The Haunted Palace
The Haunted Palace is a 1963 horror film released by American International Pictures, starring Vincent Price, Lon Chaney Jr., and Debra Paget in her final film, in a story about a village held in the grip of a dead necromancer. The film was directed by Roger Corman and is often regarded as one in his series of eight films largely based on the works of American author Edgar Allan Poe. Although marketed as Edgar Allan Poes The Haunted Palace, the film actually derives its plot from The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, a novella by H. P. Lovecraft. The title The Haunted Palace is borrowed from a poem by Poe, published in 1839 which was later incorporated into Poes horror short story The Fall of the House of Usher.
One stormy night, a young girl from the town wanders up to the Curwen palace in a trancelike state. She is led by Curwen and his mistress, Hester, down into the dungeons of the palace. The girl is subjected to a strange ritual, in which an unseen creature rises up from a covered pit. The townspeople observe the girl wandering off, and they storm the palace to confront its mysterious owner. Though the girl appears unharmed, the townspeople surmise that she has been bewitched to forget what happened to her when she does not respond to them. They drag Curwen out to a tree where they intend to burn him. The mob leader, Ezra Weeden, insists that they do not harm Curwens mistress Hester to whom Weeden was previously engaged to be married. Before dying, Curwen puts a curse on Arkham and its inhabitants, promising to rise from the grave to take his revenge on the descendants of the five men who burned him Weeden, Micah Smith, Benjamin West, Priam Willet, and Gideon Leach.In 1875, 110 years later, Curwens greatgreatgrandson Charles Dexter Ward and his wife Anne arrive in Arkham after inheriting the palace. They are confused to find the townsfolk hostile towards them, and are particularly disturbed by the horrific deformities that afflict many of Arkhams inhabitants. Charles is surprised by how well he seems to know the palace, and is also struck by his strong resemblance to a portrait of Curwen. He and Anne meet Simon, the peculiar palace caretaker, who persuades them to stay at the palace for a while, and to forget the townspeoples hostility towards them. During their stay, Charles becomes more and more obsessed with the portrait of Curwen, and at times seems to change in his personality. ........
Source: Wikipedia
