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Those children are monsters. I open my home and all they do is complain. "The bathroom is filthy. The rat is noisy. The bed is cramped." I think living in a mansion has spoiled them.
 

Count Olaf's house is Olaf's decrepit place of residence and is situated in the city. It is located across from Justice Strauss' house and was a temporary home to the Baudelaire orphans. The building first appeared in The Bad Beginning where it served as that book's main setting.

History[]

The Baudelaire children came to stay in that house after the infamous fire burned down their family mansion and killed their parents. They were fortunately able to leave and live with a new guardian after The Marvelous Marriage was revealed to be a ruse orchestrated by Count Olaf to snatch their fortune.

Later on, shortly after they were finally released from the crow fountain in the Village of Fowl Devotees, Duncan and Isadora Quagmire revealed to the Baudelaires that they were held captive there here for some time after they were kidnapped by Olaf and his nefarious associates.

Years after the unfortunate events that the Baudelaire orphans endured were over, Lemony Snicket stated that access to Count Olaf's house is impossible, though the exact circumstance as to why remains unknown. One speculation is that it had been condemned some time after Olaf had passed away.

Description[]

The house is described as a dilapidated mess. The bricks are stained with soot and grime, the front door needed repainting (and contains a carving of an eye), and the entire building sags to one side, implying the house is not structurally sound.

In the book The Bad Beginning, it is mentioned that the foyer was the dirtiest room the Baudelaires have ever seen in their lives and that the floor was so gross that the mud from outside would not make much difference.

Rising above the house is a tall dirty tower that Count Olaf had forbidden the Baudelaires to access. In the book, he claimed that the tower is thirty-feet tall.

There are paintings and photos of eyes everywhere in the house, causing the children to feel as if they were always being watched. It may not be far from the truth because in The Bad Beginning: Rare Edition, Lemony noted that his sister Kit had speculated that some of these eyes contain secret peepholes, cameras, or microscopic lenses. It is possible Olaf and his associates were watching the Baudelaires during their stay, explaining why the count was often absent for much of the day.

The Baudelares' bedroom was described as being filthy. It only has one small bed for the siblings to share, a pile of rocks, and a cardboard box to place clothes in.

In the Netflix series, Olaf's house has a ballroom. He informed the Baudelaires that he hasn't used the ballroom in a while, so the floors would have to be re-done.

Trivia[]

OlafHouse

Count Olaf's house in the TV series.

  • In each new adaptation, Count Olaf's house seems to become increasingly darker, more repulsive, and twisted. In the book illustrations, the house is depicted as unkempt yet inhabitable. In the 2004 film adaptation, the house is depicted as filthier, rundown, and potentially hazardous especially in the kitchen where insects and a single bat were living inside a cabinet. In the Netflix series, the filthiness described escalates to the point where it is practically decrepit and inhumane for the Baudelaire orphans to safely reside in.
  • In the video game, there are portraits of Count Olaf everywhere, showing his narcissism.

Appearances[]

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