Big Boo's Haunt

Big Boo's Haunt is the fifth course in Super Mario 64. The course is entered through defeating a Big Boo in the Castle Courtyard and entering the cage, it drops, though, in certain personalized copies, it can be entered through alternative means. It is a large, three-story mansion with a large gate around it. The mansion itself contains many rooms behind doors, as well as many Boos.

Many anomalies have been reported in this course, possibly due to it's 'haunted' nature.

Missions

 * 1) GO ON A GHOST HUNT
 * 2) RIDE BIG BOO'S MERRY-GO-ROUND
 * 3) SECRET OF THE HAUNTED BOOKS
 * 4) SEEK THE 8 RED COINS
 * 5) BIG BOO'S BALCONY
 * 6) EYE TO EYE IN THE SECRET ROOM
 * 7) 100 COIN STAR

Geography
In the Middle of the course is the mansion, where most of the content for the level is. It has 2 floors, an attic, and a basement with a merry-go-round. Notable rooms are the library, coffin room, piano room, and a secret room with the large Mr. I in it. Outside is nothing special, as it is almost entirely flat, except for a shed with a quicker entrance to the merry-go-round.

Ghoul Medal
On the sign outside of the mansion, a 'Ghoul Medal' is mentioned. Although it was commonly assumed to be a play-on-words for 'Gold Medal,' certain personalized copies supposedly reveal that it is a real collectible that can be found inside the mansion. The way it is obtained varies according to people who have played said personalized copies. However, it is most commonly gained by beating an enemy known as the 'Giant Boo,' which is allegedly double the size of a Big Boo. It requires ten hits to defeat, though the way he is summoned and his location varies depending on the personalization. For example, one player claims that Giant Boo can be summoned by allegedly glitching the Crazed Crate inside the mansion by clipping into it while bouncing and reaching a hidden room where Giant Boo can be found. In contrast, another claims that he can be found by clipping under the mansion by using the elevators and warping to a secret room where Giant Boo resides.

The actual use for the Ghoul Medal is unknown, it takes the appearance of a circular medal with a Boo on it, and collecting it displays Mario's animation when grabbing a key from Bowser. Aside from the texture of the Ghoul Medal appearing next to the player's save file, it supposedly serves no other purpose.

Big Boo's Forest
Main Article: Big Boo's Forest

Big Boo Forest is an alleged secret course that can be unlocked inside Big Boo's Haunt. Backwards Long Jumping most commonly accesses it from the roof of the mansion out of the gate. Alternatively, it can also be obtained by using the Crazed Crate and jumping out of the gate.

Night Forest Background
Big Boo's Haunt has a unique "night forest" background, which depicts a moon at night over large leafless trees. The fact that this background even exists is an oddity in itself, considering that the entire Big Boo Haunt course takes place in a castle courtyard at daytime that is not densely populated with trees, and that leafless trees aren't present in the courtyard to begin with. This indicates that the course may not have been entered by defeating a Boo, and the background is just a leftover from an earlier version of the course that had a different way to enter the level.

Secret Laugh
Some people have heard a lower pitched Boo laugh on rare occasions. Almost nothing is known about this. Every time the laugh has was heard, the play stalled for a second before entering the mansion.

Big Boo's Key
An item that can be obtained by defeating specific Boos. Although it is used as an unused item in unpersonalized copies of Super Mario 64, it can be obtained normally in certain personalized copies of the game. Its use varies from copy to copy. In some copies, certain doors are locked, and can only be opened by obtaining a key, other copies it is used to raise the stairs inside the mansion, and sometimes it even unlocks a new floor. In some copies, it serves no purpose at all, baffling players.

Big Boo's Castle
Main article: Big Boo's Castle

Big Boo's Castle is a presumed early version of Big Boo's Haunt that sometimes replaces the stage. It is a modified version of Peach's Castle, and the only known star is "HUNT IN THE BLACK VOID". It has yet to be collected due to the absence of a "black void."

Fishing Boo
Fishing Boos are enemies in the Super Mario Bros. series that have been reported to appear in Big Boo's Haunt. They are ghastly versions of Lakitus that, instead of throwing Spiny eggs, hold a fishing rod with a blue flame on the end that can damage the player. In reports where they are present, they can appear as reskins of Lakitus, or hold their flaming fishing rod and circle the player, hoping to hit Mario with the flames. Notably, the fishing rod behavior is an unused behavior for fire found in the files of Super Mario 64, with evidence of an object being connected to the fire and removed. However, others have suggested this fire is for the unused Angry Sun enemy.

4th Big Boo Battle
Several people have reported that another mission where you fight the Big Boo, commonly known as "Big Boo's Showdown" can appear, usually in a location where the Big Boo isn't found, either on the ground outside or on the second floor of the house. This fight is commonly described as being harder than the other fights, with the Big Boo speeding up and utilizing new attacks not seen in the other 3 battles. It is believed the mission was scrapped to avoid repetition, though the idea of an upgraded Big Boo boss fight may have been reworked into King Boo in the DS remake.

The Haunted Slide
The Haunted Slide is a supposed anomalous sub-area or even extra level found within Big Boo's Haunt, commonly accessed via a hole in the floor of the basement similarly to Vanish Cap Under the Moat. It has been described as a long pipe with seemingly random turns and drops and several junctions where you will fall into the void if you make a wrong turn, similarly to the dead-end in Tall, Tall Mountain. There is commonly a Power Star found at the end, though some say you have to get there in a time limit similarly to the Princess' Secret Slide or before a racer similarly to the big penguin gets to the end, commonly a Boo. Alternatively, other people say the slide contains an 8 red coins mission.

Big Boo's Basement
Big Boo's Basement is a reported subarea of Big Boo's Haunt, accessed via a trapdoor found behind the mansion. It is generally described as an intermission area of sorts, often appearing as a small cluster of poorly-lit hallways eventually leading to an anomalous area such as Big Boo's Forest or a collectible such as a Power Star or the Ghoul Medal. Notably, some report that they are pursued by some entity in Big Boo's Basement, such as a Big Boo or some other unique entity generally described as a shadowy entity with red eyes that either lacks details or had details that couldn't be made out in the darkness.