Our second spooky movie is actually one I was lucky enough to see for the first time in the theater.
A few years ago, my local theater had a horror movie night for Halloween, screening Dracula (1931), House on Haunted Hill (1959), and Night of the Living Dead (1968) all in one evening. My little goth heart was very happy that night.
Produced and directed by William Castle and starring Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long, and Carolyn Craig, the marketing for House on Haunted Hill was a bit different than normal movies.
William Castle was known for using some interesting promotional tactics, and HOHH was no exception. As people in the theater watched the movie, a prop skeleton dangling on a thin wire would be let loose over the crowd, scaring the wits out of everyone and ensuring they had a ghostly time.
The movie asks this question: would you face death for $10,000?
5 strangers receive invitations from a millionaire that they have never met before, inviting them to win a lot of money that they really need. The catch, spending the night together in an old house that is supposedly haunted by the trapped souls of 7 murdered residents. The deaths ranged from being hacked to pieces to dissolved in acid in the basement.
Vincent Price really steals every scene he’s in with this movie. Casts as the jealous millionaire that is on his fourth wife (the first one having disappeared, the second two having died of supposed heart attacks, despite being in good health and in their twenties) and the host of this bizarre party. Price was a commanding force on the screen, snagging you attention immediately and keeping it the entire time he’s performing.
This movie is actually free on Tubi right now, and I highly encourage you to watch it. It’s available in both the original black and white and in color, and, if you want some laughs instead, there is always the RiffTrax version.
Filled with screams, gripping lines, stellar performances, and a marionette skeleton at the end, House on Haunted Hill is a must see for all horror fans.
Sorry this one is out late. My bad! I’ll do better! If there’s a movie you want me to watch and review, just let me know! Peace be with you.
House On Haunted Hill was produced by William Castle Productions, distributed by Allied Artists, and is in the public domain.
It's not a phase, it's Memento Mori 
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