My World Dies Screaming

Married couple Sheila (Cathy O'Donnell) and Philip (Gerald Mohr) travel from Switzerland to Florida for a relaxing break in a rented property. To Sheila's horror, the house is identical to that which features in her recurring nightmares. Coincidence? Or does hubbie Philip have a hidden agenda?

The plot for Terror in the Haunted House feels extremely dated, like a product of the '30s or 40's rather than the late '50s (remember, the groundbreaking horror of Psycho was only two years away). In order to add a little pep to proceedings, the makers resort to one of those lame gimmicks so prevalent of the time, in this case 'Psycho-Rama', subliminal images (a cartoon face with a rat in its mouth!?!) and words (Scream Bloody Murder!) designed to unsettle the viewer. They don't work.

With its uninspired story-line, overly verbose script and overwrought performances, this film is unlikely to set chills running up the spine. Psycho-Rama might be wholly ineffective as a way of creeping out the audience, but it at least provided me with the challenge of trying to pause the film every time an image or phrase appeared—far more fun the film itself.

4.5 out of 10, rounded down to 4 for some of the worst day for night filming I have seen: it looks like they didn't even try.

Terror in the haunted house resembles a William Castle horror film it has gimmicks,subliminal messages during the film.they flash images of skulls and cartoon monsters and even the word scream in blood red colors,but this movie is pretty good without the subliminal messages.its creepy and pretty entertaining,it stars Gerald Mohr who a few years later starred in the great b movie the angry red planet.and Cathy O'Donnell(related to Rosie?)and William Ching.a new bride is having visions of a haunted house,well nightmares and is later on a trip with her new husband to America from Switzerland.to an old plantation mansion that turns out to be the house from her nightmares, its kind of like the screaming skull only much better.i seen this years ago on VHS from rhino video when they redid all the subliminal messages.and if you run it in slow motion you can clearly see these goofy and cartoonish subliminal images.as a fan of b movies and old horror movies i enjoyed terror in the haunted house,even though it is not as great as the infamous house on haunted hill.but alas it is better then the screaming skull and yes the really inept hillbillies in the haunted house.i recommend terror in the haunted house.7 out of 10.

This film deals with a young gal who has bad dreams about a haunted house which have put her in a sanitarium and her husband is trying his best to help her with this problem.

The husband takes his wife to a house that looks exactly like the haunted house in her dreams and this is when the story becomes interesting with mysterious people making appearances who claim to be owners of the house and even the care taker of the house becomes a dark side to the story.

Good acting, with plenty of surprises and great for a 1958 film classic. Enjoy.

Many of the reviews I have read complain that this film is boring or mediocre. I think they are forgetting that it was made in 1958. Considering that, I thought it was very exciting for its time. I certainly loved the acting, but that too is very much in the style of the 50s.

It is the plot twists that make the movie worth watching today (That is, for normal people, not just nostalgics like myself.) You know that the woman is not evil, but what about the two men, Phillip and Mark, and that servant Jonah? Just when you think you have them figured out, the movie flips them again. If you follow it, and don't get too easily bored by the 1950s effects and black and white, I think you will be surprised by how it turns out.

I gave it 9 out of 10. It was a masterpiece of its time and still entertaining today, though I might suggest watching it more as a mystery/drama than a horror film. My only complaint is the title itself, for I was hoping for a haunted house, but there was nothing supernatural about it. No ghosts or ghouls or anything. Ah yes, and I stopped noticing the 'subliminal messages' about 15 minutes into it. They really serve no purpose.

As a child this movie always scared the daylights out of my sister and me whenever we saw on TV. In fact, in my mind it has always been *the* horror movie of my childhood. After finally discovering its name and seeing it again decades later, I was relieved to see I don't have to be embarrassed to admit that. Sure it's 50 years old, has mediocre acting, and those hokey "subliminal" images, but I still find the situations, especially the woman's dream, haunting. And, though you'll probably think you know what the surprise ending is going to be, there's one or two little twists yet to go. You have to give the filmmakers credit for trying to produce something a bit more psychologically satisfying than the usual 1950's horror movie did.

Worth checking out if you like thriller movies. Just don't spend too much on it!