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.

Firstly, I would like to say that this film was not banned by the US government for 26 years as was written by someone in a previous comment. I think that person was referring to the films " Psycho-Rama" gimmick because I've read that it was banned, but I'm sure that it's alleged banning was just hype anyway (The gimmick itself is awful!). This film actually used to play on local television an average of twice a year during the early to mid-seventies. I used to watch it. Now then, "Terror in the Haunted House" is an atmospheric little film about a young bride who is terrified of a house that has been tormenting her dreams. In the opening scene we are given a tour of the house as the bride approaches it (off camera) and narrates (sort of like the opening of Hitchcock's "Rebecca"). The front door opens and the camera moves through the house and up the stairs to the second floor and finally to the attic door which opens and we see to the top of the attic steps. That's all the wife can remember. She tells her psychiatrist that she knows that danger lies up there. Soon the wife is taken by her new husband to that very same house. There are nice touches that follow such as the wife discovering her and her husbands initials carved into the trunk of an old tree (which has been overgrown with vines) and as she slowly starts to remember that her childhood was indeed spent at that estate. The acting by everyone is acceptable. The house itself is a colonial plantation and is a very beautiful home to look at. My only gripes are those annoying subliminal messages ("Psycho-Rama") and the par for the course low-budget way that some of the shots that were supposed to be taking place at night-time were obviously filmed in broad daylight.

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.

This is neither a scary, nor funny bad movie. It's just plain bad.That being said, I wanted to add something a little different than previous comments, a comparison. If you've seen The Screaming Skull on MST3K or, God forbid, by itself, then you have seen this movie in a way. Both movies deal with this supposed creepy house with this creepy girl (but not that hot kind of creepy girl). In both, somehow the newly married husband is the problem with the girl. Maybe they were ripping off Gaslight, who knows. Both are from 1958. Both have this caretaker in it (though I like the Torgo-esch one from Skull). However, this one doesn't have that worried/zoloft faced chic from Screaming Skull. I can only vaguely remember what the woman in this feature looked like. I rented this dull waste of time for the PsychoRama or whatever it was. Man... Though it has already been said, what a gyp! I stopped on some of them, and since I rented a Rhino release of it, one of these "subliminal" messages was to buy Rhino Videos. Rhino is going to have to release more CC era Msties if they want me to do that! Anyways, I saw this movie 2 years ago. So if some of this is off the mark, I'll blame it on that. However, I am not worried as no one should watch this piece.