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Happy 100th Birthday to ‘Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages’
Released in Sweden on September 18th, 1922, the movie Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages is officially a century old.
Broken into seven parts, the film looks at how witchcraft has been viewed over time, starting from the dawn of humanity’s belief in the fantastical, navigating from the pious 1600s to the then-present day 1920s. Despite its light-hearted score and dark humor, this film paints a grim portrait of humanity’s flaws. Rampant with unfounded paranoia, unfair accusations, elder abuse, and objectifying women, the film does not stray from delivering an intelligent take on the lack of common sense which ruled the witch trials of the past. Haxan covers this topic in a way that is still remarkably relevant today.
For the 100th anniversary of this classic film, we’ll look at the competition and controversy that plagued its emergence, along with its references, ratings, and resonating themes that culminated in creating a creepy time capsule.
The History of Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages
Written and directed by Benjamin Christensen, Haxan is part documentary, part fiction. Penned between 1919 and 1921, Christensen drew references from the book Malleus Maleficarum also known as “Hammer of Witches.” This fifteenth-century tome was utilized by German witch hunters.
The film cost approximately two million SEK to make, making it the most expensive silent film in all of Scandinavia. Though, the movie unfortunately never turned a profit.
Competing Releases
Competition at the time of release was the first hit against Haxan. As discussed by Richard Baxstrom and Todd Meyers in Realizing The Witch: Science, Cinema, and the Mastery of the Invisible, there was a plethora of films, and horror films specifically, that vied for the public’s eye at the time Haxan was being released, including F.W. Murnau’s classic horror movies Nosferatu and Phantom.
Though competition had marred its release, another force worked against the cinematic masterpiece.
The Haxan Controversy
The film covers various topics that ensured its controversial content was disallowed from becoming a part of the 1920s mainstream. While today the film may seem relatively tame, the depictions of witchcraft, devil worship, torture, butt cheeks galore, and demons feverishly churning butter were not welcome by many of the religiously staunch “powers that be” of the 1920s. The film was heavily censored in some European countries and outright banned in the U.S.
As explained by Baxstrom and Meyers, Haxan coincided with the emerging standard of the 1920s, where art preferred to side with science over religion. The 1920s were a peak time for Modernist writers. These classic creators, such as T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, and Ernest Hemingway, were considered nihilists of literature as they created stories that did not follow the typical format and used science and philosophy to express individual thinking, altogether rebuking religion.
Many of these writers were met with political censorship in the United States and chose to create works in places that were more open to these free-thinking secular ideals, such as Paris.
Given that many were creating works in the same rebellious vein as Haxan and that more institutions were keeping an eye out for these nihilistic writers, Benjamin Christensen’s film came at a time that was simultaneously perfect and wrong.
Although governments worked diligently to stop the film from becoming widespread, Haxan made a lasting impact on audiences worldwide.
Haxan References and Reviews
The film’s excellence can be measured in love it has received and still receives today. When Louis B. Mayerscreened the film, he was quoted as saying, “Is [Christensen] crazy or a genius?” and signed Christensen to a deal with MGM.
Today Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages boasts a 91% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes with an 81% audience score and has received coverage on television series such as Eli Roth’s History of Horror and Mark Kermode’s Secrets of Cinema. Even the company responsible for Blair Witch Project drew inspiration from the classic, aptly titled Haxan Films.
Despite its ability to overcome a beleaguered beginning, today, the movie remains potentially controversial, but for a completely different reason than it was one hundred years ago.
Hysteria and Historical Mistreatment of Women
Because Christensen created the film with a scientific explanation in mind, the director tried to connect witchcraft accusations to women suffering from a term that was widely used in medical society at the time: hysteria.
In the memorable words of Moira (Frances Conroy) From American Horror Story: Murder House (S1: E8):
“Since the beginning of time, men find excuses to lock women away. They make up diseases like hysteria. Do you know where that word comes from? …The Greek word for uterus. […] It was a hundred years ago, but we’re no better off today.”
The idea of hysteria being an actual medical disorder has been rightfully abandoned since 1980. Though the incorporation of hysteria in Haxan: Witchcraft through the Ages is intriguing because it is presented in conjunction with the unjust persecution of women. It fits into the sexist, patriarchal theme that resides within the first six parts of the film, closing on a note that even if they aren’t being subjected to the literal fires of persecution anymore, women still suffer from the ignorance of men.
Women were not the only ones who received mistreatment in history and in the movie. Neither age nor appearance, nor gender, could keep one safe from the dreadful actions of mankind.
Creating a Creepy Time Capsule
Though compared with today’s standards of realistic violence, CGI monsters, and jump scares, Haxan is basically a movie for children; this comparably tame film has several unsettling qualities that make it genuinely frightening.
Watching a movie about the past, which is now an artifact of a century passed, gives an eerie feeling independent of the subject matter presented. When viewed this way, combined with ancient depictions of evil and the cold disposition of man, the film is disturbing in a way that sinks into your bones.
Though the movie is comprised of scenes created by production crews and acted out by performers, the inspiration behind these scenes is palpably apparent. Running constantly in the foreground of the film is the historical basis. Real people died due to these grave, ignorant injustices. That alone can create a haunting impact on anyone who views the film.
To add to the already aberrant creepiness, Haxan’s age all but guarantees that every single person involved in the making of it is now long since deceased, as they live on as ghosts flickering on the screen.
(That is unless the immortal Lisle Von Rhuman from Death Becomes Her and her magical potion of eternal youth is real. In which case, these actors could be hanging out in a mansion in Hollywood Hills, celebrating the 100th anniversary of Haxan).
Haxan is a Timeless Classic
Although it was created generations ago, the black and white silent film is still just as captivating and resonating today. It was not always received well, yet it continues to receive high ratings, despite its potentially problematic conclusion and beleaguered early development. The clever commentary the film makes, and its no-holds approach to depicting historical injustices and dark subject matter while maintaining a light and humorous tone is impressive in its duality. It has culminated into a creepy classic that has withstood time. Happy 100th Birthday, Haxan!
Watch it now on HBO Max.
Wake up, babe—the first announcements for Halloween Horror Nights 2026 just dropped, and they’ve got us hyped! This year marks the 35th installment of the premiere Halloween season event, and to celebrate the anniversary, HHN is bringing back not one but two of its biggest icons: Jack the Clown and Dr. Oddfellow!
Universal Creative made the announcement at this weekend’s MEGACON Orlando “Behind the Screams: Crafting 35 Years of Fear at Universal Halloween Horror Nights” panel, followed by an X post clarifying that “the forces of horror are BACK. Jack The Clown and Dr. Oddfellow return to wreak havoc together at this year’s Halloween Horror Nights” The team also revealed the name of the first house: Jack & Oddfellow: Chaos & Control.
What does the return of these two icons—historically bitter rivals—mean for guests, and what can we expect to see in the house? Read on for everything we know about HHN 35 so far, and a quick primer on the lore for the uninitiated!
Credit: Universal Halloween Horror Nights / Inside The Magic
Who is Jack the Clown?
Debuting at Halloween Horror Nights X in the year 2000, Jack the Clown was HHN’s first original icon. In the real world, he’s the result of a series of surveys conducted by the Universal team that consistently revealed clowns to be visitors’ biggest fear. But his lore within the universe of HHN is much more complicated—and sinister.
Born in the late 1800s, Jack “the Clown” Schmidt started life as a performing clown, eventually finding his way to Dr. Oddfellow’s Carnival of Thrills in the early 1900s. When local authorities realized that the traveling carnival was leaving a trail of missing children in its wake and began closing in, Jack confided his crimes to his boss, who didn’t take the news well. Not wanting the police at his door, Oddfellow murdered Jack and stuffed his body into a box, hiding him (and the dead kids’ corpses) inside a sideshow attraction.
Who is Dr. Oddfellow?
Dr. Rich Oddfellow is a fascinating character even outside of his connection with Jack. Long before getting entangled with the kiddie killer, Oddfellow was obsessed with the Zodiac, believing it held the potential to grant him power and immortality—and he wasn’t afraid to commit some twisted, ritualistic murders of his own to unlock its secrets. His quest led him deep into the jungle, where he uncovered a crystal skull that he used to create his Cane of Souls.
During their struggle, Jack managed to gouge a chunk out of his boss’s face, leaving Oddfellow with a distinctive scar on his cheek. Oddfellow would later attempt to shapeshift to hide his identity, but that scar always remained, serving as a clue for eagle-eyed park visitors. More importantly, the scuffle spilled some of Oddfellow’s immortal blood on Jack’s face, imbuing him with some of Oddfellow’s powers. This led to Jack’s resurrection when, in the 1980s, a BBC production crew unwittingly released Jack from the music box holding his spirit captive, allowing Jack to pursue a bloody path of carnage and revenge.
Halloween Horror Nights Most Long Awaited Showdown
There’s a lot more to the backstory than that, and you can find some of it on the Discover Universal Blog if you want to bone up before the event. What’s important is that Jack has appeared frequently at HHN events, often on anniversary years, with Oddfellow finally getting his lore explored in depth at HHN 32 in 2023. But the two icons have never gone head to head—until now!
What Is the “Jack & Oddfellow: Chaos & Control” House at HHN 35?
We’re still in the early days of HHN 35 announcements, but here’s what we know right now about a clash of titans 25 years in the making!
According to the official announcement from HHN, “Jack & Oddfellow: Chaos & Control” will allow guests to “witness Jack the Clown’s unholy origins, then enter Dr. Oddfellow’s wickedly twisted universe where two of the most powerful forces in horror will face off in a deathmatch of chaos versus control.” The original house will be just one part of the Infernal Carnival of Nightmares (or I.C.O.N. for short, get it?) that visitors will experience once they step through the front gates of the park.
“The haunted house is going to be wild because … basically you’re going into the box,” said Mike Aiello, Universal Orlando Resort’s senior director of Entertainment Creative Development, in an interview with USA TODAY. “You’re experiencing what Jack experienced when he got killed and shoved in there, and essentially you’re going into a realm that we call the Oddverse. And it’s in this realm that Jack and Oddfellow have this immense, epic battle.”
Will the Icons Unite? What Their Twisted Team-Up Could Mean
What starts as a feverish fight will ultimately culminate in Jack the Clown and Dr. Oddfellow teaming up to, presumably, terrorize a common enemy: us. “You’ve got a cerebral end of the spectrum [Oddfellow] and you’ve got a visceral end [Jack]—two great ideologies there in how they can affect a guest,” Aiello added. “And that is a lot of the content that we’ll be presenting this year, is under that infernal banner.”
Will Jack and Oddfellow kiss and make up at Halloween Horror Nights 35? Only time will tell.
Photo courtesy of Samantha McLaren.
When is Halloween Horror Nights 2026, when do tickets go on sale, and how much will it cost?
HHN 35 will run on select nights from August 28 to November 1, 2026. The full event calendar has yet to be released, but if previous years are anything to go by, you should expect HHN to fall Wednesday through Sunday most weeks during its run. So, if you’re planning to spend a full week at Universal Orlando or Universal Hollywood for Halloween Horror Nights, consider using Monday and Tuesday as a rest day. After all, all those late-night hikes through the Scare Zones can be hard on the old tootsies!
Halloween Horror Nights 2026 Tickets, Add-Ons, and Planning Tips
Tickets for HHN 35 have not yet been released. Based on last year’s event, we anticipate that single-night tickets and add-ons will drop sometime in late May or early June, with multi-night tickets following a few weeks later, so keep an eye on the official Halloween Horror Nights social accounts and your credit card at the ready. While exact pricing is not yet available, single-night tickets for the 2025 event at Universal Orlando Resort started at $82.99 per person, with multi-night passes starting at $199.99.
Remember: Halloween Horror Nights is a separately ticketed event, so your daily park admission or annual pass does not grant entry. You also have the option to purchase extras like Express Passes, RIP Tours, and Behind-the-Screams: Unmasking the Horror tours, all of which can enhance your experience if you’re willing to part with the benjamins. Check out our ultimate Halloween Horror Nights guide to help you start planning your 2026 trip.
HHN 35 Rumors: Potential Houses and Scare Zones for 2026
As for the other houses and Scare Zones, we can only speculate. Perhaps we’ll get another Stranger Things house to celebrate the series’ official conclusion. And with Insidious 6 scheduled to hit theaters this August, another trip into The Further may be in the cards. Watch this space, and be sure to check back for our super-scientific house rankings once the event gets underway.
We’ll see you in the fog this fall!
The World’s Largest Halloween and Horror Convention, Midsummer Scream is back this August, and this year it’s all singing, all slashing. That’s right, the iconic horror con is returning August 7-9, 2026, at the Long Beach Convention Center, with a brand new theme: horror musicals. Rocky Horror, Repo! The Genetic Opera, Phantom of the Paradise, and more will be at the center of the convention’s first-ever, musical-themed weekend.
Midsummer Scream 2026 Announces Horror Musical Theme
According to David Markland, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Midsummer Scream, “The year’s theme is for all of the theatre kids that are a huge part of the haunt and horror community…we will be honoring horror musicals of all kinds with a variety of panels, presentations, and performances all weekend.”
Matthew Lillard and Other Horror Icons Headline the Convention
The events and guests list is still being announced, but what we do know is absolutely killer. Horror legend Matthew Lillard (Scream, FNAF) will be headlining the convention, alongside Rocky Horror’s legendary Barry Bostwick and Yellowjackets’ Jasmin Savoy Brown. In addition to these guests, Repo! Director and creator (and Saw alum) Darren Lynn Bouseman will be joining Bill Mosely and Lionsgate for a 20th anniversary celebration of the iconic emo musical masterpiece.
Vendors, Haunts, and Attractions Set to Return
As usual, the convention will still host its usual 350+ incredible vendors, including Trick R’ Treat Studios, Sin City Props, Terror Films, and more. It will include the Hall of Shadows, in addition to a variety of haunt displays and attractions. Eulogy Collective, Fear Farm, and Decayed Brigade are some of the many haunts that will be there. Family friendly pumpkin patch and art exhibits, as well as The Screaming Room Film Festival, are also set to return.
Below is the full list of currently announced Haunts and vendors.
Full List of Currently Announced Haunts at Midsummer Scream 2026
- Eulogy Collective,
- Fear Farm,
- Straite to Hale Productions,
- H&L’s Realm of Horror
- The Dreich Society
- CalHauntS
- The Haunt With No Name…Yet
- Decayed Brigade
- Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights
- Knott’s Scary Farm
- Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group (Los Angeles Haunted Hayride, The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, Delusion, Magic of the Jack O’Lanterns, and Festival Fright Nights at Winchester Mystery House)
- Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Fright Fest
Vendors Appearing at Midsummer Scream 2026
- The Halloween Shirt Company
- Trick or Treat Studios
- Backstitch Bruja
- Sin City Props
- Terror Films
- Small Town Weirdo
- Froggy’s Fog.
Passes are available now at midsummerscream.org
