A common theme throughout the fantasy genre are strange, unusual and totally awesome staircases. And yet, their ever-climbing numbers seem to have gone widely overlooked. So hold on tight to your railings, watch your step and follow me as I descend through a list of my top ten favorite fictional staircases, the first time anyone has ever compiled a list on the subject!
#10: The Grand Staircase from Harry Potter
In J.K. Rowling’s books, The Grand Staircase was simply a towering stairwell. But in the films, they decided to spruce it up a bit by turning it into a constantly shifting sets of stairs. It may look cool, but it’s actually very impractical. Think about it: it has the disadvantages of stairs and elevators but the advantages of neither. You have to wait and walk. Can you say fire hazard?
#9: The Steep, Stone Steps from The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
This film was full of bizarre, dreamlike imagery, my favorite of which being ginormous staircase under a beautiful, apocalyptic sky. It reminded me a lot of another fictional staircase, but we'll get to that one later.
#8: The Sparkly Spirals from LOTR: FOTR
When the Lord of the Rings party reach Lothlórien, they’re led up a glowing staircase that circles around a giant tree. It was so effin' sweet that it knocked a very similar Star Wars staircase off the list. Sorry, Ewoks. The Elves' stairs glew in the dark.
#7: The Stairs of Cirith Ungol from LOTR: ROTK
#5: The Zero-G Stairwell from Relativity by M.C. Escher
#3: The Stairway to Heaven from The Bible
This biblical staircase, a.k.a. Jacob’s Ladder, first appeared in a dream sequence in the book of Genesis. It's since become the iconic entrance to the Pearly Gates and received countless beautiful depictions in art. I loved it when Bart Simpson died briefly in the episode Bart Gets Hit By a Car -- he boarded an escalator to heaven, and when he spat over the side, it turned into a slide straight down to Hell.
#2: The Penrose Steps
Also known as The Impossible Staircase, the Penrose steps is a 2D depiction of an impossible 3D shape. They appear to loop forever in the same direction. The artist M.C. Escher popularized them in his classic drawing, Ascending and Descending. You can also see the Penrose Steps in films like The Avengers and Inception.
#1: The Endless Stairs from Super Mario 64
By 1996, the concept of a neverending staircase was far from new (in fact, its origin is unknown), but this was the first time us nerds actually got to experience one firsthand, and it was mind-blowing. When I was a kid, I tried running Mario up those steps for like five minutes, only to turn around and find I was still at the bottom. It's a remarkable feat of programming that continues to evoke awe and wonder today. The designers brilliantly chose to include the Shepard Tone on the game's soundtrack, an illusion similar to the Penrose steps, only with sound (the music seems to ascend infinitely as well). In order to revisit the magical staircase, I always keep a save file with more than 50 stars (the minimum amount required to open the stairwell) but less than 70 (which breaks the spell, allowing you to reach the top).
Wow, I'm a nerd.
#10: The Grand Staircase from Harry Potter
In J.K. Rowling’s books, The Grand Staircase was simply a towering stairwell. But in the films, they decided to spruce it up a bit by turning it into a constantly shifting sets of stairs. It may look cool, but it’s actually very impractical. Think about it: it has the disadvantages of stairs and elevators but the advantages of neither. You have to wait and walk. Can you say fire hazard?
#9: The Steep, Stone Steps from The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
This film was full of bizarre, dreamlike imagery, my favorite of which being ginormous staircase under a beautiful, apocalyptic sky. It reminded me a lot of another fictional staircase, but we'll get to that one later.
#8: The Sparkly Spirals from LOTR: FOTR
When the Lord of the Rings party reach Lothlórien, they’re led up a glowing staircase that circles around a giant tree. It was so effin' sweet that it knocked a very similar Star Wars staircase off the list. Sorry, Ewoks. The Elves' stairs glew in the dark.
Later in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gollum leads Frodo and Sam up the steepest staircase ever! This one almost didn't qualify for the list, as I initially thought it didn't meet the prerequisite of actually having steps. But upon rewatching the scene, I found that there are indeed steps, they're just carved into a really steep cliff!
#6: The Smokey Steps from Mary Poppins
Quite possibly my favorite part of the whole film was when Julie Andrews used her magic to create seemingly solid steps out of chimney smoke to connect two distant rooftops. Using smoke to get higher? Yeah, I think we all know how you’re supposed to watch this film.
#6: The Smokey Steps from Mary Poppins
Quite possibly my favorite part of the whole film was when Julie Andrews used her magic to create seemingly solid steps out of chimney smoke to connect two distant rooftops. Using smoke to get higher? Yeah, I think we all know how you’re supposed to watch this film.
#5: The Zero-G Stairwell from Relativity by M.C. Escher
In this famous drawing, the rules of gravity do not apply. You can't look at it without tilting your head. I always imagined the figures were walking around in a zero-gravity chamber with magnetic shoes on. My favorite part of the drawing is the "top" staircase, where two figures are passing each other at ninety-degree angles. This concept was parodied countless times, in film (Labyrinth), television (The Simpsons) and even videogames (Chrono Chross).
#4: The Stairs of Khazad-Dûm from LOTR: FOTR
The third Lord of the Rings staircase to make the list is also my favorite. What made this one so cool was how old and decrepit it was -- the massive stone steps actually fall apart while the party descends them. They won't be coming back that way!
#4: The Stairs of Khazad-Dûm from LOTR: FOTR
The third Lord of the Rings staircase to make the list is also my favorite. What made this one so cool was how old and decrepit it was -- the massive stone steps actually fall apart while the party descends them. They won't be coming back that way!
#3: The Stairway to Heaven from The Bible
This biblical staircase, a.k.a. Jacob’s Ladder, first appeared in a dream sequence in the book of Genesis. It's since become the iconic entrance to the Pearly Gates and received countless beautiful depictions in art. I loved it when Bart Simpson died briefly in the episode Bart Gets Hit By a Car -- he boarded an escalator to heaven, and when he spat over the side, it turned into a slide straight down to Hell.
#2: The Penrose Steps
Also known as The Impossible Staircase, the Penrose steps is a 2D depiction of an impossible 3D shape. They appear to loop forever in the same direction. The artist M.C. Escher popularized them in his classic drawing, Ascending and Descending. You can also see the Penrose Steps in films like The Avengers and Inception.
#1: The Endless Stairs from Super Mario 64
By 1996, the concept of a neverending staircase was far from new (in fact, its origin is unknown), but this was the first time us nerds actually got to experience one firsthand, and it was mind-blowing. When I was a kid, I tried running Mario up those steps for like five minutes, only to turn around and find I was still at the bottom. It's a remarkable feat of programming that continues to evoke awe and wonder today. The designers brilliantly chose to include the Shepard Tone on the game's soundtrack, an illusion similar to the Penrose steps, only with sound (the music seems to ascend infinitely as well). In order to revisit the magical staircase, I always keep a save file with more than 50 stars (the minimum amount required to open the stairwell) but less than 70 (which breaks the spell, allowing you to reach the top).
Wow, I'm a nerd.
