The Nosferatu Story: The Seminal Horror Film, Its Predecessors and Its Enduring Legacy, 2d ed.

by Rolf Giesen

Overview

Director F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, made in 1921 after the devastating Spanish Flu pandemic, has become the ultimate cult classic among horror film buffs around the world. For years, there was much speculation about the production background, the filmmakers and the star—German actor Max Schreck. This greatly expanded new edition, based upon rare sources and years of dedicated research, tells the complete story of how a group of occultists established a leading film company that would produce a momentous series of horror movies. Along the way, other classic German fantasy silents, such as The Golem, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Metropolis, are discussed. Featured in this edition are photographs, documents and interviews, including one with Dacre Stoker, the great-grandnephew of Dracula author Bram Stoker.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476692227
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	06/23/2025
Pages:	349
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Rolf Giesen, a former visiting professor of animation at the Communication University of China and president of an animation museum in Changchun, China, has compiled a special effects collection for Deutsche Kinemathek in Berlin and has co-written several animation features. He is an expert on early fantasy and science fiction films.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Plane Crash Near Nuremberg
It Came from Max Reinhardt
Paul Wegener and Hanns Heinz Ewers: The Godfathers of German Film Fantasy
“Why Aren’t You Dead?”
The Zombies of Dr. Caligari
Dr. Jekyll and the Cosmic Vampire of War
Creepy Creatures
Casting a Skeletal Monster
Shooting Nosferatu in Kafka’s Castle
Vampire Over Berlin
Backroom Occultism: Frater Pacitius, Aleister Crowley’s Berlin Disciple
Great Plans and Nightly Hallucinations: The End of the ­Ill-Fated Prana Film Company
Satanic Alchemy vs. Dystopian Megalomania
The Twelfth Hour of the Vampyre
The Curse of Antisemitism
How the Golem Came into the World and Fought the Nazis
The Revival of Nosferatu
Christopher Lee vs. Klaus Kinski
Shadow of the Vampire: The Legacy
Interviews
Appendix I: Timeline
Appendix II: Nosferatu Crew and Cast Biographies
The Nosferatu Filmography
Filmography II: The Silent Era of German Expressionist, Fantasy and Alchemical Films
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Reviews of the first edition: “A must-read book...Giesen’s The Nosferatu Story is a much-welcomed addition to the English language literature on this landmark horror movie. Fans of German Expressionism, vampire films, and the history of occult cinema will definitely want to check it out”—AIPT Comics

From the Publisher