Help with a movie similar to "Dont be afraid of the dark"

I need help with a movie my sister saw sometime in the 1970's.
After searching everywhere on the net, the closest we could find to it was "Dont be afraid of the dark" which was a 1973 release.

The storyline is very similar, but she thought the creatures in the movie were more gremlin/gnome like, with possibly more than the 3 mentioned for DBAOTD.

She also was of the belief that the movie she saw was an old black and white film, circa 1930's or thereabouts. She also thinks that the fireplace/furnace was in the basement, and this is how the creatures entered the house. Someone let them out apparently-a bit like a pandora situation. The creatures in the one she saw also whispered to be let out.

Does anyone know of an alternative movie like DBAOTD, but a much older movie, with different specifics.

We are going to source a copy of DBAOTD to see if this is the one, but in the meantime we are still looking for possible alternatives. I'm of the belief that time has altered her recollection of it, as it does, but thought it best to make sure.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers