A Big House Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Vanderbilts

Now a part of the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, the Biltmore Estate became the largest private home in the country when it was completed at the end of the 19th century, becoming one of the most fully-realized Châteauesque structures in this part of the world. Commissioned by George Washington Vanderbilt II, its construction evokes immeasurable wealth; Vanderbilt, after all, built his empire on steamworks throughout the Industrial Revolution.

The building is so recognizable for its grandeur that it was used in films like "Richie Rich".

It can be found in Asheville, North Carolina.

Answer: Luigi

Released as a launch title for the Nintendo Gamecube back in 2001, "Luigi's Mansion" was one of the few games in the "Mario" series to feature Luigi as the main character, and he was made so because Mario went missing, captured in a painting by King Boo in a creepy, old mansion. Luigi heads inside and faces off against all manner of paranormal spirits armed only with a vacuum-like device given to him by Professor E. Gadd: the Poltergust 3000. Sequels were made on the 3DS and Nintendo Switch.

Answer: Graceland

Located just south along Elvis Presley Boulevard from Downtown Memphis, Graceland became the home of Elvis Presley in 1957 when his fame necessitated a larger property. The actual house was only built in 1939. Presley would live in Graceland until his death there in 1977 at which point it would be passed down to his daughter, Lisa Marie, and onward to her daughters. Most of the Presley family would be buried in the gardens there.

The house itself would become one of the most recognizable music landmarks in the world.

Answer: Rose Red

Considered a prequel novel and film to the Stephen King miniseries "Rose Red", "The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer" was actually written by author Ridley Pearson as a companion piece. The miniseries goes into much of the history of the fictional manor on its own, discussing how the ill-fated property, right in the middle of Seattle, came to be under mysterious and often deadly circumstances that claimed the Rimbauer family.

In the miniseries, a group of psychic investigators try to determine the truth behind the phenomena there, and many of them meet their end.

It aired in 2002.

Answer: Walt Disney Corporation

The Walt Disney Corporation evolved over decades and decades of growth starting with Walt Disney's animation work in the 1920s and it started to hit its stride with none other than Mickey Mouse (then Mortimer). Mickey would become the face of the company, leading in many of their earlier short films to the point that the nickname 'House of Mouse' would stick. It could apply not only to their films, but theme parks, TV shows, acquired companies... basically everything under the Disney umbrella.

Interestingly, Disney also released a show by the name of "House of Mouse" in the early 2000s, the episodes of which followed animated Disney characters as they frequented a club.

Answer: Aaron Spelling

Found on Mapleton Drive in Los Angeles, 'The Manor' was also, for a time, known as 'Spelling Manor' because it was built for Aaron Spelling, who made a name for himself with some of the largest hit shows of the 1980s (and onward). By the time he moved into the property in 1988, he'd already executive produced "Dynasty", "The Love Boat", "Charlie's Angels", "Fantasy Island", "Starsky & Hutch", and many others. Upon its completion, the house surpassed the Greystone Mansion as the largest residence in Los Angeles, a title it would hold until 2020 when 'The One' would be completed in Bel Air.

Answer: Henry James

Created by Mike Flanagan as a follow-up to his horror limited series "The Haunting of Hill House" (based on the works of Shirley Jackson), "The Haunting of Bly Manor" appeared on Netflix in 2020 and followed a story set in a haunted British manor home, switching to a number of source materials written by Late Victorian Era author Henry James. Starring Victoria Pedretti as an au pair sent to take care of the Wingrave children, the story features those trapped into the unending cycle of grief and death in this isolated country house.

Answer: Frank Lloyd Wright

A historic landmark in Mill Run, Pennsylvania, Fallingwater was constructed in the late 1930s based on designs by world-renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Considered the most beautiful of his works by many, it was created to blend in with its setting, a rural forest overlooking a calm stream that falls beneath the structure. Frank Lloyd Wright passed away in 1959 with several hundred buildings to his name, most of which are highly-preserved.

Answer: Resident Evil

While later games took players to all sorts of far-flung locales fighting zombies and other dangerous bio-weapons, the original game in the series, released in 1996, took place in a remote mansion in the Arklay Mountains that, as the main characters discovered, sat on top of a massive laboratory space built to house the T-Virus. Making their way through the mansion, its guest house, and its basement, they could fight the Tyrant at the end and escape with their lives. Most subsequent sequels would have the survivors facing off against the Umbrella Corporation, brought up a number of times in both the original game and the popular film adaptations.

Answer: Winchester

Built by the heiress to the Winchester Rifle inheritance, the Winchester Mystery House is a unique destination because of its oddities. Visitors who stop by this San Jose estate can get lost quite easily as its rooms, stairwells, and corridors sprawl in unique directions, often with very little regard for actual use. Halls sometimes go nowhere; there are doors too high to reach; some exits lead outside, even though they're on upper floors without a way down.

There are many urban legends attached to the property, many of which revolve around the paranormal and Sarah Winchester's fractured state of mind.

She passed away in 1922 and the site became a tourist attraction over time.