The Story of the Ghost Story

The Haunted History of Halloween

The Halloween Tree (1993) Part 5

The Halloween Tree (1993) Part 4

The Halloween Tree (1993) Part 3

The Halloween Tree (1993) Part 2

The Halloween Tree (1993) Part 1

Night Gallery: Witches' Feast & Room For One Less

The Haunted History Of Halloween

The Iron Mask (1929) Douglas Fairbanks, Alexander Dumas

Directed by Alan Dwan

In this film, the Four Musketeers - Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan - all sleep together in one bed, with the French phrase 'Un Pour Tous, Tous Pour Un' (One For All, All For One) inscribed on the headboard.

In the prologue, the four musketeers stand in a framing device, as a medieval stage booth, and D'Artagnan steps forward and speaks to the audience, then steps back and resumes his position with the other three, who remained motionless; after the mid-point intermission, the same situation is repeated, with D'Artagnan speaking again to the audience, finishing with the words, "once more, once more...", after which the film resumes with the title card "20 years later". These were the two Douglas Fairbanks' first scenes with spoken dialogue, in his last silent film.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916) Jules Verne, Carl Laemmle

Directed by Stuart Paton
Produced by Carl Laemmle

This film became famous for its groundbreaking work in actual underwater photography by George M. Williamson and J. Ernest Williamson. The actual undersea footage was shot in the Bahamas due to the unusually clear water. When this film was remade by Walt Disney 38 years later, they came to this same spot for their undersea footage.

Faust: Eine deutsche Volkssage (1926) F.W. Murnau's Last German Production

F.W. Murnau's last German production before leaving for Hollywood is a visually dazzling take on the Faust myth. Pushing the resources of the grand old German studio UFA to the limits, Murnau creates an epic vision of good versus evil as devil Emil Jannings tempts an idealistic aging scholar with youth, power, and romance. The handsome but wan Swedish actor Gosta Ekman plays the made-over Faust as a perfectly shallow scoundrel drunk with youth, and the lovely Camilla Horn (in a part written for Lillian Gish) is the young virgin courted, then cast aside, by Faust. The sheer scale of Murnau's epic and the magnificent play of light, shadow, and mist on his exquisitely designed sets makes this one of the most cinematically ambitious, visually breathtaking, and beautiful classics of the silent era.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) Lon Chaney, Victor Hugo

Director: Wallace Worsley
Producer: Carl Laemmle

Early adaptation of the novel by Victor Hugo starring Lon Chaney.

Nosferatu (1922) F.W. Murnau, Bram Stoker

Director: F.W. Murnau

Originally released in 1922 as Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie Des Grauens, director F.W. Munarau's chilling and eerie adaption of Stoker's Dracula is a silent masterpiece of terror which to this day is the most striking and frightening portrayal of the legend.

Robin Hood (1922) Douglas Fairbanks, Alan Hale, Wallace Beery

Director: Allan Dwan

Silent version of the classic, with Douglas Fairbanks, Alan Hale and Wallace Beery.

Fall of the House of Usher (1928) Jean Epstein, Edgar Allan Poe

Director: Jean Epstein

English dubs over French cards in this haunting version of Poe's classic tale. A stranger called Allan (Charles Lamy) goes to an inn and requests transportation to the House of Usher. The locals remain reluctant, but he gets a coach to transport him to the place. He is the sole friend of Roderick Usher (Jean Debucourt), who leaves in the eerie house with his sick wife Madeleine Usher (Marguerite Gance) and her doctor (Fournez-Goffard). Madeleine is the beloved muse and model and is being painted by Roderick. When she dies, Roderick does not accept her death, and in a dark night, Madeleine returns.