Films of the 60s, Part 9: Is There a Ghost in My House?

“When I lived alone, is there a ghost in my house?” – Band of Horses



G-g-g-g-ghosts! I used to be terrified of ghosts. Stories from friends about attic hatches opening up on their own, apparitions, and urban myths would always give me the chills. There was just something particularly menacing about an unseen presence, even more an unseen malevolent presence that acts for unknown reasons, or even worse, is angry about you being in its space, which is usually a huge motivating factor in ghost fiction. Whereas before, I was about 90% sure I believed in ghosts, I am now at about 1%, just leaving open a small opportunity for mere possibility. What changed my mind? Oddly enough, ghost shows. Whether Hunters, Adventures, Lab, or other, I immersed myself in these programs, partly to rid myself of the fear, and partly because I just found them ridiculously entertaining. I don’t know if I can even explain how they came to make me an unbeliever, aside from years of specious science, arguable evidence, and iffy reasoning. In other words, the explanation for EVERY sound, temperature change, movement, etc. is ghosts, especially with Ghost Adventures. Ugh. I’m over it. That doesn’t mean I’m not interested in ghosts or ghost stories anymore. In fact, I’d say I’m probably more interested, but I take it as captivating fiction, not as scientific explanation for life after death. It seems lately, however, that American studios can’t write and film a good ghost story. Some of the best seem to be coming from different Asian countries. But, in the 60s, there were some really good ones, and perhaps a few cheesy, but fun ones as well.



13 Ghosts (1960, William Castle)

I’ve written previously about House on Haunted Hill, one of William Castle’s gimmicky films. Through such films as The Tingler (probably his most ingenious idea), he was able to make the movie going experience more of a communal and interactive one, something from which modern cinema can learn a little something. I won’t go into it here, but look up William Castle on Wikipedia and check out what The Tingler was all about. Anyway, 13 Ghosts was another one of those gimmick horror films, about a family who inherits a haunted house. No, it’s not an entirely original idea, but that wasn’t the point. There were a few curveballs here that made it interesting. For one, the house came with a spooky maid who provided exposition, played by Margaret Hamilton, aka “The Wicked Witch of the West!” For another, the ghosts were all sorts of weird, including some that made sense, such as Emilio the chef (who looks a whole lot like the Swedish Chef due to his cartoonishly large moustache), his unfaithful wife, and her lover (all of whom can be seen in the pic above), but also ghosts that made no sense whatsoever, such as a flaming skeleton, the headless lion tamer, and a ghost lion.

Really? A ghost of a lion? I won’t even get into the idea that there are animal ghosts, but does the idea of a ghost of a scary animal make it doubly scary? No. Scary plus scary does not equal scary, somehow. Anyway, onto the gimmick. The idea with 13 Ghosts is that ticket buyers were given “Illusion-O!” glasses, based somewhat on the 3-D premise of the red and blue plastic lenses that would reveal different layers of effect. With “Illusion-O!,” there was one full bar of red lens and one of blue lens. Viewers were then allowed to pick whether they believed in ghosts or didn’t and choose accordingly whether they wanted to see the red-colored ghost images or choose to hide them. Fairly ingenious, no? I can say that just by using a pair of 3-D glasses I got with the Batman Arkham Asylum game, the effect worked quite well. I was shockingly surprised!

This film was later remade with Tony Shalhoub and critics panned it fairly harshly, saying that it lacked scares. I found that critique quite odd as the original was hugely lacking in scares. In fact, the original is family friendly, and none of the characters seem to be all that concerned with the presence of ghosts. There is even a somewhat family sitcom-like happy ending, and the young boy of the family hoping that the ghosts come back. Sure, the ghosts punished the greedy lawyer and saved him from a bed that was going to crush him (you’ll have to see it to understand that statement), but still, he likes having ghosts around?

Other than the neat trick of the “Illusion-O!,” the effects in this film are terrible, and the suspension of disbelief needed is crazy. Flies on strings and floating Ouija boards are just two examples, and with the latter, the family still decides to stay the night and say they are just having a group hallucination! Ummm….yeah. As soon as I see a floating Ouija board planchette, I’m not trying to reason it out. Frankly, when I saw the family’s reaction, I felt they all deserved to die at that point. One of the worst effects is the sound of the ghosts. Some of them have the requisite low moan, but others have pitched and sped up voices so that they sound like the Chipmunks. Though I often get a chill when I hear the Chipmunks’ Christmas song, I don’t find it terrifying. But, even with its many flaws, the movie is entertaining and fun, even downright silly at times, making it a campy favorite, especially if you can get a hold of some 3-D glasses, or even the “Illusion-O!” lenses, which were briefly made available for the DVD release in 2002.



The Innocents (1961, Jack Clayton)

Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw” is considered one of the western world’s most classic ghost tales. Published in 1898, the story has been told, retold, and made into plays and films many times over since then. “The Turn of the Screw” has everything I love about ghost stories. It is not one of those slasher or jump-scare kind of stories, but is instead based in a real-world setting and is entirely ambiguous. Throughout the story, we are left to wonder whether the ghosts in this story are real, are perhaps figments of the governess’ imagination or psychosis, or are metaphors for some other kind of malevolent evil. In other words, it mirrors the conflicting views on the actual existence of ghosts. If they are real, they are incredibly frightening just by their mere existence and suggested presence, and if not, they speak to the psychological state of the witness.

The Innocents, a British film that quite faithfully adapts “The Turn of the Screw,” is a masterpiece of psychological horror, even adding more elements that ratchet up the scares, including more of a gothic feel thanks to screenwriter Truman Capote, a Freudian sexual element, and the absolutely frightening trope of the devilish, high-voiced, proper, accented child. (Shudder). Is there anything scarier than a little English boy who seems possessed? Of course, with film, as compared to literature, there is not as much room left for interpretation, as the filmmaker has to decide what we, as the viewers, can actually see along with the governess. Should we see the ghosts or should we, along with the kids and the maid, see nothing? Either way, we are forced into one perspective. However, director Jack Clayton handles this deftly. Though we can see and hear the apparitions along with the governess, we are still left wondering how much of what we saw was real.

Though Miles and Flora, the children the governess is charged to take care of, exhibit actions that make us question their complicity in the existence of the spirits, or even in a possible evil plot to send the governess spiraling into madness, we can just as easily see it from the point of view of seeing the governess being affected by her own knowledge (the objects in the attic, the exposition from the maid, the scary nature of the manse itself, etc.), which she then projects onto the children. I love this film. It is certainly not your typical ghost story, going far beyond the usual jump scares and delving into psychological territory that adds further dimension to what could have easily been a two-dimensional adaptation. The acting is superb, the writing is captivating, and the overall direction and handling of the film as a whole is phenomenal. I hate movies that end up with one “in your face” easy answer, and this one leaves you talking about it long after the last frame slips through the projector (metaphorically).



The Haunting (1963, Robert Wise)

This is probably the most frightening ghost film of the three I’m presenting in this post. Directed by the great Robert Wise, who also brought us the first Star Trek film, The Sound of Music, and West Side Story, The Haunting is another one that was remade, but again, not nearly as well. Based on the novel by Shirley Jackson, the story follows a group of paranormal experts, which was well before its time, and their exploration of a spooky house. Again, not particularly original, but the way in which these scares are given is truly psychological and innovative. (Weird aside: my iPod, on shuffle, just brought up Les Savy Fav’s “Poltergeist.” Maybe I should rethink this whole “existence of ghosts” thing.) Anyway, Martin Scorsese puts The Haunting at the top of his scariest movies list, and while I might reserve that spot for The Shining, or perhaps The Exorcist, I certainly can’t fault Marty in his reasoning.

First of all, I’m shocked that this movie received a “G” rating. There are three deaths, including a hanging, within the first ten minutes. Kid-friendly, this movie is not. The weird experiences in the house seem to center around Nell, played by Julie Harris, who seems to be more and more attracted to the strange goings-on, almost compelled to become involved in the spirit world. As compared to most ghost films, very few of the scares are actual visual representations of ghosts, but rather terrifying sounds and slowly moving doorknobs and such. Frankly, I find this more terrifying than the former. Show me a ghost, such as the terribly superimposed ones within 13 Ghosts and I tend to laugh, but show me a doorknob slowly turning and my mind tends to go to places that I’d rather it not. I suppose that’s why in watching the numerous ghost hunting shows that exist, I am never all that scared, but if I were actually there, in the dark and hearing footsteps, I’d be mortified.

The Haunting takes its scares seriously and not as gimmicks or cheap thrills. Further, the ghosts have a seeming mission or goal and are not just random. We begin to get more and more clues to what these ghosts are all about as the investigators continue their experiments, but the full reveal at the end of the film is more satisfying than I could have imagined. The Haunting provides real scares and a compelling story. It even broke some taboos by having a character display some lesbian tendencies at a time when that certainly wasn’t as accepted as it is today. Do yourself a favor, watch this one with a good surround sound system, preferably late at night, and possibly alone.