by G. Jack Urso
Halloween stands
alone among the holidays celebrated in Western nations. Christmas, Easter,
Independence Day, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, May Day, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa,
New Year celebrations — these are all life-affirming holidays. Halloween,
however, celebrates not horror or evil spirits as much as it compels us to
confront our own mortality. Indeed, by making Halloween essentially a
children’s holiday we are psychologically preparing the young for questions
regarding death and the afterlife, as well as the sometimes random and
unexpected violence in modern society.
Perhaps . . . mostly
though it gives both young and old a reason to party and watch old films.
Readers of
Aeolus 13 Umbra will notice that the focus here is often on the darker side of
existence – assassinations, massacres, serial killers, dictators, war, and
death. I also have a fondness for classic horror and sci-fi and over the years
have posted a number of items related to this most curious ritual of Western
civilization — Halloween.
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An Aeolus 13 Umbra Halloween
All videos hosted on the Aeolus 13 Umbra YouTube channel.
Arthur John Shawcross: The Monster on Alexander Street:
Some horror stories are very real, and sometimes they’re your next-door
neighbor.
Dementia 13 (1963): Progenitor of later
“slasher” films, Dementia 13 was written
and directed by Francis Coppola, produced by Roger Corman, and stars William
Campbell, Patrick Magee, and Luana Anders. Released in September 1963 and
distributed in the United States by American International Pictures as the second
feature on a double bill with Corman's X:
The Man with the X-ray Eyes.
Fat Albert
Halloween Special (1977): I fondly remember this special as 1977 was at the
tail end of my trick-or-treating days. As a city boy, I could relate to the
characters and setting. Here, Fat Albert and the gang have a laugh and learn a
lesson about others, and themselves, while out and about on Halloween. Still,
one of the best theme songs for a Saturday morning cartoon show.
Halloween Howls: 45 Minutes of Fear: No Halloween would be
complete without creepy music. Usually these soundtracks are fairly
forgettable, but this one is a masterpiece of spooky ambience.
House of Dark Shadows (1970): This
extended trailer for the film based on the TV series Dark Shadows hits all the right notes for classic horror film
buffs. Essentially a gothic horror tale, House
of Dark Shadows lures us in by showing the anti-hero vampire Barnabas
Collins sympathetically and then hits us with outbursts of violence to remind
us who he really is — a vicious, predatory monster who leaves dead bodies in
his wake. While the trailer has some tongue-in-cheek humor, the film is deadly
serious.
House on Haunted Hill (1959): Directed
by William Castle. Stars Vincent Price and Carol Ohmart, also with Elisha Cook
Jr. In this classic, critically-acclaimed film, five people will be given
$10,000 each if they can stay overnight in a haunted house — and survive.
“Manos” The Hands of Fate (1966): This
independent film produced, directed, and starring fertilizer salesman Harold P.
Warren became famous after appearing on Mystery
Science Theater 3000, which introduced this truly horrible film to an
entire new generation.
Medieval Death Poem: The Middle Ages were obsessed by death. I wrote this poem
emulating the meter and structure of Medieval death poetry. Check out the
ethereal, spooky spoken word version – positively perilous poetry perfect for
Halloween:
Medieval Meditations on Death (poetry): Fragments of original Medieval verse
written in the wake of the Black Death (Bubonic Plague).
Night of the Living Dead (1968):
Director George A. Romero's classic character study in terror.
Nosferatu, aka Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922): The classic German horror
film based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula
with only a few changes to names and places. Directed by F. W. Murnau and
starring Max Schreck as the vampire Count Orlok. In the opinion of many, this
version of Dracula has yet to be
surpassed in nearly 100 years of filmmaking.
Spooky Tricks (1968): A
review of the classic children's book.
The Little Shop of Horrors (1960):
Directed by Roger Corman. The love story between a boy, a girl, and plant with
the taste for blood — human blood!
The Monster Club (1981) (article and video
clips): This horror anthology film starring Vincent Price and John Carradine is
told with tongue planted firmly in cheek; however, some of the tales, such as
the “The Shadmock” and “The Ghouls,” are truly terrifying. Horror-themed rock
music videos by Punk and New Wave British bands of the era round things out.
Vincent Price's Dracula (1982): Vincent
Price hosts this one-hour documentary on Dracula, the man and the myth.
Vlad Dracula: The Dragon’s Shadow, 1431-1460 and Vlad Dracula: The Dragon’s Shadow, 1460-1476: My massive two-part biography of the
man behind the myth — Every bit as terrifying as his fictional counterpart.
World of Darkness (1977): A
man, Paul Taylor, has a near-death experience and gains the ability to hear the
dead speak to him. He uses this ability to help other people. First pilot
for a proposed series. The second pilot is The World Beyond (1978).
In this pilot, Taylor is compelled to help a woman investigate her father's
supposed suicide and discovers her father's sister is hiding a secret — a
homicidal son. See the Ae13U article World of
Darkness — The World Beyond.
The World Beyond (1978): A
mud monster terrorizes a remote Maine Island. Second pilot for a proposed
series following World of Darkness (1977). Brooding 70s
horror. A bit more tightly paced than World of Darkness. See the
Ae13U article World of
Darkness — The World Beyond.
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