Monday, December 14, 2015

Crimson Peak/Strawberry Hill Connection? Or am I just imagining things?

I have a lingering question about Guillermo Del Toro's recent Gothic horror film Crimson Peak that I haven't seen anyone raise--and which I had wondered about even before the movie's release. The great Gothic writer Horace Walpole lived in a completely Gothic estate called "Strawberry Hill." What I keep wondering is: is Crimson Peak, the name of the film's central manor house, a play on Strawberry Hill? Crimson Peak is loaded with references to Gothic literature and film and cinematic ghost stories--all the usual suspects: The Innocents, The Changeling, Mario Bava's ghost stories, The Fall of the House of Usher, ad infinitum. A reference to Walpole would be perfectly suitable, especially considering his references to Algernon Blackwood in the name of a manor house in his Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. Your guess is as good as mine.