Guillermo del Toro and ghosts make for must-see experiences. The legendary Mexican director has made a career of subverting genre and presenting audiences with some of the most disturbing and frightening imagery of the past few decades.

His latest film "Crimson Peak" might invite a similar level of expectations, but the film actually operates on a different level for the filmmaker. Inspired by such Gothic narratives as Edgar Allen Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher," "Bluebeard's Wives," and "Jane Eyre," the film traverse a more romantic vein.

There are ghosts, but as the director told Latin Post in a recent exclusive interview, "Human beings are the real monsters. "

The idea for the film originated back in 2006 when the filmmaker, fresh off his big success "Pan's Labyrinth," pitched the idea to long-time collaborator Matthew Robbins. By Del Toro's accounts, the two have collaborated a total of "seven or eight times" on such projects as "Mimic," "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark," and an upcoming "Pinocchio" film that Del Toro is rumored to direct.

The two did not work on Del Toro's previous "Pacific Rim," but the auteur felt that Robbins was his man for the collaboration after pitching the story to him. Del Toro pitched it as a spec script and told Robbins beforehand that they would risk it never being made.

"He told me he loved it and didn't care," del Toro revealed. "For me that was enough of a commitment."

So off they went on the writing process, which took around a year. Del Toro and Robbins' system for collaboration revolves around an initial meeting in which they both put together a "set of cards" with major story points and information. Since Robbins lives in Paris and Del Toro jumps between Toronto and California, consistent meetings are not an option.

Instead, one of the two takes the "first stab" at the script for about a month and then a long chain of back-and-forths ensues.

"We send it back and forth. You correct it, change it, destroy it, put it back together and send it back," he explained. "That back and forth lasts about a year."

Eventually the duo managed a sale in 2007 and they were in business to get the film rolling.

Putting together the vision and production design is crucial for any filmmaker, but for Del Toro, who put together a lengthy biography of the film's eponymous castle, it was tantamount.

"I wanted to make it look like $100 million, but we only had $50 million," he emphasized. "I wanted practical sets, practical ghosts. I wanted as much of everything to be tangible and to feel handmade.

"The ambition was very large and I am very happy with the results, but it was both a really fun set and we worked really hard."

The director's visual style of "Crimson Peak" relies heavily on the use of color, primarily red. Throughout the movie, audiences witness red seeping through the castle, whether on the floorboards or on the snowy exterior. Del Toro, who utilized CGI extensively in "Pacific Rim," decided that he wanted to use as many practical effects as possible.

That included "rehearsing" a plethora of different materials to find the appropriate solution that looked good on camera. The finished product included red wax for the snow, METHOCEL for the blood and a clay-METHOCEL combo for the material that oozes out of the floorboards in the mansion.

Crucial to the visual style of the film was the work of cinematographer Dan Laustsen, with whom Del Toro had collaborated on "Mimic." The filmmaker was known for working with Guillermo Navarro on most of his major works, but opted for Laustsen's "European" approach to lighting.

"He favors single source light," explained Del Toro. "The windows inundate the frame and everything else is done with bounces or with discrete rim lights.

"The key light comes from a window or single source. That gives it a period European flavor. Very painterly."

All the craftsmanship comes to the fore through the work of the A-List cast del Toro assembled for "Crimson Peak." Leading the charge were Mia Wasikowska as Edith Cushing, a young American girl who falls in love with the mysterious Thomas Sharpe, played by Tom Hiddleston. He in turn has a rather questionable relationship with his icy sister Lucille, played by Jessica Chastain. The final piece in the quartet is Charlie Hunnam's Dr. Alan McMichael.

Del Toro had worked with Hunnam on "Pacific Rim," but had not yet had the opportunity of collaborating with the remaining trio.

"Tom brings a very human aspect to every aspect he is. No matter how villainous he is, whether he is trying to destroy the universe in Thor you kind of understand him," he noted when talking about why he picked each cast member for the given roles.

Regarding Wasikowska, he noted that "Mia brings the strength of a modern woman and the look and feel of a period character."

Chastain was also an easy choice for him as "I knew that she had not done a part like this but I knew she was going to hit a homerun because she is so powerful as an actress. She can hit those high notes of power and the low notes of melancholy and loss. She can make a monster like Lucille feel human."

Hunnam fit in quite nicely because of how he contrasted Hiddleston.

"Charlie looks like a healthy American boy," joked Del Toro. "Almost like a Puppy next to Tom."

The director handed his actors 10-page biographies for each character in order to provide them with sufficient details on getting into their respective mindsets. In their initial rehearsals the director would do "table work" with his cast, going over the bios and constructing notes on every scene.

After that, they would do rehearsals with tables and chairs to figure out the physicality of each moment. Then came the work on set, which del Toro noted was just as intense.

 "We would get there two or three hours before the crew showed up and stage the scene," he elaborated.

"Crimson Peak" hits theaters Friday, Oct. 16.