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One of the first horror games to ever hit the market is coming back from the dead and taking a non-physical form, as Haunted House will be available on the PC, Wii, and Xbox 360 via download this fall. Read on for the first details.

Haunted House, circa 1981. (Image courtesy Mobygames.

As awesome and groundbreaking a console the Atari 2600 was, there were a handful of lofty promises the console couldn’t quite pull off. One of the titles that best illustrates that point is Haunted House, which is shown above. Offering up sparsely-populated and design-free rooms with little to scare the player may have impressed gamers back in 1981, but the game–and particularly, the name–doesn’t hold up nowadays in the way that titles like Pitfall and Missile Command do.

Now comes news that the game is being revived for its 30th anniversary with an all new game available for download on the PC, Wii, and Xbox 360. While keeping the spirit of the original alive by including signature elements of the original intact (like the glowing eyes and urn), the game will incorporate a more populated world with a variety of monsters to encourage more casual play.

The game is being developed by ImaginEngine, best known for creating licenced Nickelodeon and animated movie games, which leads us to believe that this game won’t be competing for Resident Evil’s audience. The early screenshots (one shown below) also support that point. What do you think of this game? Are you okay with a more youthful take on horror, or are you going to let this ghostly game pass you by?

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