Georges Méliès' 1896 silent film "The House of the Devil" is the first horror film in existence.
Like most of his work during this period, Méliès milked the horror premise for comedy and spectacle, experimenting with trick photography and visual illusions. Even back then, "The House of the Devil" had all the horror movie cliches before they were cliches: demons, skeletons, ghosts, witchcraft, sorcery, and a spooky gothic castle. All in just 3 minutes!
The film's original French title is "Le Manoir du diable." This film can be found on Flickr Alley's DVD compilation Georges Méliès: Encore. The public domain
music is Misterioso Infernale by Borch performed by Ethan Uslan, provided by the Silent Film Sound & Music Archive.
The film is sometimes confused with its remake "The Haunted Castle" (1897) (French: "Le Château hanté"), but you're smarter than that, aren't you?
