Real Places Behind Famously Frightening Stories
Light your pumpkin and read about the real places behind some of the world’s classic spooky tales
- By Robin T. Reid
- Smithsonian.com, October 16, 2009
(Gary Eastwood Photography / Alamy)
Menabilly, England
“Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderly again.” And so begins Daphne du Maurier’s Gothic romance about a young bride trying to live in a home possessed by the spirit of her husband’s first wife.
Manderly was largely based on Menabilly, an Elizabethan-era manor the English writer first saw in the 1920s when she trespassed on its grounds near the Cornish coast. Two decades later, du Maurier--flush with the proceeds from the bestselling novel--was able to rent Menabilly. She lived there with her family until 1969.
The manor house is not open to the public. However, the owners rent out two cottages on the grounds as holiday rentals. The beach around Polridmouth Bay--where Rebecca deWinter’s wrecked sailboat washed up--is accessible via a short hike from the village of Fowey.
Fans of the 1940 movie version of “Rebecca” shouldn’t even try to find the baronial estate that features so prominently in the Oscar-winning film. Director Alfred Hitchcock used a model for the exterior shots. He shot the movie in California since England was in the throes of World War II at the time.
Comments (13)
Actually, Sir Charles' body was not mutilated at all. He appeared to have died of fright in the story.
Posted by Angela Potvin on May 1,2013 | 06:31 PM
I would like to tell u that I don't believe in the sleepy hollows because its just a legend maybe it is real that would be great because I love the sleepy hollows that's what I would like to tell u thank you very much
Posted by Brooke on February 19,2013 | 01:37 PM
Hi, I'm Romanian and wanted to tell you that the ruler that inspired Bram Stoker's novel wasn't named Vlad Dracula, but Vlad Ţepeş. Dracul (without the "a") was a nickname he got for being a severe, merciless ruler. It literally means devil or demon. Dracula is just the name that Stoker gave his character, probably after mishearing Vlad's real nickname( Romanian is a very odd and difficult language for foreigners). Vlad used extreme measures against his enemies (like impaling them in huge stakes and leaving their bodies there to rot, as a chilling reminder that he is not to be messed with) and in at least one known instance he called all the court's trusted men and their families to a feast and he slaughtered them,because he got word they were plotting against him. Plus, the pronunciation of Poenari you wrote in brackets, is incorrect.
Posted by Diana on January 30,2013 | 09:17 PM
Doesn't sound as if the person who wrote this piece ever read "Rebecca". Manderly was not possessed. Nice photo of Menabilly though.
Posted by Jamie Curtis on January 27,2013 | 10:34 PM
While everyone was reading "The Exorcist", I was not. I was living on Prospect Street in Georgetown, and the thought of reading that scary book about something that took place just a couple of blocks from my house (even though that was not the real location), was too much. I did eventually read the book, and saw the film crew around Georgetown when the movie was being filmed. It is still the scariest movie I've ever seen, and I have seen it multiple times! The man who was thrown out the window in the book was a friend, not a boyfriend, as I recall. I think the house in the movie was for sale a couple of years ago. Who could actually live in it - although it probably has fantastic views? Such a creepy story!!
Posted by Suzy on December 9,2009 | 12:16 PM
Sprague Mansion in Cranston, R.I., should also be of interest. There have been many sightings there by folks who no nothing about this old estate. There have been sightings of children playing and many other things seen too! Murders have been linked to the people who lived there in the past!
Posted by Melvyn G. Tavares on November 19,2009 | 08:59 PM
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article. Like most people when I heard these stories I would imagine what the places looked like. It was really neat to see some of the places look exactly what I had imagined.
Posted by Tracey on November 12,2009 | 11:51 AM
Although the final exorcisims took place in St. Louis, the boy was posessed and first had signs at his home in the Mt. Ranier neighborhood of Northwest D.C. a few miles north of Georgetown.
Posted by Aysha on November 5,2009 | 01:00 PM
Visitors to Cape Point in South Africa will have to enter the Table Mountain National Park (not the Table Rock NP as stated in your article).It is a fantastic place to visit - and the windswept heights and barren mountains lend an espceially romantic atmosphere to the whole Flying Dutchman story too.
Posted by Caroline Voget on October 30,2009 | 03:15 AM
And the exorcisms actually took place in St. Louis, in a hospital that has since been torn down.
Posted by Miles on October 29,2009 | 06:44 AM
The boyfriend took the first tumble, but Karras throws himself down the stairs, too.
Posted by Sara on October 27,2009 | 11:46 AM
Actually it wasn't father Damien in the film that took the tumble down the steps. It was the boyfriend of the mother. Just thought you should know.
Posted by Nathan Branstetter on October 26,2009 | 12:56 PM
At some point or another every historian becomes interested in the real Dracula, Vlad Tepes. It is interesting here to learn that it is open to visitors. Great article.
Posted by Stacy on October 22,2009 | 02:02 PM