This story originally appeared on Giggster and was produced and distributed in partnership with 麻豆原创 Studio.
Where 10 iconic horror movies were filmed
British real estate tycoon Lord Harold Samuel once said, "There are three things that matter in property: location, location, location." The same can be said of movie-making.
Of particular import is the horror movie genre, where the vibe and atmosphere are everything. From the original "Nosferatu" to Jordan Peele's "Get Out," chose 10 of the most iconic horror films over the past 100 years and dug into each production's shooting locations. Across the genre, location managers function like casting agents by treating scenes and landscapes as essential characters in the film. A scene hits differently when it's a spooky old house on a hill ("Psycho") or a dark, seemingly endless staircase ("The Exorcist").
To strike the right chord in horror films, everything from medieval castles to hundreds-year-old taverns have been used while hopscotching casts and crews across the globe to special locations from Slovakia to Alaska.
Continue reading to discover once and for all just important location is in filmmaking and discover where some 10 iconic horror movies were filmed.
Nosferatu (1922)
- Director: F.W. Murnau
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 94 minutes
One of the first widely successful horror movies ever made, 鈥淣osferatu鈥 is a silent German film that directly rips off Bram Stoker鈥檚 鈥淒racula.鈥 Many of the film鈥檚 scenes were shot in L眉beck and Wismar, Germany. Some of the spookier scenes鈥攍ike the ones that depict the interior and exterior of Count Orlok鈥檚 Transylvanian castle鈥攚ere actually filmed at two Slovakian castles: Orava Castle and Starhrad Castle.
Orava Castle was built in the 13th century and remains one of the best-preserved castles in the country. Obviously an important historical landmark, with plenty to teach visitors about life in medieval times, the castle has only grown in popularity since the 1922 movie; visitors can now pay about 8 euros to tour some of the rooms used in the film. Starhrad Castle, on the other hand, is in ruins, having been abandoned sometime in the 18th century. While it鈥檚 still a popular tourist destination, don鈥檛 expect any movie-centric tours should you head to the Pova啪ie region to see it.
Psycho (1960)
- Director: Alfred Hitchcock
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 97
- Runtime: 109 minutes
Now regarded as a horror classic, Paramount Pictures originally saw 鈥淧sycho鈥 as a major risk. While the studio agreed to greenlight the project, only a minuscule budget was allocated. Alfred Hitchcock shot almost all of the film on the Universal Studios lot to stretch the small budget as far as possible.
The Bates鈥 house, downtown Fairvale, and the swamp where Norman disposes of Marion鈥檚 car are all located at various places on the lot. All of the indoor scenes, including the famous shower scene, were shot on Universal鈥檚 Stage 18-A. The only real location from the film that you can visit without taking a Universal Studios tour is the in downtown Pheonix. In the late '50s, the building was the Jefferson Hotel. Hitchcock used it as the location for the illicit lunch date between Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) and her boyfriend Sam Loomis (John Gavin) in the opening scene. These days, the building is a mixed-use apartment and retail space.
The Wicker Man (1973)
- Director: Robin Hardy
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 88 minutes
Cult classic 鈥淭he Wicker Man鈥 is a British film following Neil Howie, a devoutly Christian police sergeant, who's sent to track down a missing girl on the fictionalized Scottish island of Summerisle where residents practice Celtic paganism.
The majority of the movie was shot in Scotland. Filmmakers used 25 separate locations throughout the country, including Old High Street in Kirkcudbright (where Howie begins his search) and the (which was used for interior shots of the Green Man Inn).
The Culzean Castle and Lord Stair鈥檚 Castle were used for exterior and interior shots of the Adam house, respectively, and both are open to the public. Finally, the cave that Howie tracks Rowan to is St. Ninian鈥檚 Cave, located near Whithorn, which has long been a real-life destination for Christian pilgrims.
Suspiria (1977)
- Director: Dario Argento
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 79
- Runtime: 92 minutes
A prestigious German dance academy that serves as a front for a supernatural conspiracy is the backdrop for the action in the Italian horror film 鈥淪uspiria.鈥 Much of the actual filming was done on soundstages at De Paolis Studios in Rome, but the sets are almost exact replicas of real-life locations. The eye-catching red and gold exterior of the dance academy is a reconstruction of the Haus zum Walfisch, the former home of a Renaissance theologian that now houses a bank in real life.
There are a few actual locations fans can visit, including Hofbr盲uhaus, a tavern in Munich that is said to be one of the oldest in the world: Rumor has it Mozart liked to stop by for a drink or two between composing masterpieces. Also, the beautiful Art Nouveau pool where Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) swims with her friends is M眉ller'sche Volksbad, Munich's oldest public indoor pool.
The Shining (1980)
- Director: Stanley Kubrick
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 66
- Runtime: 146 minutes
The ultimate horror classic, 鈥淭he Shining鈥 was shot entirely on soundstages at Elstree Studio in Hertfordshire, England. Despite this, there are three locations fans can visit.
The first is the Timberline Lodge in Mount Hood, Oregon, a cliffside resort that was built in 1937 and serves as the location for all of the movie鈥檚 exterior shots (minus the maze, which doesn鈥檛 exist and was also built on a soundstage). More than 2 million visitors travel to the lodge each year, requesting most often to stay in room 217鈥攖he closest number to the film鈥檚 nonexistent room 237.
The second is the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park, which served as the inspiration for the interior rooms of the Overlook Hotel. Finally, fans can travel to the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, where, after staying for just one night, Stephen King found the inspiration for his bone-chilling novel.
The Thing (1982)
- Director: John Carpenter
- IMDb user rating: 8.1
- Metascore: 57
- Runtime: 109 minutes
Despite not being a low-budget film, 鈥淭he Thing鈥 was shot as though money was tight鈥攍ikely because director John Carpenter was used to operating on a shoestring budget. The sparse number of shooting locations reflects this fact. Several scenes of the extraterrestrial-life movie were shot on Stage 27 at Universal Studios, which was also used in films like 鈥淛urrasic Park鈥 and 鈥淎pollo 13.鈥
A glacier in Alaska was used for establishing outdoor shots, including those that involved the alien鈥檚 ship. And just outside of Stewart, British Columbia, Carpenter built (from scratch) the base camp set that was used for the Norwegian and American camps. Some of the buildings used in the film still exist, and a 鈥攃omplete with members of the cast and crew鈥攊s set for summer 2022.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
- Director: Wes Craven
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 91 minutes
鈥淎 Nightmare on Elm Street鈥 may be set in Springwood, Ohio, but its filming locations are actually scattered around Los Angeles. serves as the backdrop for all of the exterior and some of the interior school scenes; the rest of the interior school scenes were all done at the Lincoln Heights Jail.
The 5th Precinct where Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) visits Rod Lane (Jsu Garcia) is actually the in East Hollywood, which was constructed thanks to a grant from Andrew Carnegie. Thompson鈥檚 home is located at in West Hollywood鈥攚hich sold to a private buyer for $2.98 million in 2022鈥攁nd across the street at 1419 N. Genesee Ave. is Glen鈥檚 house. Finally, the scenes set at the Katja Institute for the Study of Sleep Disorders were actually filmed at the American Jewish University, which recently announced plans to .
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
- Directors: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo S谩nchez
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 81 minutes
The epitome of low-budget horror, 鈥淭he Blair Witch Project鈥 was made for $300,000 over the course of eight days. The vast majority of filming was in Seneca Creek State Park in Montgomery County, Maryland, utilizing the area鈥檚 naturally beautiful and perfectly unsettling landscape.
After the massive success of the 鈥渇ound footage鈥 film, visitors to the park increased by a remarkable amount. The area, attempting to capitalize on its newfound fame, started hosting things like , which tour some of the most iconic locations. The film鈥檚 final scenes were shot at the , a two-story, 19th-century home that was located in Patapsco Valley State Park and abandoned by the mid-20th century. A few years after 鈥淭he Blair Witch Project鈥 was released, the home was declared a 鈥渘uisance and a hazard鈥 by the Department of Natural Resources and demolished.
The Descent (2005)
- Director: Neil Marshall
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 99 minutes
Despite being set in the United States, 鈥淭he Descent鈥 was filmed entirely in the United Kingdom. The outdoor scenes were all shot in Scotland, although details surrounding exactly which cities or counties are vague. All of the cave scenes, on the other hand, were shot on a stage in Pinewood Studios, which is where others sets for films like 鈥淗arry Potter鈥 and 鈥淪tar Wars鈥 were built.
According to the film鈥檚 , the team decided that working in a cave was too dangerous and time-consuming, so the crew made their own instead. Altogether, six 鈥渃aves鈥 were constructed, which could be rearranged in order to give the impression of being in a much larger cave system.
Get Out (2017)
- Director: Jordan Peele
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 104 minutes
Almost all of the action in 鈥淕et Out鈥 takes place in a single-family home in upstate New York. But in reality, the scenes were filmed at two different places: a private home in Fairhope, Alabama, and Barton Academy in Mobile, Alabama. The home is private and therefore closed to the public; but Barton Academy, which served as the set for the basement scenes, can be visited by the public. The building was vacant at the time of filming but has since reopened as a state-of-the-art middle school.