Who Made Horror Movies?
Aaleya Marquez (8)
Did you ever wonder how horror movies or the topic of horror in general was made? Like, yeah it’s been around for centuries, but like.. who created it and in what year did horror become horror?
Funny thing, Horror was never ‘invented’ or ‘created’. There isn’t a specific year where horror just .. started becoming horror. The thing is someone who invented the topic of horror movies though.
Born in Paris, France and on December 16, 1816, Georges Méliès became a pioneer of “early cinema.” He made over 500 movies, including horror movies. He was known for pioneering special effects that he used in his absolutely amazing films. (harvardfilmarchive.com)
One of his first films was “Eadweard Muybridge’s ‘The Horse in Motion’ (1878)!”
The main reason Georges Méliès was inspired by the concept of horror was because of, “…the dark themes explored in contemporary Gothic literature, the shock-based theatrical performances of the Grand Guignol Theatre, and his own background as a stage magician interested in the uncanny and supernatural.” (harvardfilmarchive.com)
Unfortunately, Georges Méliès did burn his films out of anger and frustration because of his business failing and his studio being taken over. It made him feel like his work went unappreciated and unwanted. He also lost so many film prints to the French Army back in World War 1. One of his last films was “ Le Voyage de la Famille Bourrichon (1913)” before he went bankrupt when he broke a contract with the Pathé company. (harvardfilmarchive.com)
Sadly, Georges Méliès died on January 21, 1938 at the age of 76 due to cancer. He died at the “Léopold Bellan Hospital in Paris on January 21, 1938, after being admitted there late in 1937 due to worsening cancer. His admission was arranged by Henri Langlois, who was close to Méliès and visited him in the hospital before his death.” In his last moments, his dying wish for his film historians, Henri Langlois and Georges Franju, to “Laugh, my friends. Laugh with me, laugh for me, because I dream your dreams.” (harvardfilmarchive.com)
After he passed, he was buried at Père Lachaise cemetery. From what I’ve researched, “just hours after the passing of Émile Cohl, another great French film pioneer—he was buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery.” (harvardfilmarchive.com)
Now that you’ve stayed this far, you know who created horror movies, the one and only Georges Méliès. Who knows what horror movies would be without him? Would we have them? Would they be different? The world may never know. All I know is that I’m glad Georges Méliès created one of my favorite genres. And now you do too!
The website used for all of the information I researched was the harvardfilmarchive.com.