Architecture and Inspiration

The show features a Victorian-style mansion. The house was inspired by the ‘Baker Mansion‘, a 19th-century structure built on a hill in Altoona were Joe Port grow up. The ‘Baker Mansion‘ was originally owned by Hetty and Elias Baker, that’s why they named the characters Hetty and Elias for the series, though they did not base the characters on them.

In the series

Hetty‘s parent had a more modest house on the property and then, she and her robber baron husband built the mansion that exists today.

Production Details: The Rooms

It must be said, the ‘Ghosts‘ team has many talents! The decoration team is making an incredible work on the set, on every details. On this special team we have:  Zoe Sakellaropoulo (The Production Designer), Joelle Pobjoy and Jacques Rajotte (Set Decorators). Let’s take a look on the small details of ‘Ghosts‘ rooms.

Trivia

• If you have the eye, you may have noticed that Jay and Sam‘s house is not the same between the pilot and the following episodes (first house from the pilot was edited after to show the “new” house). Indeed, the pilot of ‘Ghosts‘ was filmed in Los Angeles (near the University of Southern California campus) in December 2020, then the shooting was relocated to Montreal when the series was ordered in May 2021.  Even if they didn’t replicate the look of the Los Angeles house, the Canadian set was built to exactly match the California location. The film crew did an incredible job (you can see the differences in picture below.)
• If the house used for the pilot means something to you, it’s normal: It has been used in many productions such as ‘Batman‘ (1966), ‘Bridesmaids‘ (2011), ‘Scary Movie 2‘ (2001) and more.
• The exterior of the house, which we can see several times and where some of the characters move about, is a real house and these scenes are filmed on location at the actual house.
• The interior of the house is all a soundstage, there are a few scenes that are shot inside the actual house that face the driveway but otherwise all sound stage.
• The house used in the series is located at about an hour from Montreal. The house was built in the 40s by a Belgian family.
• The gazebo used in the series (“Halloween“) is not on the actual property, but most of the areas used for the walks are.
• The lake we can see in the series is not a part of the actual house (“Viking Funeral“).
• The porch we can see in ‘Alberta’s Fan‘ (where Isaac and Alberta are talking) is a part of the house.
• During a tour of the set (video source), the actors revealed that certain outdoor backgrounds visible through the Mansion’s windows (as perceived by the audience) are actually just giant matte paintings so the actors can remain on the indoor set. They also gave a look at some food props that were a combination of real and fake, Rose McIver bit into a real apple from the kitchen set. On the other hand, Brandon Scott Jones, revealed that the props on the set are glued down for the sake of continuity.