Spirits of the Dead

Spirits of the Dead
French film poster for Spirits of the Dead
Directed by	Roger Vadim Louis Malle Federico Fellini
Produced by	Alberto Grimaldi Raymond Eger
Screenplay by	Roger Vadim Pascal Cousin Louis Malle Clement Biddle Wood Daniel Boulanger Federico Fellini Bernardino Zapponi
Based on	"Metzengerstein", "William Wilson" and "Never Bet the Devil Your Head" by Edgar Allan Poe
Starring	Jane Fonda Terence Stamp Brigitte Bardot Peter Fonda Alain Delon
Music by	Jean Prodromidès Diego Mason Nino Rota
Cinematography	Claude Renoir Tonino Delli Colli Giuseppe Rotunno
Edited by	Hélène Plemiannikov Franco Arcalli Suzanne Baron Ruggero Mastroianni
Production companies	P.E.A. Les Films Marceau Cocinor
Distributed by	P.E.A. (Italy)
Release date	September 12, 1968 (1968-09-12) (Italy)
Running time	121 minutes
Country	Italy France
Box office	₤512 million (Italy) 946,137 admissions (France)

Spirits of the Dead (Italian: Tre passi nel delirio, French: Histoires extraordinaires) is an "omnibus" film comprising three segments. The French title Histoires extraordinaires (translated to English as Extraordinary Stories) is from the first collection of Poe's short stories translated by French poet Charles Baudelaire; the English title Spirits of the Dead is from an 1827 poem by Poe.

American International Pictures distributed this horror anthology film featuring three stories by Edgar Allan Poe directed by European directors Roger Vadim, Louis Malle and Federico Fellini. Jane Fonda, Alain Delon, Peter Fonda, Brigitte Bardot, and Terence Stamp are among the stars. The English-language version features narration by Vincent Price.

At the age of 22, Countess Frederique (Jane Fonda) inherits the Metzengerstein estate and lives a life of promiscuity and debauchery. While in the forest, her leg is caught in a trap and she is freed by her cousin and neighbor Baron Wilhelm (Peter Fonda), whom she has never met because of a long-standing family feud. She becomes enamored with Wilhelm, but he rejects her for her wicked ways. His rejection infuriates Frederique and she sets his stables on fire. Wilhelm is killed attempting to save his prized horses.

One black horse somehow escapes and makes its way to the Metzengerstein castle. The horse is very wild and Frederique takes it upon herself to tame it. She notices at one point that a damaged tapestry depicts a horse eerily similar to the one that she has just taken in. Becoming obsessed with it, she orders its repair. During a thunderstorm, Frederique is carried off by the spooked horse into a fire caused by lightning that has struck.