Ghost House Pictures

Background : Ghost House Pictures was established in 2002 by Sam Raimi (who is the founder of Renaissance Pictures) and Robert Tapert to produce high-concept horror films. Most of its theatrical films are produced and distributed by Mandate Pictures.

1st Logo (2002- ) Nicknames : "The Skull", "Creepy Skull", "Evil Skull", "The Skull of Doom" L ogo : In dim light, an old door slams shut by itself. The view moves to the door's keyhole, through which a skull suddenly moves into view. The view pulls back to show the skull vignetted in the keyhole. As the view pulls back, the words "GHOST" and "HOUSE" materialize in a "ghostly" manner in white on either side of the keyhole, and "PICTURES" appears underneath in smaller text.

Trivia : This logo was created by Prologue.

FX/SFX : The door slamming shut (by itself! Oooo!), the camera moving around the door, the skull appearing. The effects here are at least equivalent to whatever movie it is attached to.

Cheesy Factor : The movement of the skull seems mechanical, almost like in a haunted house -- but that may be deliberate.

Music/Sounds : A loud bang when the door slams (with what sounds like someone screaming from a distance before the door slams), and typical spooky horror movie music with a child singing wordlessly. On Evil Dead, there is no horror singing; just the sound of the door slamming.

Availability : Common on horror films released by the company.

Scare Factor : High, bordering on nightmare, though this is most likely intentional. The skull appearing may be a surprise at first, but the loud door slam is startling even if you know it is coming, but the next logo is scarier...

2nd Logo (2009- ) Nicknames : "The Skull II", "Creepy Skull II ", "Evil Skull II", "The Skull of Doom II"

L ogo : On a black BG, the skull from the previous logo emerges from the darkness and zooms in, this time shown in full view. The words "GHOST HOUSE" and"PICTURES" appear below like in the previous logo, but now they have some stains dripping down on the words "GHOST HOUSE". The skull seems to vibrate while the logo goes.

FX/SFX : The skull moving and showing effects.

Cheesy Factor : The skull's zooming in is very choppy, even more than the previous logo. Music/Sounds : Same as the 1st logo, but without the door slamming. Sometimes, the opening theme of the movie.

Availability : So far only seen on Drag Me To Hell and the 2015 reboot of Poltergeist.

Scare Factor : Nightmare. It may be scarier than before, because of the hi-res skull shown fully. The way the skull appears out of nowhere and rapidly zooms in (a la Viacom's "V of Doom") can catch unsuspecting people off-guard.