Five Chilling Period Haunted House Movies
Jonathan Barkan
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One of the joys of horror is that it’s timeless. Urban legends featuring terrifying creatures have been the basis of countless stories, movies, games, and shows. The fear of the future is ever present in movies like The Cloverfield Paradox and Pulse while the past haunts us in The Witch, The Masque of Red Death, and Black Death. There isn’t a period of time that finds itself free from fear. At every turn in history, the fear of the unknown (as well as the known) has plagued the minds of populations, no matter where they are on this planet.
Tonight, advance screenings of The Lodgers begin across the country. In the Brian O’Malley-directed film, twin brother and sister Edward and Rachel are held to their ancestral home by strange and terrifying spirits. When Rachel falls in love and aims to break the rules she is strangled by, everything begins to fall apart. Set in early World War 1-era Ireland with much of the film taking place in the historic Loftus Hall, The Lodgers is a beautiful entry in period horror films.
If you go to one of the screenings we have lined up and find yourselves craving something similar, here are a few titles that may just scratch that itch!
The Others
Directed by Alejandro Amenábar, this phenomenal film follows Nicole Kidman and her two children as they await the return of their father (her husband) from World War II. Her children, who suffer from extreme photosensitivity, can only live in darkness, the blinds constantly drawn and the outside a potential death trap. When three caretakers arrive to help the family, strange occurrences begin happening and the family become convinced that they are being haunted.
The winner of a staggeringly high amount of awards from the Goya Awards, Saturn Awards, Online Film Critics, and more, The Others became a smash hit via strong word of mouth, resulting in phenomenal near-$210 million box office pull.
Winchester
Following the story of Sarah Winchester, the heiress of the Winchester Rifle Company, and her mission to build a mansion that contains the ghosts of those killed by her company’s wares, Winchester may have received a tepid reception from critics and fans alike; but there is no denying that it absolutely bathes in its production design. You may not get the scares you’re after, but you’ll certainly get a visually captivating experience.
Voice From the Stone
A far more muted kind of horror film, Voice From the Stone delights in the texture of its location. The cracks in the walls, the way hands slide against a sculpture, the way the local flora sways in the breeze… All of this is coupled with a romance story set against the threat of jealousy from beyond the grave. Touching and emotional, Voice From the Stone is a beautiful kind of horror.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXXRS3Kghh4
The Woman in Black
Perhaps most “horror” of films on this list, The Woman in Black is about as Gothic as one can get. Dark hallways, a foreboding landscape, and an ever-present threat of ghostly terror around every corner all make for a film that should not be watched in the dark…unless you want to be scared when you turn off the lights in your own home.
Crimson Peak
While marketed as a horror film, Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak is far more invested in its romance than the scares it has to offer. Yes, it’s full of ghosts and practical FX and takes place in a dilapidated English mansion, but the focus relies more heavily on the relationships in the film than the horrors lurking within the walls of Allerdale Hall. Visually beautiful – it’s a del Toro film, so who expects anything else? – and full of absolutely stunning production design, Crimson Peak was well-received and will make a wonderful double feature with The Lodgers.
