House On Haunted Hill

About House On Haunted Hill

House on Haunted Hill (1959) is a horror film directed by William Castle, written by Robb White, and starring Vincent Price as eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren. He and his fourth wife, Annabelle, have invited five people to the house for a "Haunted House" party. Whoever stays in the house for one night will earn ten thousand dollars. As the night progresses, all the guests are trapped inside the house with ghosts, murderers, and other terrors.

House on Haunted Hill is the tale of five people invited to stay the night in a haunted house, with the stipulation that all doors will be locked at midnight, allowing no accessible escape. Anyone who stays in the house for the entire night given that they are still alive, will receive $10,000. It seems like a piece of cake, at least, until the ghosts arrive.

The theatrical trailer promoted the film as The House on Haunted Hill, although all advertising material, and the title on the film itself were simply titled House on Haunted Hill. The film is best known for a famous promotional gimmick used in the film's original theatrical release called "Emergo": William Castle placed an elaborate pulley system in some theaters showing the film; allowing a plastic skeleton to be flown over the audience at the appropriate time. In the late 1980s, the Film Forum in New York City had a revival of the film (along with several other Castle pictures) that included the original gimmicks.