Halloween Horror Houses

A ‘comprehensive’ study on the effects of an axe-wielding murderer on the suburban home…

Well, have you ever watched a scary movie and thought ‘Turn on a light! Lock a door! Close your curtains!’? Us too and it made us realise how crucial a house is to a great horror film.  Although most people focus on the final body count, we can’t help but think about the level of destruction to these poor trashed houses. So, we’ve pulled together some famous Halloween movies to observe the damage caused via window-smashing, tv breaking and fire destroying carnage.

P.S. **Spoiler Alert**

Halloween:

The story follows Michael Myers as he slowly (but actually, he is very slow, how is he still alive?) stalks and kills babysitters on Halloween night… why? Who knows, but a bloodbath ensues leaving horror-born royalty Jamie Lee Curtis to fight off the masked killer.

What’s the (non-death) damage?

To his credit, Michael Myers is pretty insistent on the task at hand. He smashes through multiple windows, breaks through doors with both his hands and knives and isn’t worried about getting knife indentations into cupboard doors and wooden frames when stabbing his victims.

Although sadly, the death count cannot be reversed (RIP rowdy youths) the structural repairs of the house might be. So, we’re left wondering, did the victims and owners in this town have Home Insurance? Home Insurance could help cover the costs of repairing or rebuilding the physical structure of the property. Let’s just hope they considered seeking a new policy before Halloween II…

Beetlejuice:

Is this a scary movie? A comedy? An absolute fever dream? Regardless it’s on the list!

When a deceased wholesome couple becomes ghosts in their own home, they find out it’s been sold to an eclectic family. To get rid of these intruders the couple try to find ways to get rid of the new owners by calling a devious poltergeist named Beetlejuice. With his help, will involuntary choreographed dancing, lite haunting and the potential of an underage marriage, run these intruders out of this home?

What’s the (non-death) damage?

Not only do the new ‘owners’ destroy the house in its original form through some entirely heinous architecture, but they also damage original fittings and fixtures causing the original owners to seek out assistance from an evil poltergeist.

Did the wholesome young couple have Landlord insurance? Depending on the policy, it may assist in covering a variety of risks that come with renting out their property. Landlord insurance could help cover damage to permanent fixtures and fittings caused by tenants and their guests, and expenses used to evict the tenants (via poltergeist).

Poltergeist:

‘They’re hereeeeeee’

Speaking of poltergeist, how can we not refer to this 80s classic! The story of a young girl unlocking the spirit world via communication through a TV. Initially playful and fun the spirits turn evil, kidnapping the girl, whilst causing mayhem and fear.

What’s the (non-death) damage?

The real question here is ‘what’s not damaged?’ Windows are broken via haunted trees, the ghosts make all furniture levitate and move to the point of destruction, violent weather causes havoc, and we would assume that the TV used to connect to the spirit world is now broken.

Post this destruction we are left to wonder if the owners of the poltergeist house had Contents Insurance…? Contents Insurance could help with coverage for possessions including but not limited to, clothes, furniture, white goods, appliances and in this situation most importantly, electronics.

Carrie:

A shy 16-year-old girl with a crazy mother and an entire school population of the worst people, kill the beloved pig Babe^ to get pigs-blood to do the classic prank of the pigs-blood shower… but wait, there’s more. We find out that shy girl Carrie actually has powers to move objects with her mind (like Eleven and Matilda!). To conclude, many people die in revenge.

(^Disclaimer: not actually Babe)

What’s the (non-death) damage?

A LOT!

A ritual stabbing is the beginning of the destruction in Carrie’s home causing indentations in permanent fittings. The house then begins to burn down due to excessive candles (not in the cute kind of way but you know, the ritual murder kind of way), as the house burns, a hole opens up in the ground and swallows the house whole.

Considering the house not only burns down but gets swallowed whole, what sort of Home and Contents Insurance do you think Carrie’s family had (although we’re not sure the house being swallowed would be covered!?) This form of coverage may assist in rebuilding and repairing their home, whilst helping replace contents burned during the fire. Which I’m sure they’d really appreciate… if they weren’t dead.

The Purge:

A reality show of Americans carrying guns and doing whatever they want to do for a night… Okay so it’s not a reality show but it seems like it could be one.

In a dystopian version of America, the government allows an annual holiday where for 12-hours anyone can do anything considered illegal, legally. A wealthy family attempts to hide out in their home for the holiday but when their security system is breached, intruders come for the family and a night of stabbing and shooting commences…

What’s the (non-death) damage?

In this immense house, every room is up for grabs for destruction. This movie has everything! Bloodstained floors, gunshots and knives hitting most surfaces, broken windows, and a total of one head smashed into a glass table.

Other than moving to a new country, we are left to ponder whether these victims/families have a home and contents insurance policy? This could assist in helping to cover the repair and rebuild of the home, as well as assistance in covering contents damaged via ‘accidental’ damage. Although policies are unlikely to provide cover for participating in illegal activity.

Get Out:

Now for another film about dystopian America, no wait…

An amazing boyfriend and supposed girlfriend go to her parent’s home for the weekend upstate. Whilst the parents are overly accommodating to welcome the boyfriend, he believes it’s a way for them to deal with their interracial relationship, but as their visit continues, he realises that they may have an ulterior motive.

What’s the (non-death) damage?

This movie does an excellent job of finding inventive ways to kill people. A deer head is used to maim a guy via antlers, both causing damage to a door frame and to the deer! Strangely placed bocce balls are potentially damaged whilst cracking a guy’s skull open. A favourite family teacup gets destroyed. It’s just mayhem. If the family wasn’t now **spoiler alert** dead, we wonder whether this meticulously-psychotic family had Contents Insurance?

The Muppets in the Haunted Mansion:

Small puppet-like creatures come to life and invade a home… and they’re the good guys! After some classic show tunes, celebrity cameos and an almost marriage between Pepper the Shrimp guy and Taraji P. Henson they escape the house they invaded but find that the spookiness might not be through!!!!

What’s the (non-death) damage?

Historically protected windows are destroyed, the Muppet ‘Sweetums’ throws his body around doing damage to the furniture around him and the little shrimp man breaks down a door.

There is a lot of destruction by fuzzy soft creatures and as such we are left to wonder whether the haunted mansions owner had home insurance in preparation for this Muppet Attack!

Finally…The Amityville Horror:

When a couple finds a beautiful house in New York State, that’s also affordable they die of shock. The end… only kidding!

Instead of dying of shock, they decide to buy the place and move the family in! But this house WAS too good to be true, as we discover the former tenant murdered his entire family after being possessed by the devil. As strange stuff starts to occur the family becomes convinced the house is haunted and tries to rid their new home of evil spirits.

What’s the (non-death) damage?

The typical horror movie stuff occurs. Walls and doors are hit with sledgehammers and broken, blood streams down the stairs and oil pumps up through the plumbing (probably the most terrifying moment, as cleaning this would be a nightmare).

This family and future families owning this home might want to consider burning it to the ground, but with the current property market, it may be a better bet to remain in the property…

So, what have we learned?

No matter what sleepy-little-suburb you live in, whether you’re a ghost, communicate with poltergeist via TVs or hold super-special mind movement powers your house is fair game on Halloween.

It’s important to review the Product Disclosure Statement before deciding on a home and contents policy which provides information about policy limitations, exclusions and exclusions.

Want to prepare for Halloween?

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