Lights Out: The History of Diana Walter | Horror History

There is a deep history to explore in Lights Out, from Diana's time at Mulberry Hill mental hospital to her recent haunting of the Wells family!

DARKNESS WILL CONSUME YOU. There have been many horror icons over the last 50 years who have come to be symbols for their respective decades: Michael Myers in the 70s, Freddy Krueger in the 80s, Ghostface in the 90s and Jigsaw in the 00s. Since many of the most popular horror films in the 10s have invisible or unseen antagonists, I think you can make a case for Diana Walter as the face of the decade.

Diana is the "disappearing woman" who vanished from the facility she was being treated at for her rare skin disorder, and came back to haunt her victim, Sophie Lloyd and her family for decades to come.

I'll be looking into the files collected from that institution to learn more about Diana's past, and I'll analyse her entire known history as I discuss how the character is actually an allegory for Sophie's depression and mental illness. To do this I'll be using the source material, David F Sandberg's 2016 debut film: Lights Out.

#LightsOut #Diana #Ponysmasher

Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:55 The Birth of Diana Walter
1:32 Mulberry Hill Mental Hospital
4:31 Diana Comes Back
6:00 Investigating Sophie's Past
8:19 Diana's Demise

About Horror History
Horror History is a series that analyses specific characters, monsters, places or events in the fictional worlds of your favorite horror franchises.

About Lights Out
When Rebecca left home, she thought she left her childhood fears behind. Growing up, she was never really sure of what was and wasn’t real when the lights went out…and now her little brother, Martin, is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that had once tested her sanity and threatened her safety. A frightening entity with a mysterious attachment to their mother, Sophie, has reemerged.

But this time, as Rebecca gets closer to unlocking the truth, there is no denying that all their lives are in danger… once the lights go out.

Other

Music provided by Epidemic Sound:

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[mrsasori]

As someone with panic disorder, this movie meant a lot to me and scared me in a way a lot of others can't. Thanks for making this video dive into mental illness in a way that didn't feel patronizing. Great stuff man

[sunnysorrel]

TBH Diana in the thumbnail is definitely a contender for a "my sleep paralysis demon at 3 am" memes

[ladyfeonyx]

As a person diagnosed with major depressive disorder I can tell you this movie hit very close to home, I live with Diana everyday. Sunlight therapy helps but so does animal therapy, which I feel they missed in this really really close to reality movie, then again I'd hate to see what Diana would do to a doggo.

[cryingoutloud]

Rebecca's father didnt run away. Diana killed him when sophie started to get better. Diana reveals this to Rebecca in the end.

[agentxkentucky]

I think depression also hits harder at night to when you're trying to go to sleep because you're not doing anything and it's usually dark so your mind for some reason usually takes a turn for the worst. I just feel like that's how it is for someone people. Not saying Everyone.

[yelyzavetalukyanova]

there’s no shame in sleeping with the lights on there’s no shame in sleeping with the lights on there’s no shame in sleeping with the lights on THERE’S NO SHAME IN SLEEPING WITH THE LIGHTS ON

[agentxkentucky]

I noticed that when you first see the daughter, if you look in the mirror after she takes a shower she has cutting scars. Which means she's struggled with the same problems her mom had, she was just able to "beat" her depression unlike her mother.

[orangedream]

damn, this was so sad.. like so so sad. the way you talked about this movie in correlation with depression was spot on

[elfenlied_girl]

I feel that this movie is the best way to describe depression, I found that when the little boy was saying that people don’t believe him about Diana, was kind of the connection into some people denying they have a mental illness and that it’s just them being sad so they refuse help

[jarrodoakley]

“Brent’s the man. He really is”. Damn straight. I kept thinking he was going to die, but he just kept getting more awesome instead

[ACGreyhound]

The most disturbing part of Diana’s backstory is that her condition is all too real. It is called xeroderma pigmentosum, and anything like “heliotherapy” would actually be torturously painful to anyone with this genetic condition. It wouldn’t make them just disappear, but it could certainly cause them to die in agony, like being set on fire.

[diegorojas]

I love how YT has the chapters labeled on the time stamps on youtube on a mobile device.

[sirenofthesea]

About three minutes in, & I just realized he's wearing a Samara from The Ring tie. That's awesome. 😆

[Mike-zxsl]

My favorite thing about Diana is that shes a very fair antagonist as far as supernatural villains in horror go. A very specific set of rules applies to her and she sticks to those rules even in circumstances where the plot in other movies would conveniently forget about her limitations. I really enjoyed that.

[desireemacdonald]

I’m just going to keep telling myself, “ There is no shame in sleeping with a light on.” 💡🔦🕯

[SnipeyDaSniper]

"Like a ginger in July."
I feel seen.

[dragonsbanecannibal]

Who Else Thinks That The Doctors Did The Experimental "Therapy" Did It With The Knowledge That It Would/Could Kill Her
Also Brent Is 100% A Keeper

[LadyMagnolia-mxns]

This actually made me cry. To have someone understand what it’s like makes me feel less alone and so relieved. Thank you so much.

[creepycutieeee]

This movie definitely hit home for me, as someone who deals with chronic depression and severe anxiety. I also really love the way you handled the connection between Diana and mental illness. It wasn’t patronizing or demonizing. Good job! 👌🏻

[RogueTy]

I'm taking the "like a ginger in July" remark as a personal attack