The House of Seven Corpses

The House of Seven Corpses

Year: 1974

Runtime: 90 mins

Language: English

Director: Paul Harrison

HorrorHorror the undead and monster classicsGory gruesome and slasher horrorCreepy chilling and terrifying horrorTerrifying haunted and supernatural horror

While shooting a film in a house where seven occult murders occurred, the director ignores the caretaker’s warning not to tamper with forces they don’t understand. Insisting on authenticity, he has his cast reenact the original rituals, inadvertently awakening a ghoul from the cemetery that begins picking off the crew one by one.

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Timeline & Setting – The House of Seven Corpses (1974)

Explore the full timeline and setting of The House of Seven Corpses (1974). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Location

Beal Mansion, Beal House, Beal Family Graveyard

The Beal Mansion serves as the central setting—a sprawling, decaying estate with top-floor rooms where the film crew stays. Behind the house lies a cemetery that becomes a catalyst for the horror, linking past family deaths to the present production. The house is treated almost like a character, its corridors and hidden spaces amplifying tension and dread.

🏰 Gothic 🪦 Haunted 🌫️ Atmospheric

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 18:58

Main Characters – The House of Seven Corpses (1974)

Meet the key characters of The House of Seven Corpses (1974), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Edgar Price (John Carradine)

The Beal house caretaker who guides the crew through the mansion and points out where past family deaths occurred. He upholds a practical view of the estate but hints at a deeper, uneasy history. He is ultimately killed by a zombie in the cemetery, cut down as the haunting intensifies.

🕯️ Mystery 🧭 Keeper 🪦 Graveyard

Eric Hartman (John Ireland)

Film director mounting the horror production inside the Beal Mansion. He pushes the crew to film on site and becomes suspicious of the occult elements surrounding the house. He survives long enough to witness the chaos, but is killed when a zombie attack culminates with a camera hurled onto his head.

🎬 Film-Maker 👻 Supernatural 🔎 Tension

Gayle Dorian (Faith Domergue)

A aging actress playing Maria Beal who reads from The Book of the Dead and stirs the ritual. She becomes entangled in the house’s occult chaos, witnesses the undead, and participates in chaotic events that lead to fatal consequences. She dies by hanging after a sequence of traumatic revelations and misadventures with the gun and the zombie threat.

👵 Drama 👻 Supernatural 🪝 Tragedy

Anne (Carole Wells)

An actress who discovers occult books in a bedroom and informs David about what she has seen. She witnesses Edgar’s cemetery activities and later copes with the escalating horror as the crew faces death and disarray. She faints at the climactic discoveries, surviving the immediate chaos around her.

🔎 Mystery 🪄 Occult 🧭 Suspense

David Beal (Jerry Strickler)

A crew member who participates in the ritual atmosphere surrounding the Beal legacy. He reads from the Book of the Dead alongside Gayle and becomes entangled in the graveyard mystery. He dies after being dragged into a grave and later reemerges as a zombie, contributing to the house’s fatal outbreak.

🧟 Zombie 🔎 Witness 🕯️ Mystery

Christopher Millan (Charles Macaulay)

A drunken co-star who forces himself into a confrontation with Gayle. He is killed by Gayle when she, in a panic, shoots him, mistaking him for the threat, highlighting the chaos and miscommunication on set.

🎭 Drama 🔪 Violence 💀 Death

Tommy (Dennis Record)

A crew member who becomes a casualty during the zombie invasion as the undead climb through the house and assault the crew. His death underscores the stakes of the haunting and the collapse of the shoot.

🎬 Crew 🧟 Zombie 💀 Death

Ron (Ron Foreman)

Another crew member who perishes during the zombie assault, illustrating how the house’s terror claims both the cast and the crew. His death adds to the mounting dread and destruction.

🎬 Crew 🧟 Zombie 💀 Death

Danny (Marty Hornstein)

A member of the film crew who falls victim to the undead onslaught. His death contributes to the escalating horrorscape within the Beal Mansion.

🎬 Crew 🧟 Zombie 💀 Death

Russell Beal (Jeff Alexander)

A member of the Beal family connected to the mansion’s cursed history. His role anchors the Beal lineage within the narrative, underscoring the house’s legacy.

🪶 Beal Lineage 🧭 Heritage

Charles Beal ( Ronald Víctor García )

A Beal family member whose presence ties the Beal legacy to the present events. The Beal surname anchors the family’s tragic history within the mansion.

🪶 Beal Lineage 🧭 Heritage

Suzanne Beal (Lucy Doheny)

A Beal family member whose presence reinforces the mansion’s haunted history and the Beal family’s enduring grip on the estate’s dark legacy.

🪶 Beal Lineage 🧭 Heritage

Allison Beal (Jo Anne Mower)

A Beal family member who appears in the mansion, contributing to the sense that the Beal line remains a living presence within the house’s walls.

🪶 Beal Lineage 🧭 Heritage

Jonathon Anthony Beal / Theodore Beal (Charles Bail)

A Beal family member with a dual-name designation, illustrating the Beals’ complex lineage and the continuity of the family’s presence in the haunted estate.

🪶 Beal Lineage 🧭 Heritage

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 18:58

Major Themes – The House of Seven Corpses (1974)

Explore the central themes of The House of Seven Corpses (1974), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

👻 Supernatural Supernatural

The plot centers on the dead returning and a haunted estate reacting to ritual chants from The Book of the Dead. The line between the living and the risen blurs as zombies emerge from graves and invade the mansion. The supernatural events drive the conflicts among the characters, pushing them toward a fatal confrontation.

🏰 Gothic Gothic

A decaying mansion, a cursed family history, and a claustrophobic atmosphere create a classic Gothic mood. The architecture and graveyard setting intensify fear and isolation, turning a routine film shoot into a deadly ordeal. The house itself acts as a malevolent forces’ backdrop, heightening dread with each shadowed doorway.

🎬 Meta-film Meta-film

The horror unfolds within a film crew shooting inside the Beal House, merging a movie-within-a-movie premise with real supernatural occurrences. Footage, on-set chaos, and occult rituals intertwine, making viewers question what is fiction and what is haunting reality. The production context amplifies the terror as the film’s own narrative becomes a conduit for the haunting.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 18:58

Unlock the Full Story of The House of Seven Corpses

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The House of Seven Corpses Summary

Read a complete plot summary of The House of Seven Corpses, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

The House of Seven Corpses Summary

The House of Seven Corpses Timeline

Track the full timeline of The House of Seven Corpses with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

The House of Seven Corpses Timeline

More About The House of Seven Corpses

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