Books of The Times; How the Grand Guignol Made Fear Popular. Grand Guignol Photos: Madness, Torture and Murder on a Paris Stage. Haunted houses are, of course, an entertainment-industry staple.
Ghosts, ghouls, pirates (why pirates?) And other assorted creatures pop out from closets, hang from ceilings, gibber and moan behind walls. It's all very creepy, loads of fun and, more often than not, one hears as much laughter as screaming from the customers who paid good money for the privilege of being spooked. Occasionally, though, a show that's meant to be scary and shocking really is scary and shocking. Sometimes, when the lights go down, some seriously twisted shenanigans play out on stage. A perfect case in point: the legendary Théâtre du Grand Guignol in Paris' Quartier Pigalle (nicknamed "Pig Alley" by carousing Allied soldiers in World War II). The Monster Show (David Skal 1994)
David J.
Skal, 1994. The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror. London: Plexus. (432 pages) David Skal’s The Monster Show is an extensive research of the cultural aspects which involve the rise and development of the horror movies. Home - MONSTERSHOW.NET. Paul z simons curtains of blood.lt. Théâtre du Grand-Guignol, Paris – location – HORRORPEDIA. THE HORROR! THE FEAR! Or how to kill a woman in 10000 different ways: L.Paulais, Paula Maxa, the Princess of Horror and the world of violent entertainment. Posted by Tanja Jurković on March 18, 2014 in Guest Blog, Tanja Jurkovic tagged with Grand-Guignol, horror, stage performance, theatre, violent entertainment Introducing the prominent French horror theatre in my previous post gave me the opportunity to write about everything connected to the theme of this interesting theatre and its gore representations, as well as the theme of horror in general.
Many enthusiasts brought together around this legendary venue over the years became experts in the field and prepared the foundations for the next generations and the evolution of their talent. One of the most important individuals, when we are talking about the Grand-Guignol, were the actors who brought everyday horrors to life with their exquisite performance on stage. L.Paulais and Paula Maxa marked the genre in theatre in France during the sixty years of existence and work of the Grand-Guignol. Works cited: Pierron, Agnes. Blood Monstrosity and Violent Imagery Grand Guignol the French Theatre of Horror as a Form of Violent Entertainment. Grand Guignol – André de Lorde: At the Telephone (via Gaslight) André de Lorde, born in France in 1871, is the most conspicuous exponent of the Grand Guignol „Thriller“ School of dramatists.
He has, in more than a hundred plays, devoted himself almost exclusively to the exploitation of the theme of terror. André de Latour, comte de Lorde Of these the most famous is Au Téléphone, here translated for the first time into English. Published plays (only English translations noted): The Woman Who Was Acquitted; At the Telephone. SCENE: at the Château de la Chesnaye, and at Rivoire’s home. We're All Guignol: A Look at the Past, Present, and Future of Horror as a Theatrical Art Form - Diabolique Magazine. Throughout the ages, horror and theatre have possessed a relationship unlike any other genre to grace the stage.
Reaching as far back as the Greeks, tales of murder and the macabre have captivated audiences. Many of the most famous and well-known plays historically contain scenes of graphic violence, dismemberment, and death. As time passed, these scenes and plays grew even darker and more graphic. While there have been ebb and flows of horror’s history on stage, it has always returned more vicious than ever. The Tingler is more than just a gimmick. – Every Day Is Movies. 1959’s The Tingler is directed by William Castle, legendary horror movie director and famous for his “gimmicks”.
These were used to add extra flair to his movies in the cinema. Floating skeletons above House on Haunted Hill screenings, for example. Some call his ideas silly. Curtains of Blood: A Peek behind the Phenomena of the Grand Guignol. By Paul Z.
Simons “Eyes wide open! Eyes wide open! Do you not realize how much horror is contained in those three words.” The House of Horrors. 1897, Paris.
Oscar Méténier, a chien de commissaire – one who accompanies prisoners to their deaths - and a writer, buys a chapel in the 9th arrondissement and turns it into a theatre, its purpose being to provide a space for his naturalistic plays. Despite being the smallest arts venue in Paris at the time, it was named ‘le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol’, translated as ‘the Big Puppet Show’, Guignol being the French puppet equivalent to Britain’s Punch. Situated in the rue Chaptal in Montmartre, a street brimming with prostitutes and bohemian artists, Méténier constructed a unique space from the reverted chapel: a shady, dark street leading into a small, highly intimate Gothic-style chapel, with two large, carved angels hanging over the small stage.
Here he would stage his naturalistic plays, the characters of which were largely drawn from the criminal underbelly of Parisian life. Méténier’s productions, including ‘Lui!’ Advertisement. Loiselle Cinema du Grand Guignol. The Grand Guignol: Horror’s Gory Church. Penny Dreadful: How The Grand Guignol Gave Birth to Horror. On last weekend’s Penny Dreadful, the Frankenstein Monster told a sad tale.
The creature was born in agony and fear and abandoned on sight. Left to its own devices. No love. No nurturing. A witness to the cruelties of London’s streets through a window. Mademoiselle Fifi (short story) The officers have been quartered in the chateau for several weeks, and as they are far away from the fighting and do not want to go out due to the endless rain, the officers are desperately bored.
They have been spending their days drinking, gambling, and destroying the chateau's paintings, furniture and other fine objects. After a boring lunch, the aristocratic captain suggest a dinner party, and sends an army transport wagon to the local town to bring back some prostitutes to keep the officers company. In the evening, the party begins, and soon the officers and prostitutes are drunk and in high spirits.
The officer known as Fifi, who has taken a Jewish prostitute called Rachel, starts smashing things and making violent sexual advances on Rachel. The party-goers start telling dirty jokes in bad French and the officers make a variety of slurred speeches praising German military prowess, which makes Rachel increasingly angry. Poisonous Pens: Belle Époque Media Culture. Le Journal publie La Nymphomane (1892). Source: Gallica/BnF By the end of the nineteenth century most newspapers published feuilletons. Immensely popular and widely advertised, these serial novels were a major tool to bind readers to a paper.
Many famous French authors pre-published their novels as serials, but even more feuilletons were written by authors who did not quite make the literary canon. In the first ever issue of newspaper Le Journal on 28 September 1892 we find the first instalment of the serial novel La Nymphomane. Oscar Méténier But this socio-political message might have been lost at times in the way his novels were advertised in newspapers. For another lively example of how newspapers advertised their serial novels also take a look here for a poster by Jules Chéret advertising Méténier’s Zézette. Like this: Like Loading... Oscar Méténier. Life[edit] Le Rat Mort - Jane Avril of the Moulin Rouge. En Cabinet Particulier (1899) According to the Guide des Plaisirs à Paris for 1900, the Rat Mort, situated in the place Pigalle, owed its unpleasant name to "a rat which was punished by death for having disturbed a pair of clients who were enjoying a very private conversation in a very private dining room.
" Quite how this unfortunate rat met its end or indeed what it was disturbing (I suspect a little more than a conversation) I know not but I do like the story. This particular picture (above) by Toulouse-Lautrec in 1899 called En Cabinet Particulier (1899) shows one of these tête-à-tête suppers at the Rat Mort. An Historian Goes to the Movies. The Showtime series Penny Dreadful, set in London in the early 1890s focuses on the occult underworld of the late Victorian period, using a variety of characters inspired by and in some cases directly taken from 19th century literature. Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton), Vanessa Ives (Eva Green), and Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) are searching for Mina Murray, who would under other circumstances be the Mina Harker lusted after by Dracula. Meanwhile, Victor Frankenstein (Henry Treadaway) pursues his quest to master the secrets of life and death, while his first creation, here called Caliban (Rory Kinnear), takes work as a stage hand at the Grand Guignol Theater in London, while Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney) carries on his decadent life with prostitutes, libertines, and kinksters.
As the show depicts it, the Grand Guignol Theater stages plays of graphic violence that attract a London crowd eager for horror. The Terror Trap: The Ladies of the Grand Guignol. Beginning in the early 1960s, a unique cinematic trend was born. Critically acclaimed, older actresses began to find work in horror movies. No longer qualifying as the leading lady type in mainstream films, these veteran actresses turned to fright flicks - and discovered an entirely new audience anxious to embrace them.
Grand Guignol Horror Movies.