Wild peacocks were a constant nuisance during the second week of shooting. Not only did they disrupt sound recording, they also pecked various cast and crew cars after seeing their own reflection on shiny metallic surfaces.
The character Alice Mitchell, along with several other characters, were based on real historical figures. Alice Mitchell was a 19th century American murderess from Memphis, Tennessee. She slit the throat of her best friend Freda Myra Ward for rejecting her marriage proposal, and was sentenced to an insane asylum. Dr. Z.B. Henning was Alice's family physician. Lillian Johnson, who was Alice and Freda's friend, was also implicated in the trial; and it was Father Veale, Lillian's reverend, who helped acquit her by testifying to her good character. Annabel was based on "Miss A." (Annabel Lyndstrom-Pier), a subject in case study 155 in Krafft-Ebing's "Psychopathia Sexualis" which was one of the first comprehensive studies outlining deviant sexual behaviors.