MONSTERS IN THE MIDLANDS

 

MONSTERS IN THE MIDLANDS

BY

BARRY VAN-ASTEN

 

‘To a new world of gods and monsters!’

[Dr. Septimus Pretorius – ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’]

 

 

A FASCINATION FOR HORROR

 

Being a rather strange and curious boy and an avid enthusiast of all things horror, the supernatural and the occult, whose world resounded to the familiar names of Tod Browning, James Whale, Carl Laemmle Jr. and Terence Fisher, I thought I would take a look at some of the films I remember seeing on the television particularly during the 1970’s and 1980’s, especially the horror film seasons, often double bills, shown in the midlands region (Birmingham) on ATV (I apologise in advance for any errors which may occur). To those of us who enjoy the solitude and ‘otherworldly’ atmosphere of the churchyard to the annoyance of social gatherings, or the reputedly haunted crumbling ruins of some fading manor house or dark woods with a murderous past, then those old films with their creepy fog-bound sets and blasted trees were a pure delight. There is something rather beautiful about those old films (mostly black & white) that I remember as a child with their macabre themes and elements of romance and just a subtle suggestion of sexual lust, particularly in the Hammer horror films such as ‘Kiss of the Vampire’, ‘Twins of Evil’ and ‘Lust for a Vampire’, to name a few. Something of that fundamental satisfaction for the horror fan has perhaps been lost in more recent times because now one can turn on a device and ‘command’ it to show what one wants when one wants it, yes, a wonderful thing and I could only dream of such a wonder as a child (I remember wishing I had a small television attached to my arm like a wrist watch so that I could watch TV at school in the early eighties!). I’m not saying those days were better but they have definitely shaped who I am and that feeling of being susceptible to the whims of some television controller’s scheduling has perhaps made me a little less demanding, it is an interesting theory. But I grew up with an overwhelming love for the horror genre, films and literature, particularly the writings of M. R. James (1862-1936) who defined the English ghost story in his three volumes: ‘Ghost Stories of an Antiquary’ (1904), ‘More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary’ (1911) and ‘A Thin Ghost and Others’ (1919); the curious Arthur Machen (1863-1947) whose books ‘The Great God Pan’ (1894) and ‘The Hill of Dreams’ (1907) thrilled me in my youth, and Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951) whose ‘Tales of the Uncanny and Supernatural’ (1949) delighted me, especially his story ‘The Man Whom the Trees Loved’. I can recall being mesmerised by ‘The Mysteries of Udolpho’ (1794) a Gothic novel by Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823) with its dark and gloomy landscapes, ‘Ambrosis, or the Monk’ (1795) by Mathew Gregory Lewis (1775-1818) and ‘The Castle of Otranto’ (1764) by Horace Walpole (1717-1797) in which a gigantic helmet falls and crushes to death one of the characters, and of course there are the brilliant tales by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1841-1873) whose collection ‘In a Glass Darkly’ (1872) still has a magical quality, and no true horror fan should ignore the strange tales of Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) or the weird and wonderful world of Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937). Films and books have been a life-long love; that love has not diminished or lost any of its vitality as I grew older, in fact, the intensity has strengthened, but in a different way for one cannot avoid reality completely with its ‘actual’ and more frightening horrors more than any celluloid fantasy can impress upon one and so a good old melodramatic horror from the forties, a fifties creature feature or a slice ‘em up seventies offering is a wonderful break from the norm!

 

AN APPOINTMENT WITH FEAR

 

‘To die – to be really dead – that must be glorious!’

[Dracula (Lugosi) in ‘Dracula’]

 

Unfortunately I was too young (at the age of two) to appreciate ATV’s showing of the classic ‘Frankenstein’ (1931) on Friday 14^th March 1971 at 11 p.m. or the 1971 season of the ‘Appointment with Fear’ (Granada TV) films shown on ATV which began with ‘The Woman in White’ (1948) from 7.40-9.30 p.m. on Saturday 6^th November, but I would have seen many of them repeated at a later date; the rest of the schedule for the ‘Appointment with Fear’ was: ‘Dead of Night’ (1945) from 7.40-9.30 p.m. on Saturday 13^th November, ‘The Unsuspected’ (1947) from 7.40-9.30 p.m. on Saturday 20^th November, ‘Sleep My Love’ (1948 starring Claudette Colbert) from 8.10-10 p.m. on Saturday 27^th November, ‘King Kong’ (1933) from 8.10 p.m. on Saturday 4^th December (ATV also showed ‘Kiss of Evil’ (1963) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 3^rd December) and ‘Green for Danger’ (1946 starring Trevor Howard) from 8.15-10 p.m. on Saturday 11^th December. On Thursday 9^th December they also showed ‘Son of Kong’ (1933) as the Late-Night Thriller from 11.05-12.15 a.m. I loved that old ‘King Kong’ film and it still has the power to scare a young mind just as a good pantomime can be frightening because it works on an emotional level and the story is the old theme of ‘beauty and the beast’, but of course, being a young Brummie ‘Kong’ always seemed familiar to me for Birmingham had its own King Kong which has become the stuff of myth and legend! King Kong did exist in Birmingham in the form of an 18 foot tall sculpture created by the artist Nicholas Monro in 1972 and it was displayed in Birmingham’s Manzoni Gardens in the Bull Ring from March-December of that year; it moved around a little and I remember it being in Birmingham’s Ladypool Road (near Clifton Road), Sparkbrook in 1976 and I was fascinated by it and used to climb on its base and hug its leg while looking up to its terrifying face and those huge outstretched arms! What a wonderful thing it was to be a small child with monsters on the brain!

After the success of the 1968 showing of ‘Whistle and I’ll come to you’ directed by Jonathan Miller and starring Michael Horden as Professor Parkin, the Cambridge academic who after blowing the whistle he finds sees the apparition on the beach and the terrifying conclusion while alone in his hotel room (‘oh no! oh no!’) shown on the BBC arts programme ‘Omnibus’ (BBC 1 on Tuesday 7^th May 1968 at 10.25 p.m.), the BBC recognised there was a large audience who appreciated the psychological ghost story. During Christmas 1971 BBC 1 showed the first of their ‘Ghost Story for Christmas’ programmes, beginning with the adaptation of M. R. James’s ‘The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral’ (in fact, the first fives episodes shown consecutively 1971-1975 were based on M. R. James and directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark) – ‘The Stalls of Barchester’ starring Robert Hardy and Clive Swift was shown on BBC 1 Friday 24^th December at 11.05 p.m. and has become, like the others, classics of the genre and a staple at Christmas.

Dracula's Daughter

In 1972 ATV showed their season of films, ‘Appointment wit Fear’ beginning with ‘Phantom of the Rue Morgue’ (1954) on Monday 3^rd January, the rest of the showings were as follows: ‘The Gorgon’ (1964) on Friday 7^th January, ‘The Night Walker’ (1964) on Monday 10^th January, ‘Brides of Dracula’ (1960) on Friday 14^th January, ‘The Man Without a Body’ (1957) on Monday 17^th January, ‘Curse of the Werewolf’ (1961) on Friday 21^st January, ‘Evil of Frankenstein’ (1964) on Friday 28^th January, ‘Homicidal’ (1961) on Monday 31^st January, ‘Night Creatures’ (1962) on Friday 11^th February, ‘The Shadow of the Cat’ (1961) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 18^th February, ‘Mr. Sardonicus’ (1961) on Monday 21^st February, ‘Paranoic’ (1962) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 25^th February, ‘Curse of the Werewolf’ (1961) on Monday 28^th February, ‘The Skull’ (1965) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 3^rd March, ‘Brides of Dracula’ (1960) on Monday 6^th March, ‘Witchcraft’ (1964) on Friday 10^th March, ‘Nightmare’ (1964) on Monday 20^th March, ‘Hysteria’ (1965) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 24^th March, ‘Beast with Five Fingers’ (1947) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 24^th April, ‘Twenty-Four Hours’ (1966) at 10.45 p.m. on Monday 1^st May, ‘Black Angel’ (1946) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 8^th May, ‘The Devil’s Daffodil’ (1961) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 15^th May, ‘Mystery of the Wax Museum’ (1933) on Monday 11^th September, ‘The Curse of Frankenstein’ (1957) on Monday 18^th September, ‘The Black Torment’ (1964) on Monday 9^th October, ‘The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb’ (1964) on Monday 16^th October, ‘You’ll Find Out’ (1940) on Monday 23^rd October, ‘The Frozen Dead’ (1966 Dana Andrews) on Monday 30^th October, ‘The Mummy’s Ghost’ (1943) on Monday 13^th November, ‘The Mummy’s Curse’ (1944) on Monday 20^th November, ‘It’ (1967) on Monday 27^th November and ‘The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb’ (1964) from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Monday 4^th December. The format of fear seemed simple and became popular with audiences, showing late night films mostly on Friday nights when schoolchildren did not have to be up early for school the next day and when most people were coming back late from a night out and wanting to be frightened by a good horror film or simply laugh at a bad one! Another great piece of horror was shown in 1972 over the Christmas period as their ‘Ghost Story for Christmas’ on BBC 1 – ‘A Warning to the Curious’, the M. R. James classic ghost story starring Peter Vaughan and Clive Swift at 11.05 p.m. on Sunday 24^th December. Like the previous year’s offering (‘The Stalls of Barchester’) it has become a great moment in television horror and remains in the mind of the true horror fan eternally after just one showing, as all good television moments should.

‘Appointment with Fear’ continued throughout the following year in 1973 on ATV, showing: ‘Love Hate Love’ (1971) on Monday 26^th February, ‘The Haunting’ (1963) at 11 p.m. on Friday 6^th April, ‘Bunny Lake is Missing’ (1965) at 11 p.m. on Friday 13^th April, ‘The Shuttered Room’ (1967) at 11 p.m. on Friday 20^th April, ‘Berserk’ (1967) at 11 p.m. on Friday 27^th April, ‘The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb’ (1964) at 11 p.m. on Friday 4^th May, ‘The Stranglers of Bombay’ (1959) at 11.30 p.m. on Friday 11^th May, ‘Eye of the Devil’ (1966) at 11 p.m. on Friday 18^th May, ‘Wait until Dark’ (1967) on Monday 21^st May, ‘Bluebeard’s Ten Honeymoons’ (1960) at 11 p.m. on Friday 25^th May, ‘Son of Frankenstein’ (1939) at 11 p.m. on Friday 1^st June, ‘The Chamber of Horrors’ (1966) from 11-12.50 a.m. on Friday 8^th June, ‘The Revenge of Frankenstein’ (1958) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 15^th June, ‘The Fiend who walked the West’ (1958) from 11-12.50 a.m. on Friday 22^nd June, ‘The Night Caller’ (1968) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 29^th June, ‘Dr. Blood’s Coffin’ (1960) on Monday 2^nd July, ‘Die Monster Die’ (1965) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 6^th July, ‘Maniac’ (1963) on Monday 9^th July, ‘These are the Damned’ (1962) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 13^th July, ’80,000 Suspects’ (1963) from 10.30-12.30 a.m. on Friday 20^th July, ‘The Curse of the Fly’ (1965) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 27^th July, ‘Fanatic’ (1964) on Monday 30^th July, ‘The Blood Beast Terror’ (1968) from 10.20-12 a.m. on Friday 3^rd August, ‘House on Haunted Hill’ (1958) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 10^th August, ‘Evil of Frankenstein’ (1964) on Monday 6^th August, ‘Scared Stiff’ (1953) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 13^th August, ‘Curse of the Werewolf’ (1961) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 17^th August, ‘King Kong’ (1933) on Monday 20^th August, ‘The Sorcerers’ (1967) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 24^th August, ‘They Came from Beyond Space’ (1967) on Friday 31^st August, ‘Diary of a Madman’ (1962) on Monday 3^rd September, ‘The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll’ (1960) at 10.20 p.m. on Friday 7^th September, ‘The Man who could Cheat Death’ (1959) from 10.30-12.30 a.m. on Friday 26^th October, ‘Kiss of Evil’ (1963) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 2^nd November, ‘Die Monster Die’ (1965) on Friday 9^th November, ‘The Horror of it All’ (1964) from 11.15-12.40 a.m. on Friday 16^th November, ‘Witchfinder General’ (1968) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 23^rd November, ‘The Curse of the Crimson Altar’ (1968) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 30^th November and ‘The Psychopath’ (1965) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 7^th December. Most of these films would become staple films over the years shown again and again but the genuine horror fan doesn’t mind sitting up to the small hours to see again an old favourite and it is what made the devotee of the genre such a faithful, if not too often recognised viewer. On BBC 1 the ‘Ghost Story for Christmas’ was another M. R. James classic – ‘Lost Hearts’ shown on Tuesday 25^th December 1973 at 11.35 p.m.

The ‘Appointment with Fear’ schedule on ATV for 1974 was: ‘Children of the Damned’ (1964) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Friday 15^th February, ‘The Haunted Palace’ (1963) at 11 p.m. on Friday 22^nd February, ‘The Phantom of the Rue Morgue’ (1954) from 10.45-12.40 a.m. on Friday 1^st March, ‘The Skull’ (1965) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 8^th March, ‘Nightmare’ (1964) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 15^th March, ‘Paranoic’ (1962) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 22^nd March, ‘Eye of the Devil’ (1966) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 1^st April, ‘The Frozen Dead’ (1966) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 5^th April, ‘Maniac’ (1963) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 12^th April, ‘Fanatic’ (1964) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 19^th April, ‘Dr. Blood’s Coffin’(1960) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 10^th May, ‘The Gorgon’ (1964) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 24^th May, ‘Hysteria’ (1965) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 28^th May, ‘Taste of Fear’ (1961) on Monday 3^rd June, ‘The Black Torment’ (1964) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 7^th June, ‘Dance of the Vampires’ (1967) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Monday 24^th June, ‘Dracula’ (1958) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 28^th June, ‘Werewolf of London’ (1935) at 11 p.m. on Friday 5^th July, ‘Dracula has Risen from the Grave’ (1968) at 10.35 p.m. on Friday 12^th July, ‘Straightjacket’ (1964) at 10.35 p.m. on Friday 19^th July, ‘Tales of Terror’ (1962) at 11.35 p.m. on Friday 26^th July, ‘Black Zoo’ 1963) at 10.15 p.m. on Friday 2^nd August, ‘Peeping Tom’ (1960) on Monday 5^th August, ‘Son of Dracula’ (1943) at 10.35 p.m. on Friday 9^th August, ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ (1935) on Friday 16^th August, ‘The Man without a Body’ (1957) at 10.35 p.m. on Friday 23^rd August, ‘I Married a Monster from Outer Space’ (1958) on Friday 30^th August, ‘The Curse of the Fly’ (1965) on Monday 2^nd September, ‘It’ (1967) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 13^th September, ‘Terror of the Tongs’ (1961) at 11.20 p.m. on Friday 20^th September, ‘Dance of the Vampires’ from 10.50-12.35 a.m. on Friday 27^th September, ‘Night Must Fall’ (1964) at 11 p.m. on Friday 11^th October, ‘Corridors of Blood’ (1958) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 18^th October, ‘Night Creatures’ (1962) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 1^st November, ‘Creature From the Black Lagoon’ (1953) on Friday 8^th November, ‘Fiend Without a Face’ (1958) on Friday 15^th November, ‘The Strangler’ (1964) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 22^nd November, ‘The Norliss Tapes’ (1973) on Wednesday 27^th November, ‘The Fly’ (1958) on Friday 29^th November, ‘Frankenstein Must be Destroyed’ (1969) on Friday 6^th December, ‘The Tingler’ (1959) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 13^th December, ‘The Haunted House of Horror’ (1969) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 20^th December and ‘The Black Scorpion’ (1957) from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Friday 27^th December. The ‘Christmas Ghost Story’ over on BBC 1 was the wonderful ‘The Treasure of Abbot Thomas’ shown on Monday 23^rd December 1974 at 11.35 p.m.

On Monday 26^th August ATV showed ‘The Holiday Horror Film’ – ‘Torture Garden’ (1967) and I was now reaching an age where I could fully appreciate the horror film and a good scare in the safety of one’s living room or bedroom and I don’t think I developed too different from other nasty little boys who like to play with dead things. In fact, I had a passion for graveyards and all things dead and dying, I still do, and I can remember when I was about seven or eight years old, collecting bones and things, such as a dead dog’s teeth and a hedgehog’s paw I found and when my pet rabbit died I buried him and dug him back up a year later (which to me seemed the most natural thing to do) and hung his skull on my bedroom wall (on an upturned crucifix of course): oh dear, alarm bells should be ringing by now, but I don’t think I turned out too badly, but there’s still time! (I didn’t mention my later fascination for Victorian and early 20^th century serial-killers) oh dear again!

 

‘It’s in the trees! It’s coming!’

[Professor Harrington in ‘Night of the Demon’]

 

The ‘Appointment with Fear’ continued on ATV and the schedule for 1975 was: ‘The Black Sheep’ (1956 Basil Rathbone) at 11 p.m. on Friday 3^rd January, ‘Diary of a Madman’ (1962) from 11-12 a.m. on Friday 10^th January, ‘The Mad Room’ (1969) at 11 p.m. on Friday 17^th January, ‘Corruption’ (1967) at 11 p.m. on Friday 24^th January, ‘The Night Walker’ (1964) at 11 p.m. on Friday 31^st January, ‘Scream and Scream Again’ (1969) at 11 p.m. on Friday 7^th February, ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ (1935) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 10^th February, ‘Shock Treatment’ (1964) at 11 p.m. on Friday 14^th February, ‘The Haunted House of Horror’ (1969) on Monday 17^th February, ‘The Evil of Frankenstein’ (1964) at 11 p.m. on Friday 21^st February, ‘Soul of a Monster’ (1944) at 11.25 p.m. on Monday 24^th February, ‘The Return of the Fly’ (1959) on Friday 28^th February, ‘The Old Dark House’ (1932) from 10.40-12.10 p.m. on Monday 3^rd March, ‘Tarantula’ (1955) at 11 p.m. on Friday 7^th March, ‘Son of Frankenstein’ (1939) from 10.30-12.20 a.m. on Monday 10^th March, ‘The Climax’ (1967) at 11 p.m. on Friday 14^th March, ‘The Black Room’ (1935) at 11.15 p.m. on Monday 17^th March, ‘The Mad Magician’ (1954) at 11 p.m. on Friday 21^st March, ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ (1956) at 11 p.m. on Friday 4^th April, ‘A Little Game’ (TV Film 1971) at 10.45 p.m. on Saturday 5^th April, ‘Donovan’s Brain’ (1953) at 11 p.m. on Friday 11^th April, ‘Companions in Nightmare’ (1968) at 10.45 p.m. on Saturday 12^th April, ‘The Werewolf’ (1956) at 11 p.m. on Friday 18^th April, ‘Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man’ (1943) on Friday 18^th April, ‘Mystery of the Wax Museum’ (1933) at 11 p.m. on Friday 25^th April, ‘Brides of Dracula’ (1960) from 11.05-12,40 a.m. on Saturday 26^th April, ‘The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb’ (1964) at 11 p.m. on Friday 2^nd May, ‘House of Frankenstein’ (1944) from 10.45-12 a.m. on Saturday 3^rd May, ‘Black Noon’ (1971) on Friday 9^th May, ‘Bunny Lake is Missing’ (1965) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 16^th May, ‘Curse of the Werewolf’ (1961) on Saturday 17^th May, ‘House of Dracula’ (1945) from 10.45-12 a.m. on Friday 23^rd May, ‘The Oblong Box’ (1969) from 10.45-12.35 a.m. on Friday 23^rd May, ‘Eye of the Devil’ (1966) from 10.40-12.30 a.m. on Friday 30^th May, ‘The Deadly Dream’ (1971) from 10.55-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 31^st May, ‘The Revenge of Frankenstein’ (1958) from 11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 6^th June, ‘Paper Man’ (TV Film 1971) from 11-12.25 a.m. on Monday 9^th June, ‘The Shuttered Room’ (1967) from 10.30-12.30 a.m. on Friday 20^th June, ‘The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll’ (1960) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Monday 23^rd June, ‘Taste the Blood of Dracula’ (1970) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 27^th June, ‘Night of the Demon’ (1957) at 11 p.m. on Monday 30^th June, ‘The Sorcerers’ (1967) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 4^th July, ‘The Fantastic Disappearing Man’ (1958) at 11.10 p.m. on Monday 7^th July, ‘Brides of Dracula’ (1960) from10.30-12.30 a.m. on Friday 11^th July, ‘Home for the Holidays’ (1972) at 11 p.m. on Monday 14^th July, ‘These are the Damned’ (1962) from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Friday 18^th July, ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ (1959) from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Friday 25^th July, ‘The Curse of the Fly’ (1965) from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Friday 1^st August, ‘A Howling in the Woods’ (TV Film 1971) from 11.30-12.15 a.m. on Monday 4^th August, ‘The Blood Beast Terror’ (1968) from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Friday 8^th August, ‘The House on Haunted Hill’ (1958)  from 11.15-12.45 a.m. on Friday 22^nd August and ‘The Night Caller’ (1968) from 11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 29^th August.

Night of the Demon

Over on BBC 2 during 1975 could be seen their season of ‘Midnight Movie Fantastic’ double bill films which ran as follows: ‘The Cabinet of Dr, Caligari’ (1919) from 10.55-12.05 a.m. and ‘Quatermass 2’ (1957) from 12.05-1.20 a.m. on Saturday 2^nd August, ‘The Tell Tale Heart’ (1960) from 10.45-12 a.m. and ‘The Premature Burial’ (1961) from 12-1.20 a.m. on Saturday 9^th August, ‘Noah’s Ark’ (1928) from 11.15-12.20 a.m. and ‘Man and His Mate’ (1940) from 12.20-1.20 a.m. on Saturday 16^th August, ‘This Island Earth’ (1955) from 10.40-12.05 a.m. and ‘Barbarella’ (1968) from 12.05-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 23^rd August, ‘The Cat and the Canary’ (1939) from 10.55-12.05 a.m. and ‘The Comedy of Terrors’ (1963) from 12.05-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 30^th August and ‘The Beast with Five Fingers’ (1947) from 10.35-12 a.m. and ‘The Maze’ (1954) from 12-1.20 a.m. on Saturday 6^th September. On BBC 1 the ‘Ghost Story for Christmas’ was ‘The Ash Tree’ by M. R. James, shown on Tuesday 23^rd December 1975 at 11.25 p.m. It was the last M. R. James adaptation to be shown during the 1970’s and like previous years is an essential part of the true horror fan’s anatomy.

 

‘’Twould  be nice to have lips… lips to whisper lies…

Lips to kiss man and make him suffer.’

[Jennifer (Veronica Lake) in ‘I Married a Witch’]

 

 

MASTERS OF TERROR

 

Throughout August-September 1976 BBC 2 showed a series of horror double bills, ten films in all under their ‘Masters of Terror’ title, beginning with Lon Chaney in ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ (1925) from 10.55-12.10 a.m. and ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ (1932) from 12.10-1.40 a.m. on Saturday 14^th August; the next double bill was: ‘The Devil Doll’ (1932 starring Lionel Barrymore) from 10-11.20 p.m. and ‘Frankenstein Created Woman’ (1967) from 11.20-12.50 a.m. on Saturday 21^st August; the series continued with: ‘The Hounds of Zaroff’ (1932 starring Fay Wray) from 10-12 a.m. and ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ (1939 starring Basil Rathbone) from 12-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 28^th August; ‘Mad Genius’ (1931 starring Lionel Barrymore) from 10.55-12.10 a.m. and ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ (1961 starring Vincent Price) from 12.10-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 4^th September and the series concluded with ‘The Walking Dead’ (1936 starring Boris Karloff) from 10.50-11.55 p.m. and ‘Dracula Prince of Darkness’ (1966 starring Christopher Lee) from 11.55-1.20 a.m. on Saturday 11^th September. I particularly remember these films being shown and recall finding Rathbone, Karloff, Price, Cushing and Lee strangely compelling.

BBC 1 also showed their ‘Christmas Ghost Story’ which was an adaptation of Charles Dickens’s ‘The Signalman’ (also directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark) starring Denholm Elliot at 10.40 p.m. on Wednesday 22^nd December 1976 (it was shown again the following year on BBC 1 at 10.30 p.m. on Wednesday 25^th May 1977 and also in 1982 on BBC 1 on Saturday 25^th December at 11.30 p.m.) I remember being thoroughly terrified while watching it; to a young mind immersed in gothic terror and Universal romantic horror the Signalman had just enough suggested menace to awaken that primordial fear that lies in all of us. For me it was the last of the great ‘Christmas Ghost Stories’ on BBC 1 – the 1977 offering was ‘Stigma’ shown on 28^th December and 1978 gave us ‘The Ice House’ on 25^th December which were poor substitutes for classic M. R. James or Dickens. The innocent days of the nineteen-seventies when there was only three TV channels and the anticipation of a programme, or particularly for me, a film being shown was an immense joy; if a film I really wanted to see was scheduled during the morning or the afternoon and one knew it may be many months or more likely years before it would be shown again, if ever! Ah! those days before the video recorder (we didn’t have one until 1984) and the internet – ‘how did you survive?’ a child in disbelief might ask this question today! In those days it was a simple decision for me to pretend to be ill and take the day off school just to watch a film because it seemed that important! As you can guess I took many days off during my schooling and benefited enormously from it!

I Married a Witch

In 1976 the ‘Appointment with Fear’ was becoming a little tired. The films were: ‘Corruption’ (1967) from 11-12.45 a.m. on Monday 5^th January, ‘The Strangler’ (1964) from 11-12.45 a.m. on Monday 12^th January, ‘Castle of Evil’ (1966) on Monday 19^th January, ‘The Sorcerers’ (1967) from 11-12.45 a.m. on Monday 26^th January, ‘Curse of the Crimson Altar’ (1968) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Monday 2^nd February, ‘The Devil’s Daughter’ (1973) from 10.30-11.55 p.m. on Monday 9^th February, ‘Who Killed Teddy Bear?’ (1965) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 23^rd February, ‘Die Monster Die’ (1965) at 11.30 p.m. on Monday 1^st March, ‘The Haunted Palace’ (1963) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Monday 8^th March, ‘The Terror of the Tongs’ (1961 Christopher Lee) on Monday 15^th March, ‘Tales of Terror’ (1962) from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Monday 22^nd March, ‘The Curse of the Fly’ (1965) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Monday 12^th April, ‘The Mummy’ (1932) from 11-12.30 a.m. on Monday 26^th April, ‘House of Dracula’ (1945) from 11.15-12.35 a.m. on Monday 3^rd May, ‘The Screaming Woman’ (1972 TV Film) from 11.15-12.45 a.m. on Monday 10^th May, ‘Dracula’ (1931) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Monday 17^th May, ‘The Earth Dies Screaming’ (1964) from 11.30-12.40 a.m. on Monday 24^th May, ‘The Night Caller’ (1968) from 11-12.35 a.m. on Monday 14^th June, ‘The Hand of Night’ (1968) at 11 p.m. on Monday 21^st June, ‘Taste the Blood of Dracula’ (1970) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 13^th August, ‘The Mummy’s Shroud’ (1966) on Friday 20^th August, ‘Trog’ (1970) on Friday 27^th August, ‘Strange Case of Dr. X’ (1942) at 11.30 p.m. on Monday 6^th September, ‘Phantom of the Rue Morgue’ (1954) from 10.30-12.05 a.m. on Monday 20^th September,  ‘Tales from the Crypt’ (1972) on Friday 24^th September, ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ (1956) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 4^th October, ‘The Gorgon’ (1964) from 10.30-12.05 a.m. on Monday 11^th October, ‘Scream and Scream Again’ (1969) at 10.45 p.m. on Friday 15^th October, ‘The Dentist’s Surgery’ (a short film by Jonathan Crane) at 8.45 p.m. on Saturday 4^th December and ‘Tales from the Crypt’ (1972) at 11.30 p.m. on Monday 20^th December.

 

THE MONSTER MOVIE

 

‘Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night,

may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.’

[Gwen Conliffe to Larry Talbot in ‘The Wolf Man’]

 

Also at the beginning of 1976 on Friday nights ATV showed a series of weekly late night films starting around 11 p.m. under the title ‘The Monster Movie’ which began with ‘It Came from Beneath the Sea’ (1955) on Friday 2^nd January and continued with: ‘Gargoyles’ (1972 TV Film) on Friday 9^th January, ‘The Mummy’s Shroud’ (1966) on Friday 16^th January, ‘Twenty Million Miles to Earth’ (1957) on Friday 23^rd January, ‘The Invisible Ray’ (1936) on Friday 30^th January, ‘Moon of the Wolf’ (1972 TV Film) from 10.30-12.30 a.m. on Friday 6^th February, ‘Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man’ (1943)  from 11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 13^th February, ‘House of Frankenstein’ (1944) on Friday 20^th February, ‘Revenge of the Creature’ (1955) on Friday 27^th February, ‘Gorilla at Large’ (1954) from 11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 5^th March, ‘Dracula’ (1931) on Friday 12^th March, ‘Die Monster Die’ (1965) on Friday 19^th March, ‘The Colossus of New York’ (1958) on Friday 26^th March, ‘Scream of the Wolf’ (1973) on Friday 2^nd April, ‘Dracula’s Daughter’ (1936) from 11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 9^th April, ‘House of Dracula’ (1945) on Friday 16^th April, ‘The Gorgon’ (1964) from 11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 23^rd April, ‘Phantom of the Rue Morgue’ (1954) on Friday 30^th April, ‘Count Yorga Vampire’ (1970) on Friday 7^th May and ‘King Kong’ (1933) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 14^th May. What a wonderful selection of films that was with a few exceptions; some real treasures like ‘Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man’, ‘House of Frankenstein’, ‘Dracula’, ‘House of Dracula’ and the beautiful ‘Dracula’s Daughter’ starring Gloria Holden as Countess Marya Zaleska who wants to rid herself of her vampiric tendencies and become human.

In 1977, at the beginning of the year, ATV showed several horror films under the series title ‘ATV Horror Picture House’; the films were decidedly creepy with a little Hammer titillation in all its bare-breasted glory thrown in too! The first film on screen was ‘Tales from the Crypt’ (1972) on Friday 18^th February from 10.30-12.15 a.m. The next was ‘The Oblong Box’ (1969) on Friday 25^th February from 10.30-12.15 a.m. ‘Countess Dracula’ (1970) on Friday 4^th March from 10.30-12.15 a.m. ‘Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde’ (1971) on Friday 11^th March from 10.30-12.15 a.m. ‘The Abominable Dr Phibes’ (1971) on Friday 18^th March from 10.30-12.15 a.m. ‘The Vampire Lovers’ (1970) on Friday 25^th March from 10.30-12.15 a.m. and ‘Twins of Evil’ (1971) on Friday 1^st April from 10.30-12.15 a.m.

The Wolf Man

 

DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN – AND FRIENDS

 

‘There are more things in heaven and earth than

are dreamed of in your philosophy Mr. Garth.’

[Countess Marya Zaleska to Dr. Garth in ‘Dracula’s Daughter’]

 

Over on BBC 2 during the summer of 1977 they were also showing a very good selection of horror double bill films under their title ‘Dracula, Frankenstein – and Friends!’ the first of which were: ‘Dracula’ (1931) from 11.05-12.25 a.m. and ‘Frankenstein’ (1931) from 12.25-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 2^nd July, the rest of the season was as follows: ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ (1935) from 10.50-12 a.m. and ‘Brides of Dracula’ (1960) from 12-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 9^th July, ‘The Mummy’ (1932) from 10.45-12.15 a.m. and ‘The Wolf Man’ (1941) from 12.15-1.05 a.m. on Saturday 16^th July, ‘Son of Frankenstein’ (1938) from 10.10-11.45 p.m. and ‘Kiss of the Vampire’ (1964) from 11.45-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 23^rd July, ‘Dracula’s Daughter’ (1936) from 10.35-12.05 a.m. and ‘Plague of the Zombies’ (1966)  from 12.05-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 30^th July, ‘The Ghost of Frankenstein’ (1942) from 10.50-11.55 p.m. and ‘The Premature Burial’ (1961)from 11.55-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 6^th August, ‘The Raven’ (1935) from 11.05-12.05 a.m. and ‘The Black Cat’ (1933) from 12.05-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 13^th August, ‘Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man’ (1943) from 10-11.15 p.m. and ‘The Raven’ (1963) from 12.05-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 20^th August, ‘House of Frankenstein’ (1944) from 10.20-11.10 p.m. and ‘The Reptile’ (1966) from 12.05-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 27^th August, ‘Son of Dracula’ (1943) from 9.55-11.10 p.m. and ‘Evil of Frankenstein’ (1964) from 11.45-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 3^rd September and finally ‘House of Dracula’ (1945) from 10.05-11.15 p.m. and ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ (1960) from 11.20-12.35 a.m. on Saturday 10^th September. Another fine season of horror films showing the great ‘Wolf Man’ and the tragic figure of Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) and Dr. Septimus Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger) the mad scientist from ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’, surely one of the greatest camp and creepy characters from all visual horror history; and what about that beautiful and disturbing dream sequence in the ‘Plague of the Zombies’ – wonderful!

Towards the end of 1977 ATV showed another series of horror films under the season’s title – ‘Friday Film Fantastic’, most of the films, apart from a couple of exceptions were second rate affairs and TV Films but at least a growing audience for such things was being catered for. The films as they were shown are: ‘Crack in the World’ (1965 stars Dana Andrews) on Friday 7^th October from 10.30-12.20 a.m. ‘The Body Stealers’ (1969) on Friday 14^th October from 10.30-12.15 a.m. ‘The Power’ (1968) on Friday 21^st October from 10.30-12.30 a.m. ‘Frogs’ (1972 stars Ray Milland) on Friday 28^th October from 10.30-12.25 a.m. ‘Killdozer’ (1974) on Friday 4^th November from 10.30 p.m. ‘Madame Sin’ (1972 stars Bette Davis) on Friday 11^th November from 10.30 p.m. ‘They came from Beyond Space’ (1967) on Friday 18^th November from 10.30 p.m. ‘Satan’s Triangle’ (1975 TV film stars Kim Novak) on Friday 25^th November from 10.30 p.m. ‘Project X’ (1968 stars Christopher George) on Friday 2^nd December from 10.30 p.m. ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ (1955) on Friday 9^th December from 10.30 p.m. and ‘THX 1138’ (1971) on Friday 16^th December from 10.30 p.m.

Mark of the Vampire

One of the most memorable and chilling horror moments for me occurred on Thursday 22^nd December 1977 when BBC2 showed a TV Film at 9.30 p.m. called ‘Count Dracula’. The film starred Louis Jourdan as the Count and many of its superb scenes remain with me to this day, especially Dracula creeping down the side of Castle Dracula, bat-like and the howling of wolves, those ‘children of the night’. The film touched me and as with most things the memory of it is probably better than the reality of ever watching it again, which I would never do.

 

THE PRICE OF FEAR

 

In early 1978 another short season of six horror films appeared on ATV under the title ‘The Price of Fear’ and starred of course – Vincent Price. The films were: ‘Cry of the Banshee’ (1970) on Friday 10^th February, ‘The Haunted Palace’ (1963) on Friday 17^th February, ‘The Fly’ (1958) on Friday 24^th February, ‘Dr. Phibes Rises Again’ (1972) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 3^rd March, ‘Witchfinder General’ (1968) on Friday 10^th March and finally ‘Shock’ (1946) on Friday 17^th March. Price was such a fine actor and that distinctive voice made him very memorable and for me he will always be the central figure in portraying Edgar Allan Poe through the films of Roger Corman.

During the summer (July-August) of 1978 BBC 2 showed their ‘Midnight Movie Double Bill’ season of monster films with the ‘accent on the bizarre and the supernatural’ beginning with ‘Murders in the Rue Morgue’ (1933) from 10.55-11.55 p.m. and ‘The Man who could Cheat Death’ (1959) from 11.55-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 8^th July; the season continued with: ‘The Fantastic Disappearing Man’ (1958) from 10.40-11.55 p.m. and ‘X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes’ (1963) from 12-1.15 a.m. on Saturday 15^th July, ‘The Quatermas Experiment’ (1955) from 10-11.20 p.m. and ‘The Crazies’ (1973) from 11.50-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 22^nd July, ‘Man Made Monster’ (1940) from 11.15-12.15 a.m. and ‘The Mummy’s Curse’ (1945) from 12.15-1.15 a.m. on Saturday 29^th July, ‘White Zombie’ (1932) from 10.40-11.55 p.m. and ‘House of Wax’ (1953) from 12-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 5^th August, ‘Them!’ (1954) from 9.40-11.10 p.m. and ‘The Incredible Shrinking Man’ (1957) from 11.45-1.05 a.m. on Saturday 12^th August, ‘Voodoo Island’ (1957) from 10-11.15 p.m. and ‘Phantom in the Rue Morgue’ (1953) from 11.20-12.45 a.m. on Saturday 19^th August and ‘King Kong’ (1933) from 10-11.35 p.m. and ‘Superbeast’ (1972) from 11.40-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 26^th August.

Towards the end of 1978 ATV produced their ‘Creature Feature’ series which began with: ‘The Cat Creature’ (1973) from 11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 22^nd September, ‘Willard’ (1971) from 11-12.45 a.m. on Friday 29^th September, ‘Don’t be Afraid of the Dark’ (1973) from 11.30-1.00 a.m. on Friday 6^th October, ‘The Creature from the Black Lagoon’ (1955) from 11.15 p.m. on Friday 20^th October, ‘Ben’ (1972) from 11-12.45 a.m. on Friday 27^th October. ‘The Creeping Flesh’ (1972) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Friday 17^th November, ‘Trog’ (1970) from 11.10 p.m. on Friday 24^th November and ‘The Day of the Triffids’ (1963) from 11 p.m. on Friday 1^st December, but for me, the following year was to hold a special memory!

 

CHRISTOPHER LEE – PRINCE OF MENACE

 

One of the most defining moments for me was at the beginning of the year in 1979 when ATV showed a series of eight horror films under the season’s title: ‘Christopher Lee: Prince of Menace’; the films began around 11 p.m. and followed a curious American programme called ‘Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman’ (10.30-11 p.m.). As a nine year old boy I was fascinated with horror and loved the old Universal monster films (Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolf Man etc.) or any film which had some supernatural element to it, such as ‘The Ghost and Mrs. Muir’, ‘A Matter of Life and Death’, ‘I Married a Witch’ (Veronica Lake), ‘The Ghost Goes West’ (Robert Donat), ‘Dante’s Inferno’ (Spencer Tracy), ‘Blithe Spirit’, ‘Bell, Book and Candle’ (Jack Lemmon and Kim Novak) or ‘Pandora and the Flying Dutchman’ (James Mason) to name a few. And so I was sitting comfortably with my Action Man dressed in his officer’s uniform (Lieutenant Ash from ‘Danger UXB’) which superseded my Tom Baker ‘Doctor Who’ figurine [which in turn superseded my Commander Koenig figure from ‘Space 1999’], beside me and the title sequence would begin and I would enter that wonderful world of fog and gothic architecture, frightening but also delightfully romantic. The first film to be shown was, of course, ‘Dracula’ (1958) on Friday 9^th February from 11-12.35 a.m. (earlier in the day on the same channel I would of course have been charmed by the programme ‘The Ghosts of Motley Hall’ from 4.15-4.45 p.m.) The next film was ‘The Mummy’ (1959) on Friday 16^th February from 11-12.40 a.m. followed by ‘Dracula A.D. 1972’ (1972) on Friday 23^rd February from 11-12.45 a.m. ‘I Monster’ (1970) on Friday 2^nd March from 11.30-12.55 a.m. ‘Scream and Scream Again’ (1969) on Friday 9^th March from 11-12.45 a.m. ‘The Wicker Man’ (1973) on Friday 16^th March from 11-12.40 a.m. ‘Theatre of Death’ (1967) on Friday 23^rd March from 11-12.45 a.m. and finally ‘Dracula has Risen from the Grave’ (1968) on Friday 30^th March from 11-12.40 a.m. Dear old Lugosi made a splendid ‘Dracula’ but for me the wonderful cold, silent stare and deep tones of Christopher Lee shall always be my ideal of the Count. I had the cinema poster for ‘Dracula’ (1958) on my bedroom wall which any true horror fanatic knows was the pull-out poster in the ‘Monster Mag’ (volume 2, number 2, 1976) which I bought for 30 pence. This season is perhaps the strongest in my memory and the most loved.

In 1979 BBC 2 showed their season of films titled ‘Masters of Terror’ beginning with ‘Doctor X’ (1932) from 10.35-11.50 p.m. and ‘The Curse of Frankenstein’ (1956) from 11.55-1.20 a.m. on Saturday 14^th July; the season continued with: ‘Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman’ (1944) from 10-30-11.30 p.m. and ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ (1959) from 12-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 21^st July, ‘Night Monster’ (1942) from 10.15-11.25 p.m. and ‘The Devil Rides Out’ (1968) from 11.30-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 28^th July, ‘Black Friday’ (1940) from 11-12.05 a.m. and ‘The Mummy’ (1959) from 12.05-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 4^th August, ‘The Strange Door’ (1951) from 10.05-11.25 p.m. and ‘Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb’ (1971) from 11.25-1 a.m. on Saturday 11^th August, ‘The Mummy’s Hand’ (1944) from 10.35-11.40 p.m. and ‘The Satanic Rites of Dracula’ (1973) from 12.10-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 18^th August and ending with ‘It Came From Outer Space’ (1951) from 10-11.20 p.m. and ‘Quatermass and the Pit’ (1967) from 11.25-1.05 a.m.

 

A DATE WITH THE DEVIL

 

1979 was a good year for the horror enthusiast – ATV showed the fabulous Roman Polanski film ‘The Dance of the Vampires’ on Saturday 5^th May 1979 and ‘Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb’ on Saturday 11^th August and continued the gruesome theme at the end of 1979 with their ‘A Date with the Devil’ season of eight films which began with ‘The Legend of Hell House’ (1973) shown on Friday 2^nd November from 11-1.15 a.m.; the rest of the series ran as follows: ‘The Mephisto Waltz’ (1971) from 11-1.15 a.m. on Friday 9^th November, ‘The Dunwich Horror’ (1970) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Friday 16^th November, ‘Ritual Evil’ (1970 TV Film) on Friday 23^rd November, ‘The Initiation of Sarah’ (1978) from 11-12.45 a.m. on Friday 30^th November, ‘Look what Happened to Rosemary’s Baby’ (1977 TV Movie) from 11 p.m. on Friday 7^th December, ‘Blood on Satan’s Claw’ (1970) from 11-12.45 a.m. on Friday 14^th December and the series ended with ‘Good Against Evil’ (1977 TV Movie) from 11 p.m. on Friday 21^st December which wasn’t a bad way to end the decade!

In May of 1980 ATV showed three Saturday morning films which they called ‘The Monster Movie’. The films were: ‘Son of Godzilla’ (1967) on Saturday 10^th May, ‘War of the Monsters’ (1966) on Saturday 17^th May from 10.50 a.m.-12.30 and ‘Monster from an Unknown Planet’ (1975) on Saturday 24^th May from 11 a.m.-12.30. Also in 1980 from May-June ATV continued the monster theme with their ‘Friday Film Fantastic’ showing six films: ‘Tarantula’ (1955) on Friday 23^rd May from 11.05 p.m. ‘Soylent Green’ (1973) on Friday 30^th May from 12.55 a.m. ‘Dr. Strange’ (1978 stars John Mills) on Friday 6^th June, ‘The Green Slime’ (1968) on Friday 13^th June, ‘Fantastic Planet’ (1973) animation, on Friday 20^th June from 11-12.30 a.m. and ‘The Blob’ (1958) on Friday 27^th June.

During 1980 dear old BBC 2 also provided fans with their season of ‘Horror Double Bills’ throughout June-August which ran thus: ‘Night of the Demon’ (1957) from 10.30-12 a.m. and ‘The Ghoul’(1975) from 12.02-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 28^th June, ‘The Beast with Five Fingers’ (1947) from 10.10-11.35 p.m. and ‘Chamber of Horrors’ (1966) from 11.50-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 5^th July, ‘The Mad Ghoul’ (1943) from 10.40-11.45 p.m. and ‘Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors’ (1964) from 11.50-1.20 a.m. on Saturday 12^th July, ‘The Devil Doll’ (1936) from 10.35-11.50 p.m. and ‘Daughters of Satan’ (1972) from 11.55-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 19^th July, ‘The Curse of the Werewolf’ (1960) from 10.10-11.40 p.m. and ‘From Beyond the Grave’ (1974) from 11.55-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 26^th July, ‘Paranoic’ (1963) from 10.35-11.50 p.m. and ‘Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter’ (1973) from 12.00-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 2^nd August, ‘The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms’ (1953) from 10.35-11.55 p.m. and ‘Night of the Lepus’ (1972) from 12.00-1.20 a.m. on Saturday 9^th August, ‘The Bat’ (1959) from 10.20-11.40 p.m. and ‘Legend of the Werewolf’ (1974) from 11.45-1.20 a.m. on Saturday 16^th August and ‘Tower of London’  (1939 Basil Rathbone) from 10.40-12 a.m. and ‘The Skull’ (1965) from 12-1.20 a.m. on Saturday 23^rd August and concluding with ‘The Beast Must Die’ (1974) from 12-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 30^th August. A good collection of films there, my particular favourite being ‘Night of the Demon’ which I can never get tired of watching; I don’t think being exposed to such films in my formative years did me any harm and there is no evidence that such films are a bad influence on the young, except for wanting to poison my maths teacher and see him drop dead in front of the class (the bit about me ripping his heart out – did he have one? and eating it in front of him was a later addition!)

 

‘I don’t think it would be too amusing for the youngsters

if I conjured up a demon from hell for them.’

[Karswell in ‘Night of the Demon’]

 

 

PETER CUSHING – MASTERS OF TERROR

 

Another ATV gem was the 1981 February-April season of films titled ‘Peter Cushing Masters of Terror’ which showed eight films by the great man, starting with ‘Corruption’ (1967) on Friday 13^th February; other films were: ‘Frankenstein must be Destroyed’ (1969) from 11-1 a.m. on Friday 20^th February, ‘Fear in the Night’ (1972) on Friday 27^th February, ‘Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell’ (1973) on Friday 13^th March, ‘Island of Terror’ (1966) on Friday 20^th March, ‘Night of the Big Heat’ (1967) on Friday 27^th March, ‘Land of the Minotaur’ (1976) on Friday 3^rd April and ‘The House that Dripped Blood’ (1971) on Friday 10^th April.

Not long after this season BBC 2 began their 1981 season of ‘Horror Double Bills’: ‘I Walked with a Zombie’ (1943) from 10.35-12.10 a.m. and ‘Zoltan Hound of Dracula’ (1978) from 12.10-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 4^th July, ‘Cat People’ (1945) from 11.05-12.15 a.m. and ‘Mystery of the Wax Museum’ (1933 Fay Wray) from 12.15-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 11^th July, ‘The Seventh Victim’ (1943) from 10.55-12.05 a.m. and ‘Race with the Devil’ (1970) from 12.05-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 18^th July, ‘Isle of the Dead’ (1940) from 9.20-10-30 p.m. and ‘The Telephone Box’ (1972 Spanish, ‘La Cabina’) from 10.30-11.05 p.m. on Saturday 25^th July, ‘Bedlam’ (1946) from 10.30-11.45 p.m. and ‘Bug’ (1975) from 11.45-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 1^st August, ‘The Leopard Man’ (1943) from 10.50-11.55 p.m. and ‘The Shuttered Room’ (1966) from 11.55-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 8^th August, ‘The Curse of the Cat People’ (1943) from 10.35-11.40 p.m. and ‘Eye of the Cat’ (1969) from 11.40-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 15^th August and ‘The Body Snatcher’ (1945) from 10.30-11.40 p.m. and ‘Theatre of Blood’ (1973) from 11.40-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 22^nd August. I certainly remember watching ‘The Telephone Box’ directed by Antonio Mercero and starring Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez in its first showing on British television and being quite disturbed by it as a twelve year old boy. The story is that a man having seen his son safely off to school on the bus enters a telephone box to make a call but ends up nightmarishly trapped inside; when the box is taken away with him inside it he is travelling somewhere on the back of a truck and sees others also trapped in telephone boxes loaded on the backs of trucks – psychologically terrifying! BBC 1 also showed Stephen King’s ‘Salem’s Lot’ in two parts, part one being shown at 9.25 p.m. on Monday 7^th September and part two on Wednesday 9^th September at the same time (it was also shown in the same format on BBC 1 during August 1983 and August 1985); I remember being very scared at the appearance of the vampire which was more like the Nosferatu version of the vampire and nothing like Christopher Lee’s Count Dracula I had come to love, King’s vampire was purely animalistic and bloodthirsty unlike Dracula with his refined intellect – I somehow always associated vampires with intelligence, as if there were some humanity left and werewolves with an unreasoning desire to kill and devour like any large wild beast, that’s why I always believed werewolves to be the most frightening ‘monster’ to encounter.

 

INVITATION TO TERROR

 

In January 1982 ATV became Central television station and at the beginning of the year they showed eight films under the season’s title – ‘Invitation to Terror’: ‘Crucible of Terror’ (1971) on Friday 15^th January from 11.05 p.m. ‘The Uncanny’ (1977) on Friday 22^nd January from 11.05-12.50 a.m. ‘Shock Treatment’ (1972) on Friday 29^th January, ‘Halloween’ (1978) on Friday 5^th February, ‘I Don’t Want to be Born’ (1975) on Friday 12^th February, ‘Die Screaming Marianne’ (1971) on Friday 26^th February, ‘A Taste of Evil’ (1971) on Friday 5^th March from 12.05 a.m. ‘Psychomania’ (1972) on Friday 12^th March from 11.05 p.m.; in fact, I remember going to school on the Monday after ‘Psychomania’ was shown and discussing it with a boy in my class whom I usually wouldn’t associate with yet this unusual little film brought two rather different people together, but only for a very short while.

 

‘That night, fleeing from Transylvania, Professor Abronsius 

never guessed he was  carrying away with him the very evil 

he had wished to destroy.Thanks to him, this evil would 

at last be able to spread across the world.’

[narrator at the end of ‘Dance of the Vampires’]

 

During Christmas 1982 BBC2 showed ‘Dance of the Vampires’ (also known as ‘The Fearless Vampire Killers’) on Monday 27^th December at 11.25 p.m. I had become more than just an enthusiast of horror, it was almost becoming an obsession since I bought the wonderful Alan Frank book ‘Monsters and Vampires’ (The Movie Treasury) published by Octopus Books in 1976; I had the one with the painting of Christopher Lee carrying a beautiful blonde maiden on the cover showing just the sufficient amount of breast to hold a young boy’s interest! I bought it in March 1982 for £2.50: Thank you ‘Woolworths’, Kings Heath, Birmingham! I loved the book and it became a dear companion and a sort of ‘Bible of Horror’, pasting clippings into the back of it. In those days before the internet, if one wanted to know something about a particular horror film one consulted ‘Monsters and Vampires’ or another suitably brilliant book on the genre; if I wanted to know something non-horror film and it was not in my trusted 1956 edition of ‘Pears’ encyclopaedia which I loved to death, or the Marshall Cavendish ‘Mind Alive’ ‘encyclopaedia of living things part weekly magazines of the late sixties and early seventies (120 issues in total) or the ‘Crimes and Punishment’ part weekly (98 issues) by Angus Hall (1973) where I learnt to love the most haunted house in England: ‘Borley Rectory’ and the sinister ‘Aleister Crowley’, then it meant a trip to the local library (remember them?) to find the information!

Dance of the Vampires

 

‘There are some things that are beyond the

understanding of us that live on this Earth!’

[Walton, the butler in ‘The Undying Monstar’]

 

SCREAM QUEENS

 

At the beginning of 1983 Central television showed several films under the title ‘Scream Queens’, the first of which was: ‘Blood on Satan’s Claw’ (1971) from 11.05-1 a.m. on Friday 7^th January; the following films appeared in order: ‘Panic’ (1978) from 12 a.m. on Friday 14^th January, ‘The Babysitter’ (1980 TV Film starring William Shatner) from 11.35-1.30 a.m. on Friday 21^st January, ‘Countess Dracula’ (1970) on Friday 28^th January, ‘Who Slew Aunty Roo?’ (1971 starring Shelley Winters) from 11.35-1.25 a.m. on Friday 4^th February, ‘The Nanny’ (1965) from 11.35-1.25 a.m. on Friday 11^th February and ‘What’s the matter with Helen?’ (1971) from 11.35-1.30 a.m. on Friday 18^th February.

During 1983 BBC 2 provided more ‘Horror Double Bills’ under their ‘Midnight Movie Horror’ season showing some excellent classic old films such as: ‘Dracula’ (1931) from 10-11.35 p.m. and ‘Frankenstein’ (1931) from 11.40-12.55 a.m. on Saturday 9^th July; a single film (presumably because of the showing of the golf), the ‘Late Night Horror’, ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ (1935) from 11.451.05 a.m. on Saturday 16^th July, ‘Dracula’s Daughter’ (1936) from 10.05-11.15 p.m. and ‘Son of Frankenstein’ (1939) from 11.55-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 23^rd July, ‘The Mummy’ (1932) from 10.35-11.45 p.m. and ‘The Ghost of Frankenstein’ (1942) from 11.50-1.00 a.m. on Saturday 30^th July, ‘The Wolf Man’ (1941) from 10.40-11.50 p.m. and ‘Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man’ (1943) from 11.55-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 6^th August, ‘Son of Dracula’ (1943) from 10.15-11.35 p.m. and ‘House of Frankenstein’ (1944) from 11.40-12.55 a.m. on Saturday 13^th August and ‘The Mummy’s Hand’ (1940) from 10.05-11.10 p.m. and ‘House of Dracula’ (1945) from 11.15-12.25 a.m. on Saturday 20^th August and on Saturday 3^rd September they showed a ‘Horror Triple Bill’ starting at 9.45-10.50 p.m. with ‘The Black Cat’ (1934) followed by ‘Murders in the Rue Morgue’ (1932) from 11.30-12.30 a.m. and ‘The Raven’ (1935) from 12.30-1.35 a.m. And during May-July 1983 Central Television showed seven hour long supernatural tales from 9-10 p.m. under the title ‘Shades of Darkness’ which began with ‘The Lady’s Maid’s Bell’ on Friday 27^th May and went on to include: ‘The Intercessor’ on Friday 3^rd June, ‘Feet Foremost’ on Friday 10^th June, ‘Afterward’ on Friday 17^th June, ‘The Maze’ on Friday 24^th June, ‘Seaton’s Aunt’ on Friday 1^st July and ‘Bewitched’ on Friday 8^th July.

 

Over on BBC 1 was a series of ‘Late Night Horrors’ beginning with ‘The Beast Must Die’ (1974) from11.15-12.45 a.m. on Saturday 22^nd October and continuing with: ‘Peeping Tom’ (1960) from 11.20-1 a.m. on Saturday 29^th October, ‘From Beyond the Grave’ (1974) from 11.15-12.50 a.m. on Saturday 5^th November, ‘The Shuttered Room’ (1967) at 11.55 p.m. on Saturday 12^th November and ‘The Satanic Rites of Dracula’ (1973) at 11.40 p.m. on Saturday 19^th November.

Also in 1983 there were a series of memorable ‘thriller’ episodes in the ‘Boris Karloff Presents’ series shown on Channel 4 (many of which had also been shown in 1973); some episodes were: ‘Worse than Murder’ from 11-12 a.m. on Friday 8^th July, ‘Rose’s Last Summer’ from 11.20-12.20 a.m. on Friday 15^th July, ‘The Prediction’ from 11.15-12.15 a.m. on Friday 22^nd July, ‘Waxworks’ from 11.15-12.15 a.m. on Friday 5^th August, ‘The Last of the Sommervilles’ from 11.15-12.15 a.m. on Friday 12^th August, ‘The Incredible Doctor Markesan’ from 11.15-12.15 a.m. on Friday 19^th August, ‘The Cheaters’ from 11.20-12.20 a.m. on Friday 26^th August and ‘Grim Reaper’ from 11.15-12.15 a.m. on Friday 2^nd August; the following year also saw episodes: ‘Dialogues with Death’ from 11.20-12.20 a.m. on Wednesday 12^th September, ‘Pigeons from Hell’ from 12.10-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 22^nd September and ‘Masquerade’ from 12.55-1.55 a.m. on Saturday 29^th September. Following the 1983 showing of Boris Karloff Presents Channel 4 showed a season of banned censored films and ‘Freaks’ got an airing from 11.15-12.30 a.m. on Friday 9^th September, followed by Bunuel’s ‘L’Age D’or’ (1930).

At the beginning of 1984 BBC 1 showed their ‘Late Night Horror’ films beginning with ‘Frankenstein Must be Destroyed’ (1969) from 11.30-1.05 a.m. on Saturday 28^th January and continuing with: ‘Ruby’ (1977) from 11.25-12.45 a.m. on Saturday 4^th February, ‘Legend of the Werewolf’ (1974) from 12-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 11^th February, ‘The Reincarnation of Peter Proud’ (1975) from 11.30-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 18^th February, ‘The Ghoul’ (1975) from 11.30-12.55 a.m. on Saturday 25^th February, ‘Superbeast’ (1972) from 11.35-1.05 a.m. on Saturday 3^rd March, ‘Daughters of Satan’ (1972) from 11.40-1.05 a.m. on Saturday 10^th March, ‘The Mephisto Waltz’ (1971) from 11.25-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 17^th March, ‘The Possessed’ (1965) from 12.15-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 24^th March, ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ (1964) from 11.35-1.05 a.m. on Saturday 31^st March, ‘Zoltan, Hound of Dracula’ (1978) from 11.30-12.55 a.m. on Saturday 7^th April and ‘Quatermas and the Pit’ (1967) from 10.45-12.20 a.m. on Saturday 14^th April.

 Cat People

On Saturday 2^nd June 1984 Channel Four showed that rarely seen werewolf film, ‘The Undying Monster’ (1942) from 12.05 a.m. to closedown at 1.14 a.m. and although it isn’t rated very highly in the genre I quite liked it especially the atmosphere it conjured and perhaps because it is not often shown it had an air of mystique about it.

Over on Central Television they showed several horror films under the title ‘Friday Night Fright’: ‘And Now the Screaming Starts’ (1973) at 11.35 p.m. on Friday 6^th July, ‘Devils of Darkness’ (1965) on Friday 13^th July, ‘Dr Phibes Rises Again’ (1972) on Friday 20^th July, ‘Terror in the Wax Museum’ (1973) on Friday 27^th July, ‘Asylum’ (1972) on Friday 13^th August, ‘Fright’ (1971) from 11.35-1.20 a.m. on Friday 24^th August, ‘Dr Blood’s Coffin’ (1961) from 11.35-1.20 a.m. on Friday 31^st August, ‘Blind Terror’ (1971) from 11.35-1.15 a.m. on Friday 7^th September, ‘Vampire Circus’ (1971) at 11.35 p.m. on Friday 14^th September, ‘Repulsion’ (1965) from 11.35-1.25 a.m. on Friday 21^st September and ‘Circus of Horrors’ (1960) from 11.35-1.20 a.m. on Friday 28^th September.

At the end of 1984 BBC 2 showed a season Hammer horror films beginning with ‘Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb’ (1971) at 12 a.m. on Sunday 23^rd December and continuing with a double bill of ‘The Curse of Frankenstein’ (1957) at 10.05 p.m. and ‘Dracula’ (1958) at 11.25 p.m. on Friday 28^th December, ‘The Mummy’ (1959) at 11.45 p.m. on Saturday 29^th December and on Friday 4^th January 1985 at 11.15 p.m. was ‘The Curse of the Werewolf’ (1961).

 

MONSTER HORRORS

 

‘When it comes to the heavens, there’s only one professional.’

[Sir John Talbot to son Larry in ‘The Wolf Man’]

 

At the beginning of 1986 Channel 4 started their season of double bill ‘Monster Horrors’ which would seduce a new generation of horror fans and was a wonderful introduction to the old classics from Universal and RKO; it certainly kept many a macabre youth, like myself, busy recording those films! The order of films as shown were: ‘Dracula’ (1931) at 11 p.m. and ‘Nosferatu’ (1922) at 12.15 a.m. on Saturday 11^th January, ‘Mark of the Vampire’ (1935) from 11-12.10 a.m. and ‘Vampyr’ (1932) from 12.10-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 18^th January, ‘Frankenstein’ (1931) from 11-12.15 p.m. and ‘The Vampire Bat’ (1933) from 12.15-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 25^th January, ‘The Old Dark House’ (1932) from 11-12.20 a.m. and ‘Dracula’s Daughter’ (1936) at 12.20 a.m. on Saturday 1^st February, ‘The Mummy’ (1932) from 11-12.20 a.m. and ‘The Mask of Fu Manchu’ (1932) at 12.20 a.m. on Saturday 8^th February, ‘Werewolf of London’ (1935) from 11-12.20 a.m. and ‘The Raven’ (1935) from 12.35-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 15^th February, ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ (1935) from 11-12.20 a.m. and ‘Man Made Monster’ (1941) from 12.20-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 22^nd February, ‘Son of Frankenstein’ (1939) from 11-12.50 a.m. and two shorts: ‘Return to Glennascaul’ (1951 Orson Wells) from 12.50-1.15 a.m. and ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ (1953 animated, James Mason narrating) from 1.15-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 1^st March, ‘The Mummy’s Hand’ (1940) from 11-12.15 a.m. and ‘The Wolf Man’ (1941) from 12.15-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 8^th March, ‘Son of Dracula’ (1943) from 11-12.15 a.m. and ‘Route 66’ (1962 episode: ‘Lizard’s Legs and Owlet’s Wing’ starring Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney) from 12.15-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 15^th March, ‘Ghost of Frankenstein’ (1942) from 11-12.15 a.m. and ‘Return of the Vampire’ (1943) from 12.15-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 22^nd March, ‘Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man’ (1943) from 11-12.25 a.m. and ‘The Mummy’s Tomb’ (1942) from 12.25-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 29^th March, ‘House of Frankenstein’ (1944) from 11-12.20 a.m. and ‘The Mummy’s Ghost’ (1944) from 12.20-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 5^th April, (no ‘Monster Horrors’ on Saturday 12^th April), a single film ‘House of Dracula’ (1945) from 12-1.15 a.m. on Saturday 19^th April and to end the season – ‘Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein’ (1948) from 11-12.30 a.m. and ‘The Mummy’s Curse’ (1944) from 12.30-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 26^th April.

Also during the summer of 1986 Central Television showed their series of films under the ‘Friday Night Fright’ banner: ‘The Asphyx’ (1973) from 12-1.40 a.m. on Friday 4^th July, ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ (1978) from 10.35-12.45 a.m. on Friday 11^th July, ‘The Uncanny’ (1977) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Friday 18^th July, ‘The Black Room’ (1935) from 11.30-12.40 a.m. on Friday 25^th July, ‘The Witches’ (1966) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Friday 1^st August, ‘The Reptile’ (1966) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Friday 8^th August, ‘And Now the Screaming Starts’ (1973) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Friday 15^th August and ‘Crucible of Terror’ (1971) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Friday 22^nd August.

In late autumn 1986 BBC 2 showed the classic ‘Whistle and I’ll come to you’ (1968) on Saturday 8^th November at 12.25 a.m. and during Christmas 1986 BBC2 showed a series of five M. R. James ghost tales under the title ‘Classic Ghost Stories’ narrated by the wonderful Robert Powell. M. R. James has always been a love of mine and always will be and Christmas just isn’t Christmas without some scholarly scares from the master of the ghost story. The first spooky tale was the classic story, ‘The Mezzotint’ on Thursday 25^th December from 10.55-11.10 p.m. followed by ‘The Ash Tree’ on Friday 26^th December from 12-12.15 a.m. [Saturday 27^th], ‘Wailing Well’ on Sunday 28^th December from 12.35-12.50 a.m. [Monday 29^th], ‘Oh Whistle and I’ll come to you, my Lad’ on Monday 29^th December from 12.05-12.20 a.m. [Tuesday 30^th], and ‘The Rose Garden’ on Tuesday 30^th December from 11.30-11.45 p.m.

In 1987 BBC2 showed a series of films from July-September they called ‘The Best of the Bs’ which included ‘Cat People’ (1942) at 12.10 a.m. on Saturday 18^th July, ‘I Walked with a Zombie’ (1943) at 11.25 p.m. on Friday 31^st July and ‘The Curse of the Cat People’ (1944) at 11.20 p.m. on Friday 4^th September. Also on BBC 2 from June to August was a season of Hammer Horror films which ran thus: ‘Dracula Prince of Darkness’ (1965) at 9.40 p.m. and ‘The Evil of Frankenstein’ (1964) [double bill] at 11.10 p.m. on Saturday 27^th June, ‘The Curse of the Werewolf’ (1961) at 11.30 p.m. on Saturday 4^th July, ‘The Kiss of the Vampire’ (1962) at 11.20 p.m. on Saturday 11^th July, ‘Quatermas and the Pit’ (1967) at 11.25 p.m. on Saturday 18^th July, ‘Frankenstein Created Woman’ (1966) at 11.40 p.m. on Saturday 25^th July, ‘Rasputin – The Mad Monk’ (1966) at 10.30 p.m. and ‘The Nanny’ (1965) at 12 a.m. [double bill] on Saturday 1^st August, ‘Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb’ (1971) at 10.55 p.m. on Saturday 8^th August, ‘Dracula has Risen from the Grave’ (1968) at 11.35 p.m. on Saturday 15^th August, ‘Frankenstein Must be Destroyed’ (1969) at 11.20 p.m. on Saturday 22^nd August and ‘The Devil Rides Out’ (1967) at 10.55 p.m. on Saturday 29^th August.

 

VAL LEWTON

 

‘The glitter of putrescence. There is no beauty here, only death and decay.’

[Paul Holland to Betsy Connell in ‘I Walked with a Zombie’]

 

Val Lewton (1904-1951) the producer and screenwriter became an important figure in the horror genre for several memorable films he produced, the first being ‘Cat People’ starring Simone Simon in 1942 directed by the great Jacques Tourneur (1904-1977) who also directed the classic ‘Night of the Demon’ in 1957 starring Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins and Niall MacGinnis as Dr. Julian Karswell, an adaptation of M. R. James’s classic tale – ‘Casting the Runes’ – Tourneur also went on to direct the astonishing and eerily beautiful ‘I Walked with a Zombie’ (1943) starring Frances Dee and Tom Conway and ‘The Leopard Man’ (1943). Throughout November and December 1988 BBC2 showed a series of six films for their ‘Val Lewton Season’, the films were as follows: ‘Cat People’ (1942) on Tuesday 15^th November, ‘Curse of the Cat People’ (1944) on Tuesday 22^nd November, ‘I Walked with a Zombie’ (1943) on Tuesday 29^th November, ‘Bedlam’ (1946) on Tuesday 6^th December, ‘Isle of the Dead’ (1945) on Tuesday 13^th December and ‘The Body Snatcher’ (1945) on Tuesday 20^th December.

 

I Walked with a Zombie

ROGER CORMAN

 

To touch briefly into the 90’s there was a very good season in May-July 1990 on BBC2 called the ‘Curse of Corman’ which showed several of his Edgar Allan Poe inspired films: ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ (1960) from 9-10.30 p.m. on Monday 14^th May, ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ (1961) from 9-10.30 p.m. on Monday 21^st May, ‘The Premature Burial’ (1961) from 9-10.20 p.m. on Monday 4^th June, ‘Tales of Terror’ (1962) from 9-10.30 p.m. on Monday 11^th June, ‘The Raven’ (1963) from 9-10.30 p.m. on Monday 25^th June and ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ (1964) from 9-10.30 p.m. on Monday 2^nd July; and throughout 1993, 1994 and 1996 there were seasons of ‘Dr. Terror’s Vault of Horror’ to look forward to but things were not the same and perhaps never would be again – over at Cromwell Road in Gloucestershire in the early nineties a real life ‘house of horrors’ was discovered and the monsters who lived there and their crimes stunned the country into silence and bewilderment, as indeed had the horrific Moors murders and the Yorkshire Ripper previously.  

 

‘We belong dead!’

[the monster in ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’]

 

The age of the thrill from the horror film shown on television was dying yet there were still a few last gasps as at the end of 2000 when BBC 2 ran a ‘Universal Horror Season’ beginning on Monday 25^th December with ‘Frankenstein’ (1931) at 2.40 a.m. The horror film has always been considered a late night film when all sorts of things may lurk in the darkness but these great films were being tucked into the small hours during the Christmas period when most people had over-done the festive cheer and had enough of screaming children to appreciate those classic horror films and had retired to their beds. It was a pity that an opportunity was missed to interest a new generation of young acolytes to the horror genre and the discovery of those old creepy (and sometimes creaky) Universal horror films and the delightful interpretations from Hammer studios, but in an age of the internet and the emergence of films on demand something had been lost, the anticipation of waiting for it to be shown and knowing that if you missed it that was it, until it was shown again which may have meant waiting another year or perhaps several! The season continued with: ‘The Mummy’ (1932) from 1.55-3.05 a.m. on Wednesday 27^th December, ‘The Old Dark House’ (1932) at 2 a.m. on Friday 20^th December, ‘The Black Cat’ (1934) at 1.40 a.m. on Saturday 30^th December, ‘The Invisible Man’ (1933) at 12.55 a.m. on Sunday 31^st December, ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ (1935) from 2-3.10 a.m. on Monday 1^st January 2001 and ‘The Wolf Man’ (1941) from 1.10-2.15 a.m. on Wednesday 3^rd January.

Bride of Frankenstein

 

‘As if dead men didn’t have all eternity.’

[Sir John Talbot in ‘The Wolf Man’]

 

But a resurgence in the horror film and ghost tales has come about, thanks largely to the wonderful saviour of the genre, Mark Gatiss, that fine actor, screenwriter, director and author whose enthusiasm for horror and passion for M. R. James particularly has ensured that the true horror of the Christmas Ghost Story is alive and well and creating the next generations of horror lovers! I hope my love of horror has entertained you and if I have made errors in the listings please forgive me and correct me if you wish for I am only a mortal who listens to the children of the night and the music they make!