As a child I liked this film--a lot. But it wasn't until 1985 that I learned the truth while cruising the stacks at my university library. Sitting on a shelf was a slim book with a tantalizing title: Curses and Lucks. A British publication of the first half of the 20th Century, it contained accounts of screaming skulls, etc. One story, however, was the inspiration for The Maze. A titled family had a secret. Upon reaching his majority, the heir to the title was told a deep, dark family secret. At the time of the book's writing, a university friend of the then heir pressed him to tell all. What he replied was "All I will say is it's something you would not want in YOUR family."