Saturday, October 31, 2009

Halloween Horror Classics Megamix

Today's the day! It's Halloween!


For the last post of the month, here is one truly awesome video:


Now go and enjoy the day!

And remember, it's Halloween...

Everyone's entitled to one good scare!


Friday, October 30, 2009

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Theme Thursday - Halloween

'Halloween' is on tap for this week's Theme Thursday


So many ways I could take this theme, but I am going with John Carpenter and Debra Hill's classic "Halloween"

Halloween poster


In case you haven't seen it before (although why I can't imagine), here is a quick plot synopsis:

On Halloween night in 1963, a young Michael Myers brutally stabs his sister to death. 15 years later, Myers escapes from the sanitarium and makes his way back to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois. Another Halloween night arrives, Myers sets his sights on a teenage girl and her friends.

The terror is unleashed once more.

young michael
Young Michael


My love for this film began, I suppose, the first time I saw it. I was 7 when it premiered, too young to see it then. But when I finally did watch it, I was probably only 11 or 12. I had known about the movie for awhile, and had a sense that it was something really scary, something that was just not good for someone so young. But I had to see it. Once I finally did, it scared the heebie-jeebies out of me. And I was hooked.

Carpenter and Hill created a film that embodies that uneasiness and fear of the unknown, the unexplainable. Michael Myers didn't have a reason for what he did. And he wasn't to be reasoned with. He just was, and he just did.


Sure, the film has a few bumps, but they are minor technical/acting issues, the film itself is a masterpiece of suspense and scares. The 'shape', lurking behind bushes and unseen peering in windows, is a spine-chilling thing. The boogeyman made real, our nightmares walking in the shadows.


I have seen this movie over and over again since that first time. And I have never tired of it. It strikes a cord in the young, anxious, scared kid in me. After viewing it, I still get the eerie feeling of fear, of unease. And each time I hear the iconic music, that simple yet creepy instrumental tune, I get goosebumps. Those are signs of good stuff, indeed.

Halloween Theme


One of the things to remember when watching this film is that it was made with no thought of a sequel, of a continuation of the story. Here, Michael wasn't Laurie's brother. She was just the girl he fixated on upon his return to Haddonfield. Halloween morning, when she walked up to his old home to place the key under the mat, he saw her and decided she was 'the one'. Simple, scary and nothing more to it than that.

Michael Myers

The addition to the plot of Laurie being Michael's little sister was added in the sequel, and a scene of a young Laurie visiting Michael in an instituion was filmed to be added into the edited-for-TV version of the first film, not only to add some run time, but to make the revelation of their relationship less out-of-the-blue in the sequel.

Laurie waiting

I think Michael is scarier without this 'motivation'. Just a 'shape' bent on destruction and death. But, we also wouldn't have the ongoing story of Michael vs Laurie in some of the sequels without it.


Original Movie Trailer


I have no love for Rob Zombie's Halloween remake, as I have said before. He took the simple, unexplainable (with no need for explanation) Michael Myers and gave him a backstory and childhood that turned him into just another abused and misunderstood kid who went off-the-rails. Nothing creepy about that. Just sad.


Lynda, Annie, Laurie

If you are looking for a good, scary, Halloween flick to watch, without much blood or gore, but with tons of suspsense and chills, look no further.

Halloween is the film for you. I will be watching, scared as always.


I will end with some pics & quotes from the film:

after Michael escapes:


Sheriff Leigh Brackett: It's Halloween, everyone's entitled to one good scare.





Tommy, Laurie, Lindsay

Tommy: Laurie, what's the boogeyman?
Laurie: There's no such thing.


Laurie: It *was* the boogeyman.


Myers Ghost

Halloween... The Night HE Came Home!


Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Halloween Month: 160 Trivial Tricks or Treats

Since 2000, I have run a small (100+ players) daily email trivia game. The questions aren't too difficult, and I try to cover many topics.

Each October, I do a month of Halloween or horror related trivia questions.

Here are those questions, all 160 of them. Answers below.




1) Is the pumpkin a fruit or a vegetable?

2) What famous horror film was shot at Camp NoBeBoSco in Blairstown, New Jersey?

3) Who was the only movie actor to play The Wolf Man, Frankenstein's Monster, the mummy and a vampire in different films?

4) What was the only film (not counting documentaries or retrospectives) to feature the talents the three horror greats Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr. and Vincent Price?

5) Serial killer known as, 'The Damsel Of Death,' she raped and shot to death 6 men in 1989/90 in the town of Deland, Florida. She was a roadside prostitute with a hatred of men. Who was she?

6) How many rooms to rent were there at the Bates Motel in PSYCHO?

7) The narrator at the beginning of the film "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" later received a co-starring role in a t.v. series entitled, 'Night Court.' Who was he?

8) In June 1692, Bridget Bishop was the first of many to die for what reason?

9) What is the Romanian Language word for "son of the devil" or "son of the dragon"?

10) In "Halloween", Michael Myers tries to kill his younger sister, Laurie Strode. What is the name of the sister he did kill?

11) How many movies was Jason NOT the killer in the Friday the 13th films?

12) Johnny Depp has done alot of Horror Movie related films. He starred in "Edward Scissorhands", "Ed Wood" and recently in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". What horror movie featured Depp's acting debut?

13) What does one suffering from LYCANTHROPIC DISORDER think that they become?

14) What was the name of the ancient Celtic (or druidic) festival for the "end of summer" that eventually became the basis of Halloween?

15) In the 1979 movie Alien, the only two survivors at the end of the movie were:
(A) Ripley and the Ash
(B) Ripley and Jones
(C) Just Ripley -- there was no one else

16) What future Hollywood mega-star was one of the cast members of "Critters 3"?

17) What future co-star of a 70's hit sitcom had an uncredited role as a prison guard in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho"?

18) What future sitcom star/Hollywood starlet was in the cast of the horror flick "Leprechaun"?

19) Which co-star of "The Matrix" was in "Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors"?

20) In the television show "The Addams Family" what was the name of Wednesday's headless doll?

21) What famous actor/voice-over artist's father appears in the low-budget 80s horror flick "Sleepaway Camp"?

22) What famous rock and roll singer's sister appears in the cheesy "Sleepaway Camp II"?

23) What co-star of "Critters 4" went on to success in the 90s in roles playing famous African-American women?

24) Who played the young Norman Bates in flashbacks in "Psycho II"?

25) What future "Saturday Night Live" regular had a bit part in "Halloween II"?

26) What member of the cast of "Welcome Back, Kotter" also had a small roll in "Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives"?

27) Who has an uncredited cameo as Freddy Kreuger's father in "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare"?

28) Ehrich Weiss died on Halloween. What was he better known to the world as?

29) Believe it or not, the fear of Halloween actually has a name. What is this phobia called?

30) For what horror film was Mercedes McCambridge supposedly fed raw eggs and alcohol, then smoked cigarettes and was strapped to a chair to do a "special" voice?

31) When this horror legend passed away, chiropractor Tom Mason took over his role and a "classic" film was created. Name the actor who died and the film.

32) On "The Addams Family", they had a sign outside their home cautioning passers-by to "Beware of .... " What?

33) What 1970's horror/sci-fi classic has as a subtitle "The 8th Passenger" in non-English versions?

34) What horror movie great voiced the character of cartoon villain Ratigan in Disney's "The Great Mouse Detective"?

35) Gene Hackman, Robert Duvall, Jeremy Irons and Brian Cox were all either offered or considered for the role of what horror movie psychopath?

36) Which costume does Frederick's of Hollywood consider the all-time best selling costume for women?
(A) Nurse's costume
(B) French maid's outfit
(C) Harem dancer

37) Who filed the "copyright" lawsuit against German expressionist F. W. Murnau because of his 1922 film "Nosferatu - a Symphony of Horror"?

38) What is the name of Broom-Hilda's buzzard buddy?
(A) Griffin
(B) Gaylord
(C) Gunther

39) Actors Harry Crosby, Kevin Bacon, Corey Feldman, Crispin Glover, Kelly Rowland and Erin Gray all have what in common?

40) Captain Elliot Spencer of the English army found a small black box called the Lament Configuration. He then made a bargain that turned him into what?

41) In Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, what is Dr. Jekyll's first name?

42) During filming, this movie was referred to as "Production 9401" or "Wimpy". What was this movie eventually called?

43) In 1970, Baskin-Robbins created an ice cream that was a blend of vanilla ice cream with orange pieces and licorice bits. For what television show was this flavor a promotion for?

44) This little Halloween favorite has 3.57 calories per piece, and comes in different varieties for other holidays, like Reindeer (for Christmas), Indian (for Thanksgiving), Cupid (for Valentine's) and Bunny (for Easter). But 75% of the annual production goes towards Halloween. What is this trick-or-treat classic?

45) Actress Janet Leigh is famous for starring in Hitchcock's "Psycho" and for being the mother of Jamie Lee Curtis. Name one of the two films Leigh and her daughter both had roles in.

46) "Man lives in the sunlit world of what he believes to be reality. But, there is, unseen by most, an underworld. A place that is just as real, but not as brightly lit... " This is the opening intro to what spooky television anthology series?

47) For a cartoon short, Mel Torme recorded the song "Monsters Lead Such Interesting Lives." What character was the star of this short?
(A) Donald Duck
(B) Daffy Duck
(C) Fred Flintstone
(D) Casper, the Friendly Ghost

48) Name the film where comedic legend Rodney Dangerfield played Lucifer, father of Satan.

49) Shortly before Christopher Reeve's paralyzing accident, he starred in a remake of what horror film?

50) Barnabas Collins, Quinn Blackwood, Lestat de Lioncourt, Carmilla and Spike are all what?
(A) Zombies
(B) Werewolves
(C) Aliens
(D) Vampires

51) In the film "Gremlins," once you get the little creatures wet, they become the horrible and destructive Gremlins. But what are they called BEFORE they get wet, when they are cute and cuddly?

52) In ancient England, October was once called "Winmonath", which meant:
(A) Wine Month
(B) King William's Month
(C) Monarch's Month
(D) Women's Month

53) Which country celebrates "The Day of the Dead" instead of Halloween?

54) Which of these is NOT a real Abbott and Costello film?
(A) "Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"
(B) "Abbott and Costello Meet The Invisible Man"
(C) "Abbott and Costello Meet The Vampire"
(D) "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy"

55) What then-famous singer held a Halloween seance in 1988 to try and summon the spirits of Liberace and Sid Vicious?

56) Which company runs a Flavor Graveyard on their website?
(A) M&Ms
(B) Ben & Jerry's
(D) Coca-Cola

57) I have had a long and varied acting career in nearly 220 films, including many horror roles. I have played Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, Kharis the Mummy, Dr. Fu Manchu, Rasputin, Saruman and Count Dooku. I regret turning down the role of Dr. Loomis in "Halloween." I was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. I am also listed as the "Center of the Hollywood Universe." Oh, and I celebrated my 82nd birthday this year. Who am I?

58) What horror movie series features the line "It's Halloween, everyone's entitled to one good scare."?

59) A year after directing the horror classic "Dracula," Tod Browning made another film that was a shock to audiences and banned for many years in the US and other countries. What is this unsettling film?

60) With a new Halloween show, which cartoon character got a new Guinness World Record for Most Episodes of a Cartoon Comedy Series, going past "The Simpsons"?

61) What Arthur Miller play has the 1692 Salem witch trials as its setting?

62) Which Disney film features a character named Beauty --- who's a villain?
(Hint: One of the words in the title is a color.)

63) What is anthropophagy?

64) Brian Warner created his rock-n-roll stage name by combining a film legend and a criminal legend. Who is Brian Warner better known as?

65) What reluctant horror-story hero was enamored with the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel?

66) What horror film series features a serial killer known as "the Jigsaw killer"?

67) What classic horror novel begins:
"3 May. Bistritz. - Left Munich at 8:35 P.M., on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6:46, but the train was an hour late. Buda-Pesth seems a wonderful place, from the glimpse which I got from the train and the little I could walk through the streets."

68) DC Comics had horror anthology comics, two of which were called "House of Mystery" and "House of Secrets". Each series had their own long-running "host", who would introduce the tales. Can you give me their names?

69) In the classic 1974 horror movie "Black Christmas", where did the killer hide for much of the time?

70) On "The Addams Family", what was the name of Wednesday's pet spider?
(A) Fungus
(B) Melancholia
(C) Nanook
(D) Homer

71) In "The Nightmare Before Christmas", what was the name of Jack's ghostly, dead pet dog?

72) Taphephobia is a fear of:
(A) Being videotaped
(B) Being buried alive
(C) Being burned by fire
(D) Skeletons

73) Freddy Kreuger served as host of the anthology series "Freddy's Nightmares". What role did Jason Voorhess serve to the show "Friday the 13th: The Series"?

74) Elphaba is the name given to this famous character in the 1990's, but for close to 100 years she was known as what?

75) What horror movie classic had a brother taunting his sister in the beginning with the line "They're coming to get you, Barbara!"?

76) Which of the below characters is the most performed horror villain in motion picture history?
(A) Count Dracula
(B) Jason Voorhees
(C) The Frankenstein Monster
(D) The Wolfman

77) What Halloween-associated creature belongs to the mammalian order Chiroptera?

78) In Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Tell-Tale Heart", who's heart does he hear beating:
(A) The young woman
(B) The old woman
(C) The old man
(D) His uncle from Sheboygan

79) Who are we talking about in this old 19th-century children's rhyme:

80) "Halloween III: Season of the Witch" was the sequel which did not feature Michael Myers as the killer. Instead, a corporation implanted computer chips in their Halloween masks, to be activated when their jingle is played on television. Can you give me the name of this corporation?

81) In Disney's "Hercules", who were Hades two sidekicks:
(A) Evil and Vile
(B) Death and Destruction
(C) Pain and Panic

82) Why does Frankenstein's assistant Fritz steal an abnormal brain from the university?
(A) There were only abnormal brains there
(B) He dropped the only normal brain
(C) All the normal brains were dissected

83) Which character faced enemies with names such as Faceless Redrum, Gruesome, Karpse, The Mole, Mumbles, Pruneface, Tiger Lily and Trigger Doom?

84) How does Michael Meyers surprise and kill Annie in "Halloween"?
(A) He's hiding in the backseat of the car
(B) He jumps off the roof
(C) He's hiding in the laundry room

85) In "House of Dracula" why does Talbot ask to be locked up?
(A) He knew he would turn into a vampire
(B) He knew he would turn into a werewolf
(C) He wanted to get his name in the paper

86) In Disney's "Cinderella", what is the name of the stepmother's sneaky cat?
(A) Lucifer
(B) Salem
(C) Licorice

87) In "The Mummy's Hand," what happens when the doctor feeds a serum of tanna leaves to the mummified remains of Kharis?
(A) Kharis meets his end at the hands of Dr. Petrie
(B) Kharis uses his powers for good
(C) Kharis is revived, and kills Dr. Petrie

88) In "Friday the 13th Part II," one camp counselor dresses as which of the following to scare his friends around the campfire?
(A) A vampire
(B) Mrs. Voorhees
(C) A caveman

89) Who was the only cast member of the tv show "Friday the 13th: The Series" who actually had a starring role in a "Friday the 13th" or "Jason" film?
(A) Robey
(B) John D. LeMay
(C) Chris Wiggins
(D) Steven Monarque

90) Casper the Friendly Ghost had a nemesis with the nickname "the Tuff Little Ghost". He wore a bowler hat and had a sometime girlfriend named "Poil". What was this little ghost's name?
(A) Spooky
(B) Phantom
(C) Scary

91) In "A Nightmare on Elm Street," what does Nancy bring back from her dream when she wakes up in the hospital?
(A) A piece of Freddy's sweater
(B) A blade from Freddy's glove
(C) Freddy's hat

92) Which cast member from the original "Black Christmas" (1974) had a role, albeit as a different character, in the remake?
(A) Margot Kidder
(B) Olivia Hussey
(C) John Saxon
(D) Andrea Martin

93) In "The Wolf Man", from 1941, Jenny has her palm read by a psychic. He sees the sign of the wolf as shown by the image of:
(A) A wolf's head
(B) A pentagram
(C) A silver bullet

94) This animal is said to live in Latin American countries, preying on livestock. It's Spanish name literally translates to "goat-sucker". What is this legendary creature called?
(A) Yeti
(B) Fiji mermaid
(C) Chupacabra

95) Where does the cop meet his end in "Friday the 13th Part II"?
(A) In the middle of Crystal Lake
(B) In his office
(C) In a shack in the woods

96) Which monster appeared on "The Munsters" as Uncle Gilbert?
(A) Creature from the Black Lagoon
(B) Hunchback of Notre Dame
(C) Phantom of the Opera

97) "Frankenstein" (1931), "The Old Dark House" (1932), "The Invisible Man" (1933) and "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935) were all directed by what Hollywood legend?
(A) Alfred Hitchcock
(B) James Whale
(C) Tod Browning

98) This scary movie was the last big screen appearance for three Hollywood legends: Melvyn Douglas, Fred Astaire and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Which movie was it?
(A) "The Haunting"
(B) "The Legend of Hill House"
(C) "Ghost Story"

99) A "Lemarchand's box" is a fictional puzzle box appearing in stories written by or inspired by the work of which author?
(A) Wes Craven
(B) Clive Barker
(C) Dean Koontz

100) What was the name of the serial killer who, through means of voodoo, became trapped in the form of the doll known as Chucky, in the "Child's Play" films?
(A) Clarence Brown
(B) Charles Lee Ray
(C) Charles Crandall Finster III

101) Why is the first time Michael Myers kills a woman in "Halloween" different from all the others?
(A) He's not wearing a disguise
(B) It's the only time he doesn't use a knife
(C) He's just a young boy

102) Actress Alice Ghostley played Esmerelda, Samantha's maid/babysitter witch, on "Bewitched". What bodily function caused Esmerelda's already sketchy magical powers to create unforeseen, and comical, situations?

103) True or False: Casper the Friendly Ghost didn't get a name until about 4 years AFTER he debuted in the short "The Friendly Ghost" in 1945.

104) In "A Nightmare on Elm Street," how does Nancy wake herself up and escape Freddy when she falls asleep at school?
(A) Burning her arm
(B) Pinching her thigh
(C) Biting her hand

105) Bodega Bay is the setting for which classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller?

106) A planchette is most commonly used during what "supernatural" activity?

107) Taphophobia is the fear of what?

108) In a 5th season episode of "The X-Files", titled "Travelers", we find out how the unsolved cases division of the FBI got the "X" designation, with a scene from the 1950s. What was the reason they were called "X" files?
(A) "X" stood for extra-terrestrials
(B) "X" case were extremely strange
(C) "X" was just a roomy file drawer

109) What is the name of the title feline in Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Black Cat"?

110) On "Friday the 13th: The Series", after Micki and Ryan inherit their uncle's antique store, they change the name from Vendredi's Antiques to what?
(A) Curious Goods
(B) Cursed Objects
(C) Marshak's Antiques

111) What role do Beverley Owen, Pat Priest, Debbie Watson, Jo McDonnell, Mary-Ellen Dunbar, Hilary Van Dyke, Christine Taylor and Elaine Hendrix all have in common?

112) True or False:
Bela Lugosi, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff NEVER appeared in a movie together?
(Hint: Not counting documentaries or compilations.)

Who is the author of this famous line, now synonymous with witches and their brews?

114) Which famous actress had one of her first directing jobs with an episode of "Tales from the Darkside" in the 1980s?
(A) Jodie Foster
(B) Penny Marshall
(C) Carrie Fisher

115) Chernabog is a demon who appears in which Disney animated feature film?

116) Which Harvey Comics character made their first appearance 50 years ago this month:
(A) Wendy the Good Little Witch
(B) Hot Stuff, the Little Devil
(C) Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost

117) "Gooble gobble, gooble gobble, we accept her, we accept her, one of us, one of us!" This is a line from what now-classic movie?

118) Robert Bloch wrote the novel Psycho, upon which the classic Hitchcock film was based. Bloch wrote a sequel in 1982, called Psycho 2.
True or False: Bloch's Psycho 2 was used as the plot for the film sequel of the same name.

119) Which star of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" made an appearance in the 2007 horror film "Kaw", which was also about an attack by birds?
(A) Tippi Hedren
(B) Rod Taylor
(C) Veronica Cartwright

120) In the 1966 classic "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" the children are invited to a Halloween party thrown by which of their friends?

121) Who said the following:
(A) Anne Rice
(B) Danny Elfman
(C) Tim Burton

122) What is unusual about Renfield's trip to Dracula's castle in the stagecoach, in 1931's "Dracula"?
(A) He stops to eat some spiders
(B) He's attacked by vampires
(C) The driver mysteriously disappears

123) After having beaten the villain in their first encounters, which of these four heroines is NOT eventually killed by the villain in a sequel?
(A) Laurie Strode (Halloween movies)
(B) Alice Hardy (Friday the 13th movies)
(C) Nancy Thompson (A Nightmare on Elm Street movies)
(D) Sidney Prescott (Scream movies)

124) In "House of Dracula" why does Baron Latos (Dracula) visit Dr. Edelman in his castle?
(A) To make a bride for him
(B) To appeal for his help in being cured of vampirism
(C) He needs someone to ship his coffin overseas

125) Which band recorded a song in the late 60s entitled "Sympathy for the Devil"?

126) In 1980's "Terror Train" who played the role of Ken, the magician?

127) What's the "dimension of imagination," according to the host of a classic TV series?

128) In the "Saw" series of movies, what is the Jigsaw character's name?
(A) Jim Langstan
(B) John Kramer
(C) John Taylor
(D) Jonathon Stratton

129) In the 1970s, actor William Marshall played Mamuwalde in two films. What sort of monster was Mamuwalde?
(A) Zombie
(B) Wolfman
(C) Vampire
(D) Mummy

130) Yesterday was the 65th birthday of writer R.L. Stine, most widely known for scaring kids around the world with his Goosebumps books. What does "R.L." stand for?

131) Which horror anthology television show had an old book called The Manifest, which cataloged all the cursed items the characters sought to retrieve?

132) Daniel Robitaille is the given name of which horror movie villan?

133) Which of these monsters does NOT appear in 1945's "House of Dracula"?
(A) Dracula
(B) Frankenstein's Monster
(C) The Wolfman
(D) The Mummy

134) In the popular series of books collectively called "Twilight", by Stephenie Meyer, a girl named Bella Swan moves to a new town, where she meets a young vampire named what?

135) In the 70s, Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann played sister and brother in "Escape to Witch Mountain" and it's sequel "Return from Witch Mountain". But they also played siblings in what lesser known 1978 TV horror film?

136) "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" is a classic television special from 1966. What issue does Charlie Brown have with his ghost costume?

137) Which of these horror movies was NOT nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture?
(A) "Psycho"
(B) "The Exorcist"
(C) "Jaws"
(D) "The Silence of the Lambs"
(E) "The Sixth Sense"

138) What 1981 horror movie was the feature film debut of Jason Alexander, Fisher Stevens and Holly Hunter?

139) Which Disney villain do the three fairies say will never understand "love, kindness, and the joy of helping others"?

140) Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, the stars of the eerie TV series "Supernatural," are starred in seperate movies this year, movies that are remakes of old horror films. Can you name these two movies?

141) In the 2001 film "Jeepers Creepers," the Creeper rises to feast on humans and find parts to make up his body. How many years apart are his rampages?
(A) 13
(B) 23
(C) 50
(D) 99

142) Elsa Lanchester is known for playing the monster's mate in 1935's "The Bride of Frankenstein." What other role did she have in that movie?

143) What kind of creature was the Japanese sci-fi monster Gamera?
(A) A giant turtle
(B) A giant scorpion
(C) A giant squid

144) Best-selling author Dean Koontz wrote a trilogy of books based on a classic horror character. In these books, the character goes by the name "Deucalion" but what is he most famously known as?

145) Christine Daaé was the obsession of which 'horror' movie villain?

146) In Dario Argento's 1977 Italian horror classic Suspiria, which of the irises does Suzy turn to open the secret door?
(A) Yellow
(B) Red
(C) Blue

147) Who is credited with writing the first detective story, The Murders in the Rue Morgue?
(A) Edgar Allan Poe
(B) Arthur Conan Doyle
(C) Agatha Christie
(D) Raymond Chandler

148) The big, furry, red monster who chases Bugs Bunny first appears in Chuck Jones' 1946 film Hair-Raising Hare as the mad scientist's henchman. He was called "Rudolph" when he appeared next in the 1952 short Water, Water Every Hare. But his real name was finally given in the 1980 Jones' toon, Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24 1/2th Century. What is the big monster's name?

149) Who played a vampire in 1939's "Return of Dr. X"?
(A) Cary Grant
(B) Rock Hudson
(C) Spencer Tracy
(D) Humphrey Bogart

150) In what classic tale is Brom Bones the antagonist, and perhaps even the true identity of the terrifying villain?

151) In the 2000 horror film Final Destination, what is interesting about the characters' names?

152) What do you call a poker hand including the black aces and eights?
(A) Deadman Walking
(B) Ace of Darkness
(C) A Dead Man's Hand
(D) Fade to Black

153) H.H. Holmes is considered to be America's first what:
(A) Serial killer
(B) Actor to portray Count Dracula
(C) Professional Pumpkin Carver
(D) Costume Marketer

154) Which actor/stuntman has portrayed the character of Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th films the most:
(A) Ted White
(B) Kane Hodder
(C) Ari Lehman
(D) Ken Kirzinger

155) If a villain commits 'uxoricide', what has he done?

156) What is interesting about the character of Nancy Bellicec from 1978's Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the character of Valerie Shenkman from the 2005-2006 TV series "Invasion" and the character of Wendy Lenk in The Invasion, the 2007 movie remake?

157) Which actor portrayed the character Harvey Daley, who was the last person killed on the TV series "Gunsmoke", in 1975?
(A) David Carradine
(B) Gary Busey
(C) Burt Reynolds
(D) Michael Ansara

158) 11 years after the success of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, a new special was made, called Halloween is Grinch Night. Since Boris Karloff had died in 1969, who took over as the new voice of The Grinch?
(A) Bela Lugosi
(B) Martin Landau
(C) Lon Chaney Jr.
(D) Hans Conried

159) In 1971, Genereal Mills released two new cereals, Count Chocula and Franken Berry. Two years later they added Boo Berry. All three cereals are still produced and available. Two other flavors were once part of the Monster Cereal line. Can you name them?

160) The organ located in the Disneyland Haunted Mansion's ballroom is a prop from which 1954 Disney film?



1) Pumpkins are fruits. A pumpkin is a type of squash and is a member of the gourd family, which also includes squash, cucumbers, gherkins, and melons.

2) Friday the 13th.

3) Lon Chaney, Jr., is the only person to have played all four of the classic movie monsters: "The Wolf Man" (1941) (as Larry Talbot/Wolf Man); "The Ghost of Frankenstein" (1942) (as The Frankenstein Monster); "The Mummy's Tomb" (1942) (as Kharis, the mummy); and "Son of Dracula" (1943) (as Count Anthony Alucard, Dracula's son).

4) "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein". Bela Lugosi played Dracula, Lon Chaney Jr. played the Wolf Man, and Vincent Price did the voice of the Invisible Man uncredited.

5) Aileen Wuornos.

6) 12 rooms. "We have 12 vacancies. 12 cabins, 12 vacancies."

7) John Larroquette.

8) Bridget Bishop was the first to be hanged for practicing witchcraft in the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Following her were George Burroughs, Martha Carrier, Martha Corey, Mary Easty, Sarah Good, Elizabeth Howe, George Jacobs, Sr., Susannah Martin, Rebecca Nurse, Alice Parker, Mary Parker, John Proctor, Ann Pudeator, Wilmott Redd, Margaret Scott, Samuel Wardwell, Sarah Wildes and John Willard. Another man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death.

9) Dracula! The real person Dracula was based on was named Vlad "Dracula", that is the son of (also Vlad) "Dracul" - word meaning both "the devil" and "the dragon" in Romanian. He lived - between ca. 1431 and 1476.

10) Judith Myers, played by Sandy Johnson, the Playboy Playmate of the Month for June 1974.

11) Jason was not the killer in TWO of the movies.
Mrs. Voorhees, Jason's mother, was the killer in the original, avenging her son's death, or so she thought.
After Jason was killed in part 4, he did not reappear in part 5. The killer was instead someone pretending to be Jason. Jason was resurrected for part 6.
Part 9 features Jason being killed, then moving from person to person, killing along the way, until he reforms his own body. But all the killings are done by Jason, he is just in different bodies.
So, only parts 1 & 5 DON'T feature Jason as the killer.

12) "A Nightmare on Elm Street"

13) A werewolf!

14) "Feast of Samhain."
There is no evidence that there was a Celtic death god named Samhain. There is some evidence that an obscure character named Samain or Sawan played a minor role in Celtic mythology, but he is little mentioned and was not associated with death. "Sam" and "hain" mean "end of" and "summer" to the Celts. The Celts, who only celebrated two seasons (summer and winter), believed that the veil between this world and the next was thinnest at this time of year, the end of October. They believed that the souls of dead friends and relatives returned, often inhabiting the bodies of animals, such as black cats. Samhain was also a new year's celebration, as the Celtic year stated with winter.

15) (B) Ripley and Jones the cat were the only two survivors at the end of the movie. Cats do have nine lives, after all.

16) Leonardo DiCaprio.

17) Ted Knight, who went on the television fame as Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

18) Jennifer Aniston, Rachel from "Friends".

19) Laurence Fishburne, Morpheus from "The Matrix" trilogy.

20) "Marie Antoinette." Wednesday also liked to collect spiders. Morticia had a man-eating plant named Cleopatra.

21) Robert Earl Jones, father of James Earl Jones, voice of Darth Vader and CNN.

22) Pamela Springsteen, sister of Bruce Springsteen!
Also in this movie is Renee Estevez, sister of Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez and Ramon Estevez, and daughter of Martin Sheen.

23) Angela Bassett, who played Tina Turner, Betty Shabazz, Katherine Jackson and others in the 90s.

24) Oz Perkins, son of Norman Bates portrayer Anthony Perkins.
Henry Thomas (Elliot from "E.T.") played young Norman in Psycho IV, not Psycho II.

25) Dana Carvey.
The killer in the Halloween movies WAS named Michael Myers, but Mike Myers (the actor/comedian) was NOT in Halloween II.

26) Ron Palillo, Horshak of "Welcome Back, Kotter".

27) Alice Cooper.

28) Harry Houdini, magician famed for his escape acts. Born Ehrich Weiss, he named himself after the French magician Robert-Houdin.

29) Samhainophobia.

30) The demon voice in "The Exorcist". Director William Friedkin originally wanted Linda Blair's voice. After 150 hours of work on sound recording in pre-production, Friedkin rejected it, and brought in McCambridge.

31) Bela Lugosi in "Plan 9 From Outer Space". Lugosi died four days after shooting some scenes for Ed Wood. After Lugosi's death, Wood abandoned the project and rewrote the script to accommodate all the footage shot in a cemetery and outside Tor Johnson's house in the new production. Béla Lugosi's part was taken over by Tom Mason, Wood's wife's chiropractor, who was significantly taller than Lugosi, and played the part with a cape covering his face. The movie is considered the worst of all time.

32) I had originally had as the answer "Beware of The THING". I even saw a picture of the sign! But other sources found that there was a sign that said "Beware of EVERYTHING!".

33) "Alien", from 1979. The eighth passenger being, of course, the alien.

34) Vincent Price. Shortly before his death, he said that one of his most favorite roles was the voice of Professor Ratigan in the Disney feature, especially since two original songs had been written for him.

35) Hannibal Lecter in "The Silence of the Lambs", the role which eventually went to Anthony Hopkins.

36) (B) French maid's outfit (in black and white).

37) Florence Stoker, the then-60 year-old widow of "Dracula" author Bram Stoker. Legally, the film is a complete unauthorized plagurization of the Stoker novel, which may not have proven a problem had the film been a failure. Unfortunately for Murnau, the film was terrific. It was soon exported internationally, Florence found out about it. Ultimately, Flo won her case. 'Nosferatu' was ordered out of circulation, and every existing print was ordered destroyed. Had it not been for a few rogue prints held over in America, the film would have been lost to the ages.

38) (B) Gaylord.

39) All had roles in various "Friday the 13th" films. Crosby (Friday the 13th); Bacon (Friday the 13th); Feldman (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter); Glover (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter); Rowland (Freddy vs. Jason) and Gray (Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday).

40) Pinhead, the leader of the Cenobites, who are tortured souls that bring pain to others in the "Hellraiser" movies.

41) Henry.

42) "Psycho", from 1960.

43) "Bewitched". The flavor sold only briefly and the only memento from this concoction are the promotional ads and displays that feature Samantha, Endora and Tabitha brewing a huge cup of this strange flavor. The actress who played Tabitha, Erin Murphy, said it was terrible.

44) Candy Corn!

45) John Carpenter's The Fog, from 1980, and Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, from 1998.

46) "Tales from the Darkside", from the 80's.

47) (B) Daffy Duck. The short was "Night of The Living Duck," from the movie "Daffy Duck's Quackbusters."

48) "Little Nicky", from 2000. Dangerfield played Lucifer, father of Satan, played by Harvey Keitel. Little Nicky was the son of Satan, and was played by Adam Sandler.

49) In 1995, Reeve starred with Kirstie Alley in "Village of the Damned," a remake of the 1960 horror classic. He did star in a remake of "Rear Window," but this was in 1998, after his accident.

50) (D) Vampires. Barnabas Collins is from the TV show "Dark Shadows"; Quinn Blackwood and Lestat de Lioncourt are from the novels by Anne Rice; Carmilla is a female vampire from late 19th-century novellas and Spike is the vampire from the show "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer."

51) They were called the Mogwai. The one given as a gift in the movie was named Gizmo by it's new owner, a was voiced by Howie Mandel.

52) (A) Wine Month.

53) Mexico. It is called “El Día de los Muertos” and celebrated on November 1st.

54) (C) "Abbott and Costello Meet The Vampire" is NOT a movie made by the famous duo. Other "Meets..." movies are "Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff"; "Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein"; "Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd" and "Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops."

55) Debbie Gibson.

56) (B) Ben & Jerry's. Some of the dearly departed flavors are Coffee Coffee BuzzBuzzBuzz, White Russian, Peanuts! Popcorn! and Dastardly Mash!

57) Christopher Lee. He has had a film released every year since 1948, except for 1995. His peak years were 1955 and 1970, with 9 films released in each of those years.

58) The "Halloween" series. It is featured in the first film, "Halloween" (1978), spoken by Sheriff Leigh Brackett (played by Charles Cyphers) and in "Halloween: H20" (1998), spoken by Norma Watson (played by Janet Leigh).

59) "Freaks" from 1932. A film about carnival life with real sideshow performers. It unnerved many, and was shelved by MGM. A man named Dwain Esper acquired the rights and exhibited the movie in sideshows. Many of the laws banning this film have never been repealed, so technically it is illegal to show it in some places.

60) "Scooby-Doo". The World Record was awarded to Scooby-Doo with the new 350th episode, "A Scooby-Doo Halloween".

61) The Crucible.

62) "White Fang", from 1991. The dastardly villain Beauty Smith is played by actor James Remar.

63) It's another name for cannibalism, the eating of one's own kind. "Cannibalism," by the way, is derived from the Spanish word for the Caribs, a West Indian tribe that is believed to have practiced cannibalism.

64) Brian Warner chose the name Marilyn Manson based on actress Marilyn Monroe and murderer Charles Manson. Warner says, "I picked that as the fakest stage name of all to say that this is what show business is, fake." The Spooky Kids (Marilyn's band) decided to follow his lead and they all chose famous female first names paired with serial killer last names. The band's original line-up included guitarist Daisy Berkowitz, bassist Olivia Newton-Bundy, the drummer Sara Lee Lucas and the keyboardist Zsa Zsa Speck.

65) Shy schoolmaster Ichabod Crane, from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving.

66) The "Saw" film series. Saw VI is out this year.

67) Dracula, by Bram Stoker.

68) Cain and Abel. Cain hosted the "House of Mystery", while Abel hosted the "House of Secrets".

69) In the attic of the sorority house. This movie is not as well known as "Halloween", but was clearly an inspiration for John Carpenter. An interesting tid-bit: the director of "Black Christmas" was also the director of the holiday classic "A Christmas Story".

70) (D) Homer.

71) Zero.

72) (B) Being buried alive.

73) None. The character of Jason Voorhees was not a part of the television show, which only used the name of the movies. The plot and characters were entirely separate. There was some thought about putting the hockey mask in an episode, but it was never done.

74) The Wicked Witch of the West. Elphaba (Thropp) is derived from L. Frank Baum's initials, LFB, or el-fa-ba. Gregory Maguire wrote a "biography", called "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West".

75) 1968's "Night of the Living Dead". Johnny taunts his sister Barbara with this line in the cemetery.

76) (A) Count Dracula. And actor Christopher Lee has played him more times than anyone else.

77) Bats, which may resemble both birds and rodents in some ways, but they are in a class by themselves. Chiroptera means "hand wing." Some recent research, in fact, suggests that bats might be more closely related to primates than to rodents.

78) (C) The old man. I know, technically, he is hearing his OWN heart beating, but I wasn't trying to be tricky!

79) Solomon Grundy. A different version of the ryhme is: Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday, christened on a stark and stormy Tuesday, married on a gray and grisly Wednesday, ill on a mild and mellow Thursday, worse on a bright and breezy Friday, died on a gay and glorious Saturday, buried on a baking, blistering Sunday. This is the end of Solomon Grundy.

80) The Silver Shamrock Corporation.

81) Pain and Panic. Bob Goldthwait voiced Pain, while Matt Frewer voiced Panic.

82) (B) He dropped the only normal brain.

83) Dick Tracy. The newspaper strip premeired 75 years ago yesterday, on October 4, 1931. Creator Chester Gould wrote and drew the strip until 1977. Later artists and writers have kept the strip running to this day.

84) (A) He's hiding in the backseat of the car. After watching Annie while she is in the laundry room, Michael later hides and waits until she gets in the car.

85) (B) He knew he would turn into a werewolf.

86) (A) Lucifer.

87) (C) Kharis is revived, and kills Dr. Petrie. He proves he's not a morning person.

88) (C) A caveman.

89) (B) John D. LeMay. He played Ryan Dallion on the tv series, and played Steven Freeman in "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday" in 1993.

90) (A) Spooky.

91) (C) Freddy's hat.

92) (D) Andrea Martin. Ms. Martin played Phyllis Carlson in the original. In the remake, she played Ms. MacHenry.

93) (B) A pentagram.

94) (C) Chupacabra.

95) (C) In a shack in the woods. But it's not just any shack, it's Jason's shack.

96) (A) Creature from the Black Lagoon.

97) (B) James Whale.

98) (C) "Ghost Story", from 1981.

99) (B) Clive Barker. The most famous of his boxes is the "Lament Configuration", which was featured in the "Hellraiser" series of movies.

100) (B) Charles Lee Ray. He was known as the notorious Lakeshore Stangler, before becoming trapped in the "Good Guys" doll. He was played by Brad Dourif.

101) (C) He's just a young boy.

102) Sneezing. Always having trouble making spells work, Esmerelda had even more problems when she sneezed. I also accepted fading from sight when nervous, as Esmerelda did this probably more often than sneeze. Alice Ghostley also played the very funny Bernice Clifton on "Designing Women".

103) My ORIGINAL answer was TRUE, that Casper didn't get a name until the debut of his comic book. However, I was sent a link to the original cartoon, and he is indeed given a name, right in his very first appearance. So, the answer is FALSE.

104) (A) Burning her arm.

105) "The Birds," starring Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor and Jessica Tandy.

106) A planchette is used with a Ouija or spirit board, sometimes called an indicator or pointer. It is usually triangular or heart-shaped and supported by casters. It moves to spell out messages or answers to questions.

107) It is the fear of being buried alive or, in general, the fear of graveyards.

108) (C) "X" was just a roomy file drawer. The woman in charge of the FBI's filing system in the 50s did file the unsolved cases under "U" for unsolved. When she ran out of room, she used the "X" file, because, as she said, there is plenty of room there.

109) Pluto.

110) (A) Curious Goods. At first, Micki convinces Ryan to sell everything off. But, when they learn of the curse, the decide to keep running the store while attempting to get all the cursed antiques back, with the help of Jack Marshak. The show premiered 20 years ago this Fall.

111) Marilyn Munster, the black sheep of the Munster family. Pat Priest is the actress most remember in the role, from the TV series "The Munsters" in the 1960s.

112) False. They appeared together in 1940's "You'll Find Out", which starred Kay Kyser. The movie is also said to be an inspiration for the premise of the "Scooby-Doo" mysteries.

113) William Shakespeare. The line is from "Macbeth".

114) (A) Jodie Foster. She directed the 1988 episode entitled "Do Not Open This Box", starring Eileen Heckart.

115) "Fantasia", from 1940. Chernabog appeared in the "Night on Bald Mountain" segment. He has made other apperances since then, such as in the game Kingdom Hearts and on Disney's animated cartoon show "House of Mouse". It is rumored that Bela Lugosi was brought in as a live-action model for the character, but that the footage was thrown out.

116) (B) Hot Stuff, the Little Devil. He first appeared in issue #1 of his self-titled comic book. Wendy first appeared in May 1954 and Spooky first appeared in June 1953, both in "Casper the Friendly Ghost" comics.

117) "Freaks", from 1932. It was directed by Tod Browning, who had done "Dracula".

118) False. Universal Pictures didn't like Bloch's story, which was a critique of the splatter film genre. The made a totally unrelated picture called Psycho 2. Bloch went on to write Psycho House (sometimes called Psycho House: Psycho III), in 1990, but again, this is not related to the film called "Psycho III".

119) (B) Rod Taylor. He played the role of Doc in "Kaw".

120) Violet Gray.

121) (B) Danny Elfman, who has composed music for movies such as "Beetlejuice", "Batman", "Edward Scissorhands", "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Sleepy Hollow". He is a frequent collaborator with director Tim Burton.

122) (C) The driver mysteriously disappears. The stagecoach arrives at the castle without a driver.

123) (D) Sidney Prescott, who was in "Scream" parts 1, 2 and 3. Laurie Strode is killed by Michael Myers in "Halloween: Resurrection" (2002), Alice Hardy is killed by Jason Voorhees in "Friday the 13th Part 2" (1981) and Nancy Thompson is killed by Freddy Kreuger in "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" (1987).

124) (B) To appeal for his help in being cured of vampirism. Larry Talbot (The Wolfman) also went to Dr. Edelman for a cure, but he was more sincere than the Count.

125) The Rolling Stones.

126) Real-life magician David Copperfield played Ken in the Jamie Lee Curtis horror film, which has been loosely remade as the movie "Train," due for release soon.

127) "The Twilight Zone".

128) (B) John Kramer.

129) (C) Vampire. He was the lead character in "Blacula" and "Scream Blacula Scream," an African prince who was transformed into a vampire in 1780 by Dracula himself.

130) Robert Lawrence. He has also been known as Jovial Bob Stine. Goosebumps books have been translated into 32 languages and have sold over 300 million copies worldwide.

131) "Friday the 13th: The Series". Lewis Vendredi kept track of all the antiques he sold in this book, and Micki, Ryan and Jack used it to track them all down and get them back safely. All three seasons of the show have been released on DVD.

132) Candyman, played by actor Tony Todd.

133) (D) The Mummy. The original movie poster also touted a "Mad Doctor" and a "Hunchback".

134) Edward Cullen.

135) "Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell" which also starred Richard Crenna and Yvette Mimieux as their parents. Kim Richards' sisters are Kyle Richards, who played Lindsey Wallace in "Halloween", and Kathy Richards, who is the mother of Paris Hilton.

136) Charlie cuts eye holes all over the sheet he uses for his costume. Due to this, and his general Charlie Brown-ness, he ends up getting lots of rocks instead of treats.

137) (A) "Psycho". It was nominated for 4 Oscars, including Best Director, but not for Best Picture. The only one to win the award was "The Silence of the Lambs."

138) "The Burning," a movie about a camp caretaker out for revenge.

139) Maleficent, from Disney's "Sleeping Beauty".

140) Ackles was seen in "My Bloody Valentine 3-D" in January, which is a remake of the 1981 Canadian horror film. Padalecki was seen in "Friday the 13th" in February, a remake of the 1980 classic.

141) (B) 23. He rises every 23 years to feast for 23 days on humans he finds by smelling something in them that he needs.

142) Lanchester also played Mary Shelley, author of "Frankenstein," in a prologue that shows her talking with Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron.

143) (A) A giant turtle. Gamera was created by a rival studio, to rival the success of the very popular Godzilla.

144) Frankenstein's Monster.

145) The Phantom of the Opera, also known as Erik Destler.

146) (C) Blue. "Three isirises! Turn the blue one!"

147) (A) Edgar Allan Poe.

148) Gossamer, which he is called by Marvin the Martian. Jones chose this name "because he's the opposite looking of gossamer. He's a big, hairy thing."

149) (D) Humphrey Bogart. Bogart was not happy with his role or the film, believing this was something that should have been played by Karloff or Lugosi.

150) "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving. Brom Bones is the nickname of Abraham Van Brunt, the town bully and rival of Ichabod Crane for the love of Katrina Van Tassel. While not outright stated in the story, it is implied that Bones is really the Horseman.

151) Most of the characters are named in homage to directors or stars of older, black-and-white horror films: Alex Browning (Tod Browning), Billy Hitchchock (Alfred Hitchcock), Valerie Lewton (Val Lewton), Terry Chaney (Lon Chaney) , Tod Waggner (George Waggner), Agent Wiene (Robert Wiene), Agent Schreck (Max Schreck) and Larry Murnau, (after F.W. Murnau).

152) (C) A Dead Man's Hand. Legend has it that is was the hand Wild Bill Hickock held at the time of his death. What the fifth card was has been up for debate, with some saying it was the nine of diamonds, while others say something else.

153) (A) Serial killer. A contemporary of Jack The Ripper, H.H. Holmes was a wholly evil man, but will probably never capture the public's imagination quite as much as Jack because he was caught and brought to justice.

154) (B) Kane Hodder, who play Jason four times, in Parts VII through X.

155) He has killed his wife. Uxoricide is the act of murdering one's wife. The William Castle flick "I Saw What You Did" warned, on its posters,"This Movie Is About UXORICIDE!" The opposite is ‘mariticide’, which is derived from the word ‘maritus’ meaning ‘married’. ‘Mariticide’ is actually the killing of one’s married partner; it could be the husband or the wife, but the word is being used to refer to the murder of the husband by the wife.

156) They are all played by actress Veronica Cartwright. Cartwright also played the role of Felicia Alden in the 1987 film "The Witches of Eastwick" and is currently playing the role of Bun Waverly in the television version "Eastwick".

157) (B) Gary Busey. The episode was called "The Los Carnales".

158) (D) Hans Conried, who was by then a veteran character actor and voice-over artist.

159) Fruit Brute (1974-1983) and Fruity Yummy Mummy (1987-1993).

160) Captain Nemo played the same organ on his submarine in the 1954 film, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."


So, how did you do?

If you want to check out the game or join up, visit the
Trivia of the Day page or the Trivia of the Day Blog.


Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Halloween Month: 13 Eerie Intros

13 Eerie TV Show Intros!


Alfred Hitchcock Presents


The Twilight Zone


The Outer Limits


The Addams Family

Vic Mizzy, whose theme songs for TV's Green Acres and The Addams Family made an incalculable contribution to 1960s popular culture, died Monday, October 20, 2009, at age 93.


The Munsters


Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?


Night Gallery


Creature Double Feature (local channel 56)


Tales from the Darkside


Friday the 13th: The Series


Freddy's Nightmares


Tales from the Crypt


Masters of Horror


Those are good Halloweentime mood-setters!


Monday, October 26, 2009

Movie Monday - Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

This week's Movie Monday/Halloween Month post will center on just one film, as I take part in The Class of ’84 Blogathon


My contribution is:

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

Friday 4

This film was released on April 13, 1984 - 25 years ago!


After being 'killed' at the end of Part 3, Jason is taken to the Wessex County Morgue. But he escapes, after killing an attendant and a nurse, and makes his way back to Crystal Lake.

Six teenagers have rented a cabin next door to the Jarvis family home, also at the lake. Soon Jason begins to eliminate all who trespasses his way. But he may have met his match in the Jarvis siblings.

Want a more detailed recap? Go here:


This, I think, is a pretty decent entry in the "Friday the 13th" series. I don't think any fans actually BELIEVED it would be the Final Chapter, but it made for a fun flick.

Let's start at the beginning, with the notes I took as I watched:

I like the opening recap, using the campfire scene voice over recapping the story of Jason from part 2 interspersed scenes from the first three films. Very good way to sum up what has come before. And the opening theme music is quite good, as well. Fast-paced, yet there is an air of uneasiness and impeding danger.

I have to say I was surprised the first time I saw the beginning scene, where Jason was still laying there on the bottom of the barn floor. With him just being 'inexplicably gone' from the end of part 2 into part 3, I expected the same here. But nope, he was still laying there, supposedly dead. Surprised me.

At the hospital, Axel, the morgue attendant who signs for Jason's body, always reminded me of Bud, the paramedic from Halloween II. But where Bud was just a jerk, Axel here is even more crude and just a pig. And yet Nurse Morgan, through all her protestations that Axel IS a jerk, ends up all over him. What the hell?

Nurse Morgan &amp; Axel

The fact that the typical teenage bunch of victims is right next door to a normal family - a mom, a teen daughter, a young son and a dog - is quite a change for a Jason flick. Adds some normalcy, a deeper level of terror. Even an innocent family can be prey to Jason.

The scene in the back of the car with the Jimmy and Teddy and his 'computer' is just crazy dialogue. And Crispin Glover is one weird dude. Just saying.

Ted &amp; Jim

The teens drive by Pamela Voorhees' tombstone. Do you think Mrs. Voorhees pre-paid her own tombstone? Cause really, who the hell in town would have paid for a stone that big for someone who killed so many kids?

The hitchhiking girl and squished banana scene is a "Friday the 13th" classic now.

F13 4 Banana

The scene where Tommy watches the couple from his bedroom window is funny and realistic. Pretty much how a kid that age would act, seeing that play out before him.

Another new one for a Jason flick: Twins! And not just any twins, but British bombshell twins!

F13 4 Twins

The addition of Rob Dyer, who is revealed to be the brother to Sandra from Part II, out searching for some sign of his missing sister or her killer, is a cool twist. I wish he had fared better in his battle with Jason.

But through Rob, we get to see the strange world Tommy lives in, with his weird masks and puppets. I wonder if Tom Savini (the special effects genius who worked on this flick) was as talented as a kid?

Tommy masks

Crispin Glover dancing. Didn't think the dude could get weirder. But he does.

Teen Paul takes 'dumb teen' up to a new level, blatantly flirting and all over one of the British twins while his GIRLFRIEND is right next to them. Idiot.

One gripe I have with this film is that it has a few too many false shocks. The rising music, the eerie scenes, the scared teen and then BOOM - its a branch or a different kid, not Jason. Not good to rely on that for suspense or tension in a film.

As an example, the scene with Samantha in the raft was a scary one. We knew something was gonna happen and we aren't disappointed.

After the crazy scene of them all skinny dipping, the party the teens have that night has to be one of the DULLEST teen parties ever. Slow music, slow dancing, was this the 1984 or 1944?

One of the hot British twins finally chooses Crispin Glover? Really? ... Really???

Teddy and the film reel of silent era porn. Nuff said.

The scene where the one British twin is killed by Jason, but we only see both their silhouettes due to the lighting, is quite good. Unexpected in a Jason film. Less is sometimes so much more.

You know, the two films prior to this happen just a day each before this one. So, wouldn't you think, with all the deaths around the lake, Mrs. Jarvis would be a little more concerned about Trish and Tommy? Just saying.

Another grip: We don't get many 'Jason stalking teen' scenes in this film. When Jason kills someone, he is just suddenly there. No lurking, no glimpses of him, nothing. I prefer the staking, lurking, in the shadows Jason to this one.

In fact, Jason is ALL over the place in this one. He kills Doug in the shower, but instead of then going to Sara in he next room, he goes outside and kills her when she runs to escape the house. What?

The scene of Gordon the dog going through the glass window is still unclear to me. I know the animal stunt coordinator had to get the dog to jump on its own. But in the film, it is left unclear as to whether the dog jumped voluntarily or Jason threw him through the window. I still don't know.

Rob rushes back down to confront Jason in the basement. Wow, that is one horrific scene - Rob yelling "Run, Trish, Run! He's killing me!" Scary stuff there.

And you have to give Trish credit for going back down to try and save him. Not a bright move in a horror film, but brave in character.

One of the scariest, intense scenes in the film is when Trish and Tommy are trying to survive being chased by Jason in their own house. It feels all too real and claustrophobic, hockey-masked killer notwithstanding.

Jason grabs Tommy

And all the people who had issues with Jason running in the remake can just look to this film. Jason runs after Trish, chasing her from house to house and up the stairs. It was not a new idea.

Jason 4

The climax here, with Tommy changing his appearance to confuse Jason and then killing him, is one of the best in the series. The stress on both Tommy and Trish is shown, played as real as it can be. And the look of Jason's maskless face and then the way Tommy kills him is just gruesome, yet a fitting death for someone like Jason, who had been an unstoppable killing machine.

Tommy shaved head

The final scene, with the manic look in little Tommy's eyes, could have been a great relaunch for the series. Jason is dead, long live Tommy. But, as we have seen in these movies, everyone wants the one and only Jason back, no substitutes.

Tommy eyes

When all is said and done, this is a fun slasher flick. Not my favorite portrayal of Jason, as least not until the end. But the addition of the Jarvis family was a great idea, as was bringing Rob in to search for a previous victim.

Definitely a film that takes you back to that time, that special year of 1984.


The trailer for the film:


One of the classic quotes from this movie:

Nurse Morgan, to the jerk morgue attendant:

"Axel, You are the Super Bowl of self abuse!"


A deleted scene, from close to the end of the film:


For more movies from 1984, visit The Class of ’84 Blogathon


Sunday, October 25, 2009

Sunday Funny - The Horrors of It All

This week, I am showcasing a great horror comic site, The Horrors of It All

I will let the site describe itself: "A Celebration and Appreciation of 50s Pre-Code Comic Book Horror & More!"


The site posts complete page-by-page comic stories, ads and other fun stuff for your viewing pleasure. Most are just ghoulishly macabre in that special 50s way.

Here is one cover from a recent post:

Horror Comic

Click here to read the rest!


Surf on over! But be prepared to spend a lot of time reading!


Saturday, October 24, 2009

Halloween Month: Dexter

Today I am spotlighting a different sort of serial killer:

Dexter Morgan

Michael C. Hall
Portrait by Rob Kelly, Rob Kelly Illustrations


Dexter is the creation of author Jeff Lindsay in his 2004 novel "Darkly Dreaming Dexter".

Dex 1

In a nutshell, Dexter is a forensic blood spatter analysis expert with the Miami-Metro Police. In his free time, he is a serial killer. The twist with Dexter is that, at a young age, his adoptive father realized that something was off about the boy. He decided to do what he could to help Dexter live his life, yet stay in control of his inner urges. He persuaded the boy to follow a code of ethics which allowed him to pursue his 'needs' by killing only those who deserved to be killed.

Dark, creepy, but highly entertaining stuff.

Lindsay followed up the first novel with three more: Dearly Devoted Dexter (2005), Dexter in the Dark (2007) and Dexter by Design (2009).

Dex 3

The books are great, Lindsay has crafted not only a realistically gritty world, but also a serial killer who we can somehow sypathize with.

Makes for quite interesting reading.

Random House - Dexter site


The Showtime television series "Dexter", is based on the books, and the first season is semi-true to the first book.

Dex Cast

It has since ventured off on its own path, making for a different, yet equally intriguing, take on the characters.

Michael C. Hall is an incredible actor, bringing Dexter to life, whether it is his love of his job or his struggle to create a family life as a cover for his true self - his 'Dark Passenger' inside.

The show has a Dexter Facebook Fan Page


Starting tomorrow, Showtime is also introducing an animated webisode series, the 12-part "Dexter: Early Cuts".

From the preview below, it looks to be a great addition to the mythos:

The twelve-part series is told in four, one to two minute chapters, and will premiere on Sunday, October 25 on


Friday, October 23, 2009

Halloween Month: Friday the 13th: The Series Minisodes!

The Retroist has been showcasing minisodes (10 minute condensed episodes) of my all-time favorite show, Friday the 13th: The Series!

These are from SailorsLoveShack's YouTube Channel


Here are the first 13 episodes:

The Inheritance

The Poison Pen

Cupid's Quiver

A Cup of Time


The Great Montarro

Doctor Jack

Shadow Boxer

Root of All Evil

Tales of the Undead


Faith Healer

The Baron's Bride


Information on purchasing DVDs of the show:

Season One - Amazon or

Season Two - Amazon

Season Three - Amazon or

Or get The Complete Series Box Set


The best site on Friday the 13th: The Series is the great Vendredi Antiques


Thursday, October 22, 2009

Halloween Month - Theme Thursday: TRAFFIC

Theme Thursday topic this week: Traffic.

To tie that into Halloween Month, I am going to talk about some horror flicks that involve 'traffic' in some way.


Final Destination 2 (2003)

[Ali Larter; A.J. Cook; Michael Landes; David Paetkau; James Kirk; Lynda Boyd; Keegan Connor Tracy]


The first sequel to "Final Destination" again features a teen who has a premonition of a major disaster that kills many, including her and her friends. She is able to stop a few from dying, but once more, death will not give up so easily.

In the first film, a plane crash was the disaster. Here, a highway pile-up is the catalyst. And it is quite an incredible scene.

Below is the crash scene from the film.
WARNING: This is graphic and NOT for everyone.
You HAVE been warned.

Very well orchestrated, filmed and edited. Hard to watch, even though I have seen it a few times.

The rest of the film isn't horrible, but it isn't Academy Award level stuff, either. That said, it is a good enough film for what it is.

New York Magazine cited the highway pile-up scene as the greatest car crash in movie history, calling it "the new gold standard for car-related chaos in cinema". Director Quentin Tarantino has been quoted as saying that the opening scene was "a magnificent car action piece". And the highway pile up was nominated for "Best Action Sequence" at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards.


A few other traffic-related horror/thriller flicks:

Duel (1971)


This is the great flick, directed by Steven Spielberg, in which Dennis Weaver portrays a businessman who runs afoul of a tractor-trailer driver, who then proceeds to chase him through the desert highways. An intense film, this one freaked me out as a kid.

Spielberg shot this film in 13 days, creating an amazing film in such a short amount of time!


The Hitcher (1986)

The Hitcher

Another road flick that scared the crap out of me, this one is about a young guy who manages to elude a nutcase hitchhiker. But soon enough, the hitchhiker has framed the dude for his crimes and has made his life hell. And it gets worse! Rutger Hauer played one scary creep in this film, and I bet he put a lot of drivers off from picking up wayward travelers!

This was followed by a sequel in 2003, "The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting" and remade in 2007 as "The Hitcher".


Joy Ride (2001)

Joy Ride

Three young people on a road trip from Colorado to New Jersey talk to a trucker on their CB radio, then must escape when he turns out to be a psychotic killer. Not bad for what it is, it takes a cue from "Duel", keeping the crazed killer nearly hidden for most of the flick.

Has spawned a sequel, "Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead" from 2008.


Know of any others? Let me know in the comments!

Click for more Theme Thursday takes on Traffic


Also, today marks my One Year Blog Anniversary!

This year has gone by FAST! Thank you to all who have commented here or inspired me with their own great blogs.