# Haunted House inheritance.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-inheritance/844348>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [December 4, 2019, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-inheritance/844348 "2019-12-04T04:26:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-inheritance/844348/1 "2019-12-04T04:26:16Z")

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You learn that a distant relative has died. You stand to inherit their fortune. But first, you must spend a specific period of time in a haunted house. What was the original source for this trope?

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**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haunted-house-inheritance/844348/2 "2019-12-04T07:05:14Z")

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> [@Darren\_Garrison](#):
>
> You learn that a distant relative has died. You stand to inherit their fortune. But first, you must spend a specific period of time in a haunted house. What was the original source for this trope?

_The Cat and the Canary,_ which started as a play in 1922 but the later films are more famous, sort of has this - the inheritor has to stay overnight, but it’s not a direct condition of the will (that is that they must stay sane).