Wanna See Something REALLY Scary? La Maison Ensorcelée
“Wanna see something REALLY scary?”
To horror fans who came of age in the 1980s, the line above instantly evokes memories of Dan Aykroyd and Albert Brooks in the opening scene from Twilight Zone: The Movie. Now, on a bi-monthly basis, I’ll be asking, “Wanna see something REALLY scary?” with the goal of shocking you with chilling footage plumbed from the darkest corners of YouTube.
Halloween and Haunted Houses go together like graveyards and tombstones, and horror fans delight in manifestations of this enduring genre trope. From huge, destination events like Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios & Knotts Scary Farm to local Ma & Pa operations, October offers brave thrill seekers the opportunity to face a bevy of things that go bump in the night.
One of the most recent haunted house movies, Amityville: The Awakening, is available to watch for free now on Google Play. It’s a surprisingly solid entry in the loosely connected Amityville Horror franchise, one that delivers some serious scares. Peep the trailer and synopsis below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj4P41EPcBw&feature=youtu.be&w=640
Official Synopsis: A single mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh) moves into a new home with her three children, but the miraculous recovery of her previously comatose teenage son (Cameron Monaghan) leads to a series of sinister events that leave the frightened family fighting for their lives. Bella Thorne and Kurtwood Smith co-star.
Wanna see something REALLY scary?
You may have seen the most recent haunted house horror movie, but what about the very first? You’ll have to go back to 1908 for Segundo de Chomón’s La Maison Ensorcelée aka The House of Ghosts. It’s only 6-minutes long, but it packs a surprising wallop! Not only does it ooze with vintage Halloween creepiness, it’s one of the earliest examples of stop-motion animation—a method of filmmaking that never fails to unnerve.
You can find La Maison Ensorcelée in its purest form on YouTube, but I found a version that’s even scarier than the original. Back in 2014, audio expert Enrico Nicola Cascavilla gave The House of Ghosts a chilling soundscape that ups the spookiness exponentially. Not is Cascavilla’s version a perfect bite-sized creeper, it makes an ideal backdrop for Halloween festivities! Having a party or running your own haunt? Play La Maison Ensorcelée on loop in the background!
Happy Halloween, horror fans; have a safe and happy holiday!
Got an idea for a future installment of “Wanna See Something REALLY Scary?” Hit me up on Twitter @josh_millican!
Categorized:Wanna See Something REALLY Scary?
