SPIRITS OF THE DEAD RISE AGAIN

Spirits of the Dead

by Edgar Allan Poe

I.

Thy soul shall find itself alone

’Mid dark thoughts of the gray tombstone—

Not one, of all the crowd, to pry

Into thine hour of secrecy.

II.

Be silent in that solitude,

   Which is not loneliness—for then

The spirits of the dead who stood

   In life before thee are again

In death around thee—and their will

Shall overshadow thee: be still.

III.

The night, tho’ clear, shall frown—

And the stars shall look not down

From their high thrones in the heaven,

With light like Hope to mortals given—

But their red orbs, without beam,

To thy weariness shall seem

As a burning and a fever

Which would cling to thee for ever.

IV.

Now are thoughts thou shalt not banish,

Now are visions ne’er to vanish;

From thy spirit shall they pass

No more—like dew-drop from the grass.

V.

The breeze—the breath of God—is still—

And the mist upon the hill,

Shadowy—shadowy—yet unbroken,

Is a symbol and a token—

How it hangs upon the trees,

A mystery of mysteries!

U.S. theatrical poster.

Today we are returning again to the Spirits of the Dead, inaugurated in verse by the immortal Edgar Allan Poe and used as the title of an anthology film released in the U.S. by American International Pictures on July 23, 1969.

The film (alternately known as TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION) is comprised of three segments, each loosely adapted from a short story by Poe:

(English version narrated by Vincent Price)

"Metzengerstein"

Directed by: Roger Vadim

Starring: Jane Fonda, Peter Fonda

"William Wilson"

Directed by: Louis Malle

Starring: Alain Delon, Brigitte Bardot

"Toby Dammit" ("Never Bet the Devil Your Head"/"Don't Wager Your Head to the Devil", U.S./"Three Steps into Delirium")

Directed by Frederico Fellini

Starring: Terence Stamp, Marina Yaru

French theatrical poster.

Review by Kevin Thomas (LOS ANGELES TIMES):

Review (TIME MAGAZINE):

Fellini's "Three Steps Into Delirium" (CONTINENTAL FILM REVIEW, April 1968):

SPIRITS OF THE DEAD LOBBY CARDS

SPIRITS OF THE DEAD PHOTO ALBUM

Brigitte Bardot

Alain Delon

Jane Fonda

Terence Stamp

Misc.

Marina Yaru.

Peter Fonda.