Le Manoir du diable (1896)

Le Manoir du diable is a two-minute-long French film directed by Georges Méliès. The film contained many traditional pantomime elements and was intentionally meant to amuse people, rather than frighten them. Nonetheless, it is considered to be the first horror film. It was released on Christmas Eve, 1896, at the Theatre Robert Houdin, 8 boulevard des Italiens, Paris. It was from this two-minute short that many assume the horror film was born.

Plot
A French soldier stands outside the gates of a castle where he is greeted by a young woman. He tries to introduce himself, when suddenly the woman turns into a witch. Several more witches appear and begin running about in a circle, brandishing broom sticks. Another soldier arrives, but soon flees. As the witches continue dancing in a circle, the first soldier grows scared. Simultaneously, they drop to their knees and disappear. After the strange women are gone, a man dressed in black appears and threatens the soldier. The soldier pulls down a cross from the side of a building and drives him back.

Notes & Trivia

 * Alternately known as The Devil's Manor, The Haunted Castle, The House of the Devil and The Manor and the Devil.


 * Featured director/producer Georges Méliès and his wife, Jeanne d'Alcy.