That house is not fit to live in. No one's been able to live in it. It doesn't want people.
Thirty years ago, The Changeling made history when it was named Best Canadian Film at the first ever Genie Awards, picking up seven other awards in the process, including Best Foreign Actor and Best Foreign Actress. (I guess the Canadian film industry didn't want their homegrown actors to have to compete with heavy hitters from Hollywood.) Sadly, director Peter Medak was ineligible since he wasn't a Canadian citizen, but it could be argued that without his guiding influence the film wouldn't have been half as effective as it is. I sure hope all of the winners took care to thank him in their speeches.
At any rate, The Changeling is a haunted house story that benefits from the methodical accumulation of details carried out by screenwriters William Gray and Diana Maddox (working from a story by Russell Hunter), who patiently draw us into the plot without resorting to too much bombast. Of course, it helps that the film is anchored by a rock-solid performance by George C. Scott as a distinguished composer who suffers a tragic loss and retreats to his alma mater to teach and gets more than he bargained for when he rents an old mansion from the local Historical Preservation Society. Soon Scott is being woken up by loud banging noises ("It's an old house. It makes noises," says the caretaker; Scott is dubious), doors are opening and closing by themselves, he begins hearing strange whispering voices, and the water starts running by itself. No wonder the house has been unoccupied for twelve years.
With the help of Preservation Society member Trish Van Devere, who got him into the house in the first place, Scott uncovers some of its mysteries, including the sealed-off attic room that contains a child's wheelchair which is creepy enough even before it starts moving around of its own volition. Then, when the rubber ball that his dead daughter used to play with starts materializing out of thin air, Scott brings in a medium who questions the unseen spirit to find out just what it wants. All answers point to a long-buried secret which also doubles as the skeleton in the closet of well-heeled senator Melvyn Douglas, who believes Scott is trying to blackmail him. In reality, though, all Scott wants is peace of mind. Good thing he isn't too worried about getting his deposit back.