Love Hurts Inside the ‘Ready Or Not’ Mansion [Horror Reel Estate]
Horror Reel Estate takes a look at the infamous locations found in some of your favorite horror movies, old and new. It serves as a handy real estate guide, a crash course in architecture, and a one-stop reference for interesting facts about these iconic landmarks. Even if you’re not quite ready to make an offer, these places will always take up valuable space within the confines of our cherished movie memories.
Radio Silence, the directing team behind the latest Scream and the recently green-lit Scream 6, had already made a name for themselves in the horror genre before the return of Ghostface. Ready or Not burst onto the scene in 2019 announcing the arrival of Radio Silence and star Samara Weaving into the mainstream. Set inside a lavish, labyrinthine mansion, Ready or Not re-imagines The Most Dangerous Game as a twisted contest of cat-and-mouse between an unlucky bride and the new family hunting her for sport. The Le Domas family in the movie may be fictional, but the actual owners of the Casa Loma mansion used during filming have a mysterious history, too.
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For this Valentine’s Day edition of Horror Reel Estate, we take a closer look at a home that, at first glance, seems like the perfect spot for a happy couple.
Located at 1 Austin Terrace in Toronto, the Casa Loma mansion now looks out onto a breathtaking view of downtown. The Gothic Revival-style mansion was constructed from 1911 to 1914 for Canadian financier Sir Henry Pellatt. Piercing out high into the skyline, the European-inspired estate looks completely out of place in North America; yet there it stands. Complete with castle spires and turrets, it’s still an oddly inviting property (until you’re trapped inside fighting for your life).
Historically, older citizens of Toronto remember going there for luxurious proms and picnics over the years. Nearby locals even grew up with ghost stories swirling around the grounds.
Some mystery also surrounds Casa Loma, centered around rumors of secret military research that went on over the years. During World War II, a suspicious “Under Repairs” sign appeared designed to conceal sonar testing used for detecting German U-Boats. The property is alleged to be the infamous Station M that manufactured covert spy devices for agents during the time. Reportedly, the true location of Station M has never been verified.
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As referenced in Ready or Not, the architect E.J. Lennox designed classic castle elements like battlements (square openings for shooting) and secret passageways. These tunnels lead to the stables. They were built by Pellatt after the city of Toronto bulldozed a road right through the Casa Loma grounds. Pellat was always at odds with the city for building such a massive structure that some felt was too ostentatious for the area.
The striking appearance of Casa Loma, however, is the precise reason why it’s been featured in so many horror projects over the years. In 1996, the Goosebumps series used the home as the stand-in for a medieval prison and torture chamber in the two-episode story A Night in Terror Tower. In Hannibal, the mansion stood in for the home of one of Hannibal Lector’s victims, Mason Verger, who was left crippled and horribly disfigured.
The teen thriller The Skulls about Ivy League secret societies kicked off the new millennium inside the Casa Loma house, as well. Check out the underrated, admittedly ridiculous sequel Trilogy of Terror 2 for another appearance of the Toronto architectural jewel. Even the doomed remake Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again starring Laverne Cox (still great casting) couldn’t upstage the property as it stood in for Frank-N-Furter’s castle.
Surely, the countless films using his home as a backdrop would have been vindicating for Pellat. When Hollywood came knocking it was too late. But he did see the property become a popular tourist destination before his death in 1939.
About This Home
At the time of construction, wealthy industrialist and Anglophile Henry Pellatt was worth a cool $17 million. The property took three years and $3.5 million to build. After falling into great debt, the City of Toronto purchased the opulent mansion for only $27, 305.00 in 1934.
The main floor consists of a billiards room, a sprawling conservatory, and the famous Oak Room. Originally called the Napoleon Drawing Room, the Oak Room is the most ornately decorated room in the house. The wood panels were carved in the style of the famous carpenter Grinling Gibbons. It took artisans three years to carve. The Basement level contains bowling lanes and a shooting range.
Luckily for Grace (Weaving) in Ready or Not, the shooting range was never completed.
Closing Costs
In an eerie connection, Casa Loma is Spanish for “Hill House”.
There were dances held on the property as far back as the 1920s. It was also a popular venue for soldiers away on leave.
Henry Pellatt made sure the floor would support military tanks on it. It’s at least 8″ thick.
Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor filmed scenes at Dupont Station located just 436 meters away from the Casa Loma mansion.
Have any other facts about the Casa Loma estate? Let me know on Twitter via DrewSTinnin. You can also let your voice be heard in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! Dread Central is now on Google News!
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