The Haunted Hotel

At a quiet country inn, a weary traveler looks for a restful night only to find the place haunted by a parade of eerie visitors and odd disturbances. From the moment he settles in, lamps flicker, doors slam, and shadowy figures drift through the corridors. The inn seems to come alive with slapstick fright, as furniture yawns, chandeliers swing, and the traveler is dragged into a sequence of comic scares rather than pure terror. What begins as a simple overnight stay becomes a whirlwind of ghoulish pranks and uncanny occurrences, all played for laughs through a clever blend of live action and early animation. The tension never settles, yet the humor keeps the mood light. The encounter lingers in memory.

Directed by J. Stuart Blackton and released in 1907, this short blends live action with early animation to deliver a humorous haunted house experience. A novelty of its time, it showcases Blackton's experiments with moving pictures and frightful comedy techniques.

Box office data for this 1907 short is not reliably documented, as early cinema records were sparse and many releases were shown in limited venues. The film is noted for its role in the evolution of frame by frame effects.

Although tiny by todays standards, The Haunted Hotel sits at a crossroads of film history. Blackton's playful blend of live action with animated disturbances helped popularize hybrid techniques, a precursor to later spooky comedies. Its bold visual tricks influenced many early animators exploring motion and illusion across cinemas evolving language.

Critics of the era welcomed Blackton's inventive humor and brisk pacing, noting the film's clever suspense despite its short length. The story plays with the tension between fear and amusement, using spectral gags to soften scares while showcasing early cinema's potential for playful terror and spectacle that still resonates today.