The Tingler

The Tingler
Pressbook ad for The Tingler
Directed byWilliam Castle
Written byRobb White
Produced byWilliam Castle
StarringVincent Price
CinematographyWilfred M. Cline
Edited byChester W. Schaeffer
Music byVon Dexter
Color processBlack and white
Production
company
William Castle Productions
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • July 29, 1959 (1959-07-29)
Running time
82 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$400,000[1]

The Tingler is a 1959 American horror film produced and directed by William Castle. It is the third of five collaborations between Castle and writer Robb White, and starring Vincent Price.

The film tells the story of a scientist who discovers a parasite in human beings, called a "tingler", which feeds on fear. The creature earned its name by making the spine of its host "tingle" when the host is frightened. In line with other Castle horror films, including Macabre (1958) and House on Haunted Hill (1959), Castle used gimmicks to sell the film. The Tingler remains most well known for a gimmick called "Percepto!", a vibrating device, in some of the theater chairs, which the onscreen action activated.

Released in the United States on July 19, 1959, The Tingler received mixed reviews, but has since gone through some critical reevaluation and is now considered a camp cult film.[2][3][4]

A sequel novel, The Tingler Unleashed (ISBN 979-8988682349),[5] written by Gary J. Rose, was published in August 2023 as "a contemporary reimagining that pays homage to the 1959 cinematic masterpiece by William Castle", taking place and continuing the events of the original film fifty years later; an unabridged audiobook recording of the novel was released on October 16, 2023.[6]

  1. ^ "Goosepimple Saga With Seats to Suit". Variety. July 29, 1959. p. 19. Retrieved January 14, 2021 – via Archive.org.
  2. ^ "Movie Spotlight: The Tingler". IndyWeek.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
  3. ^ "William Castle Profile". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on February 14, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
  4. ^ "Scare-masters; horror times 2". Los Angeles Times. November 7, 2007. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
  5. ^ "The Tingler Unleashed by Gary J. Rose". Amazon.com.
  6. ^ "The Tingler Unleashed by Gary J. Rose". Audible.com.