Edgar Allan Poe Film Adaptations
by Encyclopedia_of_Horror | created - 26 Jun 2021 | updated - 26 Jun 2021 | PublicA list of horror and suspense film adaptations of the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Note, these are primarily true adaptations of the works and not just inspired by or loosely based. Brought to you by Eric Myford, author of The Encyclopedia of Horror & Suspense Movies book series...
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1. The Raven (1935)
Approved | 61 min | Crime, Horror
A brilliant surgeon with a morbid obsession for instruments of torture grows dangerously obsessed with a young socialite whose life he's saved.
Director: Lew Landers | Stars: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lester Matthews, Irene Ware
Votes: 6,654
2. The Raven (1963)
G | 86 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
A magician, who has been turned into a raven, turns to a former sorcerer for help.
Director: Roger Corman | Stars: Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Hazel Court
Votes: 13,560
3. The Fall of the House of Usher (1928)
Not Rated | 72 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Allan visits the sinister Usher family mansion, where his friend Roderick is painting a portrait of his sickly wife Madeline. The portrait seems to be draining the life out of Madeline, slowly leading to her death.
Director: Jean Epstein | Stars: Jean Debucourt, Marguerite Gance, Charles Lamy, Fournez-Goffard
Votes: 4,504
4. The Fall of the House of Usher (1928)
Unrated | 13 min | Short, Horror
An avant-garde take on Poe's classic story of a traveller taking shelter at a household under a mysterious curse.
Directors: James Sibley Watson, Melville Webber | Stars: Herbert Stern, Hildegarde Watson, Melville Webber, Friedrich Haak
Votes: 1,435
5. The Fall of the House of Usher (1950)
TV-14 | 70 min | Horror
1950. Horror. A traveller arrives at Usher mansion to visit his friend Roderick (Kaye Tendeter) and discovers that Roderick and his sister (Gwen Watford) have been inflicted with a strange disease.
Director: Ivan Barnett | Stars: Gwen Watford, Kaye Tendeter, Irving Steen, Vernon Charles
Votes: 571
6. House of Usher (1960)
Approved | 79 min | Drama, Horror
Upon entering his fiancée's family mansion, a man discovers a savage family curse and fears that his future brother-in-law has entombed his bride-to-be prematurely.
Director: Roger Corman | Stars: Vincent Price, Mark Damon, Myrna Fahey, Harry Ellerbe
Votes: 15,453 | Gross: $3.16M
7. The House of Usher (2006)
R | 81 min | Drama, Thriller
Sinister thriller based on Edgar Allan Poe's classic story. Jill uncovers a terrifying secret at the funeral of her best friend who disappeared years earlier and whose twin brother was Jill's lover.
Director: Hayley Cloake | Stars: Austin Nichols, Izabella Miko, Beth Grant, Stephen Fischer
Votes: 755
8. The Black Cat (1934)
Not Rated | 65 min | Crime, Horror, Romance
American honeymooners in Hungary become trapped in the home of a Satan-worshipping priest when the bride is taken there for medical help following a road accident.
Director: Edgar G. Ulmer | Stars: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Julie Bishop
Votes: 13,007 | Gross: $0.51M
9. The Black Cat (1941)
Passed | 70 min | Comedy, Mystery
Elderly Henrietta Winslow lives in an isolated mansion with her housekeeper and beloved cats. As her health fails, her greedy relatives gather in anticipation of her death.
Director: Albert S. Rogell | Stars: Basil Rathbone, Hugh Herbert, Broderick Crawford, Bela Lugosi
Votes: 2,083
10. Tales of Terror (1962)
Not Rated | 89 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
Three tales of terror involve a grieving widower and the daughter he abandoned; a drunkard and his wife's black cat; and a hypnotist who prolongs the moment of a man's death.
Director: Roger Corman | Stars: Vincent Price, Maggie Pierce, Leona Gage, Peter Lorre
Votes: 8,386
11. Two Evil Eyes (1990)
R | 120 min | Horror
A duo of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations about a greedy wife's attempt to embezzle her dying husband's fortune, and a sleazy reporter's adoption of a strange black cat.
Directors: Dario Argento, George A. Romero | Stars: Adrienne Barbeau, Harvey Keitel, Ramy Zada, Bingo O'Malley
Votes: 8,151 | Gross: $0.35M
12. Eerie Tales (1919)
112 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
A demon, a reaper, and the ghost of a prostitute read gothic short stories and act them out.
Director: Richard Oswald | Stars: Anita Berber, Conrad Veidt, Reinhold Schünzel, Hugo Döblin
Votes: 661
13. The Living Dead (1932)
89 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi, Horror
A crazed scientist murders his wife, walls her up, then flees. A reporter sets out to track him down.
Director: Richard Oswald | Stars: Paul Wegener, Maria Koppenhöfer, Blandine Ebinger, Eugen Klöpfer
Votes: 146
14. The Pit and the Pendulum (1913)
Short, Drama, Horror
The first story begins with a young and pretty girl named Isabelle sitting upon a hill. It is then that she is attacked by Pedro. And following the common thematic trajectory of the time, ... See full summary »
Director: Alice Guy | Stars: Darwin Karr, Fraunie Fraunholz, Blanche Cornwall, Joseph Levering
Votes: 78
15. The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
Not Rated | 80 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
In the sixteenth century, Francis Barnard travels to Spain to clarify the strange circumstances of his sister's death after she had married the son of a cruel Spanish Inquisitor.
Director: Roger Corman | Stars: Vincent Price, Barbara Steele, John Kerr, Luana Anders
Votes: 16,406 | Gross: $4.36M
16. The Pit and the Pendulum (1964 TV Movie)
37 min | Horror
Adaptation of Edgar Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum.
Director: Alexandre Astruc | Star: Maurice Ronet
Votes: 151
17. The Pit and the Pendulum (1991)
R | 97 min | Horror, Romance
Horror film set in 1492 Toledo, Spain, depicting the cruel deeds of a monk named Torquemada, Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition.
Director: Stuart Gordon | Stars: Lance Henriksen, Stephen Lee, William Norris, Mark Margolis
Votes: 5,454 | Gross: $0.00M
18. The Pit and the Pendulum (2009)
TV-MA | 87 min | Horror, Thriller
Seven students join an experiment studying how pain can be eliminated. As students begin to disappear one by one, the true nature of the experiment is revealed.
Director: David DeCoteau | Stars: Lorielle New, Stephen Hansen, Bart Voitila, Michael King
Votes: 481
19. The Pendulum, the Pit and Hope (1983)
15 min | Animation, Short, Fantasy
A horrifying, surrealist version of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum" directed by the masterful animator Jan Svankmajer.
Director: Jan Svankmajer | Star: Jan Zácek
Votes: 1,040
20. Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)
Passed | 61 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A mad scientist seeks to mingle human blood with that of an ape, and resorts to kidnapping women for his experiments.
Director: Robert Florey | Stars: Bela Lugosi, Sidney Fox, Leon Ames, Bert Roach
Votes: 5,265
21. Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971)
PG-13 | 87 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
Paris...at the turn of the century. Inspector Vidocq investigates a series of unexplained murders at a Grand Guignol-type theatre...where the players have suddenly become real-life victims. Based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe.
Director: Gordon Hessler | Stars: Jason Robards, Herbert Lom, Christine Kaufmann, Adolfo Celi
Votes: 1,552
22. The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1986 TV Movie)
PG | 100 min | Crime, Mystery, Horror
A detective comes out of retirement to help his daughter's fiance prove that he did not commit a series of murders.
Director: Jeannot Szwarc | Stars: George C. Scott, Rebecca De Mornay, Ian McShane, Neil Dickson
Votes: 1,367
23. Phantom of the Rue Morgue (1954)
Approved | 83 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
When several women are found mutilated and murdered, the Paris police are baffled as to who the killer may be. All evidence points to Dupin, but soon it becomes apparent that it is someone (or something) stronger and deadlier than a human.
Director: Roy Del Ruth | Stars: Karl Malden, Claude Dauphin, Patricia Medina, Steve Forrest
Votes: 1,128 | Gross: $1.45M
24. Morgue Street (2012)
11 min | Short, Horror, Thriller
Based upon the story "The Murders in The Rue Morgue" by Edgar Allan Poe, it tells the story of two prostitutes, mother and daughter, struggling against a mysterious creature after it has broken into their home.
Director: Alberto Viavattene | Stars: Désirée Giorgetti, Federica Tommasi, Roberto Nali, Mario Cellini
Votes: 28
25. Bucket of Blood (1934)
55 min | Horror
A young man is driven mad by his obsession with the repulsive diseased eye of the old man who cares for him.
Director: Brian Desmond Hurst | Stars: Norman Dryden, John Kelt, Yolande Terrell, Thomas Shenton
Votes: 96
26. The Tell-Tale Heart (1941)
Approved | 20 min | Crime, Mystery, Short
In this classic Edgar Allan Poe story, a man commits a murder, but afterward the victim's beating heart torments the murderer's mind.
Director: Jules Dassin | Stars: Joseph Schildkraut, Roman Bohnen, Oscar O'Shea, Will Wright
Votes: 987
27. The Tell-Tale Heart (I) (1953)
Passed | 8 min | Animation, Short, Crime
A madman tells his tale of murder, and how a strange beating sound haunted him afterward.
Director: Ted Parmelee | Stars: James Mason, Jack Mather
Votes: 2,216
28. The Tell-Tale Heart (II) (1953)
20 min | Horror, Short
A man has murdered an old man in his bed and hidden the remains. He is confronted by police. He seems convincing yet just as it looks as if he will get away with his crime he hears the ... See full summary »
Director: J.B. Williams | Star: Stanley Baker
Votes: 74
29. The Tell-Tale Heart (1960)
78 min | Horror
While called the Tell Tale Heart, the plot differs significantly from Poe's short story of the same name.
Director: Ernest Morris | Stars: Laurence Payne, Adrienne Corri, Dermot Walsh, Selma Vaz Dias
Votes: 614
30. The Tell-Tale Heart (2016)
Not Rated | 81 min | Thriller
A haunting account of a tormented man who continually re-admits himself into a medical facility, in a futile attempt to escape from his pending madness. Based on Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Tell-Tale Heart".
Director: John La Tier | Stars: Patrick John Flueger, Rose McGowan, Peter Bogdanovich, Jacob Vargas
Votes: 315
31. The Avenging Conscience: or 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' (1914)
Not Rated | 78 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
Prevented from dating his sweetheart by his uncle, a young man turns his thoughts to murder.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Henry B. Walthall, Spottiswoode Aitken, Blanche Sweet, George Siegmann
Votes: 1,429
32. Buried Alive (1990 TV Movie)
PG-13 | 93 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy
A husband finds out that his wife and her lover are trying to kill him.
Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tim Matheson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, William Atherton, Hoyt Axton
Votes: 5,143
33. The Haunted Palace (1963)
Not Rated | 87 min | Horror
Charles Dexter Ward arrives at a small village to visit the house he inherited from his ancestor who died there 100 years ago.
Director: Roger Corman | Stars: Vincent Price, Debra Paget, Lon Chaney Jr., Frank Maxwell
Votes: 8,471 | Gross: $2.62M
34. The Tomb of Ligeia (1964)
Not Rated | 82 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A man's obsession with his dead wife drives a wedge between him and his new bride.
Director: Roger Corman | Stars: Vincent Price, Elizabeth Shepherd, John Westbrook, Derek Francis
Votes: 6,886
35. The Tomb (2009)
R | 89 min | Horror, Thriller
An engaged writer falls under the spell of a mysterious temptress who steals souls.
Director: Michael Staininger | Stars: Wes Bentley, Kaitlin Doubleday, Sofya Skya, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Votes: 1,814
36. Spirits of the Dead (1968)
R | 121 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A trio of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations about a cruel countess haunted by her cousin's stallion, a sadistic soldier haunted by his doppelgänger, and an alcoholic actor haunted by the Devil.
Directors: Federico Fellini, Louis Malle, Roger Vadim | Stars: Jane Fonda, Brigitte Bardot, Alain Delon, Terence Stamp
Votes: 6,950
37. The Crime of Doctor Crespi (1935)
Passed | 63 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A crazed scientist invents a serum that induces a catatonic state in whoever it is injected into. He uses the serum to paralyze his enemies, so that he can bury them alive.
Director: John H. Auer | Stars: Erich von Stroheim, Harriet Russell, Dwight Frye, Paul Guilfoyle
Votes: 399
38. Terroir (2014)
103 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Wealthy wine maker Jonathan Bragg (Keith Carradine) hires Tuscan wine detective (Gaetano Guarino) to discover the source of a mysterious bottle of wine. Based on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado".
Director: John Jopson | Stars: Keith Carradine, Gaetano Guarino, Fabio Marini, Lina Otto
Votes: 55
39. The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
Not Rated | 89 min | Drama, Horror
A European prince terrorizes the local peasantry while using his castle as a refuge against the "Red Death" plague that stalks the land.
Director: Roger Corman | Stars: Vincent Price, Hazel Court, Jane Asher, David Weston
Votes: 16,242
40. Mask of the Red Death (1969)
10 min | Animation, Short, Horror
An animated adaptation of Poe's famous short story: "Mask of the Red Death"
Directors: Branko Ranitovic, Pavao Stalter
Votes: 136
41. Prizrak brodit po Evrope (1923)
Set in an imaginary land where the threat of revolution spurs the Emperor to seek exile in one of the most distant parts of his realm. There he meets Elka, the daughter of a revolutionary ... See full summary »
Director: Vladimir Gardin | Stars: Zoya Barantsevich, Oleg Frelikh, Evgeniy Gryaznov, Liana Iskritskaya-Gardina
Votes: 17
42. Mystery of Marie Roget (1942)
Approved | 61 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A detective tries to unravel the strange circumstances surrounding the death of a young actress.
Director: Phil Rosen | Stars: Patric Knowles, Maria Montez, Maria Ouspenskaya, John Litel
Votes: 335
43. The Oblong Box (1969)
R | 96 min | Horror
Aristocrat Julian Markham keeps his disfigured brother, Sir Edward, locked in a tower of his house. Sir Edward occasionally escapes and causes havoc around the town.
Director: Gordon Hessler | Stars: Vincent Price, Alister Williamson, Christopher Lee, Rupert Davies
Votes: 3,931
44. The Sealed Room (1909)
Not Rated | 11 min | Short, Drama, History
A king exacts vengeance upon his faithless mistress and her lover.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Arthur V. Johnson, Marion Leonard, Henry B. Walthall, Linda Arvidson
Votes: 962
45. The Premature Burial (1962)
Unrated | 81 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
An artist grows distant from his new wife as an irrational horror of premature burial consumes him.
Director: Roger Corman | Stars: Ray Milland, Hazel Court, Richard Ney, Heather Angel
Votes: 4,861
46. Pest in Florenz (1919)
92 min | Drama, History, Horror
Suddenly appearing in Florence, an evil seductress causes Cesare, the city's ruler, and his son to both fall madly in love with her. The son, killing his father before an order to torture ... See full summary »
Director: Otto Rippert | Stars: Erich Bartels, Theodor Becker, Karl Bernhard, Julietta Brandt
Votes: 239
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