The Haunted Castle

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The Haunted Castle [1] is an 1896 three-minute-long French movie written, directed, and produced by Georges Méliès.[1] The movie contains many traditional pantomime elements. It was meant to amuse people, not frighten them. It is considered to be the first horror and vampire movie.[2] The Haunted Castle is now in the public domain.[3][4] In English, this movie has been known as The Haunted Castle, The Devil's Castle, The Devil's Manor, The Manor of the Devil, and The House of the Devil.[5][6] It was released on Christmas Eve, 1896, at the Theatre Robert Houdin, 8 boulevard des Italiens, Paris.[6]

Story [change]

A large bat flies into a castle. The bat circles slowly while flapping its monstrous wings. Suddenly, it changes into Mephistopheles (Georges Méliès). After preparing a cauldron, the demon produces skeletons, ghosts, and witches from the bubbling contents of a cauldron. One of those summoned from the underworld holds up a crucifix. Satan vanishes in a blast of smoke.

References [change]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Georges Méliès: Encore". Flicker Alley. http://www.flickeralley.com/fat_melies_encore_05.html. Retrieved September 1, 2011 (2011-09-01).
  2. ↑ Hardy, Phil, ed. (September 1994). The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Horror. The Overlook Film Encyclopedia Series. 3. Overlook Press. ISBN 978-0879515188.
  3. ↑ "The Haunted Castle online streaming". Internet Archive. http://www.archive.org/details/LaManoirDuDiable1896. Retrieved September 1, 2011 (2011-09-01).
  4. ↑ Wemaere, Severine; Duval, Gilles (April 2011) (PDF). A Trip to the Moon: Back in color (La Couleur retrouvee du Voyage dans la Lune). Groupama Gan Foundation for Cinema and Technicolor Foundation for Cinema Heritage. p. 192. http://www.technicolorfilmfoundation.org/fileadmin/user_upload/fr/pdf/Melies/LIVRET_MELIES.pdf. Retrieved September 3, 2011 (2011-09-03).
  5. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0000091/releaseinfo#akas
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Le Manoir du Diable (1896)". steve-calvert.co.uk. http://www.steve-calvert.co.uk/pub-dom/le-manoir-du-diable.htm. Retrieved January 29, 2012.

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