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Essay #3: The Juxtaposition of the Films “House on Haunted Hill”

Established in 1929 and owned by Dr. Richard Vannacutt, the Vannacutt Psychiatric Institute for the Criminally Insane, was the setting for the 1999 film, House on Haunted Hill. Although the building was demolished in 2007, the history of the structure inspired creators of the film and the fears and anxieties of the time were depicted through the characters, as well as the structure itself. 

Unlike the setting of an actual house in the first film created in 1959, the 1999 film was directed by William Malone in an abandoned insane asylum located in Los Angeles, California, and the structure’s history drove the entire plot of the film. Dr. Richard Vannacutt brutally murdered and dismembered patients while working at the institution, and it is rumored that those patients continued to stay past their visit to haunt anybody who stepped inside the building. The primary cause of the famous hauntings however, was the placement of the Baphomet idol inside the facility, which is an ancient pagan deity, a powerful and evil demon named Baphomet. The Baphomet idol was supposedly responsible for trapping the spirits inside the institute, as well as possessing Dr. Richard to perform such terrible acts on his patients. Although there is very little information on the origin of the Baphomet idol, it has been documented since the Dark Ages and during that time Baphomet cults worshipped the idol, as well as at one point were forced to go underground in which the idol was not seen again for centuries. The return of the Baphomet idol in the 1999 film depicts the fears of the Idol returning to haunt and use its power against those that buried and attempted to hide it centuries prior. The shape of the entity that possesses the host’s wife, Evelin, is almost the exact same shape as the Baphomet idol, and represented each spirit that was trapped inside the facility. This symbolized the spirit world regaining control after centuries of repression due to the Baphomet cults being forced to be hidden underground. 

According to Freuds theory, “The Uncanny”, to experience the feeling of being uncanny, things that were meant to be hidden, suppressed and secretive are brought to light. (Freud, 1919). The previously repressed and hidden Baphomet idol is brought to light through this film, and symbolized the fears of curses and hauntings people had in the late 90’s. Besides the obvious example of the Baphomet idol representing fears of curses, another example of fears of curses depicted in the film was in the subtle ‘Native American’ chanting in the background after each death occurred throughout the night. In the 1959 film, the only reference that embodied the fears of curses was represented through the housekeeper, as he resembled a witch of sorts that is associated with the fears around the origination of the Pagan religion. Another prominent fear depicted in the film associated with fears around religion as well as curses, was the reoccurring appearance of the doppelgänger. Originating in Germany, a doppelgänger is a person’s lookalike, typically an apparition that has no shadow and if seen yourself, resembles bad luck. The two characters that experience the doppelgänger phenomena were, the only African American character, Eddie, and the host, Mr. Price. However, Eddie was not the one to see his doppelgänger, as the character Jennifer was. Like the acid bath in the 1959 film, Eddie’s doppelgänger tried to commit suicide in a blood bath which led Jennifer to attempt in saving him, only to glance up to see the real Eddie. Mr. Price sees his doppelgänger in the scene of him trapped in the Saturation Room and as he is hypnotized by it, it leads him to escaping the room. Another example in both films that depicted fears of suicide was in the scene that Annabelle ‘dies’ and Mr. Price accuses the guests of committing homicide. Progressing from fears of deadly scientific experimentation in 1959, this scene in the 1999 film represented dominant fears of that time regarding suicide, the paranormal, as well as fears of the doppelgänger. 

(Baphomet Idol in 1999 film)

(Pagan deity Baphomet)

In contrast to my personal analysis of the original film’s connotation of the house representing the psyche, I believe the asylum in the 1999 film represents a larger figure impacting lives all around the world, the power of the universe itself. Depending on one’s perspective, the universe controls elements of our lives that we can either allow to defeat us or allow us to succeed. Life is set up in such a way that each person is to go to school as child/young adult, to be accepted into a prestigious college with the intention of landing a killer job by the end of the fifteen years it takes to achieve such a task every person is faced with. Some of us have an easier or more challenging time accomplishing this task however, each of us have our own unique journey along the way. An invitation to the House on Haunted Hill was an opportunity to showcase the character’s failures or successes. The host asking each guest their occupation during the introduction represented the importance of economic/financial status and social class in 1999 compared to the importance in 1959. For example, Melissa, the celebrity TV reporter, was the first to be killed as she was consumed by her paranormal equipment. The house ‘spirits’ killing her represents the universes power, ‘the dark side of Hollywood’, and the consequences that come with being a celebrity, all of which is worked out in a cinematic way. Fears of technology and the spiritual world intertwining was also represented in the scene that the host explains to the guests that the ghosts of the house hacked into his email and invited them, as the host had no knowledge of the guests prior to the invitations. Unlike each character representing the various sides of the psyche in the 1959 film, each character in the 1999 film represents each life path the universe or fate the characters took. Dr. Trent, the logical character yet again, had an MD, Eddie was a former baseball player, Melissa was a TV reporter and Jennifer was an executive VP, all of which are higher class career paths. I believe that there is a connection between Eddie’s race and the career path that was chosen for his character, as African American slaves were often only sought after for their physical abilities and by pursuing a career in sports exclusively highlights his physical attributes and talents. Although Bridger’s occupation wasn’t really mentioned, Bridger resembled Nora in the first film as he was the most ‘hysterical’ character, and I believe this represents the evolution of women of power, as well as the progression moving away from the ‘damsel in distress’ era. Except, there is still a presence of sexual violence and male dominance embodied in both films, specifically in the scene that Mr. Price pulls on the back of Annabelle’s hair. Mr. Price’s appearance in both films is similar however, Annabelle’s character was demonic in the 1999 film rather than angelic depiction in the 1959 film. In the 1999 film, Annabelle’s hair is black compared to her blonde hair in the 1959 film, as well as her overall dark clothes, attitude, and demeanor. The spirits residing the House on Haunted Hill inviting each high social class standing guest, represents the lower class as the house itself suffering and seeking revenge by murdering and torturing them. By enticing the guests with money, it fed into their greedy personalities and showcased their greed throughout the twelve hours they were required to stay. Although the agreement made in both films were the exact same, the evolution from 10,000 dollars in the first film to one million dollars in the second film, illustrates how quickly the economy progressed in forty years, as well as the way money drives the economy and social acceptance.

Insane asylums were places in which the, almost always lower class, mentally ill patients would call ‘home’ for the remainder of their lives. I believe this is the reason why the asylum is still considered the ‘house on haunted hill’ and throughout the film give viewers an uncanny, unhomely feeling. The individual rooms within the asylum represented the many ways the doctors would ‘assist’ in treating the patients and symbolized fears around the doctor and patient relationship. “The asylum, in its own way, created both the doctor and the patient.” (Dickley, 2016). It created a culture where abuse, neglect, and seclusion were justified by the abuse of authority by way of the doctor and the patient. For example, the Saturation Room was used to brainwash individuals with schizophrenia with graphic and disturbing images with the intention of making them ‘normal’ again. The various ‘treatment’ rooms illustrated in the film embodied fears of contracting mental illnesses and the aftermath fear of the cruel treatments revealed in asylums and institutions prior to the films creation. “We know the images. They are familiar in all histories of psychiatry, where their function is to illustrate that happy age when madness was finally recognized and treated according to a truth to which we had too long remained blind.” (Foucault, 1965). The aftermath fear that was a result of these treatments coming to light to the public was embodied through the genre of horror, specifically cinematically.

The final major difference between the 1959 film and the 1999 film, was the way the films concluded. In the first film, Mr. Price was the ‘puppet master’ as he knew of the scandalous affair occurring between his wife and Dr. Trent, and ended up being responsible for the death of both characters as a result, by tricking them into falling into the acid bath. In the 1999 film, however, the acid bath is not a prevalent component in the plot, but the house takes control by utilizing the Baphomet idol to kill Mr. Price as well as attempted to kill the remaining characters, Jennifer and Eddie. However, a spirit ‘puppet master’ pulled a rope to the exclusive door that would allow them to escape the facility yielding both characters the only survivors of the night. The contrast in the endings of both films represents the evolution of how much people thought they were in control over the spirit world. In 1959, there was not enough time to build stigmas and stereotypes to the extent society had built in 1999, and even to this day. However, in 1999, fears were represented and symbolized through cinema and the overall genre of horror that was enabled by the advancement of technology, something that in 1959 was only beginning to occur. The medium in which television served was a form of communication that depicted fears that were previously in literature, paintings and other forms of art. “While wisecracking ‘horror hosts’ had become an endangered species in print, the new medium of television did not fall under the jurisdiction of the Comics Code Authority, and it was inevitable that the comic-book format would find a broadcast equivalent.” (Skal, 1993). Forms of art, media, and literature are ways of expressing repressed emotions that otherwise would be hidden and not brought to light. Therefore, by bringing repressed emotions, such as fear and anxiety, to light through cinema many people can release similar repressed feelings towards events happening either personally, politically or socially, by simply watching the films. “But anticivilization emotions don’t go away, and they demand periodic exercise.” (King, 1981).

The stereotypes regarding concepts that question one’s sense of homeliness developed between the forty years the films were created, were embodied throughout the characters and setting of the film. The progression from fears of war and science in 1959, to fears of the advancement of technology and mental illness, truly depicts the way horror is used to work out repressed and dark emotions humans inevitably feel.

Sources:

“Baphomet Idol.” House on Haunted Hill Wikia, http://houseonhauntedhill.wikia.com/wiki/Baphomet_Idol, http://houseonhauntedhill.wikia.com/wiki/Baphomet

David J. Skal (1994). The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror, Drive-Ins Are a Ghoul’s Best Friend: Horror in the Fifties, Plexus.

Dickley, C. (2016). Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places

Holloway, April. “Doppelgangers and the Mythology of Spirit Doubles.” Ancient Origins, http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/doppelgangers-and-mythology-spirit-doubles-001825

King, Stephen. (1981). “Why We Crave Horror Movies”

Freud, Sigmund. “The Uncanny.” The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XVII (1917-1919): An Infantile Neurosis and Other Works.

Foucault, M. (1965). Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason, Birth of the Asylum, New York.

“Vannacutt Psychiatric Institute for the Criminally Insane.” House on Haunted Hill Wikia, http://houseonhauntedhill.wikia.com/wiki/Vannacutt_Psychiatric_Institute_for_the_Criminally_Insane

“Vannacutt Sanitarium.” Esmeralda Santiago’s Biography, http://www.angelfire.com/tv2/collinwood/vannacutt.html

Additional Links:

https://classic-horror.com/reviews/house_on_haunted_hill_1959

http://variety.com/1999/film/reviews/house-on-haunted-hill-2-1200459954/

https://ultraculture.org/blog/2016/02/08/baphomet-sabbatic-goat/

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Blog #18- Poltergeist

In the 1982 film, Poltergeist, many fears and anxieties were exemplified through the characters as well as the plot line throughout the film including fears around the rise of technology, disrupting the American Dream, and Native American ‘curses and spells’ after building over their ancient burial grounds. The scene in which Carol Ann is abducted through the television screen represents the fear of, TV specifically, taking over the minds of children. The tree coming to life and taking the children away represents Mother Nature battling modern technology, and symbolized nature remaining over man made things. The scene when the children’s toys are sucked through the closet represented fears and anxieties towards toys being replaced with technology, which is clearly a valid fear considering children’s relationship with technology today. Another prominent fear exemplified in the film, was the fear towards disrupting the American Dream, specifically due to the location of the family’s house, the suburbs. The national anthem playing in the background prior to the abduction and the family’s knowledge of the haunting symbolized the disruption they were about to experience. The fact that they stuck together by sleeping in the same room and overall staying united as a family despite one of the family members missing, also symbolized the American Dream. Fears regarding Native American burial grounds has been prevalent throughout our course however, this reference to this fear in the Poltergeist, is especially unique. About halfway through the film, the husband is told by the ‘priest’ that his house was built over ancient Native American burial ground and tried to persuade him to move to a house that they would build next to the cemetery. He said, “We can move the cemetery, it’s not ancient burial grounds, it’s just people,” and “We did it thirty years ago and nothing happened, nobody has complained until now.” This illustrates the way, specifically white men, carelessly built over sacred burial grounds in the past and their fear of a curse getting revenge or haunting them as a result. In the final scene as the house crumbles down, the man only watches from afar and his distance symbolized the consequence of his carelessness.

I believe the reason why women are typically portrayals of occult horror are due to our discussions regarding women’s ‘hysteria,’ the stigma and stereotype that women are psychics, as well as some women’s ability to be vulnerable and easily persuaded. Although the mother is depicted as hysterical, specifically in the scene she tries to convince her husband of the chair moving by itself, Carol Ann is not portrayed as hysterical in fact, she is the most composed. I believe this is because she hasn’t become a woman yet (by starting her period and becoming hysterical), and this is clearly illustrated within the characters as Carol Ann’s mother and sister are portrayed as the most ‘hysterical.’ “The lengthy and hushed conversation, at the heart of the film, about death as the moment at which one walks into and joins a brilliant, ecstatic light, is a conversation conducted by women only. Men are silent auditors, each sitting in the darkness in the sides and corners of the room- at the margins of the feminine center...” (Clover, 74). This illustrates the way in which women exclusively were viewed as psychics and exemplified the fears around women of power. Overall, the Poltergeist, depicted fears prevalent in the 80’s and illustrated fears still prevalent today.

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Blog #17- Carrie

After analyzing the 1976 film, Carrie, the most prevalent fears represented throughout the film were the fears around the upcoming widespread knowledge of different religious practices, the rise of the feminist movement in the 70’s, and the effects of economic recessions had on social classes. Throughout the entire film, references to God as well as the devil were made towards Carrie due to the start of her period. Our past class discussion based on the way women were treated as if they were ‘hysterical,’ was also presented and validated through the film, specifically in the scene that Carrie starts her period and is hysterical and out of control about it. The other high school girls making fun of her for the start of her period, represented women bringing women down. The girls mock her for not being taught her period and when Carrie goes home to tell her mother, she says, “I hope you find Jesus,” and “we have to remove the sin from your body.” Later in the film, her mother demanded that she remove her prom dress due to it being too ‘revealing’ and says, “Take that dress off, we will burn it together and pray for forgiveness.” This is the epitome of how religion played a huge role in the way women were perceived and viewed during that time, as well as validated this misunderstanding people, specifically men, had of the female body. Another piece of the film that symbolized the fears around religious practices was Carrie’s ability to have telekinesis and use it to manipulate people to get what she wanted. For example, Carrie forces her mom to sit down to enable her to go to the prom with Tommy, something her mom was highly opposed to, as well as at the prom to kill the people who were making fun of her after blood was dumped on her. Carrie also used her telekinesis when her mother tried to kill her at the ending of the film and she ‘hung’ her to the doorway with knives. In this scene, Carrie’s mother represented the Jesus Vodou doll that was shown in the beginning of the film and therefore, depicted the anxieties around Jesus’s crucifixion and the battle between God and the devil. Carries ability to have telekinesis represented the fears around female ‘witches’ using psychological curses to make their enemies lives a living hell. Even in the closing scene, the cross for sale has ‘Carrie White burns in hell’ written on it which represents Carrie being depicted as evil, and when Carrie’s arm comes out of the grave it symbolized the fear of the undead. “Carrie was especially raw in its depiction of the cruel and exclusionary rites of high school. The school can be viewed as a microcosm of American society, which at the time of Carrie’s publication had gone just through a severe economic recession that rattled the dream of “classless” inclusion. By the mid-seventies the lower-middle-class began to lose ground perceptibly (Skal, 357).” The effect of the severe economic crisis that lead to social class issues during the creation of the film was depicted through the cruel behavior of not only the students in the high school but the facility as well. Specifically, in the scene when the principal confused her name with ‘Cassie,’ and demonstrated out right disrespect and carelessness all because Carrie was of lower class. Overall, the film Carrie, depicted the predominant fears of people during the late 1970’s.    

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Blog #16- House on Haunted Hill

In the 1958 film, House on Haunted Hill, many fears and anxieties that were prominent in the 1950’s were represented through the characters, the house itself, as well as subtle symbolism embedded throughout the entire film. Based on my analysis of the film, the house represents the psyche and the multitude of rooms represents the innerworkings of the many sides to the psyche. The host and his wife represent the conscious because they are in control of the party, while the other characters invited to the house represent the subconscious and the many sides to it as they were not in as much control of the events in the house. Nora represents the hysterical, out of control, side of the subconscious because she was almost exclusively screaming or crying, and she was also affected the most by the house itself. For example, she ran into the house-keepers first, then found a decapitated head in her suitcase, and then a monstrous looking hand covered her mouth, all of which also represented fears prevalent in the 50’s. The house-keeper resembled a witch of some sort, symbolizing the fears around the origination of Paganism as well as the ‘curses’ associated with that religion. The decapitated head resembled a zombie because the eyes were still open, it had a bloody face, and the mouth was open, all of which symbolized fears of cannibalism and the undead. The monster’s hand represented the fears around the introduction of horror and the idea of monsters in the 50’s, specifically by covering her mouth it symbolized the repressed, secret, dark side of the upcoming genre during that time. When the host, Fredrick Lauren, tries to give Nora a sedative to try and treat her hysteria and she refuses, it represented the fears around the doctor/patient relationship as well as the stigma of hysterical women. Lance represents the masculine and intimate side of the subconscious due to Nora and his romantic relationship throughout the film. Specifically, the scene in where he runs into one of the rooms and hits his head on the wall, symbolized fears of outside influences disturbing the homeostasis of the psyche. Lance said, “The wall didn’t hit me, they did,” implying ghosts or an outside influence hit him rather than himself or the wall. Dr. Trent symbolizes the logic and reason side of the subconscious because he was constantly questioning events, as well was part of the planning to try and kill the host, as Dr. Trent was hooking up with the host’s wife, Annabelle. Luth, although she doesn’t play a very big role, represents the wise and mature side of the subconscious because she was just in the background making wise comments towards the situation at hand and smoking a cigarette, which symbolized the feminist movement. Finally, Bridget represented the scared, drunk, useless side of the subconscious because he exclusively drank and barely contributed to whichever situation they were in, and if he did they weren’t the most intelligent remarks. 

The party favors given out to the guests by the host, mini coffins filled with an individual handgun, signified fears around suicide as well as war. Specifically, in the scene after Annabelle is ‘murdered’ and each character separates into their rooms armed with their guns for protection. This symbolized fears around war, as well as obtaining the individual ‘identities’ of the psyche, each character representing their individual identity. The rumors of what happened in the house prior to the guests arriving also symbolized fears prominent in the 50’s as well as further validated the representation of the house as the psyche. First, the rumor of the host only being able to recover each part of the decaying bodies except the head, symbolized fears around losing control over our psyche as well as the undead, because the logic part of their bodies were undiscovered and could possibly come back to haunt them. Second, the remaining blood dripping from the ceiling due to a little girl’s murder represents fears of the dead as well, but also fears of being forgotten after death. The blood continuing to drip was a constant reminder of her life for whomever is standing below. Finally, the acid bath represented fears around nuclear war, modern science/ technology as well as the undead, specifically when the skeleton comes back to life and pushes Annabelle into the acid bath. There were also many gender role references that symbolized the anxieties around the transformation of roles throughout the years. For example, when Annabelle’s ghost is outside of Nora’s window, she is very angelic looking and very sexualized for being a ‘ghost.’ Also, her entire relationship with her husband leaves the ‘damsel in distress’ era and moves into realms of gender equality and dominance. Overall, the House on Haunted Hill, is clearly embedded with symbolism representing the fears and anxieties prominent in the 1950’s.                

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Blog #15- Horror & Freaks

In the 1932 film, Freaks, many anxieties and fears regarding the time period were represented through the unique, hand-selected characters. For example, the male midget, Hans, represented fears around male superiority and masculinity, specifically in the scene when Hans is rubbing Cleopatra's shoulders in front of the ‘normal’ men and Hans is mocked at. Hans also says to Rita in the beginning of the film, “Big people don’t realize I am still a man.” The half-woman/half-man represented fears of sexual orientation as well as “socially correct” domestic violence. An example of the way the fears of sexual orientation were represented in the film was when one of the other ‘freaks’ said to the half-man/half-woman character as a heterosexual man was passing by checking ‘her’ out, “I think she likes you, but he don’t.” This implied that the man was interested and attracted to the female aspects of that character rather than the male aspects, and this represented the fears around men admitting their true sexuality in the 1930′s. This character also symbolized fears around domestic violence in the scene where the character was punched in the face and it was justified because the character is half-male. The bearded lady also represented fears of sexuality. The conjoined twins symbolized the fears of two sides of the psyche as well as losing control of individuality, specifically in the scene with the couple prior to marriage kissing, and the sister can feel the touch through her sister and the aspect of the sister never leaving the couple’s marriage due to the conformity. The scene in which Cleopatra gives Hans medicine symbolized fears around the doctor and patient relationship regarding trust and science’s method of curing diseases. The most prominent fear represented throughout the entire film however, was the fear of becoming the ‘other.’ When the Freaks welcome Cleopatra as one of them, she was completely repulsed and called them ‘freaks’ and ridiculed them for their gesture. As a result, Cleopatra mysteriously turns into a freak herself, a chicken-type human/bird, and this represented fears around curses, as well as the fear of suddenly becoming an outcast and no longer being socially accepted.

Some of the reasons in which circuses can play a role in horror during this time as well as in the film, Freaks, are that circuses (specifically Freak shows) exploited people for their differences for little to nothing in return, feelings of the uncanny due to the disfigurement of their bodies, and the psychological effects it had on the people that were in the freak shows. In the 1930’s people of lower class and minorities were not socially accepted and therefore not given equal opportunities as well as often taken advantage of. “Dismembered limbs, a severed head, a hand cut off at the wrist… all of these have something peculiarly uncanny about them,’ Freud wrote, adding that ‘this kind of uncanniness springs from it’s proximity to the castration complex.” There were also thousands of injured soldiers returning from war that society shut out and as a result soldiers had to repress their emotions towards the events they experienced during the war and these repressed feelings were expressed through a medium of cinema and Gothic art. Many aspects contributed to the fears and anxieties people had during the 1930’s and these fears often projected themselves through Gothic films, literature and art. 

Source- 

Skal, David J. The Monster Show: a Cultural History of Horror. Faber and Faber, 2001.        

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Blog Post #14- The Magicians Universe

The way humans, specifically magicians, define magic, the universe, and God are closely interrelated and clearly explained in the passage, “The Black Arts” by Richard Cavendish. Magicians view the world as a well thought design or a well oiled machine, all the parts working together and connected in a certain way. “Human beings are wholes of this kind. A man is made of many different things- his appearance, his mental and spiritual characteristics, his moods, his humour, his different ways of expressing himself at different times and different circumstances -but these are all linked together into one organism with one underlying personality. In magic the universe is a human organism on a colossal scale.” “The universe is a gigantic human organism and man is a tiny image of it.” (Cavendish, 1974). When looking at the universe, magic, and God in this lens, it gives meaning and light to the experiences of the ‘complete man’, the term life-force, the human imagination, and brings into question the views occultists have on such topics. Magicians, astrologists, and numerologists believe in the life-force and great moving forces because they believe things such as the current of the sea and the sun are vital to our existence. “The life-force is called the force of the sun, because the sun’s light and heat are necessary for the existence of all life on earth.” (Cavendish, 1974). The way the magicians master these forces are quite simile, yet still just as amazing, as they just experience them and take them in for all that they are worth. They achieve this by channeling their impulses and utilizing their imagination. A section in this passage that I found interesting and that I related to Freud's theory, ‘The Uncanny’, as well as our previous unit around zombies, discussed our instinctive fears as humans of the supernatural. “The fear of something which lies in wait and pounces has a particularly long-lasting hold on humanity.” (Cavendish, 1974). Similar to the tides of the ocean, the magical universe brings up the ‘black currents’ which contain ‘evil intelligences’ that are considered ‘waste products of the universal organism.’ “This is a development of the belief held by many primitive peoples that diseases are evil spirits.” (Cavendish, 1974). I thought this was very interesting due to the connections I found to the fears people have today regarding disease and that same fear is portrayed through the zombie in a cinematic way, while the same fear around disease is portrayed in magic as well. There is a certain stigma around magic and the supernatural that is negatively embedded into humanity, and is certainly widely misunderstood and misrepresented in modern society. The aspect of this passage that I found the most fascinating however, was the portion discussing a ‘system of correspondences’. Although the system is very detailed, the most important aspect of the set is the links between plants, metals and colours. For example, red is connected to Mars, blue is connected to Jupiter, copper is the metal of Venus, and white and silver belong to the moon. “These correspondences are vitally important in magic because magicians use them in their attempts to control the great occult forces.” (Cavendish, 1974). The magicians occult is a very complicated and detailed concept however, the more knowledge I can gain on the subject, as well as others, the further my understanding on it will be.                        

Source-

Cavendish, Richard. The Black Arts. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1974.  

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Essay #2- The Evolutionary Representation of the Zombie

During this course, we have examined the origins of characters such as vampires, zombies, ghosts, and witches, and how they have been stereotyped, as well as the evolution of their representation throughout history. The common theme between each of these characters was that their origin was created based on the fears and anxieties of the people of that time. Fears regarding social class, gender and racial equality, as well as political and historical events influenced not only the way these figures were portrayed back then, but also the way they are perceived today.

The most remarkable character’s evolution of the way these figures have been represented throughout history, is the zombie. The concept of the zombie originated in Haiti within the Vodou religion, a religion widely misunderstood. Due to this misconception of the religion, zombies also are often misunderstood however, they are not commonly associated with the Vodou religion. This is most likely because the picture of the zombie illustrated in the Western mind differs greatly from a mind living during the 1950’s. The image often associated with zombies today is of an extremely gory, bloody, plagued, half-alive ‘human’ being. In contrast, the image of zombies portrayed during the 1950’s-1960’s was far less bloody and seen more as a psychological illness. This ‘illness’ however, was not due to a virus or a disease, it actually stemmed from a dark portion of U.S. history, racism and slavery. Zombies, racism, and slavery all intertwine because zombies represented the fears and anxieties of people during the time of slavery and open racism. In the essay, “Race, Colonialism, and the Evolution of the Zombie”, it explains the five aspects that the academic world has knowledge about when it comes to zombies. “One, that the zombies began as something associated with Haiti, and further with a religion the West once called Voodoo and now in an age of greater cultural tolerance, calls Vodou. Two, that as a result of this, the zombie is best understood in the postcolonial mode, and says as much about ‘Western’ fears as it does about any Haitian reality.” (Rushton, 2011). This is a compelling statement because, as a result of the greater understanding people have built for diversity, the zombie is best understood in postcolonial times and, therefore, the zombie has transformed throughout the decades.

The 1932 film, “White Zombie”, was the first to introduce the concept of zombies and starred an evil vodou priest in Haiti who zombified a multitude of women. The connection between zombies, slavery, as well as racism was clearly illustrated throughout the film. For example, the black carriage driver allowed one of the zombies wondering around the street to get dangerously close to the couple riding in the carriage. The couple preceded to yell at the carriage driver for ‘almost getting them killed.’ The driver explained to the couple that there was a difference between ‘getting killed and getting captured around there.’ I found this statement to be compelling due to it’s connection to slavery, racism and discrimination. When slaves were captured from their indigenous countries to be sold, they were no longer considered or treated as humans, and in a way that human part of themselves died. Slaves were not physically murdered, they were captured and this simple reference in the “White Zombie” film truly illustrated this concept. Another example in the film that represented slavery and racism in the form of a zombie was in the scene where the black zombies are working in the sugar cane factory. The men walked around as if they were on auto-pilot and as if they had no soul. At one point, a worker fell into the machine and nobody bat an eye, let alone cared that one of their workers just died in front of them. This represents the disrespect and cruelty towards the black population that was socially acceptable during that time. The reason this is so shocking to us currently is because in 2018, we no longer openly discriminate against race, gender, sexuality, and as a result when we see such acts, even illustrated in films, it can be quite shocking. The cinematic references to zombies we have currently are television shows such as “The Walking Dead”, and “iZombie”. These shows illustrate zombies based on today’s fears of plague and sickness, political hierarchy, and losing loved ones.        

Another cinematic film that challenged the perspectives towards racism and its connection to zombies, was the 1968 film, “The Night of the Living Dead.” In this film, the way that the black main character, Ben, was represented was the first of its kind during the 1960’s. Ben was portrayed as being very wise, knowledgeable, and a hero, a figure that was not associated with the black population during that time. This was the start to the positive evolution of people’s perspective towards the black population, in contrast to the times of slavery where this perception of inferiority justified cruel and brutal actions of their plantation owners. In the excerpt, “Guess Who is Going to be Dinner,” Bruce states, “The Night of the Living Dead gives full vent to the anxieties permeating late-60’s American culture, offering a dark, cynical, anti-Hollywood look at ‘ordinary’ Americans and engaging race-based expectations without offering the panacea of a Poitier- like hero or readily identifiable and, therefore, containable black stereotypes.” (Bruce, 2011). Not only is the fear of racial equality presented in this film, but also the fears of gender equality and political fears including assassinations and nuclear radiation. The fears of gender equality were symbolized through Barbara’s character because she embodied the ‘hysterical’ and ‘erratic’ woman that was stigmatized during the 1960’s and contributed to the lack of women’s rights. The fear of nuclear radiation and attack was symbolized through the sound of explosions during radio announcements. The fear of assassinations most likely stemmed from the assassination of president John F. Kennedy which occurred in 1963, only five years prior to the release of the film “Night of the Living Dead”. This fear of assassination was represented in the film through the character’s casual use as well as misuse of weapons due to the false perception of inferiority authority had during the 1960’s. Symbolism plays a huge role in the way perspectives on topics or people are formed. For example, American society has put symbolism behind the colors, black and white. White often symbolizes angelic, innocence, purity and perfection. The color black often symbolizes death, decay, evil and darkness. When this perspective is applied to the zombie culture, it reveals the truths about the Master Narrative and Western beliefs surrounding the Gothic culture by the fact that white skinned zombies are viewed as ‘innocent’, even though they are still flesh-eating zombies, while black skinned zombies are viewed as actual ‘monsters.’  

The depiction of zombies during the time of their origin not only connects to the fear of racial, social, and gender equality, but the fear of the undead and the uncanny as well. Freuds theory, “The Uncanny”, states that to experience the emotional state of being uncanny, things that were meant to be hidden, suppressed, and secretive are brought to light. Once humans have deceased, we are buried or cremated and essentially hidden either underground or in a dark urn, so our spirits are not brought back to light. Zombies embody the uncanny because they come back to life after death, but without the natural human ability to reason and maintain control over the psyche. This concept of zombies gives people an uncanny feeling because our greatest fear as humans is to lose control over our psyche. In the excerpt, “Putting the Undead to Work”, Inglis states, “Most representations of zombies occur in the realms of popular fiction. But what happens when the undead escape from the confines of popular culture and enter realms where their presence is regarded as the unwanted intrusion and uncanny intervention?” (Inglis, 2011).  The chapter proceeds to go into detail on the academic connection to zombies as well as discussing aspects of the film, “The Night of the Living Dead”. This piece of literature aids in supporting the evolution of the representation of zombies and the fears associated with them throughout the decades. “Thus the Haitian fear is not of zombies, which is the Euro-American disposition. Rather, the anthropological record is replete with cases of Haitians taking in and caring for people they believe to be zombified relatives. The fear is instead of becoming a zombie, deprived of all free will and enslaved to a powerful, predatory master. Clearly this fear harks back in certain ways to the brutal conditions of plantation life during the colonial period.” (Inglis, 2011). This excerpt exemplifies the misconception of the origin of zombies and the Haitian culture, as well as the connection to the fear of slavery associated with zombies. Even in today’s modern society, public school teachings are remise of historical information on slavery, the epitome of the uncanny, which further deepens the hidden aspect of racial inequality.      

Although symbolism played a huge role on the evolution of how vampires, witches, and ghosts have all been defined, the zombie has by far had the greatest transformation. From the first time the concept was created depicting a controversial topic such as slavery in 1938, to currently in 2018, where zombies are almost exclusively viewed cinematically or through popular fiction for entertainment purposes.

 Sources:

Bruce, Barbara S. “Guess Who’s Going to Be Dinner: Sidney Poitier, Black Militancy, and the Ambivalence of Race in Romero’s Night of the Living Dead.” Race, Oppression, and the Zombie: Essays on Cross-Cultural Appropriations of the Caribbean Tradition, McFarland & Co., 2011. 60-76.

Halperin, Victor, director. White Zombie. A Halperin Production, 1932.

Inglis, David. “Putting the Undead to Work: Wade Davis, Haitian Vodou and the Social Uses of the Zombie.” Race, Oppression, and the Zombie: Essays on Cross-Cultural Appropriations of the Caribbean Tradition, McFarland & Co., 2011. 42-59.

Moreman, Christopher M., and Cory James Rushton. “Race, Colonialism and the Evolution of the Zombie.” Race, Oppression, and the Zombie: Essays on Cross-Cultural Appropriations of the Caribbean Tradition. McFarland & Co., 2011. 1-12.

Russo, John. Night of the Living Dead. Continental Distributing, Inc., 1968. 

Images:

https://vr-world.com/night-of-the-living-dead-virtual-reality-erfahrung-2018/

https://zamonthly.org/2014/05/27/film-review-white-zombie-1932/

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-haitian-slave-culture-gave-life-to-zombies

Additional Links:

http://horrornews.net/12624/film-review-white-zombie-1932/

https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/night-of-the-living-dead

https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1602&context=clcweb

https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/02/17/guest-post-on-the-origin-of-zombies/

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Blog #13- Magic and Ritual & Radical Faeries and the Growth of Men’s Spirituality

The image of witches illustrated through the Western eye is often associated with women flying on broomsticks, evil spirits, and supernatural curses. The excerpt, “Radical Faeries and the Growth of Men’s Spirituality”, dives into Neo-Pagan roles males possessed and the chronological spiritual growth of males during the late 1970′s and early 1980′s. Sexuality played a big role in the way men were defined during that time due to, as Alder states, the “connection with the feminist critique of patriarchal notions of religion and authority, and with the attempt of both gay and straight men to create a new definition of maleness.” (Alder, 355).  Men in the Neo-Pagan religion questioned their roles during the early 1980′s because of the strong women’s spirituality movement, so they were unsure of how to have a movement of their own to release some oppression. Many viewpoints are discussed in this excerpt however, it is clear that although the festivals, chants, and celebrations were often “gender equal”, there was still an aspect of creating a dominating gender while on the journey of discovering their own personal spirituality. “But in Peter’s view, society’s violence begins at the place where creativity and self-expression is controlled. ‘In our system of male dominance,’ he told me, ‘there is an unexpressed contract that says: ‘It is safer to control energy than it is to experience energy. In our society men are the ‘control’ referents, and the women the ‘experience’ referents.’ On the most superficial level this would mean: ‘Women are feeling people. Women must be controlled.’ But on a subtler level Peter believes that this system exists within every human being. We tend to control our experiences, instead of participating in them and acting from them.” (Alder, 362). I find this section very compelling because of the aspects of our class discussion during the paranormal unit, as we discussed how we tend to control our experiences rather than participate in them when we go to a haunted location. I think this reveals our fears and anxieties about the world when we do this because it shows what we are willing to control and face and what we are not. The excerpt from Drawing Down the Moon, Magic and Ritual, focused on discussing the responses and the evolution of meaning people have to the terms associated to the Paganism religion, as well as the art inspired and scientific approach Neo-Pagans link with magic. Rather than the supernatural approach to magic that has been stereotyped around witches and their culture, we have discovered throughout our multitude of readings that the reality of their religion is science, philosophical, and art based. “Just as Neo-Pagans and Witches define magic in a pragmatic way, the trappings surrounding Witchcraft and other magical systems can also be understood without mystification. Chants, spells, dancing around a fire, burning candles, the smoke and the smell of incense, are all means to awaken the ‘deep mind’ -- to arouse high emotions, enforce concentration, and facilitate entry into an altered state.” (Alder, 160). Many aspects of the Pagan and Wicca religion are deeply misunderstood through the Western eye due to gender, social, and political stigmas that have been associated with the people that practice these religions.    

Source- 

Adler, Margot. Drawing Down the Moon. Penguin Group, 1979.

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Blog #12- Paganism and Witches

Throughout this course, the common theme to each concept we have studied has been the creation of stereotypes based on the social, political, and economic fears of the people during the time in which these concepts began. The idea of witches that Western society has formed, simply does not exist and has never existed in reality. Crooked nosed, ugly, middle-aged woman hovering over a bubbling pot of evil green slime, and grasping onto a giant book filled with rhymed curses and a magic wand, truly only occurs in fairy tales. The reality of ‘witches’, ‘magic’, and ‘paganism’, is much less complicated and clearly misunderstood by many people today. Unlike the Western generated stereotype around evil witches, Alder states, “They share the goal of living in harmony with nature and tend to view humanity’s ‘advancement’ and separation from nature as the prime source of alienation. They see ritual as a tool to end that alienation.” (Alder, 4). When most people think of a ‘ritual’, what often is illustrated in their minds is a either a Native American Tribe performing a sacrifice or some type of Voodoo ritual, both of which are indeed stereotypical. In this case, a ritual performed by witches is done by connecting with nature and it allows them to align with themselves rather than the ordinary world’s distractions. “... They are able to detach themselves from many of the trends of the day, maintaining a sense of humor, a gentle anarchism, and a remarkable tolerance of diversity.” (Alder, 5). The Neo-Pagan or Wicca religion are just that, a religion. Alder defines a religion as, “any set of symbolic forms and acts that relate human beings to ultimate conditions of existence, cosmic questions and universal concerns.” (Alder, 11). However, Western society only associates the word ‘religion’ with the beliefs or religions they understand and or know of, such as Christianity. Since most people have a misunderstanding of witches and associate them with evil, they often don’t associate witches with their true meaning, a religious practice. The main reason stereotypes around witches, zombies, vampires and other concepts around the Gothic remain today, is due to the negative associations with the words that make up these concepts. For example, in the text, Alder refers to the definitions formed from the words; magic, witches, pagan, and witchcraft. The magic definition stood out to me the most because of the example Alder provided about the Colorado farmers and the perception change the volunteers had, (over catching the fish), which resulted in catching more fish but more importantly, proved their definition of magic. “Magic,’ he said, ‘is simply the art of getting results.” (Alder, 7). Unlike the stereotypical definition of magic, the magic this ‘religion’ refers to has nothing to do with the supernatural at all. In fact Alder states, “It involved an understanding of psychological and environmental processes; it was a kind of shamanism, a knowledge of how emotion and concentration can be directed naturally to effect changes in consciousness that affect the behavior of (in this case) humans and fish.” (Alder, 8). Many people raised in Western society have a misunderstanding around witches as well as their culture, which has lead to the creation stereotypes, and has further deepened the misunderstanding around witches and paganism.               

Source-

Adler, Margot. Drawing Down the Moon. Penguin Group, 1979.

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Blog #11- Night of the Living Dead

Prior to reading and analyzing “Guess Who’s Going to Dinner,” and watching the film, “The Night of the Living Dead”, I can detect several aspects throughout both the film and text symbolizing the time periods’ fears of gender and race equality, as well as nuclear radiation and assassinations. The way that the main character, Ben, was portrayed was the first of it’s kind in a film during the 1960′s. “He was ‘the first black actor to achieve and maintain true star status within the industry.’” (Bruce, pg. 60). During the film, Ben is seen as a hero as well as very wise and knowledgeable. This shows the evolution of perspective people of that time period had towards the black race. Throughout the time period of slavery, many people believed that black people were unintelligent and inferior to whites, which justified many of the cruel and brutal actions of their plantation owners.  Another aspect of symbolism in the film that stood out to me was the gender inequality by the way women were portrayed during the 60′s. In the film, Barbara is the best example of a female character in the 60′s because after her brother is captured by the zombies, she is so emotionally ‘hysterical’ that she is a damsel in distress and completely useless to Ben while they are in the house together. It reminded me of our conversation in class because this is the epitome of the way women of that time period were viewed. Similar to the view on blacks during the time of slavery, this view also justified women’s non-existent rights and the way they were mistreated back then, and continuously are mistreated even today. A compelling statement that I found interesting in the film, “The Night of the Living Dead”, was the reference made by the man broadcasting the news on the radio. This was that zombies are referred to as  assassins, murders and cannibals. I find this interesting because today, zombies are viewed more as plagued, humans of the undead, rather than their actions being murderess and cannibalistic. This speaks to the fears and anxieties people had during that time towards racism, slavery, JFK’s assassination, and the fear of no longer upholding the superiority of the white population. During the film, The White Zombie, I found a compelling connection between slavery and zombies. Prior to the carriage driver getting yelled at by the newly wed couple for almost getting them killed by a zombie, the African American carriage driver said to the couple that there was a difference between getting killed and getting captured by the zombies. I think that this relates to slavery because when slaves were captured and then sold, they were no longer treated as humans, and in a way that part of themselves died. Slaves weren’t physically killed, they were captured, similar to the reference in this film towards zombies. Overall, both the text and the film support fears towards gender and racial equality, nuclear radiation and assassinations during the late 1960′s. “The Night of the Living Dead gives full vent to the anxieties permeating late-60′s American culture, offering a dark, cynical, anti-Hollywood look at ‘ordinary’ Americans and engaging race-based expectations without offering the panacea of a Poitier- like hero or readily identifiable and, therefore, containable black stereotypes.” (Bruce, pg. 61)  

Source-    

Bruce, Barbara S. “Guess Who’s Going to Be Dinner: Sidney Poitier, Black Militancy, and the Ambivalence of Race in Romero’s Night of the Living Dead.” Race, Oppression and the Zombie: Essays on Cross-Cultural Appropriations of the Caribbean Tradition 2011. 60–76.                                   

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Blog #10- Zombies

Upon reading the article, “Race, Colonialism, and the Evolution of the Zombie,” I have learned many things about zombies that I wouldn’t have known in the past. First, the idea of zombies has been recognized in the past as being widely ignored by critics of horror however, the topic is not universally ignored academically. The second fact on zombie culture that I was unaware of, was that the concept of zombies stems from the religion Vodou. The problem with this origin is that many Americans have a misconception of the religion, many believing it is based around setting curses and living with an evil spirit, when in reality it is yet another typical religious belief system. The point that the article made that stood out to me was the statement that zombies reveal as much about ‘Western’ fears as it does about Haitian reality. I think this is powerful because our misconception of zombies reveals the ‘white and western’ fears more than it does the authentic truth of the Vodou religion. Many of us put a stigma around the religion, and in return put a stigma on the belief of zombies as well. When we put stigma’s around certain topics or simply just don’t understand them, especially topics which question our morals and self-beliefs, we tend to exaggerate them in our minds sometimes as a result. With a topic such as zombies, it already questions our morals and values because zombies are the epitome of the undead and the uncanny. Zombies are the dead coming to life and the thought of losing control of our psyche, especially after death, is a concept humans have a hard time grasping onto. “Thus it takes us to the ‘other side’- alienation, death, and what is worse than death: the state of being undead.” (Webb and Byrnand, 2008, pg.83) This misconception of zombies also reveals American anxieties towards the representation of an African American zombie. American society has created meaning to the colors, black and white. White symbolizes innocence, purity and perfection while black symbolizes death, decay and evil. When you apply this perspective to the zombie culture, it reveals that white zombies are viewed more as ‘pure and innocent’ (even though they are still eating people) while black zombies are viewed more as ‘evil monsters.’ I find this revelation compelling due to things we have learned previously about the Master Narrative and the Western beliefs in the Gothic genres.

Source- 

Moreman, Christopher M., and Cory James Rushton. Race, Oppression and the Zombie: Essays on Cross-Cultural Appropriations of the Caribbean Tradition. McFarland & Co., 2011.          

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Blog #9- Gender and Vampires

The connection between vampires, race, and gender is very clear. Typically, there is always a dominating white vampire male praying on a defenseless white non-vampire female. This relates back to the Master Narrative as well as stereotypical gender roles we have seen in other genres such as horror films. Stoker’s responses to the new woman in his fiction were often misunderstood however, his reactions were actually quite ambivalent and indecisive. “If it were not for Mina Harker, the reader might conclude that Stoker is a repressed Victorian man with an intense hatred towards woman or at least a pathological aversion to them.” (Senf, pg. 34). As the literature from Dracula later reveals, “Indeed Stokers treatment of women in Dracula does not stem from his hatred of women in general but, as this paper demonstrates, from his ambivalent reaction to a topical phenomenon- the New Woman.” (Senf, pg. 34). The term New Woman emerged between the late 1800′s and early 1900′s when woman began playing a more dominant role in society. They were not necessarily independent professionals, the era of the New Woman stemmed almost exclusively from sex. “When it came to sex the New Woman was more frank and open than her predecessors. She felt free to initiate sexual relationships, to explore alternatives to marriage and motherhood, and to discuss sexual matters such as contraception and venereal diseases.” (Senf, pg. 35). Over a few years, this lead to some more equality between the sexes and enabled women to explore career opportunities, education, and other alternatives to the traditional female roles. In Stokers, Dracula, many traditional gender roles are challenged while others are supported. The aspects of stereotypical gender roles that are supported are; the sense of power males have over women, the fact that women in vampire literature never defend themselves or fight back, and the sexual environment vampire films always seem to create (laying in bed, pulling back her hair and revealing her neck in an overly sexual way). The ways in which Stokers Dracula challenge traditional gender roles are; the fact that the women turn into vampires themselves, they are viewed as wild erotic monsters instead of the typical angels, and like many characters written in literature around that time the character Mina rejects both the forwardness and sexual openness of the New Woman era.  

Source:

Senf, C. A. (January 01, 2004). "Dracula": Stoker's response to the New Woman. Gothic : Critical Concepts in Literary and Cultural Studies. Vol. 3, Nineteenth-Century Gothic: at Home with the Vampire, 331-246.

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Blog #8- Pellagra and The Origin of a Myth

After examining the argument made in the journal article, “Pellagra and the Origin of a Myth”, there is an obvious connection between Dracula, the European folklore, and pellagra regarding the legendary myth of vampires. Although most people are under the impression the myth of vampires started with blood sucking monsters roaming the earth, the more likely origin of the vampires developed from the fear of diseases people between the seventeenth and nineteenth century faced everyday. Pellagra, a nutritional deficiency of niacin and tryptophan, was recognized in 1735. Likely due to the European diet of corn, rye and wheat, this deficiency developed symptoms often associated with common characteristics of the folkloric vampire. Pellagrins had to avoid the outdoors due to their high skin sensitivity to sunlight, didn’t sleep at night, often had pungent breath due to the healing wounds (tongue oedama), and as a result of developing anemia pellagrins were often labeled as ‘the living dead.’ “In addition to dysphagia, circumstances such as poverty, poor hygiene and inadequate cooking methods were probably common among pellagrins, further worsening their disease state.” (Hampl, pg. 637). I think the time period in which the myth of vampires was created had a huge role in the way the legend was illustrated. “Because their understanding of medicine included aspects of magic, eighteenth and nineteenth century villagers used their belief in fables, such as vampires to explain the unknown.” (Hampl, pg. 636). People battling disease, death, and poor living conditions, required an explanation for their hardships. Since their understanding of medicine was often associated with magic and fables, inevitably death was also attached to the meaning in these fables during their creation. I believe the grotesque aspect of vampirism has such as draw because during these centuries people suffering from diseases such as pellagra, were seen as ugly, dark creatures and labeling them as vampires was the most ‘reasonable’ explanation for the tragic diseases and deaths they were causing during that time. 

Hampl, J. S., & Hampl, W. S. (1997). Pellagra and the origin of a myth: evidence from European literature and folklore. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 90(11), 636–639.

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Blog #7- Ghost Adventures & The Lemp Mansion

In Dickley’s story, “The Family That Would Not Live,” the Lemp Mansion is described as an eerie and history filled mansion cursed by the Lemp family, whom committed suicide in the mansion. Unlike Dickley’s perspective, in the episode of Ghost Adventures, the history is only briefly mentioned and the crew’s quest is mostly based on the stories locals recall. Dickley bases his experience and beliefs on a haunted places actual history and the people associated with it, not rumors or tales passed down through the years. By basing their entire investigation on rumors, and not exclusively the history, it gives injustice to the indigenous people as well as the spirits that continue to reside there. Similar to what Dickley explains in the story on technology, the Ghost Adventures crew uses a wide variety of technology to try and capture their paranormal experiences. While viewing the Ghost Adventures episode, I agree with Dickley’s views based on the stance that changing the medium of communication can force spirits to use a different language and in turn we misunderstand the messages the spirits are trying to communicate. Dickley as well as Freud explain why our psyche creates stories or situations in our heads and the show is a perfect example of things being created in our own minds versus them being reality. For example, when Zak said he smelt perfume and then they realized it was just air freshener. I believe that when people visit a well known haunted place, it turns into their own person experience rather than learning about the history and putting yourself into the shoes of the people that resided there once before. This misrepresents the history and creates a false belief system around the paranormal. Although shows like Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters can provide us with some historical information andsome  answers from the spiritual world, they should be used purely for entertainment purposes because they do not dive in enough to the actual paranormal, it is mostly just about the crew.  

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The Manor House, Ken-Caryl, Colorado 

Links:

https://ken-carylranch.org/community-news/history-of-ken-caryl-ranch/kcr-formation/

http://themanorhouse.com/newsite/the-manor-house-history/

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Essay 1: The Manor House

As I contemplated Freud’s theory, “The Uncanny”, a haunted space so spectacular, hidden, deeply rooted in Colorado history, as well as the first place that I experienced a haunting, lends itself perfectly for this essay. Located in Ken-Caryl, Colorado and built in 1914 by John Shaffer, The Manor House was known for hosting marvelous parties for celebrities and presidents in the 1920’s.

John Charles Shaffer, born in June of 1852, was a successful business man and self-made millionaire. In 1874, Shaffer started his career as a grain commission trader and by 1903 Shaffer had purchased his own railway, a car line company, as well as the Chicago Post, Rocky Mountain News, Denver Post and Denver Republic Newspapers. By 1924, he was successful in raising and selling the first Hereford cattle in Colorado. John’s wife Virginia, born in 1850, was a former teacher and published author. While John was more politically involved, Virginia was primarily interested in the arts, such as music and literature. The couple had two children, Kent and Carroll, whom both grew up to be successful in music. While John was visiting his son in Denver in 1914, he purchased the first of the 3,660 acres of land for $100,000 in hopes of bringing and raising cattle. John and Virginia named the area Ken-Caryl, as the name remains today, after their two sons. Built on the top of the highest hill to attract colonial millionaires for the summer, the first and largest building was originally named the Ken-Caryl Ranch and was later changed to The Manor House. The Manor House that still stands today as John Shaffer designed it, is 8,200 square feet and includes 20 rooms in total, six bathrooms, an 80-foot-long living room and fireplaces at both the west and east sides of the building. The 28,000 acres of land that surrounded the property was used for the Hereford cattle ranch between 1914 and 1924. John built sixteen separate buildings neighboring the Manor House between 1914 and 1917 to house him and his wife, his children and their families. However today, only the Manor House and Kent’s House still stand. Shaffer had also built a log chalet to house servants, but it burned down soon after being built and only a chimney remains as a historical landmark known as “Little Johns Cabin.” The architecture created by John reinforced the upper-class culture and morals of that time through the outside through the white paint used on the house, white symbolizing purity and class. The placement of the building on top of the highest hill looking down upon middle class citizens reinforced the perception of power by virtue of its location. The inside of the mansion reinforces the culture as well through the old photos hung on the walls, the original wooden tables and mahogany floors, the original fireplaces and furniture and simply how big the mansion is. John maintained a social life with plenty of friends that were famous who stayed as house guests at the Manor House, as well as spent considerable time with the Shaffer family; these included Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. John Shaffer, a strict prohibitionist and highly against smoking, was known to throw immaculate parties for celebrities, movie starts and presidents. Unfortunately, during the Great Depression of the 1930’s, the Shaffer family lost ownership of their property and cattle. Between 1938 and 1990, the property was bought and sold by seven different people and remains today as a wedding and events center. During the many changes in ownership, it revealed The Manor House’s one glaring dark secret within the property, the ghost of Virginia Shaffer. Her ghost is rumored to be the most prevalent upstairs in her bedroom as well as downstairs in the basement. Although not many ghost stories of Virginia are reported online, I can account first-hand the experience I had with her ghost.

In 2008, I was eleven years old and my sister was fifteen. She was dating an eighteen-year-old guy named Nick, that grew up in the Ken-Caryl area and formerly worked in The Manor House. He was familiar with its haunted history based on his own experiences. My sister had gone once before with Nick and told me that she had been drawn towards the upstairs of the house and believed a woman spirit was trying to communicate with her. On a summer afternoon, my sister and I decided to drive with Nick to The Manor House to explore the inside, as he was given permission to come back to visit. While walking through each of the rooms, the feeling of history, elegance and class was overwhelming. I felt as if I was transported to the 1900’s and could see the love and passion of the Shaffer home through the lens of the family’s eyes. I felt the devastation of losing everything they owned during the Great Depression through the wooden floors I stood on. The walls adorned with historical portraits and photos further gave the impression of the nostalgic era and uncanny feelings. As soon as we descended into the basement, my entire body was covered in goosebumps and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Documenting our adventure, my sister snapped a photo on her old polaroid camera at the same time I felt a cold hand grab onto my arm. Since this was the very first time I had ever experienced something paranormal, I shrieked and ran to my sister in a panic to explain to her what had happened. We immediately looked at the photo she took and noticed a bright purple orb directly above the same arm that I had felt a cold hand grab me moments before. As an eleven-year-old girl, I was terrified when I made the connection between the feelings I experienced, and the history of the land and I immediately wanted to go home. After that experience, we decided to go back a couple more times to the mansion but each time we tried to go back it was more and more difficult to enter the home, as if it wasn’t meant to be or the spirit of Virginia didn’t want us to come back. My sister continued to feel this attraction towards the house and Virginia’s ghost however, she never truly found closure within herself regarding her strong connection to The Manor House.

 According to Freuds theory, “The Uncanny”, to experience the feeling of being uncanny, things that were meant to be hidden, suppressed and secretive are brought to light. We can only assume that isolated buildings, unexplainable paranormal experiences, and hidden and or dangerous places/things, give people an uncanny or eerie feeling. We use our ability to reason to make sense of the unexplainable paranormal events that occur and as a result can create false or exaugurated answers to the unexplainable experiences. “Uncanny is what one calls everything that was meant to remain secret and hidden and has come to the open.” (Freud, 1919). As humans, we don’t want to feel isolated or hidden so when we are in or around buildings and structures that are, we cannot help but feel unhomely or uncanny. The Manor House, standing isolated, hidden and above middle-class houses, is a fitting example of an uncanny place. We rationalize using our intellect when things unexplainable occur however, it doesn’t eliminate the uncanny feeling we experience after something paranormal happens. We use this rationalization to assure ourselves that we aren’t going insane, since losing control over our psyche is one of our biggest fears as humans, and to find the underlying truth in the situation. “There is no longer any question of ‘intellectual uncertainty’: we now know what we are presented with are not figments of the madmen’s imagination, behind which we, with our superior rationality, can recognize the sober truth- yet this clear knowledge in no way diminishes the impression of the uncanny.” (Freud, 1919)    

As a result of feeling the uncanny first-hand at The Manor House, I can reflect on my past encounters as well as prepare myself for future experiences with the paranormal to differentiate where my psyche created false situations based on the environment and when something truly unexplainable occurred.

Sources:

Deam, Jenny. “Ken-Caryl’s Manor House Back in the Food Business.” The Denver Post, 22 Dec. 2006, https://www.denverpost.com/2006/12/22/ken-caryls-manor-house-back-in-the-food-business/.

Freud, Sigmund. “The Uncanny.” The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XVII (1917-1919): An Infantile Neurosis and Other Works.

“The Shaffers and the Formation of Ken-Caryl Ranch.” Ken-Caryl Ranch, Scientific & Cultural Facilities District, https://ken-carylranch.org/community-news/history-of-ken-caryl-ranch/kcr-formation/.

“The Manor House- Our History.” Manor House, http://themanorhouse.com/newsite/the-manor-house-history/.

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Blog #6- Riverside Cemetery

Established in 1876, Riverside Cemetery is the oldest continuously operating cemetery in Colorado. With over 67,000 bodies buried in these 77-acre grounds, it lends itself as a perfect place for residual energy to remain. Over the summer, my mom and I came to visit it once before, and this experience widely differed from the prior experience. When we visited on a bright summer day, the energy felt at rest and settled, like the spirits there were at peace. When we visited this time on a more gloomy and cloudy day, the energy was much more alive. Black birds flew over the 77-acre grounds the entire time we were there, hovering over the trees directly above where ever we were at in the field. During our time, it felt like a wave of energy that sucked us in like quicksand, making time seem much much slower. We easily spent two hours there and it felt like 15 minutes. It is as if you walk into another dimension of time, since it is such a historical landmark, it holds energy and memories from over a hundred years ago that you can directly feel for yourself. Most all of the gravestones are weathered and fading which adds, of course, to the vibe of the cemetery. Many of these gravestones are extremely tall, such as the James Archer statue and the horse, which adds to the overwhelming energy. I think when you look up and see these huge headstones, it makes you feel so small and the energy of that persons life becomes so alive. It is a sneak peak into the past of someone’s life 130+ years ago, yet all we are able to see is the ending, what remains of their death. In a way, I feel that this brings us closer to the emotions we have about our own death and how we will be remembered after we die, and therefore creates more of an attraction to these dark and old cemeteries. It proves to the living that the dead won’t be forgotten. The types of people buried in these grounds greatly differed throughout the cemetery, some were infants, some were pioneers, some were veterans, some were among the first Japanese citizens, and others were entire families. The headstones that resided with me the most were the infant burials because they often are designed to look like a crib and occasionally you will find personal items such as old toys, and let me tell you, those toys look really creepy when they have been rained on for 100+ years. Also, these tombstones resided with me because many of these babies never got a chance at life during this time period, disease was prevalent and modern science was just not present. These emotions help me appreciate the life I have and the time period I was born in. Many points the Freud makes in “The Uncanny” about the feelings we have in these places were proved here during my experience. The more isolated the tombstones were, the more creepy and unsettling they were. I think that is because as humans we don’t usually want to be alone for extreme periods of time including when we die, we want to be buried close to others, preferably family, so that our spirits will always be close together. Among the creepiest one of the isolated tombstones, it simply just said “Mother”, no name, no date, no other gravestone around it. I also think the weather and time of day had an effect on the vibe and energy we felt. During a hot summer day, it was more of an adventure and lighthearted experience versus during a cloudy and gloomy day it felt more like a ghostly walk and an adventure based on research. Nothing physically changed in the cemetery during the six months between our visits, only the weather and our perspective. This proves that we create in our minds, based on the environment, uncanny feelings towards a specific haunted place. The black birds flying over my head combined with the never ending line of tombstones, created a feeling of being trapped. The weathered statues that had dripping bronze and chipped paint created a feeling of neglect and abandonment yet also a feeling of directly being transported into that persons past. Out of the many cemeteries I have visited in Colorado, by far, Riverside Cemetery is the place to go if you are looking for a historical and paranormal adventure of a lifetime. 10/10 recommended.