A Filmmaker's Guide to: The Supernatural

In this chapter of ‘the filmmaker’s guide’ we’re actually going to be learning about literature and film together. I understand that many of you are sitting in university during difficult times and finding it increasingly hard to study and I understand that many of you who are not at university or not planning on it are possibly stuck of what to do, need a break or even need to catch up on learning film before you get to the next level. This guide will be brief but will also contain: new vocabulary, concepts and theories, films to watch and we will be exploring something taboo until now in the ‘filmmaker’s guide’ - academia (abyss opens). Each article will explore a different concept of film, philosophy, literature or bibliography/filmography etc. in order to give you something new to learn each time we see each other. You can use some of the words amongst family and friends to sound clever or you can get back to me (email in bio) and tell me how you’re doing. So, strap in and prepare for the filmmaker’s guide to film studies because it is going to be one wild ride.

The Supernatural

What is it?

The dictionary defines the 'supernatural' as:

"...[a manifestation/event/existence] attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature."

In literature, the supernatural has been explored for many, many years. Reaching a height in the nineteenth century when the interest in seances, life beyond the grave and often even fortune telling peaked because of the rising belief in not only atheism but the rising belief in the dead man walking situation through the use of the 'bell'. If you do not know what the grave bell is then I suggest that you look it up. I think you will be rather terrified.

Literary legends soon took it upon themselves to manifest these supernatural sightings of ghosts etc. and the dead into stories of their own. One of the most famous writers of these stories was the American Author, Edgar Allan Poe. Another one was the British Author, Henry James and then we have the likes of Mary Elizabeth Braddon and the famed M.R James.

But supernatural horrors and ghost stories date back way before the nineteenth century with the likes of William Shakespeare putting his five plays containing prophesying ghosts on the stage: Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Richard III and Henry VI.

What about in film?

In film, the ghost and the supernatural has been very popular ever since the beginning. The way in which the German Expressionists explored folk horror and the supernatural through the being of "The Golem" was obviously, one of the first instances. Then we have the exploration of the vampires in many olden French and German films. But I do not think many of you would have remembered the George Melies film "Haunted Castle" which is the first film containing supernatural events.

Here are some classic movies on the supernatural you can look into:

1. The Haunting
2. Burnt Offerings
3. Castle of Blood
4. Destiny, A Film by Fritz Lang
5. Ghost Story
6. The House on Haunted Hill
7. The Fog
8. The Innocents
9. The Phantom Carriage
10. The Woman in Black

Obviously, I have published many articles in the past on how to create the best hauntings and supernatural experiences in your films. Here are some listed below with links:

"Hauntings and Possessions"

"Fifty Great Ghost Stories"

"The Haunting of Hill House" and My Experience of It Through the Years

I won't be pushy, you may check the rest out for yourself because there are a few.

There are many books to read about depicting ghosts and the supernatural in films, and of course, I did part of my Film and Writing M.A in Horror Films and I really enjoyed writing about things like the gothic, the supernatural and the psychological. I hope you enjoy the exploration into further reading as much as I did some years back.

Further Reading:

• Cavallaro, D. (2005). The Gothic Vision: Three Centuries Of Horror, Terror And Fear. 2nd ed. USA: Continuum.
• Dick, R.A (2014). The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. USA: Vintage Movie Classics
• Glasby, M (2020). The Book of Horror: The Anatomy of Fear in Film. 2nd ed. UK: White Lion Publishing.
• Poole, W.S (2018). Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting. 2nd ed. USA: Baylor University Press.
• Various (2019). Classic Supernatural Stories: (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions). USA: Barnes and Noble.