Directed and produced by William Castle, House on Haunted Hill premiered on January 14, 1959, and quickly became a cult classic of mid-century horror. Written by Robb White and distributed by Allied Artists, the film stars Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, and Richard Long, and runs a brisk 75 minutes. It’s best remembered for its theatrical gimmick—“Emergo”—and for Price’s gleefully sinister performance as a millionaire with a taste for psychological games.
Plot Summary
Eccentric tycoon Frederick Loren (Vincent Price) invites five strangers to spend the night in a supposedly haunted mansion. Each guest is promised $10,000 if they survive until morning. Among them are a test pilot, a journalist, a psychiatrist, and a secretary—all with personal motives and secrets.
As the night unfolds, the guests encounter apparitions, cryptic warnings, and a series of deadly traps. But the real horror may not be supernatural: betrayal, greed, and murder lurk behind every locked door. The film’s climax reveals a twist involving mechanical contraptions and a staged haunting, blurring the line between illusion and reality.
Cast
- Vincent Price as Frederick Loren
- Carol Ohmart as Annabelle Loren
- Richard Long as Lance Schroeder
- Alan Marshal as Dr. David Trent
- Carolyn Craig as Nora Manning
- Elisha Cook Jr. as Watson Pritchard
- Julie Mitchum as Ruth Bridgers
Production Notes & Trivia
- William Castle’s “Emergo” gimmick involved a skeleton rigged to fly over the audience during key scenes in select theaters
- Cinematography by Carl E. Guthrie and music by Von Dexter contribute to the film’s eerie tone and minimalist suspense
- The mansion exterior was filmed at the Ennis House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, adding architectural gravitas to the setting
- The film was made on a modest budget of $200,000 and grossed over $2.5 million, a major success for Castle
- Its popularity helped Castle secure funding for The Tingler (1959), another horror film with a theatrical gimmick
Legacy
House on Haunted Hill is a template for haunted house cinema, blending camp, suspense, and theatrical flair. Vincent Price’s performance anchors the film’s tone—arch, menacing, and oddly charismatic. For genre historians, it’s a touchstone of 1950s horror, emblematic of Castle’s showmanship and the era’s fascination with fear as entertainment.
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