The Haunted Castle 1896 George Melies Silent Film

[@jackd.flippin6656]

Considering this movie is almost 120 years old, I think the quality is great and the effects are well made.

[@dimitricrotchlickmeoff3831]

Jack Flippin yeah if you like black and white

[@graneadear]

Jack Flippin ya considering it is the first horror film I can see how others emulated it in later works in the 1930s (Lon Chaney, Sr. and Lon Chaney, Jr., Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, and Vincent Price era movies) and even today people don't understand horror as a genre is made crappy to poke fun at our fears and also to give us a release of emotions that we sometimes need just a conclusion mind you I happen to be writing about it though as I see it as a curiosity that should be examined

[@notrealpolandball3531]

Jack Flippin is not horror movie (is comedy film)

[@KanOfSoda]

Ikr they did pretty well for starters

[@PlasticGirl65]

doge br666 He never said it was a horror movie, Michael Lachnicht did.

[@GBGdevotie]

Can you imagine how freaked out people would have been by this back in 1900, with barely any public knowledge of what special effects were or how they worked? I've read that audiences in the first movie theaters flinched and tried to keep from getting wet when they saw footage of waterfalls.

[@ihavenocontent9310]

***** They Thought that the train was going to come through the screen and crash into the cinema.

[@eternallyconfusedneveraware]

***** Not sure if that would be hilarious, diabolical, or both!

[@mazzpsykoziz]

The White Wolfos Both. Or maybe I am just a bit sadistic xD

[@graneadear]

GBGdevotie They probably thought it was magic

[@lightonthehill8548]

Not trying to be rude or anything, but I study film in university, and we were told that the story of the people being afraid of being hit by a train the Lumiere brothers had filmed was probably exaggerated. The people probably knew they weren't in any danger, but pretended that they were to enter into the spirit of seeing this, and besides, their gasps of surprise may have been accidentally or purposefully misinterpreted. If it's the latter, it's probably because it makes a good story. We were told, 'Beware of the assumption that people who lived in the past were idiots because they know less than we do.' So, yeah. Just wanted to put that out there.

[@Lifelong_Lesson]

This is sick for 1896. George Melies is considered the father of special effects, so then again, it's not really too surprising. Melies was incredible. Way beyond his time!

[@craigmartin3827]

Agreed. An amazing innovator, especially because so many of his ideas recur in today's filmmaking. I can't help thinking of Kubrick's The Shining (and later, Neil Jordan's High Spirits, which is in its own way a love letter to Méliès) when the man goes to kiss the hand of the young lady and she transforms into an old hag. But horror has been around since forever. Someone recently pointed out to me that the book of Judges in the Bible contains some very sick and twisted imagery and they were right. A women murders her husband by hammering a tent pole through his head and into the ground while he is sleeping. An obese man is stabbed to death while he's doing his business on the toilet and his assassin loses his dagger amongst the folds of fat and gore that close around the blade and hilt. Bronze Age horror.

[@loge10]

What a cynical perspective - you must be a lot of fun to be around. Besides it's not whether you invented it but how you used it. DW Griffith didn't invent much of what he's credited for (although he was first in some things) but it's what he did with it that was his genius.

[@JoeyB0b]

Not really. Star wars had better special effects and its special effects werent even good.

[@littlebiscuit2004]

@@JoeyB0b yeah ofc Star Wars had better effects but that was only because it came out later in time. Were just saying that this movie had great effects for a movie that came out 1800’s.

[@niyatirichhariya7303]

@@JoeyB0b well I think star Wars first movie was released roughly after 81 years of this movie?

[@librarian66]

126 years old and this is still a remarkable piece of film. Melies was an artist and then some.

[@eduardogabriel1999]

Only 90s kids remember this

[@agathabest2233]

👍😂

[@paoloantonioni6918]

No wonder they grew up and killed each other in WW1!

[@michaelalguire419]

Lol 😂

[@lizziesangi1602]

Yeah, kids in the 1890s

[@hp8121]

Yeah 1860s

[@iammarwanyo]

Scarier than most of the movies I've ever seen. Imagine how scared people must've been in 1896.

[@yoshij]

iammarwanyo there must have been a period between now and 1896 that people thought it looked cheesy, when special effects looked better and they weren’t so far removed from the time period it was made

[@johnathanrodriguez445]

They weren't because it was made to be scary it was mad to be comedic

[@ivanovv__3]

I read that this was supposed to be actually comedy sketch. This was actually funny to the people back then. But this contains characters that most horror movies have, so it is counted as the first horror movie made in 1896.

[@susanb2015]

People were tough back then.

[@Stand_By_For_Mind_Control]

Y'know, 30 years ago, it wasn't a foregone conclusion that everyone in these early films was dead. Now? Absolutely dead. There probably isn't a film made before 1910 with a single living cast or production member. But the fact that we still have video records of people in the 19th century? That's just damn cool. It's almost criminal how little effort went into film preservation back in those days.

[@9753Lukas]

I mean to be fair, anyone who was in a film in 1896 has probably been dead much longer than 30 years. Lets say these actors were around 25-30 in 1896. That means they were born in the late 1860's/early 1870's. If they lived to be 100 they would still have still been dead for almost 50 years.

[@Magnetron33]

Gone With The Wind star Olivia De Haviland is 104 today!

[@lukedavis5659]

Magnetron33 she died 3 days ago on 26th July 2020 RIP.

[@Magnetron33]

@@lukedavis5659 Norman Lloyd hates to see younger people go.

[@loge10]

I'm this and I'm still around; I'm the bat - it was my first role!

[@dwindledrose]

okay, but i'm actually very invested in this. it's been 127 years, we need a part two!

[@ludovitkrajcik4747]

Or a prequel movie.

[@RebeccaQueen-ti1bk]

Jesus was not killed nor Jesus was crucified

[@RebeccaQueen-ti1bk]

​@@ludovitkrajcik4747suicide not allowed

[@Gods-bad-boy]

I would agree but the movie makers and producers of today would disgrace it

[@Pavlinka__]

The fact that everyone who worked on this is now dead is kinda spooky too.

[@duckbrew]

no shit?!

[@101Volts]

While there are no people alive now from that year that I know of there have been some people living past the age of 115.

[@CallicoJackracham]

the oldest person ever was a French woman who lived to become 122 so technically it could have been possible but the last person born before 1900 was the Italian Emma Morano who died on the 15th of April of this year

[@elenitampaka3723]

uhhmm most likely their children and quite possibly their grandchildren too ..think about it if this was made in 1896 and lets assume that someone there juuuuust had a newborn baby, and lets assume that baby around 25 had their first kid (pretty usual back then) that mean their grandchild would be born around 1921...and if theyre still allive now theyd be 99 years old ...sooo we're probably looking at great grandkids somewhere in their 70's!

[@FrankDaBank25]

Even spoopy some might say

[@brdrfaar5846]

Don't worry, you're not the only one who is watching this masterpiece in 2024

[@xxhumanoidgirlxx]

It's been more than 120 years and I find this film amazing. I'm admired by the skills they had already in this age :)

[@RebeccaQueen-ti1bk]

Dog not allowed ect

[@rotciv1492]

How many people are complaining about the sound? xD this is hilarious.

[@limechecksout]

ikr XD

[@BillG37]

My only complaint is the fact that people weren't smart enough back then to have the technology we have today. :p

[@romancotton8536]

Its not that they were any less smart....if anything our generation has piggy backed every other generations achievements. I think the majority of egyptian architects were smarter than 97 percent of modern humans. We improve on things maybe but nothing new under the sun

[@BlazeMaster]

well actually most silent movies come with some score nowadays, so it's not too surprising. Still this how you should legally post public domain films, as it's only the image that is in public domain and not the score used in some releases.

[@mrexcelsior1414]

People are goofy nowadays lol

[@boltarstigmata]

Not bad at all for a movie made in 1896. It's still entertaining today.

[@sivaprasadyarlagadda2291]

special effects good.

[@chloeedmund4350]

Yeah. It's kind of campy nowadays but the skeleton on the bench was scary.

[@dhucke4assembly]

I'm so glad they preserved these films !

[@rojaraja1]

Thanks bro 📽️ film roll tamil தமிழ்

[@brnleague99]

A bat-to-vampire transformation that predates DRACULA (written a year later)? Nice.

[@lightonthehill8548]

I just checked this and it's true! That's awesome!

[@ryw8335]

Is he a vampire, though? He's out in seeming daylight and doesn't suck anyone's blood. He's looks more like a devil to me.

[@justbeyondthecornerproduct3540]

@@ryw8335 He recoiled at the cross though

[@ryw8335]

@@justbeyondthecornerproduct3540 but wouldn't a devil do the same?

[@NosyMuggle]

The vampires existed in literature and folklore long before Bram Stoker's Dracula.

[@sandylivingston7655]

1896 WOW! 119 years! This is the oldest film I have ever seen.I am a Great fan of The director Georges Melies. This Picture badly needs to be restored, but I loved it. At first I thought the witches were ghosts because they were all in white then I saw the brooms. The skeleton scared me. It was a beautiful Horror film. I can see people in 1896 sitting in the theater and being scared. Some maybe screaming like we do in horror films..

[@gabbyeeee]

ive been very unmotivated lately. the situations in my life have really taken a toll on my creativity. two weeks ago, my video class assigned me to make a story line but the emptiness in me stopped me from doing it. but oh my god, for some reason this three minute film has sparked a huge inspiration in me. after commenting this, im going straight to word and im going to write a killer story line.

[@fryingwiththeantidote2486]

how'd it go?

[@tobinsen99]

@@fryingwiththeantidote2486 the killer story line was so good, it killed him

[@sleeplessstudios7626]

Inspiration is odd like that

[@bobbysands6923]

I beg you to keep going. It's normal to feel that way sometimes---we live in sad times. But all you need is a little inspiration and it can get you going, and change your life. Nothing film or video to do that--been doing this since 1985 and now I teach it. Good luck and God bless you.

[@gabbyeeee]

@@bobbysands6923 thank you very much

[@Christbepraised]

Tragic tragic shame he later destroyed so much of his work. The guy was brilliant

[@LOGANBOGGS-i3y]

The Haunted Castle (1896) George Melies Silent Film is so great eternally and is my other favorite silent film too.

[@courvoisibean]

Incredibly advanced film for the time, they were usually 50 seconds long of a street scene, this actually has characters, a plot and special effects

[@georgyorgy2]

I CAN'T HEAR THE SILENT FILM

[@silentfilmhouse]

georgyorgy2 true

[@edgarallanlovecraft5485]

georgyorgy2 Maybe you should LISTEN HARDER!!!!!!!

[@alexwallberg5607]

+Edgar Allan Lovecraft LOL!

[@coachfb18]

Thats why they are called silent films moron! There is no sound... You got to be kidding me! Lmao... Nothing like making a fool out of yourself in front of the whole world

[@edgarallanlovecraft5485]

+coachfb18 Really? lol...maybe you should look up "sarcasm"...and if that's too hard don't even TRY "irony"

[@stevenhulbert7540]

Appreciated Melies films before I was a film student. His creativity was unmatched. The in-camera effects were well done and he was way ahead of his time, such an amazing filmmaker.

[@RebeccaQueen-ti1bk]

Dog not allowed ect

[@TheMasterLewy]

2:56 he almost knocks the stage over haha xD

[@hippityhopp4227]

u wot

[@1MikuFan]

Master Lewy I noticed that too!! 😂😂

[@ashwhitecloud]

Quite delightful for when it was made. 126 years old and entertaining.

[@DavidLeighWallis]

2:58 the set almost falls down hahahah

[@FenceDaGreat]

Good eye! But Méliès was such a quick-thinker that he was able to use the stop trick to take the time to fix the set while seamlessly blending it in with the story.

[@LordSandwichII]

Back then, few people knew how motion pictures worked. There was an element of mystery and magic that we kind of lost in today's movies. That said, these films are in the past, and the movies we have now are far better in terms of their ability to create illusions; but we must never forget the work that the pioneers did to pave the way for what have now!

[@RebeccaQueen-ti1bk]

Dog not allowed ect

[@marcusvassiliou3501]

was it supposed to be horror? so many perfectly timed, slapstick moments that I watched it as a comedy. Hard to imagine creating this without the 120 years of cinema we've seen since. what a mind to even conceive these ideas and commit them to a medium which most people of the age probably considered a silly novelty. visionary.

[@iamnothale]

Probably not meant to be "scare you" type of horror, but could still be consider one, since it is meant to elicit fear to the audience. Specifically the scene of the back poking devil and the sudden appearance of a skeleton.

[@SmartStart24]

I giggled when he sat on the skeleton 🤭

[@RebeccaQueen-ti1bk]

​@@SmartStart24don't die as a disbeliever

[@RebeccaQueen-ti1bk]

​@@iamnothaledon't die as a disbeliever

[@RebeccaQueen-ti1bk]

Dog not allowed ect

[@benjaminphoenix1]

still better love story than twilight

[@bartstewart8644]

Good grief, there are a lot of cliches of modern horror movies in this relic from 1896!!! The bat who turns into the devilish figure in the black cape. That got copped directly for Dracula, and a thousand other horror movies afterwards. He even gets chased away with a crucifix at the end! The hunchbacked assistant. The ghostly brides. Amazing.

[@kristina80ification]

the bat and the crucifix has been a staple of horror since Drackula, the novel, also this film was meant for amusement and humor and is actually making fun of tropes that already existed in stories.

[@TimThomason]

Kristina This movie predates the novel Dracula by about a year. Many of the tropes, of course, are older than the novel and this film.

[@kristina80ification]

yeah, I probably shouldn't have said "since Dracula" since I was really only using it as an example. The way I word things could use some work to be honest.

[@graneadear]

Tim Thomason What about John Polidori's "Vampyre"? "The Vampyre" is a short work of prose fiction written in 1819 by John William Polidori

[@graneadear]

Tim Thomason Bram Stoker got his idea directly from John Polidori's short story which was written at the same time as Mary Shelley's The Modern Prometheus aka Frankenstein was being written, actually at the same contest at Lake Geneva

[@garyfrancis6193]

The acting and camera work were superb.

[@RebeccaQueen-ti1bk]

Suicide not allowed

[@Dragonrider1227]

the effect in 1:12 is actually pretty good

[@BrianPhantom27]

It was pretty good back in those year, Now this year, we got freaking CGI, green/blue screen, and photoshop

[@Dragonrider1227]

I see nothing wrong with that but it's impressive what they were able to do without it

[@katerinag9512]

BrianPhantom27 Lol

[@JHJNC89]

This was actually way ahead of its time with special effects

[@RebeccaQueen-ti1bk]

Dog not allowed ect

[@namashijabar5428]

I was invited to the premiere of this film when it came out. I got autographs from some of the actors and the director also. It was a grand party. We all got high and merry... This film was a major box office success back then and money was flowing like water. Good times!

[@MrMemoria1985]

I love this! No sound at all but you still understood the plot fairly well and the emotions of the characters. This is just pure, good acting.

[@hollymarg]

Amazing that it is almost 120 years old. The movement is quite fluid in comparison to later films at the turn of the century. Thanks for sharing.

[@froggy9191]

Thank you so much for uploading this!!!

[@hollyruth92]

"In 1896, the first horror film was shot. It was only three minutes long but it proved that fear could be contained and retold countless times. The Devil's Castle scared it's audience and gave them a taste of what horror films would be in the future." -Devin Watson- Horror film screenwriter in his book "Horror Screenwriting. The Nature of Fear." Chapter 1, Page 2. I believe it was the first horror film made, and it was made by the French. It's great that you have this on here, I was curious as

[@mr.m4n446]

Melies is the Grandfather of 'Special Effects', he created and developed fades/dissolves, multi-imaging and in camera appearance/vanishes.

[@JunkyardHounds]

I turned the volume up as soon as the film started.

[@WordUnheard]

This is it. This is THE first horror movie. Seems so tame in comparison to what has come afterwards. Can you imagine the insane terror that would have filled the minds of the audience who showed up to watch this in 1896, if the movie shown was actually The Exorcist?

[@sangielissa]

I had many of these - the full length features.They were here on You Tube and the full length features should be here, somewhere. Especially, the cartoons. Truly epic.

[@Boopathi_19984]

யாரெல்லாம் 2022 ல இந்த படத்த பார்க்கிறீர்கள்

[@samishahzad6160]

Wonderful superb great production George Melies and actor director legends in a history of movies. Rest in peace of All.

[@2009jadeorchid]

Cannot believe this film is almost 120 years old! Thank you for posting!

[@TheWickerMan1981]

Look at any silent film on youtube and enjoy seeing 2/3 of the people making the same "joke" about now being able to hear it. So funny... O_O

[@emilys3458]

Simply wonderful!

[@alejandreitor10]

I am overjoyed seeing this amazing film, it is incredible how this director was ahead at his age and his imagination, i wish i could have lived in this age and seeing it for the first time, it lift me up.

[@anonymous-df8nd]

Film roll family 🤩

[@javierpolo8762]

This was a magnificent experience.

[@antonpictures]

lol, I was trying to put the volume up, till I realized sound didn't come to movies till 1900, and wasn't actually used til the 1920's when they started to actually get it working properly.

[@fusionunderscore3668]

And sound in movies didn’t become popular until the 30s

[@davyhenry8985]

For a film that is 126 years old the special effects are great

[@drterminator]

It’s not only a revolutionary film, but a classic.

[@RebeccaQueen-ti1bk]

Dog not allowed ect

[@rhyschiffer1893]

Thanks for sharing this! Seldom seen that much action condensed in three minutes. Fascinating...

[@ezrastardust3124]

An alternate title for this film should be Mephistopheles Trolls The Shit Out Of A Random Guy For No Reason At All For Three Minutes

[@TimD.Morand]

Lovely! Can you imagine how they would be amused at the fact that we're watching them in 2024??

[@waddlejump]

I found this quite amusing especially the bit where the chair kept moving. If only I was born back then. It's much more fascinating than I could have imagined! Thank you so much for putting this up.

[@rossi3200]

this is just wonderful! such a piece made. it felt like a mad magician playing pranks than haunted castles :P

[@user-sf9gs2pg1b]

Oh my gosh! This person must have been so passionate in filming, I can't imagine it would be easy to make a film in 1896! Imagine if they were making films today, that would be amazing.

[@blacknwhitecheckers]

so cool! thanks for posting!

[@romanbruni]

brilliant invention of moviemaking ! cheers from Rio

[@thunderkarla]

Very talented , its good to see that there still some people who appreciate it .

[@Elvisultimatefanchannel]

I want to see the outtakes,bloopers and deleted scenes reel

[@rem2267]

The quality is terrific! The special effects were ASTOUNDING for their time. The skeleton cracked me up no end, it was pretty out of proportion. I chuckled when it popped up out of nowhere. The bat was great as well. Super upload, thanks for sharing it with us!

[@PerplexiaX]

Thank you so much for sharing this! I've been wanting to see this!

[@ShrunkedDude]

Cutting footage to make it look like something appeared/disapeared must've been really satisfying to play around with for the first time back then.

[@magenta5768]

Imagine being a kid (10 years old or younger maybe) back then and watching this with your parents, it should've been pretty scary (for people in general, maybe scarier for kids) to see this in a dark room

[@BlueMoody58]

Absolutely amazing quality for a film of this age. I wonder where it was found? Thanks for sharing it.

[@orphanprince5926]

I can now officially say that I've seen the first horror film in history! I've seen almost every major horror movie in history and now I've seen the first!

[@Miakhano]

Nice to find 1896 movie and see special effects from the very beginning.

[@mundospunky]

Thanks for posting this!!!

[@justmanic9673]

Ahhh! Blooming heck! You could have warned me about the horror before I watched this, I almost had a heart attack

[@cliffsmogo]

And then a skeleton popped out.

[@adam422]

And then the winged hussars arrived

[@Galaxius2117]

Amazing how they can recover footage from more than 100 years old.

[@billybletsos4758]

To be honest, this will be known as the first ever horror film in screen history. Such an old theme

[@mortalman-z6u]

Considering this movie is from 1896, the effects are really well made. Audiences at the time probably got really scared with this.

[@barrysiegel1656]

AT 2:59 the actor bumps into the right side of the screen temporarily making the set go askew for a couple of seconds. I'm not nit-picking, just pointing this out as I enjoyed the film immensely.

[@NickJones55]

Definitely enjoyable! The only other version I've seen was a fragment of the complete film, which I thought had not survived. Kudos! for a real public service. :D

[@TheTristanmarcus]

Fantastic, and from 1896 too 😎 Better and more interesting than the vast majority of contemporary Hollywood films 🤔

[@TheTetrap]

wow this is vintage, i mean i had seen the classic like caligari, phantom of the opea and nosfuratu, even the 1910 frankenstein but this is what the first ever horror film, thats just awsome.

[@symphonyofanera]

it was a smart film, i enjoyed it because over 130 films like it were lost in the 1960s volt fire in the ibm, this would have been a rear copy that would have been in someones private collection and then handed it in

[@GehennaGirls]

why on earth would a vampire have a cross on his wall?

[@indiheath8180]

+C Smith Same reason I have a god awful goat scrotum hanging in the living room, got it last Christmas from my aunt.

[@Emma-cy4vw]

+Jackson Pacchiana Depends on where their loyalties lie.

[@BlazeMaster]

first thing it's a Devil, second he probably stole the mansion from its rightful owners , cross included. Being the Devil he could not get rid off it too.

[@nickp3949]

Vampires in 1896 were boss that's why

[@airplanecarlovers7878]

I see people sitting in the movie theater and be scared. This is a great silent horror Film! Loved it

[@WSOJ3]

I like the CGIs used in this film.

[@makmakmak5048]

A legend once said there’s only a tiny gap between comedy and horror

[@duaneleach9675]

Films like this are amazing and incredible. We're actually looking back over 120 years ago these people animated. You look at the building and the rooms in there and everything is truly is scary. Of course to me when you look back the 1800s a lot of that seems a little spooky in itself. So when you get a glimpse back into those days and get to watch it live there's a creepy element to it. You step into the movie and it's a whole different world.

[@Widkey]

I'm blown away! Way ahead of it's time and didn't cost 100 million dollars to make.

[@AnalniRovokopac]

thank you for uploading

[@matthewgurr3130]

3:18 you can tell he's a real magician here

[@sammavacaist]

This must have been mind blowing in 1896.

[@emmaroombaasmr8036]

I tried to turn up the volume . . .

[@Kiyoko504]

Forgetting you did the next video blew your ears off right!

[@nigelwalker6103]

Lol

[@Hotchocolaterabbit]

Considering this is nineteenth century film it's pretty amazing.

[@marianmarian6177]

What?? 123 years ago.OMG!!😲😲

[@Domicrow1]

Awesome, genuinely alot better than most modern horror movies

[@patricksudbury]

Awesome. I was looking for one of the first productions, and this is eight years after the first.

[@Cell4TR]

by the way the people you just watched are all dead. that makes it a little creepy. if they are not dead then its more creepy

[@mecha7419]

Snøfall They are all dead, no one is 140 years old

[@planetyam6044]

and if you watch it and you are dead, that is more creepy.

[@Piggsvin4]

Planet Yam If he commented while being dead, that’s more creepy.

[@MelissaMelli]

:v

[@lilcasement]

For 1896 this is really well done and looks good. I've seen films from 1900 that don't look as good

[@zzepron]

Brilliant - thanks for posting that.

[@파랑새-i3o]

정말 대단합니다. 저 시절에 저런 영상을 만들다니...존경합니다. 이런 영상을 만드신 분 감사합니다.

[@Malisanity]

Thank you for pointing that out! It is in fact a wonderful transition!