Roofing and Haunted houses: Diagnosing 7 haunted house roofs

With Halloween fast approaching, we thought that we would take a look at seven haunted houses from movies, TV, and gaming to see what kind of roofing work we would recommend to the spirits, wraiths, demons, and otherwise unpleasant creatures that haunt them.

Number 7: The Farmhouse, from The Conjuring.

The Conjuring takes place in a haunted farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island.

The farmhouse from The Conjuring, showing what appears to be a gash in the roof from a slipped shingle.

While some of the footage we have shows a large gash in the left side of the roof – likely from a slipped shingle – it looks like the roof is in fairly good condition by the time our protagonists arrive on-scene.

Because the roof was recently repaired, we estimate that this roof would be good for fifteen to twenty-five years, depending on how well the owners take care of it. Caring for your roof can be as simple as taking a good look up there once a year to spot problems like slipping shingles, granule loss, moss or algae, and rusting flashings. This can let you catch potential issues before they ever turn into leaks

The same farmhouse, but with a repaired roof.

In this case, since the roof is pretty high, we would recommend having a licensed roofer come out to do the inspection so there’s no risk of personal injury, however this is something that you can actually do yourself if you’re on a roof with a low pitch. Keeping your roof healthy can add years onto its lifespan, saving you thousands of dollars in the long term.

Number 6: The Pink Palace Apartments, from Coraline

The Pink Palace Apartments from Coraline

Featuring steep sloped roofs covered in what looks like wooden shakes, the Pink Palace Apartments from the animated movie Coraline are in definite need of roof replacement. We see several areas where the shakes are beginning to slip, which has opened the home up to damage from rainwater and snowmelt. We would need to inspect the interior of the home to see where the leaks are, if any are present.

Additionally, we see a gentleman actually standing on the roof, doing some kind of exercise. We never recommend spending too much time on your roof, as excessive foot traffic can speed up natural wear and tear on the roof. Also, especially on roofs with steeper pitches like this one, it’s easy to fall from the roof, which can lead to serious injury.

The house does have gutters, however it is likely that they have not been properly maintained, judging by the condition of the rest of the home. If our team finds that the gutters also need to be replaced, we would recommend seamless aluminum gutters and we would custom-design a gutter system to fit this home. Because there are multiple families living in the home and multiple entry points, we would take into account where the downspouts should go to keep them out of the way and direct water away from the home itself.

For this home, we would do a thorough inspection to determine whether the roof can be repaired or if it needs to be replaced. If it just needs repairs, our crews would come out, find any leaks, and then patch the area up with new shakes, new underlayment, and then integrate our repair with the current roof. This would usually take us about a day to do. If our team gets there and it turns out that there is too much damage to repair, we would replace the roof. Our recommendation would be to fully tear off the current roofing to inspect the decking for damage, then replace it with a high-quality synthetic underlayment and new asphalt shingles.

Number 5: Luigi’s Mansion, from the Luigi’s Mansion games

Luigi’s Mansion. Note the crooked roof and light horizontal streaks.

At first glance, it’s easy to see that something’s off with this house, beyond just the limitations of the game’s graphics. Looking at the shingles themselves, there are distinct light streaks running horizontally across the roof. This is an indication that the shingles are experiencing granule loss, which occurs near the end of a roof’s lifespan when the granules of asphalt in the shingles begin to strip off, revealing the fiberglass underneath. This is one of the signs that our roofing technicians look for when assessing a roof.

Additionally, if we look at the shape of the roof, it’s clear that there are several places where it is sagging. This indicates that there is severe wood damage underneath the shingles themselves. We often see this when there is excessive weight on the roof caused by multiple layers of shingles, or when wood replacement has been neglected for a long time.

We would recommend that Luigi should find a licensed and insured roofing contractor to fully tear off the shingles on his roof so that they can look at the wooden structure beneath it. Once they replace the wood structure, he should make sure to get a high-quality underlayment and shingles with a 50-year warranty.

Number 4: Allerdale Hall, from Crimson Peak

Exterior view of Allerdale Hall, from Crimson Peak

Here is where we begin to get into issues that might require a construction company rather than a roofer. Just looking at the outside of this house, we can immediately see a section of the roof that has completely collapsed. This indicates a general poor health for the rest of the roof, and it’s important to get it all replaced as soon as possible. Because the roof is so high and has a very steep pitch, there are safety concerns that would need to be addressed before any roofing work begins.

Interior view of Allerdale Hall, from Crimson Peak

We also have an image of the inside of the house as well, where we see that the collapsed portion of the roof actually makes a complete hole through the ceiling and snowfall is actually coming in through the hole. This means that a lot of moisture is getting into the house, which can cause mold, discoloration, and pest problems. Additionally, the hole means that the heat from inside the house is going to escape – meaning that Allerdale Hall is going to have a very expensive energy bill if they want to keep warm this Winter.

We would use safety equipment to make sure that nobody falls and that all of our equipment is secure. We would want to wait for clear weather before we do our repair to make sure that the home isn’t vulnerable to the elements during a storm.

Number 3: 29 Neibolt Street, from It

29 Neibolt Street, from It

This level of damage is common when we see houses that have been abandoned for upwards of a decade, when there isn’t any care being put into maintenance. There is broken wood and fascia, which will need to be replaced during the roofing project.

We also noticed an old system of gutters, which will need to be replaced with an all-new gutter system. Gutters are an important addition to any home because they help water escape the roof and get safely away from the home. They prevent issues ranging from algae streaks to wood damage to even damage to the home’s foundation itself.

For this home, we would recommend a full roof replacement, including all of the wooden decking underneath the wood. We would work closely with an architectural/construction firm to make sure that the remainder of the house’s structure is safe to work on and live in when we’re done. After we replace the wood and install new shingles, we would put in a seamless aluminum gutter system and wrap it all up in a fresh coat of paint.

Number 2: The Shrieking Shack, from Harry Potter

Exterior view of the Shrieking Shack, from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

This property has clearly been abandoned for a decade or more, with no care put into maintenance. You’ll notice that the home itself is distinctly crooked, which indicates a problem in either the foundation of the building or the structure that holds up the walls. Before we even begin work on the roof, we would contact an engineer to determine whether it’s possible to restore this home. Because this is the world of Harry Potter, we’ll assume that the house is supported by spells and enchantments, so we’re clear to start working.

Sirius Black inside the Shrieking Shack (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)

The roof has a few issues, namely that there are areas inside where we can see daylight, it’s old and not equipped to deal with snow, and because of the persistent discoloration of the interior, it’s clear that there are a number of leaks, all of which need to be fixed. To keep with the structure’s unique style, we would probably end up going with a dark tile or slate combined with a high-quality underlayment to make sure that the rain and snow don’t end up leaking water into the home.

After we’re done there, we would call in our friends at Stel Builders to do an interior remodel of the home to make it more modern, sleek, and functional.

Number 1: The Von Everec Estate, from The Witcher III

The Von Everec Estate, from The Witcher III: Hearts of Stone

This roof is using something known as thatch roofing, which is basically a very thick layer of straw that goes over the structure of a house. The outer part of the thatch will keep water away from the inner parts so that the inside stays dry and also acts as an insulation for the home. It was very common before the advent of more modern shingles, tiles, and flat roofs, and was used across the world.

In this case, we can see a few areas where the thatch has collapsed, leading to gaps in the roof where water can get in. There are also areas of the roof that are sagging, indicating a certain level of structural damage that will need to be addressed before we can begin installing a new roof.

Our team would start by tearing off all of the thatch roofing to get a good look at the wood structure of the roof underneath. After completing all of the necessary wood replacement on the home, we would then install a more modern material such as shingle or tile, depending on what the owner wants. For this property, we would also suggest a seamless aluminum gutter system to direct water away from the home and the foundation to avoid unnecessary water damage in the future.