60 Amazing Behind the Scenes Photos From the Making of 1976 Horror Film “Carrie”

Carrie is a 1976 American supernatural horror film directed by Brian De Palma from a screenplay written by Lawrence D. Cohen, adapted from Stephen King’s 1974 novel Carrie. Brian De Palma and his close friend George Lucas held combined audition sessions for Carrie and Star Wars (1977). As a result, many actors were cross-considered. Amy Irving (Sue Snell) and William Katt (Tommy Ross) originally tested for Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker. Meanwhile, Carrie Fisher was briefly considered by De Palma for the title role of Carrie White.

Sissy Spacek was not originally slated to star. To secure the role, she turned up for her screen test deliberately unwashed, with Vaseline smeared in her hair to look greasy, wearing an unhemmed sailor dress her mother had made for her as a teenager. Her transformation immediately convinced De Palma to cast her as Carrie and shift Amy Irving to the role of Sue Snell.

To convey Carrie’s deep sense of social isolation, Spacek voluntarily distanced herself from the rest of the young cast between takes. She explained her strategy to her co-stars beforehand so they wouldn’t misunderstand her demeanor. Spacek also decorated her dressing room with religious art and studied religious iconography to shape her posture in key scenes.

The iconic scene where Carrie is drenched on stage used a mix of Karo syrup and red food coloring. Because the sticky mixture would dry quickly under studio lights, stagehands had to spray Spacek with water squirt bottles continuously between takes to keep the liquid fluid. To ensure absolute visual continuity across the multi-week prom shooting schedule, Spacek volunteered to sleep in her blood-stained clothes for three consecutive days.

Practical effects on set occasionally led to real injuries. During the prom destruction sequence, a high-pressure fire hose sprayed directly at P.J. Soles (playing Norma) burst one of her eardrums, causing her to faint on camera. De Palma kept the genuine footage in the final edit. During the scene where gym teacher Miss Collins slaps the students, Betty Buckley ended up slapping Nancy Allen dozens of times to capture the exact violent reaction De Palma wanted.

De Palma was inspired by the jump scare ending of John Boorman’s Deliverance (1972) to add a final shocking nightmare sequence. Despite De Palma offering to use a stunt double, Spacek insisted on performing the hand reaching out from the grave herself. A wooden box pit was dug into the ground, covered with pumice stones and dirt, and Spacek was buried inside. Her real-life husband, art director Jack Fisk, was positioned just off-camera to give her the cue to burst her hand out and grab Amy Irving’s arm. To give Sue Snell’s walk toward the grave a surreal, dreamlike quality, De Palma filmed Amy Irving walking backward while a car drove in reverse behind her, then played the shot in reverse and slow motion.

Carrie was a box office success earning $14.5 million in theatrical rentals in the United States and Canada by January 1978 from a gross of $33.8 million. In its first 19 days from 60 markets, the film had grossed $3,882,827. Carrie has significantly influenced popular culture, with several publications regarding it as one of the greatest horror films ever made. In 2022, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

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Del Womacks Getting His Trained Horse to “Play Dead” While Amused Children Look On, ca. 1900

Del Womack’s horse may not have been a tradition house pet, but it knew tricks like “play dead.” Womacks, an animal trainer and regional performer, trained his horse to collapse gently and lie perfectly still on the ground while still hitched to the cart.

(Photo: Missouri State Archives)

The secret to triggering the trick was dropping a hat on the ground. If you look closely near the horse’s flank, a black hat can be seen lying on the ground, which served as the cue for the horse to perform.

While the sight of a collapsed carriage horse would normally cause panic, the lighthearted expressions of Womacks and the smiling boy standing next to the cart reveal the performance nature of the scene. Such animal acts were highly popular at local fairs and exhibitions during this era.

Fascinating Color Photos of the Munich Oktoberfest in the Early 1950s

These fascinating color photos capture the Munich Oktoberfest in the early 1950s, a period of postwar recovery and renewed celebration. The images show crowded beer tents, traditional Bavarian dress, lively crowds, amusement rides, and the festive atmosphere of the Theresienwiese.

Taken just a few years after the festival fully resumed following World War II, the photos preserve the spirit of the event as it regained its place as one of Germany’s most beloved traditions. They offer a vibrant and nostalgic glimpse of Oktoberfest more than seventy years ago.

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Photographs Young Olivia Newton-John and Pat Carroll in the 1960s

Before Olivia Newton-John became a global pop icon and the star of Grease, she spent the mid-1960s performing as part of a pop vocal duo called “Pat and Olivia” alongside her close friend and fellow Australian singer, Pat Carroll.

After initially crossing paths in the Australian music circuit and appearing on local television like Swallow’s Juniors, both girls set their sights on the United Kingdom. Olivia moved to London first after winning a talent contest, and Pat joined her shortly after.

In 1966, the two teens moved into a Hampstead mews flat together, sharing it with Olivia’s mother. They initially started out with Olivia tagging along to Pat's solo gigs for company, but they quickly realized they would have more leverage in the British music scene if they teamed up. As a duo, they slept on a blow-up mattress on the floor, living out the typical, gritty life of young artists trying to break through in swinging 1960s London.

Billing themselves as “Pat and Olivia,” they spent the late 1960s touring nightclubs and pubs across the UK and Europe. Their repertoire consisted primarily of energetic pop covers and folk-blended harmonies. They managed to gain steady traction, securing backup singing gigs for major stars like Cliff Richard and booking multiple high-profile television appearances.

Despite their growing momentum, the duo’s partnership came to an abrupt end due to strict UK immigration laws. Pat Carroll’s visa expired, and she was forced to return to Australia. Following her return home, Pat married musician John Farrar in 1969. Farrar would later go on to write and produce many of Olivia’s biggest career-defining hits, keeping the artistic circle tightly connected. Meanwhile, Olivia stayed behind in Britain to grind out a solo career, which eventually launched her into international superstardom in the 1970s.

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30 Vintage Kodachrome Slides of People at 1950s Parties

These vintage Kodachrome slides capture the lively atmosphere of parties in the 1950s. Shot in the rich, saturated colors that made Kodachrome famous, the images show men and women dressed in the style of the era: gathered in living rooms, around tables, dancing, laughing, and enjoying one another’s company.

From formal gatherings to more relaxed social evenings, the photos preserve the fashion, interiors, and social spirit of mid-century America. They offer a colorful and nostalgic glimpse into everyday celebration more than seventy years ago.

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Two Young Men Hold a Pre-Printed Sign “NOT MARRIED BUT WILLING TO BE”, ca. 1900

Approximately 120 years ago, this couple held opposite edges of a sign whilst posing for this photo in a very different world than the one we live in today.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, preprinted signs reading “Not Married But Willing To Be” were common novelty props supplied by photography studios. They were intended to be used tongue-in-cheek by solo, single men who were dressed in their Sunday best. The photograph would then be shared as a playful advertisement to local women that the bachelor was available for marriage.

Instead of a solo man looking for a wife, this photograph subverts that norm entirely: two young men hold the sign together, each gripping an edge. While they posed for this photo in an era when male partnerships were strictly criminalized and socially suppressed, their intimate posture, proximity, and shared declaration quietly signaled a desire to be legally wed to one another. Authors and curators have noted that the couple actually took at least five different photographs together to memorialize their relationship.

The photo serves as the famous cover image for Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love 1850s–1950s. The book is drawn from the Nini-Treadwell Collection, an archive of more than 4,000 vintage photographs meticulously accumulated over two decades by married couple Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell. They traveled the globe, scouring flea markets, antique shops, family albums, and estate sales, to rescue lost moments of male romance that families often hid away or destroyed out of shame.

Fleetwood Mac Celebrating Halloween in 1978

In October 1978, Fleetwood Mac took a break from recording the Tusk album at Village Recorders in Los Angeles to celebrate Halloween by attending a costume party together. The band’s costumes from that specific night, documented in candid photos featured in the book Get Tusked: The Inside Story of Fleetwood Mac’s Most Anticipated Album, reflected a wide, eccentric, and today highly controversial range of themes.

Lindsey Buckingham dressed as a priest, complete with a dark clerical frock and collar. Stevie Nicks wore a dramatic blonde wig, heavy white face makeup and a white gown, a ghostly, ethereal look often linked to her “Rhiannon” persona.

Christine McVie wore a highly controversial Aunt Jemima-inspired costume in blackface. John McVie wore a deeply problematic Nazi officer uniform. According to details in Mick Fleetwood’s autobiography, the choice stemmed from McVie’s personal, historical interest in collecting Third Reich memorabilia rather than political alignment, though both his and Christine’s costumes are widely viewed as unacceptable by modern social standards.

Mick Fleetwood also dressed up in elaborate gear, fitting his eccentric style. He participated in the group’s spooky season gathering, which took place while the band was deep in the era of recording their ambitious follow-up album, Tusk.

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