws made with that ability score. A remove curse spell ends this effect. The curse ends after 24 hours.

Reset: This haunt resets after one week.

Destroying: Both the doorway and the room it opens into must be collapsed. Razing the whole building to the ground or collapsing the cellars below could work as well.

Potter’s Kiln

Severity: Dangerous (levels 5-10)

Ten years ago, this ruin was a busy potter’s shop. In better days, the potter was a fat and cheerful woman who, with her two nephews, ran a profitable business out of a small, neat cottage at the edge of town. The center of their business was the enormous wood burning kiln that took up most of the cottage, and which she kept stoked day and night. She died along with her youngest nephew Micah when the kiln exploded. The surviving nephew rushed to help, but was badly scarred by the blaze. Not wanting anything to do with his ruined inheritance, Andrew Potter let the ground lie fallow. Over time his aunt’s pottery shop fell into memory and then into local legend, while Andrew grew into the town’s premier drunkard. The matter would have rested there, if not for the fact that on days when the temperature rises during the worst part of summer, the kiln burns again with ghostly white fires.

Location: Workroom behind a ruined home.

Passive Perception: 18

Trigger: Anytime the temperature inside the ruined workshop rises above 90 degrees F.

Effect: The spirit of Potter’s Kiln has no interest in killing—it just relishes flame. Anytime the temperature inside the kiln rises past 90? F, the workshop explodes into a 20-foot-radius fireball that which inflicts 28 (8d6) points of fire damage or half as much damage with a successful DC 14 Dexterity saving throw.

Reset: This haunt resets at dawn each day.

Destroying: The misfortune of the kiln can only be ended if Andrew takes ownership of the ruin and begins to restore it. His own scars must first be healed with restoration or greater magic.

Rustler’s Last Dance

Severity: Setback (any level)

A brigand, counterfeiter, and cattle rustler was the last thief to hang justly on the old oak gallows. When asked for last words, he laid down curses so vile, so profane and so tarrying that the garrison’s master-at-arms didn’t wait for him to finish and kicked the stool out from under him. Three days later the master-at-arms was dead from a broken neck after falling from his horse. Three days after that, his grieving wife slipped in the privy and cracked her skull open. A few weeks later, the judge who sentenced him to death jerked his hand while shaving and sliced open his throat. After that, the local law gave up on hanging folks, and instead sent criminals to their graves courtesy of a heavy axe and a block of wood. The disused gallows still stands, mostly because nobody is brave enough to break it down or burn it, but the locals shun it.

Location: Raised gallows platform .

Passive Perception: 14

Trigger: When any character mounts the 13 steps and stands atop the gallows platform.

Effect: Anyone standing atop the gallows platform suffers the haunt’s curse. Those cursed by the haunt become dangerously clumsy, assuring their deaths would be comical to angry ghost. Anytime a character cursed by the gallows either fails an ability check by 10 or more or rolls a natural 1 on any ability check, that character somehow manages to bungle so badly they suffer 7 (2d6) damage. A cursed creature can attempt a DC 11 Wisdom saving throw after each long rest, ending the curse on themselves with a successful save.

Of note, the haunt does not activate if a character of chaotic alignment steps onto the platform. The haunt will, however, still curse them if they remain on the platform when the haunt awakens.

Reset: This haunt resets one minute after manifesting.

Destroying: His dying boast that he was the worst criminal the world had ever seen must be disproved and law must be restored to Fort Nails before the Haunt will disappear. At least seven rogues of 5th or higher level must be executed on the gallows by hanging within a one-year span to exorcise the haunt.

Forbidden Library

Severity: Setback (any level)

Some books are not meant to be read, and some people dedicate their lives to prevent others from reading such forbidden books. Sometimes such dedication extends beyond life.

Location: A room filled with books.

Passive Perception: 13

Trigger: Touch (any book in the library).

Effect: Trying to read any book in the forbidden library invokes the spiritual vestige of a wrathful custodian that waves her hand in front of the reader’s face. The offending creature must succeed at a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or become blinded and deafened for 1 minute. At the end of each of its turns, the target can make a Constitution saving throw. On a success, the effects end.

Reset: This haunt resets at dawn each day.

Destroying: All books in the room must be burned.

Foreboding Mist

Severity: Dangerous (levels 5-10)

Foreboding mists lurk in ill-kept graveyards, drawing their substance from the unrest of all who are buried below. They manifest regardless of the weather, and target the minds of those who fail to recognize they are not entirely real.

Location: Any.

Passive Perception: 12

Trigger: Proximity.

Effect: A chilly fog descends, twisting and condensing into claws that grab and prod those within it. The haunt occupies a 30-foot-radius area. It attacks creatures within its space, acting on initiative counts 10, 5, and 0. On each of these initiatives, the mist makes a melee spell attack against one creature within its area of effect. If it hits, the target creature suffers 22 (4d10) slashing damage. In addition, a creature struck while in the mist must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened by the mist. The frightened condition lasts for 1 minute. A creature that succeeds at this saving throw becomes immune to this effect for 24 hours.

Reset: This haunt resets after one hour.

Destroying: Casting hallow on the ground underneath the mist prevents it from returning.

Gremlin’s Hovel

Severity: Setback (levels 1-4)

The dilapidated little house lies at the end of the stinking tannery district, and has stood uninhibited for as long as anyone can remember. Even the city’s homeless and goblin population shuns the ruined two room home, and even the city’s wild dogs and birds stay clear. The wrecked and mold covered home is falling apart, and no one is sure how it still remains standing. Those brave souls who ventured inside tell bar-tales about little bolts of color, like phantom wasps, that ripped through the crumbling plaster and mosaics to sting them.

Location: The back room of any house or similar dwelling.

Passive Perception: 12

Trigger: Anyone stepping into the rear room of the house.

Effect: The first person stepping into the rear room of the hovel is struck by forceful blow, taking 7 (2d6) force damage. If multiple targets are still in the room when the haunt resets, it attacks each one of them.

Reset: This haunt resets after one minute.

Destroying: The structure must be completely burnt to the ground and a vial of holy water sprinkled over the foundation stones.

Hero Chair

Severity: Dangerous (levels 5-10)

The Hero Chair is a massive oak throne once used by the nation’s royalty. The entirety of the chair was originally carved with scenes from a great battle- heroic knights battling back barbaric foreign armies. When the last rightful scion of the bloodline was murdered- on the chair itself- the crimson oak cracked and blackened. The heroic carvings became something horrible. The chair was locked away in a forgotten storeroom, and even after the dynasty was restored, the original throne was forgotten and left to darkness.

Location: The chamber holding the chair and assorted other junk.

Passive Perception: 18

Trigger: Anyone entering the storage room containing the Hero Chair.

Effect: Anyone entering the storage chamber containing the Hero Chair and assorted other forgotten treasures must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a successful save, the creature takes 11 (2d10) necrotic damage. On a failed save, the target takes 22 (4d10) necrotic damage and has their hit points maximum reduced by an equal amount. This reduction ends following a long rest or if the creature receives a greater restoration spell.

Reset: This haunt resets every 6 days.

Destroying: The Hero Chair can only be permanently destroyed by burning, but only if a descendant of the rightful royal family wields the torch.

Otherwise, the chair reforms after one day.

Guts’ Revenge

Severity: Setback (levels 1-4)

A fragment of an ooze’s simple consciousness still lingers along a treacherous and rocky shoreline where its vast amoeboid bulk eventually washed up. The presence of this strange and pungent haunt has made these rocks an attractive hunting spot for more surefooted predators. They come to feed on the fishermen and rookie adventurers drawn to the haunted shore. Gut’s Revenge is a blackened stretch of beach where waves crash endlessly against a rocky shore. The air is constantly foul, like a whale beached nearby but somehow worse. Birds and crabs avoid the haunt, but more dangerous predators occasionally stumble into the haunt.

Location: Stretch of rocky coastline.

Passive Perception: 10

Trigger: When a living creature approaches within 25 feet of the haunt.

Effect: With a sickening ‘squish’ and an even more nauseating ‘splort’ sound, a mucilaginous slime coats the rocky ground, all creatures within 25 feet of the haunt, and everything those creatures are wearing or carrying. Each creature standing in the area of effect when the haunt triggers must succeed at a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw or fall prone in their space and drop any objects held. A creature that enters the area or ends its turn there must also succeed on a Dexterity save or suffer these same effects. If a creature attempts to move at full speed through this slimed area, they suffer disadvantage on their Dexterity save.

Weaknesses: Fire inflicts full damage upon the haunt.

Reset: This haunt resets after one hour.

Destroying: The haunt must be sterilized with at least 8 vials of acid or alchemist’s fire poured over the area in order to finally lay the dimwitted ghost of Guts to rest.

Hangman’s Jig

Severity: Setback (any level)

A desperate prisoner was incompetently hanged in this small cell. An echo of his painful death lingers and haunts anyone visiting the room.

Location: A prison cell.

Passive Perception: 13

Trigger: Proximity.

Effect: The hangman’s jig manifests as a spectral noose that unerringly drops from ceiling. It entangles the neck of one random living creature in the room and then slowly pulls that victim 10 feet off the ground. The victim feels strangled by the rope and convulses like a hanging victim. This terrifying experience inflicts no actual damage but renders the victim helpless as if affected by a hold person spell. Each round at the end of its turn, the creature can attempt a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw, ending the effect on itself with a successful save.

Reset: This haunt resets after one hour.

Destroying: Burning away the remaining shreds of the rope destroys the hangman’s jig.

Heart Of Embers

Severity: Dangerous (levels 5-10)

Cinders of a dead fire elemental slowly smolder until roused into a short burst of mindless rage against living beings.

Location: A patch of ash and dust with a pile of smoking embers in center.

Passive Perception: 10

Trigger: Proximity.

Effect: When this haunt is triggered, embers flare and an aggressive Large fire elemental forms. The conjured elemental attacks nearby creatures for six rounds or until destroyed by cold damage, whichever occurs first.

Reset: This haunt resets after one minute.

Weakness: This fire elemental has vulnerability to cold and radiant damage. Otherwise, it is immune to all other types of damage and conditions.

Destroying: The heart of embers must be doused with four vials of holy water. Other methods of extinguishing fire might be successful when augmented with radiant energy or a holy blessing.

Hungry Grave

Severity: Setback (any level)

A petty villain was punished by being buried alive in this grave. Now his soul desires to share his misery with others.

Location: A lone grave.

Passive Perception: 13

Trigger: Proximity.

Effect: When this haunt is triggered, the surface of the grave starts to tremble and then collapses into a black funnel descending into a deep grave. Skeletal hands reach and claw at those who fall in. A creature standing on the space above the grave when the haunt triggers must make a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw or stumble into the grave and become restrained by the skeletal hands, taking 5 (1d10) slashing damage. Each round at the end of the restrained creature’s turn, it can attempt another Dexterity save to climb free of the pit, suffering another 5 (1d10) slashing damage if it fails.

Reset: This haunt resets each nightfall.

Destroying: The skeleton of the villain must be excavated, consecrated, and reburied.

Judge’s Bench

Severity: Setback (any level)

The local judge was a peevish old man but had an uncanny knack for ferreting out the truth about defendants brought before him. He died of a stroke before passing sentence in the case of a man who murdered his family, and by virtue of a legal oversight the murderer went free.

Now, the old judge haunts the courtroom he once ruled, a shadowy figure in robes and wig, and forces all who see the haunt to speak nothing but the truth.

Location: Any sentient creature standing before the judge’s bench.

Passive Perception: 12

Trigger: Any sentient creature standing before the judge’s bench.

Effect: Any creature within 15 feet of Judge’s old bench is affected by a zone of truth spell. A creature must make at a DC 12 Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, a creature can’t speak a deliberate lie while within 15 feet of the judge’s bench.

Reset: This haunt resets after one minute.

Destroying: The murderer that he never had to sentence must be brought before the bench and garroted to death to appease the judge’s spirit. The townsfolk know this and the task is well within their capabilities, but they refuse to. Having a haunted judge’s bench that compels the accused to speak the truth is considered more beneficial to the town than bringing one idiot murderer to justice.

Last Dance

Severity: Setback (any level)

A mad aristocrat was isolated in this lavish chamber. The inhabitant’s spirit still haunts the room, yearning to dance, an obsession which was denied to him during his many years of isolation.

Location: A spacious, richly furnished chamber.

Passive Perception: 18

Trigger: Proximity.

Effect: When this haunt is triggered, the shadowy apparition of an elegantly clothed dandy jumps out of a corner and pulls the most attractive person present into a short but frantic dance. The target must succeed at a DC 11 Charisma saving throw or become affected by irresistible dance.

Reset: This haunt resets at midnight each day.

Destroying: Organizing a series of dances in the chamber for multiple days wears the haunt out.

Laughter Freezes

Severity: Deadly (levels 5-10)

Nestled against the side of a forested mountain, the noble estate “Laughter and Gold” has been a hunting lodge of excellent reputation for generations. Owned by one of the kingdom’s most prominent families, the 23-room mansion is best known for its massive grand ballroom, where the trophies of a hundred hunts or more are proudly displayed.

The heads of great beasts, taxidermic recreations of impossible monsters, and the captured arms of noble-born humanoid foes line the walls—all lit by a chandelier made from the bones of a juvenile green dragon.

The newest trophy to be displayed though, is one the owners of the house wish would simply go away. On an expedition to the far north, one of the lodge’s greatest hunters brought back the dorsal ganglia of a polar worm.

Since the dramatic trophy was hung on one wall, the temperature within Laughter and Gold has dropped by a few degrees each night. Already bitterly cold, occasionally the ballroom is sheathed in a carapace of killing ice and the roaring of the great northern worms can be heard.

Location: The central section of the mansion’s grand ballroom.

Passive Perception: 10

Trigger: A living creature enters the grand ballroom and stands beneath the remains of the polar worm.

Effect: When the haunt manifests, a 50-foot-radius sphere of extreme cold targets the center of the ballroom. Each creature within this area of effect must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, suffering 22 (4d10) cold damage on a failed save, or half the damage on a successful save.

Reset: This haunt resets after one hour.

Weaknesses: A creature with resistance or immunity to cold damage does not trigger this haunt.

Destroying: The neural ganglia must be destroyed completely by burning. The ganglia has AC 5 and 10 HP. It has vulnerability to fire damage, but resistance to all other types of damage and is immune to all conditions. If the ganglia is destroyed by any means other than fire, it reforms in a single day.

Lessons of the Past

Severity: Setback (any level)

This was a place of teaching, a place where a respected sage told didactic stories to children and youngsters.

Location: Area around a bench.

Passive Perception: 16

Trigger: Proximity.

Effect: When this haunt triggers, the hazy silhouette of a gray-robed old man appears and starts to tell stories. Each creature within 60 feet of the haunt must make a DC 11 Wisdom saving throw. A creature that fails this save suffers disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks made to perceive any other creature for 1 hour or until they leave the haunt’s area of effect.

Reset: This haunt resets after one hour.

Destroying: The teacher’s plain iron ring fell into a crack in the floor under the bench. It must be found and removed.

Master’s Admonition

Severity: Setback (levels 1-4)

A cruel and petty teacher of wizardry left a painful imprint on his long-abandoned study, still lashing out against anyone who messes with his things.

Location: Area around or on the desk in the study.

Passive Perception: 5

Trigger: Touch (anything on the desk).

Effect: When this haunt is triggered, a barked command of “don’t touch it, fool!” echoes out, followed by a magic missile directed against the triggering creature that inflicts 1d4+1 force damage. The order might be spoken in an old and unused language, depending upon the age of the study and the original wizard’s provenance.

Reset: This haunt resets after one minute.

Destroying: The study must be claimed by another arcane spellcaster and rearranged to suit the new master’s tastes.

Memory of the Late Mistress

Severity: Deadly (levels 5-10)

A woman died, choked to death by her jealous lover on this bed, forever tainting it with ghostly malice toward the living.

Location: A large bed.

Passive Perception: 20

Trigger: Touch.

Effect: When this haunt triggers, invisible ghostly hands choke the first person that touches the bed. The target creature must make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw. If the creature fails at this save, they become restrained and start suffocating at a an accelerated pace. The creature falls unconscious in a number of rounds equal to 1 + their Constitution ability modifier (minimum of 1) and dies one round thereafter unless freed of the choking hands. The victim can attempt another Constitution save at the end of each of its turns, ending the haunt’s effects with a success.

Any creature that approaches within 5 feet of the choking victim must succeed at a DC 16 Strength saving throw or be hurled back 10 feet, take 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage, and fall prone in the space in which they land.

Reset: This haunt resets after one hour.

Destroying: The love letter from the woman’s lover, hidden somewhere in the bed, must be removed and burned.

Might Over Magic

Severity: Setback (any level)

A magician was killed here by brute force, leaving a spiteful vestige driven by hatred of the magic that failed him.

Location: Area of radius around the bloodstain.

Passive Perception: 14

Trigger: Proximity.

Effect: When this haunt is triggered, the vestige unleashes dispel magic in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on the haunt. Any spell of 3rd level or lower in the area of effect ends.

Reset: This haunt resets after one day.

Destroying: If indoors, the floor around the bloodstain must be torn up. If outdoors, a mound must be built over the place. Magic cannot be used to assist with any of this, whether directly or indirectly.

Endless Anger

Severity: Dangerous (levels 1-4)

A goblin thief was choked to death in the space between a house’s walls, and all the inhabitants knew was that some vermin died in the walls. They hired a local hedge wizard to purify the air. Now, the house is plagued with gigantic spiders that seemingly come from out of nowhere.

Location: Long hallway on the second floor.

Passive Perception: 20

Trigger: Anyone walking down the hallway concealing the goblin’s corpse.

Effect: This haunt conjures two phase spiders when anyone walks down the cursed hallway. These spiders attack any humanoids in the home, followed by any animals or smaller creatures, and eventually they begin gnawing at the furniture if no living things remain to kill.

This persistent haunt continues to direct the spiders to attack any humanoids within the house for up to 10 minutes after the haunt triggers.

Reset: This haunt resets at sunset each day.

Weaknesses: A creature can attempt a DC 14 Dexterity (Stealth) check to move down the hallway. If they succeed on this check, they do not trigger the haunt.

Destroying: The goblin’s mission must be completed; the rich trove of jewels (worth more than 1,000 gp) kept in a safe in the master bedroom must be plundered. The spirit of the dead thief vanishes with a high-pitched laugh.

Old Jonas’ Critique

Severity: Setback (any level)

Old Jonas the woodcarver had a reputation as one of the finest craftsmen in his small village. He made tools, toys for the settlement’s wealthiest children, shelves, fence posts, and a dozen other useful things, earning a tidy living in the process. After his death, Jonas’ nephew took over the business, but his lack of skill angered the ghostly carpenter.

Now, the haunt of Old Jonas has its fun by twisting his successor’s work into uselessness and playing other ghostly pranks.

Location: A workshop or workroom.

Passive Perception: 15

Trigger: Anyone opening the door to the workshop.

Effect: Anyone entering the workshop through the (stuck) wooden door triggers the haunt. The haunt bends and warps all wood in a 20-foot-radius area centered on the worktable. The table, ordinary tools, and structural features of the workroom become cataclysmically warped. Warped weapons suffer disadvantage on attack rolls, warped doors require a successful DC 12 Strength check to force open, and any warped tools impose disadvantage on tool checks.

Wooden objects worn or carried by a creature negate the effect with a successful DC 11 Wisdom saving throw. This spell doesn’t affect magical wood.

Reset: This haunt resets after one hour.

Weaknesses: Any character with at least 5 ranks in Profession (carpenter or woodworker) will not be affected by the Haunt, nor will any objects he or she carries.

Destroying: Jonas nephew must create a high quality wooden item in the cursed workshop, though he may have the help of others to do so. If he creates this masterwork item, the ghostly pranks stops as Jonas becomes assured of his successor’s competence.

Purple Pig Tavern

Severity: Dangerous (levels 5-10)

The Purple Pig used to be a decent tavern, until a payment dispute between the barkeep and a wandering gnome troubadour ended in the little minstrel’s murder. The barkeep stuffed the gnome and his rat familiar feet first into a keg of rot gut and rolled it into the cellar. The barkeep thought that solved the problem, but in the last few weeks, horrors have killed three of his patrons and driven most of the other drunks off.

Location: Wine cellar and basement beneath the tavern.

Passive Perception: 13

Trigger: Anyone in the cellar or the tavern above speaking in Gnomish or singing any Gnomish song.

Effect: When the haunt triggers, each creature in the cellar or in the tavern’s common room must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or become charmed. Creatures that are immune to being charmed are immune to this effect.

A charmed creature uses its attack action each round to attack one creature adjacent to them, whether friend or foe, to the best of its ability. Affected creatures can use the remainder of their actions for the turn however they choose. If a charmed creature has no other creatures adjacent to them, they do not attack anyone if they choose not to and can act normally that round. A charmed creature can attempt another Wisdom saving throw at the end of each of its turns to end the effect on itself.

This haunt is persistent and continues to plague the living until all targets are unconscious, have fled the area, or until after 8 rounds elapse.

Reset: This haunt resets after one hour.

Weaknesses: As an action, a bard can attempt a DC 20 Charisma (Performance) check. If they succeed, the haunt’s effects cease. The haunt can, however, still be triggered again.

Destroying: To permanently exorcise this Haunt, the tavern’s owner must be brought to justice and the body of the murdered gnome musician and his familiar must be buried or cremated respectfully.

Quarry of the Endless Toil

Severity: Setback (any level)

This old quarry was a place of misery and death for numerous prisoners and slaves. Even now their spirits are bound to suffer, sharing their weariness with the living who disturb their endless toil.

Location: An open pit, with terraces and a few ramps leading upwards.

Passive Perception: 20

Trigger: Proximity.

Effect: Upon reaching the lowest level of the pit, each living creature must succeed at a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or gain a level of exhaustion.

Reset: This haunt resets after one hour.

Destroying: The quarry must be covered with a blanket of dirt and sand until no stone is exposed to the air.

Scribe’s Odd Bequest

Severity: Setback (any level)

The scribe died in the library she had tended her entire adult life. Her death wasn’t murder or tragedy; she was simply found one early morning fallen amid the stacks, her 90-year-old heart having finally given out. She was buried with minor honors, her private collection of more than 30 texts donated to the library she so loved and life went on. And a few months after her death, strange things began happening in the library. Quiet little curses that smelled like old dust would freeze patrons as they browsed and scribes as they worked.

Location: Anywhere within a large library.

Passive Perception: 20

Trigger: The haunt preys on the learned and triggers anytime anyone with an Intelligence score of 13 or higher enters the library and browses any book.

Effect: Any time the haunt is triggered, a cursed sigil is inscribed in whatever book the character who triggered the haunt is currently holding or reading. Once the snake sigil is inscribed, it remains in place for a day, or until anyone, not just the triggering character, reads the cursed work. Those who fail a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw are paralyzed for 1d4+1 minutes. A paralyzed character can attempt another Dexterity save at the end of each minute, ending the paralyzation with a success.

Reset: This haunt resets after one day.

Destroying: The library’s odd curse can only be lifted permanently by a single character or group donating at least 500 gp worth of texts to the library.

Screams of a Forlorn Mother

Severity: Setback (any level)

The screams of a forlorn mother formed because of a woman that died a sudden death while mourning her child.

Location: Around the place of the mother’s death.

Passive Perception: 15

Trigger: Proximity.

Effect: When this haunt triggers, the image of ghostly woman grasping a small bundle in her arms appears and starts to cry, targeting a random creature within the haunt’s range with an ear-piercing scream. The target creature must make a DC 11 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. This effect won’t target children of humanoid races.

Reset: This haunt resets at dawn each day.

Destroying: A small child must be brought and presented to the ghostly woman to soothe her pain.

Spectral Screams

Severity: Setback (any level)

Some spirits take joy in terrifying the living. Spectral screams are collections of lesser spirits who have banded together to increase the amount of terror they can spread.

Location: A 10-foot radius area.

Passive Perception: 10

Trigger: Proximity.

Effect: Spectral disembodied heads emerge from the floor and scream at everyone in the area, their jaws distending to an impossible width. The spectral heads take pride in terrorizing their victims. Each creature in the area of the haunt must make a DC 12 Charisma saving throw or become frightened and need to flee the area of the haunt.

This fear lasts for 1 minute.

A creature that succeeds this save can attempt a DC 14 Charisma (Intimidate) check to demonstrate their own ferocity and frightening nature. This means the spirit decides the character is the true winner of the current contest, after which they lose interest in the intruders and the haunt falls quiet.

Reset: This haunt resets after one hour.

Destroying: The spectral screams haunt is destroyed if a creature spends 8 consecutive hours sleeping in its area.

Stores of Deepwatch Keep

Severity: Setback (levels 5-10)

Three summers ago, an earthquake transformed a limestone quarry into tomb for a dozen human and dwarven miners. Since then, the mine has been reopened, the dead recovered and buried, and life in the mining town nearby slowly and painfully returned to normal. Limestone harvested from the quarry has been shipped across the land to make mortar, but structures built with mortar from the mine have been plagued by bad luck. The mine’s current generation of workers hear the tales from travelers, and among themselves, whisper that the unquiet ghosts of their former colleagues are having their revenge.

No structure built by from the cursed mortar has suffered worse luck than the remote Deepwatch Keep. The small fortress has an ill air, and twice now servants have disappeared, only to be found suffocated or starved behind walls that should not have been there. The folk of the keep never go anywhere alone anymore. Most flee the keep if their duties allow it. Meanwhile, the provisions store beneath the keep is shunned by all…

Location: Basement within Deepwatch Keep. When the haunt triggers, one can hear the distant echoes of old dwarven work songs and striking hammers, followed by the creak of overstressed stone.

Passive Perception: 19

Trigger: This haunt triggers when a living creature enters a specific hallway in the keep’s basement.

Effect: The Haunt uses a form of the wall of stone spell to form walls around the greatest concentration of living intruders, attempting to trap as many as possible against an existing wall. The haunts’ intent is to trap its prey and watch them die slowly of thirst or starvation. A wall is 6 inches thick and composed of 10-foot by-10-foot panels. Each panel must be contiguous with at least one other panel. A creature inside the area where the walls are being formed can attempt a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw to avoid becoming trapped. A creature that fails this save finds itself trapped inside this new stone chamber.

Reset: This haunt resets after one day.

Destroying: To cleanse this haunting, a blood relative of one of the slain miners must journey to Deepwatch Keep and willingly slice their hand or arm, suffering 1 HP worth of damage, and smear their blood on the provision stores’ walls.

The Apostate’s Stone Pyre

Severity: Dangerous (levels 5-10)

Long ago, a druidess renowned her faith and accepted the teachings of a passing cleric, even allowing some of her circle’s most sacred mysteries to be transcribed into the common tongue. The druid grove she betrayed took its vengeance on the druidess, lashing her between the stones of their great stone menhir, where she was cruelly tortured for a day and a night before a bolt of lightning ended her misery. The haunt centers on the long disused ceremonial circle of an extinct druidic order. Massive stones three times the size of a tall man loom over a bare patch of blackened earth. Some of the stones lean drunkenly against one another, and a few other stones have been cracked in half like broken teeth. All of the stones, whether cracked or whole, are etched with spirals and triangles, and these holy sigils are painted in faded blood. The blackened remains of sturdy hemp ropes dangle from a pair of stones near the northern heel stone.

Location: Circle of stones.

Passive Perception: 18

Trigger: When any humanoid or giant comes within 100 feet of the stone circle.

Effect: The air stinks of burnt human flesh, singed hair, and ozone for several hours after the haunt is triggered.

This haunt is persistent and continues to trigger until all targets are dead, flee the area, or until after six minutes elapse. When the haunt becomes active, the crackling and hazy image of a bound woman writhes between the two northern stone pillars. A second later, lighting erupts from the sky, lancing through the screaming apparition and blasting a 30-foot line of lightning at up to 3 characters within range. The bolt inflicts 28 (8d6) lightning damage with a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw for half damage.

Reset: This haunt resets every 24 hours.

Weaknesses: The haunt can be calmed, but not destroyed, by inflicting damage against the stones of the sacred circle.

Each stone is AC 13 and has 75 hit points, with immunity to piercing damage from nonmagical weapons, as well as immunity to poison and psychic damage. If enough damage is inflicted to shatter one of the stones, the haunt falls quiet and ceases its attacks. The damaged stones reform when the haunt resets.

The stones have vulnerability to attacks made by a wildshaped character with natural weapons (e.g., claws, fangs).

Destroying: This haunt can only be permanently destroyed if the druidess’s charred skeleton is exhumed from beneath the center of the stone circle and hammered to powder by a druid. The dust must then be entered in the heart of a sacred forest.

Swordsman Betrayed

Severity: Dangerous (levels 11-16)

Here a master swordsman fought and won many duels until he was betrayed and stabbed in the back by an ally. A trace of his spirit still lingers here, mistaking anyone entering the courtyard for a challenger.

Location: A courtyard.

Passive Perception: 0

Trigger: Proximity.

Effect: When this haunt is triggered, a ghostly duelist appears and challenges the first armed person to enter the yard before attacking with a luminescent blade.

The ghostly duelist acts on initiative count 20. It has AC 18, 125 hit points, and attacks twice a round with an attack bonus of +11. Upon a hit, the duelist inflicts 21 (3d10 + 5) force damage. The duelist is resistant to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.

He is immune to all damage types except radiant and immune to all conditions.

Reset: This haunt resets at dawn each day.

Destroying: Surrendering to the swordsman spirit breaks the cycle of duels into which this haunt is locked. However, the surrender must exactly follow the appropriate protocol, which requires a successful DC 15 Intelligence (History) check.

Thirsting Gorge

Severity: Dangerous (any level)

Years and years ago, a prospector and his mule fell into a desert gorge. Miles from any assistance, they died alone and unremembered from thirst and starvation. Those familiar with the desert avoid a certain out-of-the-way gorge, claiming that it is haunted. Nomads and prospectors tell dark stories of unprepared travelers possessed by the thirsty spirit of the wasteland, who abandon their supplies and die themselves.

Location: Desert gorge.

Passive Perception: 16

Trigger: Any humanoid creature peering into the haunted gorge.

Effect: Anyone peering into the mouth of the deep gorge catches sight of the desiccated and broken body of the prospector and his mule far below. Those seeing the haunt must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or fall under the sway of a geas spell. The geas compels the creature to toss all water supplies and rations into the gorge, including magical food and drink such as potions. After this, the affected creature is compelled to wander the desert attacking others to steal their supplies and return them to the gorge. Each time a creature acts in a manner counter to this compulsion, they suffer 27 (5d10) psychic damage.

As with a geas, the effect ends by means of a remove curse, greater restoration, or wish spell.

The neighboring towns do their best to capture, kill, or break the curse of any travelers so afflicted, but the desert takes many of the cursed before they reach civilization again. This geas lasts until the affected creature brings back food and/or water to the gorge or 30 days have elapsed, whichever occurs first.

Reset: This haunt resets after one week.

Destroying: The desiccated corpses must be retrieved from the gorge and given a funeral ceremony with a feast that includes food and water offered up in their honor. After this, the corpses must be buried.

Touch of Hunger

Severity: Dangerous (any level)

The denizens of this dwelling starved to death, their last thoughts focused on the empty pantry, which to their deluded minds appeared filled with supplies.

Location: A pantry or similar shelving.

Passive Perception: 13

Trigger: Touch.

Effect: When this haunt triggers, the pantry fills with illusory food of all kinds only to rot and fill with maggots seconds later. The person that opened the door must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or become poisoned.

Thereafter, each time the creature consumes food, it suffers 11 (2d10) necrotic damage with no saving throw allowed.

The affected creature can attempt a new Wisdom saving throw after each long rest, ending the effects on itself with a success. A creature that does not eat suffers normal effects of starvation.

A creature can go without food for a number of days equal to 3 + their Constitution modifier (minimum 1). At the end of each day beyond this, the creature suffers one level of exhaustion.

Reset: This haunt resets after one day.

Destroying: The pantry must be supplied with enough food to last a large family for a week and left there to decay normally.

Unsolved Murder

Severity: Setback (any level)

After a merchant was murdered at a party being held to celebrate his latest venture, his spirit became obsessed with finding his killer and exacting vengeance. It has clung to his body for years, hoping for a hapless grave robber to inadvertently become the pawn of his unfinished business.

Location: 30-foot radius area around where the merchant perished.

Passive Perception: 20

Trigger: Touch.

Effect: The merchant’s spirit subtly possesses the creature who touched his corpse (even if the creature touched it with a tool). The target must succeed at a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or become charmed by the spirit. If the target fails this save, they feel compelled to investigate and solve the merchant’s murder. Each day the charmed creature spends time investigating the crime, the spirit is pleased and grants the creature advantage on any one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw that day. If, however, a week goes by without the host creature making progress on the investigation, the spirit flies into a rage. The target creature must then make a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or become victim of a bestow curse spell, suffering disadvantage on ability checks and saving throws on one ability score chosen by the spirit. If the possessed creature resumes working on the investigation, the spirit lifts the curse.

A remove curse spell ends the possession on the target creature but does not affect the haunt. The possessed creature can attempt a new Wisdom save at the end of each week, ending the possession on itself with a success.

The possessing spirit communicates telepathically with the possessed creature but no one else. Only the possessed creature can see this spirit, although a true seeing spell reveals the spirit hovering near the affected creature.

Destroying: The merchant’s spirit can rest only if the murderer dies in an act of revenge. If the murderer dies of other causes before this can happen, the merchant’s spirit demands another form of harsh vengeance against the murderer’s memory or family.

Warlock’s Doom

Severity: Dangerous (levels 5-10)

This haunt is the lingering residue of a powerful magician’s final stand—slivers of his spirit and the last spell he ever cast bound together in a volley of destruction unleashed against the world.

Location: Scorched field of where the warlock died.

Passive Perception: 20

Trigger: Proximity.

Effect: When this haunt triggers, a lightning bolt strikes from the ether, aimed in a way that affects the greatest number of living victims possible. Each creature in the bolt’s line of effect must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 28 (8d6) lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Reset: This haunt resets after one minute.

Destroying: The haunt casts and reabsorbs the same spell again and again. Casting counterspell in the moments when the lightning bolt forms dissipates this haunt forever.

Haunted Manor

This last haunt is more complicated than the others, involving the entirety of a mansion and its different rooms. Feel free to expand on the haunting by adding other rooms and their own unique haunting effects.

Severity: Dangerous (any level)

Over sixty years ago, a baron and his wealthy family dominated both the social scene and politics in the region. Known for their opulent, even decadent, balls and celebrations, the baron’s family did what they wanted, when they wanted, and how they wanted—no one dared speak against the man who owned their land, their labor, and even their very tools.

Attitudes changed, however, when baron’s three sons came of age. They became infamous for rounding up local men and women to fight in their cruel pit fights. Those who performed well in the games were given coin and accolades, while the losers were never seen again. When the baron’s sons kidnapped the teenage son of the local vicar, the people of the region marched on the mansion, broke down the doors, and proceeded to execute every last member of the baron’s brood where they found them, including a number of children.

The elder, his blood pouring out to the floor, called out to his fiendish patron for vengeance against all those who dared enter his home. The dark powers listened and cursed the home and all those foolish enough to pass through its doors.

Since that night, the mansion has been haunted with a malignant, malevolent host of spirits. For a time, treasure-seekers and looters entered the house in search of gold. Some of these poor fools escaped alive but insane, but most of their ilk vanished.

While most people in the nearby town do their best to avoid the manor, the haunting has proven more pernicious than that. Three times a year—once for each of baron’s slain sons—the mansion calls out for a new victim. Someone in the vicinity hears this summons and, compelled to obey, travels to the mansion and enters through its accursed doors. This sacrifice has continued for two decades now, but no one knows how to put a stop to it. The locals have set fire to the mansion five times, but it reappears undamaged at midnight the next day, angrier than before.

Location: This haunt inhabits all three floors of the infamous manor, including the cellar, the main floor, and the upper floor. All rooms within the mansion are part of the haunting’s area of influence.

Passive Perception: 12

Trigger: Any living, sentient creature entering the mansion triggers the haunting. The haunt manifests in different ways depending on which room the creature enters.

Effect: The mansion has four distinct chambers as part of the haunting (feel free to add more rooms with other effects). The haunt manifests in a different way for each room, triggering when a creature enters that room. The rooms and their specific haunting effects are described below.

Cellar

This is the location of the underground fighting pit and the place where the worst excesses of the clan transpired. it serves as the haunt’s focal point. When a sentient living creature enters the room, the following events occur:

Round 1: The phantom voices of an unseen jeering, boisterous crowd fill the room, accompanied by the strong odors of sweat and blood. The temperature drops precipitously such that one can see one’s breath in the air and a rime of frost coats the walls and floor.

Round 2: The phantom crowd takes hazy, luminescent shape, standing around the edges of the cellar. A deep, booming voice calls to the intruders and demands that one of them enter the ring and fight. If the intruders attempt to leave, the doors to the cellar slam shut (DC 17 Strength check to force open).

Round 3: If no one volunteers, each creature in the party must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or take 11 (2d10) force damage and be knocked prone. Those suffering damage feel as if they’ve been punched in the face or gut, including fresh bruises and small cuts. Each round thereafter if no one enters the center of the room, all intruders in the area must make another saving throw or take this damage again.

Once a volunteer enter the ring, a ghostly brute of a man appears, its fists clad in spiked gloves and readied in an attack posture. This phantom pugilist is AC 13, 60 hit points, and acts on initiative count 15. It has an attack bonus of +7 and gains one attack with the attack action, striking for 11 (2d10) force damage. The phantom only takes radiant damage or bludgeoning damage from a natural weapon (such as a fist). It is immune to all conditions.

As a bonus action, the volunteer combatant can attempt a DC 15 Charisma (Intimidate) check to cause the phantom attacker to hesitate and not attack for one round.

If another character enters the ring in the midst of a fight, they receive their own phantom pugilist as well. If the fight has ended (i.e., one or both combatants has fallen), entering the ring provokes no response.

The fight continues for up to five rounds, or until one combatant or another is dropped to 0 hit points. If the character drops to 0 hit points, their comrades need to retrieve the body from the ring or else the phantom continues attacking each round, causing the unconscious character to fail a death saving throw each time.

Dining Hall

Here is where the clan consumed enormous, extravagant meals. Even when the local peasants starved to death, the baron’s family always dined well. When a living, sentient creature enters this room, the haunt triggers and the following events occur.

Round 1: The smells of delicious food fill the hall. Moments later, the sounds of a crowd of people eating, guzzling, and chewing become painfully loud.

Round 2: The ghostly apparitions of two dozen people appear in the chairs around the dining tables, as do the hazy images of a feast—stuffed boar, loaves of bread, piles of sweetmeats, and flagons of beer. A fire bursts to life inside the hearth and the room becomes cloyingly hot.

Round 3: The gluttonous diners stand as one and face the intruders. A baritone voice calls to them, “Even unworthy scum such as yourselves deserve a last meal. Come, eat as much as you can!” One chair for each party member slides away from the table invitingly. The doors slam shut violently.

If no character volunteers and sits in the proffered chair, then each creature present must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or feel ravenously hungry and nauseated from the lack of sustenance. A creature that fails this saving throw becomes charmed (creatures immune to charm are immune to this effect) and compelled to sit down and begin eating the “food.” This continues each round that no one volunteers, and each character in the room must make the Constitution save again.

A character consumed by this hunger starts shoveling illusory food into their mouth at as rapid a pace as possible, gaining the poisoned condition. To them, the food tastes delicious and they can’t get enough. To everyone else, however, that person appears to be eating maggot-ridden, rotted mush that was once food.

Each round thereafter, the diner must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or spend that round consuming food.

The creature’s hit point maximum is reduced by 7 (2d6) points. This loss can be restored with a greater restoration spell or after a long rest, either of which also removes the poisoned condition.

Library

No one could ever recall the baron family actually opening a book, let alone reading one, but the family nonetheless kept a library filled with forbidden tomes, banned books, and scrolls cursed with dangerous secrets. When a living creature enters the library they trigger the haunting here. The following events occur as described below.

Round 1: The temperature plummets rapidly enough to leave a rime of frost on the walls and floor. Sibilant whispers float through the air, a different voice seemingly originating from each individual book.

Round 2: A sweet, almost childlike voice calls to them, “There is no such thing as evil knowledge; all that counts is how you use it! Come, learn our secrets and become enlightened.” A random book flies from its shelf and lands at the feet of one random creature in the room, its pages flipping open.

Round 3: If no one picks up the book and skims its contents, 1d6+1 more books fly off the shelves, this time seemingly hurled with violent force. Each time on initiative counts 10, 5, and 0, up to two books attack the same target with an attack bonus of +8. If a book strikes its target, it inflicts 5 (1d10) bludgeoning damage. This occurs each round thereafter until a creature picks up a book and begins reading.

A creature that reads one of the offered books must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or become confused (as per the spell confusion). If the creature succeeds at this saving throw, however, they gain the ability and knowledge to cast one 1st-level warlock spell, chosen at random, within the next 24 hours (using their Charisma as the spellcasting ability score).

The second creature to read a book at this point gains advantage on all Intelligence (Arcana) checks they make within the next 24 hours. They also gain the ability to cast a 2nd-level warlock spell (chosen at random), within that same period of time (see above).

The third creature to read a book must make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be struck by a feeblemind spell.

This effect lasts until they complete a long rest or are cured by greater restoration, heal, or wish.

Trophy Chamber

This enormous room is where the baron family displayed their grisly trophies. While many of these trophies are in the form of taxidermized animal heads, six of them are the mounted heads of humanoid creatures (humans, elves, dwarves, etc.).

When a living sentient creature enters the trophy room, they trigger the haunting here. First, the doors slam shut and can only be forced open with a successful DC 16 Strength check.

Next, the mounted heads begin to scream in ghostly voices.

Some call out in fear, others in agony, many in pure rage.

Individually, each wounded voice hurts the ears and digs into the mind. Collectively, this chorus of misery attacks the sanity of all those present.

Each creature in the room must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or become overwhelmed by the cacophony.

Those that fail this save become charmed. Blood oozes from the creature’s ears and their eyes glow with madness.

The charmed target must use its action before moving each of its turns to make a melee attack against a creature other than itself. If no creatures are adjacent, the charmed target can act normally. A creature that succeeds on this saving throw becomes deafened. These effects last until at least one occupant in the room is reduced to 0 hit points. A creature that leaves the trophy room is no longer charmed or deafened.

Special: Of note, the haunt gains strength each time it inflicts fear on those within its walls. Keep a running tally, a “fear pool” that gains one point each time a creature gains the frightened condition while inside the mansion.

During times where the haunt manifests, once each round it can expend a point from this pool and use it to gain advantage on one attack roll or saving throw it makes (such as the Wisdom save against a use of the Turn Undead class feature). The fear pool cannot hold more than five points at a time. In addition, the haunting can expend three points from its fear pool to impose disadvantage on one creature’s next ability check or saving throw.

This haunt is an elusive one, with its true source located in the cellar. It is also a tenacious haunt that gains advantage on any saving throws it is required to make.

Reset: Once the haunting manifests in a room, it cannot manifest in that same room again for another hour.

Destroying: Local folktales hint that burning the mansion to the ground will end the curse and the haunting. In truth, however, the mansion repairs all damage to its structure at midnight every day; even burned to ruins, the manor reappears intact at midnight.

The malign spirits of this place are beyond redemption and they cannot be appeased. They draw their energies from the souls of countless victims buried or trapped within the walls of this place. The only way to put this haunting to rest involves recovering the bodies on site and giving each one a respectful, proper burial. After this, the ground on which the mansion rests must be consecrated with holy water and a religious blessing. Thereafter, the mansion can be burned to ashes and the haunting ended forever.