First occurrence of a house built on a graveyard?

I was doing some research on an unrelated topic, and the movie Poltergeist (1982 version) appeared to be the first occurrence of a residence being haunted because it was built over a cemetery.

I am aware of a few other films post dating it, and some jokes about "Well, it's not built on an Indian burial ground", but is Poltergeist the first instance of a location being haunted because it is built over a previously unknown burial site?

Please note: I am specifically asking about houses or other residences being built over a hidden/unknown graveyard. Not something like Phantasm or House by the Cemetery where the building is in a known cemetery.

Edit. For clarification, I would include any sort of living quarters, such as a hotel or similar. A place intended to be for human habitation, so not a warehouse that has a bunk bed in the back.

first-appearance trope

Best Answer

The origin of this trope apparently began with The Amityville Horror novel. However, there seems to be no mention of an Indian burial site in the movie.

The Shining from 1980 seems to be the first film to mention a site built on an Indian burial ground.

The site is supposed to be located on an Indian burial ground, and I believe they actually had to repel a few Indian attacks as they were building it.

The House by the cemetery from 1981 is a lesser known horror film that was made a year prior to Poltergeist. This film depicts a house that sits on a gravesite. There's actually a tomb in the basement.

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What was the first cemetery in the US?

Named for the famed military leader of the Plymouth Colony, Myles Standish Burial Ground holds the distinct honor of being dubbed our nation's oldest cemetery (technically our oldest \u201cmaintained\u201d cemetery), and buried here are several voyagers of the Mayflower.

Can you build on a graveyard UK?

Section 3 of the Disused Burial Grounds Act 1884 prohibits the erection of a building (non-exclusively defined to include any temporary or movable building) over a disused burial ground other than for certain specified spiritual reasons. This is a blanket ban, which covers consecrated as well as un-consecrated, land.

Why do graveyards exist?

Cemeteries were seen as the last great necessity. By moving the dead out of the city center to places like Brooklyn and Cambridge, these "rural cemeteries" allowed for much larger burial grounds that also removed the dead from the immediate realm of the living.

What is the Greek word for cemetery?

The word 'cemetery' comes from the Greek 'koimeterion' meaning 'dormitory, resting place'.

This House Was Built On A Cemetery

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