The most horrifying thing about "Stephen King's Rose Red" is that it lasts six hours.

Beginning at 9 p.m. Sunday on ABC, it leads into the February sweeps, which begin Thursday.

"Rose Red" appears to be a steal from Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House."

Any horror buff older than 10 knows the routine: Some losers are trapped in a creepy mansion to be bumped off one by one.

The premise is cool - the possessed, ghost-filled Red Rose mansion in Seattle keeps rearranging itself and devouring visitors - but the execution is tedious.

Nancy Travis stars as an off-kilter psychology professor who wants scientific proof of the paranormal - as if she's going to get it at Rose Red.

A running battle with her boss at the college (David Dukes, who died during production) is almost comical. Characters are hacked up without much reason. Look for King as a loopy pizza delivery...