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Stonehearst Asylum: Short Story
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Zeljka (ztook) | 3005 comments Mod
Renamed for the purposes of the film also called Eliza Graves (which was for film marketing probably deemed too bland), The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether by Edgar Allan Poe, is one of finest examples of Poe's dark yet whimsical nature.

I encourage you to read the story (maybe even better after the movie, to avoid spoilers, although it is still quite different from the movie) - as part of public domain it is readily available for reading anywhere. Here's one that might appeal to Poe's fans in particular: PoeStories.com. Looks pretty cool :)


Alana (alanasbooks) | 730 comments I just finished the story: a quick read, for sure! I don't recall that I've ever seen this film (is the 2014 one a remake or the first time it's been adapted?) but I recall a film with the similar idea, of the inmates taking over the asylum. Has there been a similar one NOT based on the Poe story, or perhaps called something else?

Also, I kept getting it mixed up with another one I saw several years ago, where a woman goes in (as a journalist?) and ends up being told she's crazy and forced to stay in the asylum herself. Honestly, I don't remember how that one turned out (were we questioning her sanity by the end?) and it may have been another version of the same story (was the guy running that one a lunatic also?)

Anyhoo, aside from the digressions, it's a very interesting story, if a tad predictable. (Or is it only so because I've seen other authors make similar stories, but Poe really came up with the original idea?) What struck me is the semblance to Animal Farm, oddly enough, in that those that overthrow the government end up becoming like the government themselves.

Tarr and Fether indeed, lol!


Zeljka (ztook) | 3005 comments Mod
Alana wrote: "I just finished the story: a quick read, for sure! I don't recall that I've ever seen this film (is the 2014 one a remake or the first time it's been adapted?) but I recall a film with the similar ..."

That's interesting, it might be that this story inspired a lot of others. Maybe it is just a universal theme, we are all afraid of getting into a madhouse? You know, who can really tell if we are sane or not once we enter it :) I know One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest freaked me out! That movie you mentioned, sounds familiar too. And spooky :) Can you remember, was it a horror movie? I am curious, would like to find it :)


Alana (alanasbooks) | 730 comments It's so weird, I can't recall much of it. I just remember it was a female, she was supposed to be visiting for some reason (I could almost swear she was a journalist) and there's a scene with her speaking with the proprietor, an older gentleman. Later, she's being put into a room by herself, locked up. I think it's set in a fairly modern time, although I wouldn't swear to it. Isn't it weird the details we remember and forget?

I tried to google it, of course, but "woman in insane asylum" comes back with WAY too many possibilities!


message 5: by Zeljka (last edited May 06, 2016 01:21PM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Zeljka (ztook) | 3005 comments Mod
Alana wrote: "I tried to google it, of course, but "woman in insane asylum" comes back with WAY too many possibilities!..."

Lol yes I tried that too :) I have actually learned something in the process! There was one real female journalist from 19th century who entered an asylum to unmask their inhuman practices, Nellie Bly. One movie was done last year, that I am eager to check soon: 10 Days in a Madhouse. Her story seems really fascinating!

Anyway, one movie eventually came to my mind - maybe Gothika? I figured as you dislike horror movies, it must be a thriller or something less terrifying to watch, and this is the only one I could think of with that image, of a woman locked in a cell that is not a prison one. What do you think?


Alana (alanasbooks) | 730 comments I wasn't Gothika, I don't think I've seen it. The one I'm thinking of has a young white (blonde?) female, like Julia Stiles or somebody like that. So weird that I can't think of it!

But 10 Days in a Madhouse sounds fascinating!


message 7: by Bronwen (new)

Bronwen (buzzyb) | 1 comments The Changeling with Angelina Jolie? Also based on a true story


Alana (alanasbooks) | 730 comments No, but that was an interesting film.


Zeljka (ztook) | 3005 comments Mod
Alana wrote: "No, but that was an interesting film."

Hah I officially give up - but I do not worry, we'll find it when we least expect it ;)


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