''La Maison ensorcelée'' (literally "The Ensorcelled House" from French, , also known as The Witch House) is a 1906 French

trick film In the early history of cinema, trick films were short silent films designed to feature innovative special effects. History The trick film genre was developed by Georges Méliès in some of his first cinematic experiments, and his works remain ...

directed by

Segundo de Chomón Segundo Víctor Aurelio Chomón y Ruiz (also Chomont or Chaumont ; 17 October 1871 – 2 May 1929) was a pioneering Spanish film director, cinematographer and screenwriter. He produced many short films in France while working for Pathé, Pat ...

. The film features

stop-motion animation Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...

and is considered one of the earliest cinematic depictions of a

haunted house A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property ...

premise.

Plot

Two men and a woman stop at a small house in the woods. Inside, they experience numerous instances of

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

activity, including disappearing furniture; a stereotypical

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

; movement of cutlery and food on their own;

ball lightning Ball lightning is a rare and unexplained phenomenon described as Luminosity, luminescent, spherical objects that vary from pea-sized to several meters in diameter. Though usually associated with thunderstorms, the observed phenomenon is repor ...

; unexplained tilting of the entire home; and a grotesque being with claw-like fingers that attempts to eat the trio.

Legacy

The film inspired director

Jennifer Kent Jennifer Kent is an Australian director, screenwriter, and former actress. She is best known for writing and directing the psychological horror film '' The Babadook'' (2014). Her second film, '' The Nightingale'' (2018), premiered at the 75th ...

, and was included in a scene in her 2014 horror film '' The Babadook''.

References

External links

* French haunted house films {{DEFAULTSORT:House of Ghosts 1906 films 1906 horror films 1906 animated short films 1900s ghost films Films directed by Segundo de Chomón French silent short films Articles containing video clips French black-and-white films Films using stop-motion animation Silent French horror films Animated films set in forests Trick films