Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973 film)

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Original 1973 TV Guide advertisement.
Genre	Horror
Written by	Nigel McKeand
Directed by	John Newland
Starring	Kim Darby Jim Hutton
Music by	Billy Goldenberg
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Executive producer(s)	Lee Rich
Producer(s)	Allen S. Epstein Neil T. Maffeo (associate producer)
Location(s)	Piru Mansion - 829 & 837 Park Road, Piru, California
Cinematography	Andrew Jackson
Editor(s)	Gene Fowler, Jr. Michael McCrosker
Running time	74 minutes
Production company(s)	Lorimar Productions
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	October 10, 1973 (1973-10-10)

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark is an American made-for-television dark fantasy film directed by John Newland and starring Kim Darby and Jim Hutton. It was released by Lorimar Productions and was first telecast on ABC on Wednesday October 10, 1973. It has since been shown many times in syndication and was distributed on home video and now on DVD. It is known as Nightmare in certain countries in Europe.

The film focuses on a housewife who unleashes a band of goblin creatures from within a sealed fireplace in the Victorian mansion that she and her husband are restoring. It has since become a cult film, and a theatrical remake of the same name was released in August 2011.

Sally Barnum and her husband Alex inherit an old mansion from Sally's recently deceased grandmother. Shortly after moving in, she discovers a bricked-up fireplace in the basement den, and asks the estate's handyman, Mr. Harris, about it. He tells her that Sally's grandmother had him seal it up after her grandfather died and that it is better to leave it the way it is. After he leaves for the day and Sally is alone in the room, she uses some of Mr. Harris' tools to try to remove the bricks herself. She is unable to budge the bricks, but is able to pry open a small side door that Mr. Harris had said was used for removing ashes from the fireplace. Inside is not a fireplace at all but a large, dark, deep sub-basement. As Sally leaves the den, several whispering voices are heard coming from behind the fireplace, calling her name, and proclaiming that "she set us free".

Sally soon begins to feel unsettled in the house. One night while sleeping, she is woken by voices whispering her name, and an ashtray mysteriously falls off her bedside cabinet. However, Alex dismisses her concerns and believes she is suffering from nervous tension. The next evening, when she is alone in the house, something grabs her dress as she is walking down the stairs and she hears voices whispering "We want you". She manages to free herself and sees something scuttling away behind a curtain, which she believes was a small animal of some kind. Soon afterwards, she hears the same whispering coming from behind the fireplace in the basement den. When Alex returns home, he remains unconvinced of her story, but makes sure the fireplace is bolted securely shut to reassure her.