Haunted House is an early text adventure that is described in the manual as a nightmare simulation program. The objective of the game is simply to escape the house and it has to be done before midnight. The game starts at 6 PM with each move taking one minute of in-game time. The number of commands available are limited to four for movement (r, l, f, b), two for using stairways (u, d) and one for searching a room (s). Searching can only be done when in a room (not in hallways) and can be used to find hidden passage ways or other things such as keys and boxes. Some actions cause the player's luck factor to increase will others cause it to decrease. Some rooms are haunted by ghosts that might help or hinder the player. The layout of the house is randomly generated at the start but will always be made up of four floors with seven room in each.