Haunted House is a 1982 adventure game made by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600 home console. James Andreasen designed the title, and it stands as one of the earliest examples of the survival horror genre in video game history. Players take on the role of a brave explorer who enters the abandoned mansion of the late Zachary Graves, a four-story house said to hold a magic urn split into three pieces. The player character appears on screen as nothing more than a pair of glowing eyes, since the mansion sits in near total darkness. A single match offers a small circle of light, but striking it also draws the attention of the creatures lurking inside. The goal sounds simple, yet the tense atmosphere and limited visibility turn each step into a careful gamble. Few games of the era attempted this kind of mood, which makes the cartridge a notable piece of early console design.
Updated: Jun 22, 2026
Screenshots

0 MB · Atari 2600 ROMs
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Specifications
| Platform | Atari 2600 ROMs |
|---|---|
| Genre | Adventure |
| File Size | 0 MB |
| Release Year | 1982 |
| Developer | Atari, Inc. |
| Updated | Jun 22, 2026 |
Overview
Haunted House is a 1982 adventure game made by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600 home console. James Andreasen designed the title, and it stands as one of the earliest examples of the survival horror genre in video game history. Players take on the role of a brave explorer who enters the abandoned mansion of the late Zachary Graves, a four-story house said to hold a magic urn split into three pieces. The player character appears on screen as nothing more than a pair of glowing eyes, since the mansion sits in near total darkness. A single match offers a small circle of light, but striking it also draws the attention of the creatures lurking inside. The goal sounds simple, yet the tense atmosphere and limited visibility turn each step into a careful gamble. Few games of the era attempted this kind of mood, which makes the cartridge a notable piece of early console design.
The mansion contains tarantulas, vampire bats, and the ghost of old man Graves himself, all of which drain one of the player's nine lives on contact. Players must pick up the three urn fragments, carry them together to the front door, and exit before running out of lives. A scepter found inside grants temporary protection from the monsters, while locked doors require a matching key. The game offers nine difficulty settings through the console switches, changing the number of rooms with locked doors, the visibility of carried objects, and the speed of the creatures. Higher levels keep the match flame hidden when monsters chase the player, which raises the stress to a high level. Two players can take turns to compare scores based on remaining lives and matches. Haunted House delivers a short but memorable trip through a dark mansion, and its design has earned it a place in many lists of important early Atari releases.