Georges Méliès is born in Paris, France in 1861. The pioneering silent film director innovated many early special effects and narrative storytelling devices. His more than 200 films typically had fantastical elements and he is known primarily for A Voyage to the Moon as well as Bluebeard, The Devil and the Statue, The Haunted Castle, The Cave of the Demons, and The Kingdom of the Fairies. He died in 1938.
This Day in Halloween: The pioneering and innovative silent film director Georges Méliès is born in Paris, France in 1861. / Illustration by Noah Ayub