The Haunted Castle (1896 film)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Le Manoir du diable (French: The House of the Devil) is a two-minute-long French film directed by Georges Méliès. The film contained many traditional pantomime elements and was intentionally meant to amuse people, rather than frighten them. The film is often called other things by mistake, some of these include:
- The Haunted Castle
- The Devil's Manor
- The Manor of the Devil
It was released on Christmas Eve, 1896, at the Theatre Robert Houdin, 8 boulevard des Italiens, Paris. It was from this two-minute short that many assume the horror film was born.
Plot Summary
The film starts off with a large bat flying into a medieval castle. Once in, the bat circles slowly while flapping its monstrous wings before suddenly changing into Mephistopheles. After preparing a cauldron, the demon produces skeletons, ghosts, and witches from its bubbling contents before one of the summoned underworld cavaliers holds up a crucifix and Satan vanishes in a blast of smoke.
