Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia

[MichaelG]

Hello everyone.

I'm new here, and I'd like to introduce myself.

As my user name indicates, my name is Mike.

I'm 52 years old.

The horror movies I remember best stared Lon Cheney, Bela Lugosi, and Boris Karloff.

I have a bachelor's degree in behavioral science, and I'm doing research on Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia (the fear of the number 666.)

I would like to know (from the experts here) if "The Omen"" was the first horror film to dramatize this number as in any way evil, associated with the devil, or unlucky.

The quality, or popularity of any earlier films is of no interest to me.

I believe "The Omen" was first released in 1976.

Does anyone know of any earlier films (B horror movies, popular movies, T.V. movies, comedies, avant gard films, or "Christian" films) where this number appeared in a frightening or ominous context?

P.S. Rosemary's Baby, Fear No Evil, and Crowhaven Farm have all been mentioned as possibilities (but I'm fairly certain Rosemary's Baby contains no direct reference to this number, and I can find no evidence that the other two did.)

[TheWickerFan]

Oh, now I get it. You're trying to ask the same question 666 times.;)

[MichaelG]

Originally Posted by TheWickerFan

Oh, now I get it. You're trying to ask the same question 666 times.;)

No, but does anyone know the answer?

My research indicates Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia was fairly common (even among patients of Catholic and mainstream Protestant backgrounds) prior to 1976, and it seems to me that there must have been triggers in popular culture.

Does anyone know when it first appeared in the movies?

Contrary to Wikipedia, "Rosemary's Baby" doesn't seem to contain any direct reference to the number.

The 666 connection? The baby is born in the year 1966… in August. Seems odd the filmmakers would miss the obvious choice of birthing the baby in June, the sixth month, to complete the unholy triangle, but apparently Polanski didn’t feel like playing the numerology game

www.movie666.com/top-666-movie-list

Also, 666 is (and was) most often seen as evil (or "bad luck") outside any eschatological context.

I vaguely remember a reference to "the mark of the beast" in Lon Cheney's "Wolf Man," but I don't believe there's any reference to the number itself.

Does anyone know if there were any other movie references prior to 1976?

The above source mentions Kenneth Anger's 1972 "Lucifer Rising" (which I haven't seen.)

Does anyone know if there's any visual or lyrical reference to the number in that film?