This week on Oh, the Horror!, we're unlocking the front door to The Changeling. Considered one of horror's greatest ghost stories, because sometimes the most terrifying monster is old-money real estate. It's the story of a ghost that's polite enough to knock first but relentless enough to make you answer.

THE CHANGELING

Theatrical Release: March 28, 1980 (United States & Canada) Budget: $6.6 million

The Changeling (1980) is one of those ghost stories that proves you don't need a lot of gore to be genuinely creepy. Directed by Peter Medak, produced by Joel B. Michaels, Garth H. Drabinsky, and Mario Kassar, and written by William Gray and Diana Maddox (from a story by Russell Hunter), the film stars George C. Scott as John Russell, a composer trying to rebuild his life after a heartbreaking family tragedy. He rents a huge old mansion in Seattle, only to discover it has a dark past... and something inside wants to be heard.

Trish Van Devere, Melvyn Douglas, John Colicos, and Jean Marsh round out the cast, while Rick Wilkins delivers the film's haunting score.

Although the story is set in Seattle, most of the movie was filmed around Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. You'll spot locations including Hatley Castle, the Orpheum Theatre, and Vancouver's Hotel Europe, while the mansion itself was created using a real house, a custom-built facade, and studio sets. The story was inspired by paranormal experiences Russell Hunter claimed happened to him in a historic Denver mansion.

One of the coolest bits of trivia? The movie also features the very first screen appearance of Joshua Jackson, who was only seven months old during filming.

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