The Shrieking Shack is a "haunted" and derelict building; the entrance to it is gaurded by the Whomping Willow, a vicious tree which attacks anything which approaches it. However, there is a stump which you poke to freeze it so as to enter the passage into the Shack. The Shack, as many inhabitants of Hogsmeade believe, is possesed by evil spirits which shreiked - however, the building has been silent for years, not realising it had been the hide-out of Remus Lupin when he transformed. It is boarded up and no one enters it for fear of the spirits.
