Friday 6 January 2023

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 14th 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 6th 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 13th November, ‘The Unsuspected’ (1947) from 7.40-9.30 p.m. on Saturday 20th November, ‘Sleep My Love’ (1948 starring Claudette Colbert) from 8.10-10 p.m. on Saturday 27th November, ‘King Kong’ (1933) from 8.10 p.m. on Saturday 4th December (ATV also showed ‘Kiss of Evil’ (1963) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 3rd December) and ‘Green for Danger’ (1946 starring Trevor Howard) from 8.15-10 p.m. on Saturday 11th December. On Thursday 9th 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 7th 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 24th 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 3rd January, the rest of the showings were as follows: ‘The Gorgon’ (1964) on Friday 7th January, ‘The Night Walker’ (1964) on Monday 10th January, ‘Brides of Dracula’ (1960) on Friday 14th January, ‘The Man Without a Body’ (1957) on Monday 17th January, ‘Curse of the Werewolf’ (1961) on Friday 21st January, ‘Evil of Frankenstein’ (1964) on Friday 28th January, ‘Homicidal’ (1961) on Monday 31st January, ‘Night Creatures’ (1962) on Friday 11th February, ‘The Shadow of the Cat’ (1961) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 18th February, ‘Mr. Sardonicus’ (1961) on Monday 21st February, ‘Paranoic’ (1962) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 25th February, ‘Curse of the Werewolf’ (1961) on Monday 28th February, ‘The Skull’ (1965) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 3rd March, ‘Brides of Dracula’ (1960) on Monday 6th March, ‘Witchcraft’ (1964) on Friday 10th March, ‘Nightmare’ (1964) on Monday 20th March, ‘Hysteria’ (1965) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 24th March, ‘Beast with Five Fingers’ (1947) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 24th April, ‘Twenty-Four Hours’ (1966) at 10.45 p.m. on Monday 1st May, ‘Black Angel’ (1946) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 8th May, ‘The Devil’s Daffodil’ (1961) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 15th May, ‘Mystery of the Wax Museum’ (1933) on Monday 11th September, ‘The Curse of Frankenstein’ (1957) on Monday 18th September, ‘The Black Torment’ (1964) on Monday 9th October, ‘The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb’ (1964) on Monday 16th October, ‘You’ll Find Out’ (1940) on Monday 23rd October, ‘The Frozen Dead’ (1966 Dana Andrews) on Monday 30th October, ‘The Mummy’s Ghost’ (1943) on Monday 13th November, ‘The Mummy’s Curse’ (1944) on Monday 20th November, ‘It’ (1967) on Monday 27th November and ‘The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb’ (1964) from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Monday 4th 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 24th 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 26th February, ‘The Haunting’ (1963) at 11 p.m. on Friday 6th April, ‘Bunny Lake is Missing’ (1965) at 11 p.m. on Friday 13th April, ‘The Shuttered Room’ (1967) at 11 p.m. on Friday 20th April, ‘Berserk’ (1967) at 11 p.m. on Friday 27th April, ‘The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb’ (1964) at 11 p.m. on Friday 4th May, ‘The Stranglers of Bombay’ (1959) at 11.30 p.m. on Friday 11th May, ‘Eye of the Devil’ (1966) at 11 p.m. on Friday 18th May, ‘Wait until Dark’ (1967) on Monday 21st May, ‘Bluebeard’s Ten Honeymoons’ (1960) at 11 p.m. on Friday 25th May, ‘Son of Frankenstein’ (1939) at 11 p.m. on Friday 1st June, ‘The Chamber of Horrors’ (1966) from 11-12.50 a.m. on Friday 8th June, ‘The Revenge of Frankenstein’ (1958) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 15th June, ‘The Fiend who walked the West’ (1958) from 11-12.50 a.m. on Friday 22nd June, ‘The Night Caller’ (1968) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 29th June, ‘Dr. Blood’s Coffin’ (1960) on Monday 2nd July, ‘Die Monster Die’ (1965) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 6th July, ‘Maniac’ (1963) on Monday 9th July, ‘These are the Damned’ (1962) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 13th July, ’80,000 Suspects’ (1963) from 10.30-12.30 a.m. on Friday 20th July, ‘The Curse of the Fly’ (1965) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 27th July, ‘Fanatic’ (1964) on Monday 30th July, ‘The Blood Beast Terror’ (1968) from 10.20-12 a.m. on Friday 3rd August, ‘House on Haunted Hill’ (1958) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 10th August, ‘Evil of Frankenstein’ (1964) on Monday 6th August, ‘Scared Stiff’ (1953) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 13th August, ‘Curse of the Werewolf’ (1961) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 17th August, ‘King Kong’ (1933) on Monday 20th August, ‘The Sorcerers’ (1967) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 24th August, ‘They Came from Beyond Space’ (1967) on Friday 31st August, ‘Diary of a Madman’ (1962) on Monday 3rd September, ‘The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll’ (1960) at 10.20 p.m. on Friday 7th September, ‘The Man who could Cheat Death’ (1959) from 10.30-12.30 a.m. on Friday 26th October, ‘Kiss of Evil’ (1963) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 2nd November, ‘Die Monster Die’ (1965) on Friday 9th November, ‘The Horror of it All’ (1964) from 11.15-12.40 a.m. on Friday 16th November, ‘Witchfinder General’ (1968) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 23rd November, ‘The Curse of the Crimson Altar’ (1968) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 30th November and ‘The Psychopath’ (1965) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 7th 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 25th 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 15th February, ‘The Haunted Palace’ (1963) at 11 p.m. on Friday 22nd February, ‘The Phantom of the Rue Morgue’ (1954) from 10.45-12.40 a.m. on Friday 1st March, ‘The Skull’ (1965) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 8th March, ‘Nightmare’ (1964) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 15th March, ‘Paranoic’ (1962) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 22nd March, ‘Eye of the Devil’ (1966) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 1st April, ‘The Frozen Dead’ (1966) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 5th April, ‘Maniac’ (1963) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 12th April, ‘Fanatic’ (1964) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 19th April, ‘Dr. Blood’s Coffin’(1960) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 10th May, ‘The Gorgon’ (1964) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 24th May, ‘Hysteria’ (1965) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 28th May, ‘Taste of Fear’ (1961) on Monday 3rd June, ‘The Black Torment’ (1964) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 7th June, ‘Dance of the Vampires’ (1967) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Monday 24th June, ‘Dracula’ (1958) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 28th June, ‘Werewolf of London’ (1935) at 11 p.m. on Friday 5th July, ‘Dracula has Risen from the Grave’ (1968) at 10.35 p.m. on Friday 12th July, ‘Straightjacket’ (1964) at 10.35 p.m. on Friday 19th July, ‘Tales of Terror’ (1962) at 11.35 p.m. on Friday 26th July, ‘Black Zoo’ 1963) at 10.15 p.m. on Friday 2nd August, ‘Peeping Tom’ (1960) on Monday 5th August, ‘Son of Dracula’ (1943) at 10.35 p.m. on Friday 9th August, ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ (1935) on Friday 16th August, ‘The Man without a Body’ (1957) at 10.35 p.m. on Friday 23rd August, ‘I Married a Monster from Outer Space’ (1958) on Friday 30th August, ‘The Curse of the Fly’ (1965) on Monday 2nd September, ‘It’ (1967) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 13th September, ‘Terror of the Tongs’ (1961) at 11.20 p.m. on Friday 20th September, ‘Dance of the Vampires’ from 10.50-12.35 a.m. on Friday 27th September, ‘Night Must Fall’ (1964) at 11 p.m. on Friday 11th October, ‘Corridors of Blood’ (1958) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 18th October, ‘Night Creatures’ (1962) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 1st November, ‘Creature From the Black Lagoon’ (1953) on Friday 8th November, ‘Fiend Without a Face’ (1958) on Friday 15th November, ‘The Strangler’ (1964) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 22nd November, ‘The Norliss Tapes’ (1973) on Wednesday 27th November, ‘The Fly’ (1958) on Friday 29th November, ‘Frankenstein Must be Destroyed’ (1969) on Friday 6th December, ‘The Tingler’ (1959) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 13th December, ‘The Haunted House of Horror’ (1969) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 20th December and ‘The Black Scorpion’ (1957) from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Friday 27th December. The ‘Christmas Ghost Story’ over on BBC 1 was the wonderful ‘The Treasure of Abbot Thomas’ shown on Monday 23rd December 1974 at 11.35 p.m.

On Monday 26th 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 20th 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 3rd January, ‘Diary of a Madman’ (1962) from 11-12 a.m. on Friday 10th January, ‘The Mad Room’ (1969) at 11 p.m. on Friday 17th January, ‘Corruption’ (1967) at 11 p.m. on Friday 24th January, ‘The Night Walker’ (1964) at 11 p.m. on Friday 31st January, ‘Scream and Scream Again’ (1969) at 11 p.m. on Friday 7th February, ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ (1935) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 10th February, ‘Shock Treatment’ (1964) at 11 p.m. on Friday 14th February, ‘The Haunted House of Horror’ (1969) on Monday 17th February, ‘The Evil of Frankenstein’ (1964) at 11 p.m. on Friday 21st February, ‘Soul of a Monster’ (1944) at 11.25 p.m. on Monday 24th February, ‘The Return of the Fly’ (1959) on Friday 28th February, ‘The Old Dark House’ (1932) from 10.40-12.10 p.m. on Monday 3rd March, ‘Tarantula’ (1955) at 11 p.m. on Friday 7th March, ‘Son of Frankenstein’ (1939) from 10.30-12.20 a.m. on Monday 10th March, ‘The Climax’ (1967) at 11 p.m. on Friday 14th March, ‘The Black Room’ (1935) at 11.15 p.m. on Monday 17th March, ‘The Mad Magician’ (1954) at 11 p.m. on Friday 21st March, ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ (1956) at 11 p.m. on Friday 4th April, ‘A Little Game’ (TV Film 1971) at 10.45 p.m. on Saturday 5th April, ‘Donovan’s Brain’ (1953) at 11 p.m. on Friday 11th April, ‘Companions in Nightmare’ (1968) at 10.45 p.m. on Saturday 12th April, ‘The Werewolf’ (1956) at 11 p.m. on Friday 18th April, ‘Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man’ (1943) on Friday 18th April, ‘Mystery of the Wax Museum’ (1933) at 11 p.m. on Friday 25th April, ‘Brides of Dracula’ (1960) from 11.05-12,40 a.m. on Saturday 26th April, ‘The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb’ (1964) at 11 p.m. on Friday 2nd May, ‘House of Frankenstein’ (1944) from 10.45-12 a.m. on Saturday 3rd May, ‘Black Noon’ (1971) on Friday 9th May, ‘Bunny Lake is Missing’ (1965) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 16th May, ‘Curse of the Werewolf’ (1961) on Saturday 17th May, ‘House of Dracula’ (1945) from 10.45-12 a.m. on Friday 23rd May, ‘The Oblong Box’ (1969) from 10.45-12.35 a.m. on Friday 23rd May, ‘Eye of the Devil’ (1966) from 10.40-12.30 a.m. on Friday 30th May, ‘The Deadly Dream’ (1971) from 10.55-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 31st May, ‘The Revenge of Frankenstein’ (1958) from 11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 6th June, ‘Paper Man’ (TV Film 1971) from 11-12.25 a.m. on Monday 9th June, ‘The Shuttered Room’ (1967) from 10.30-12.30 a.m. on Friday 20th June, ‘The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll’ (1960) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Monday 23rd June, ‘Taste the Blood of Dracula’ (1970) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 27th June, ‘Night of the Demon’ (1957) at 11 p.m. on Monday 30th June, ‘The Sorcerers’ (1967) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 4th July, ‘The Fantastic Disappearing Man’ (1958) at 11.10 p.m. on Monday 7th July, ‘Brides of Dracula’ (1960) from10.30-12.30 a.m. on Friday 11th July, ‘Home for the Holidays’ (1972) at 11 p.m. on Monday 14th July, ‘These are the Damned’ (1962) from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Friday 18th July, ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ (1959) from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Friday 25th July, ‘The Curse of the Fly’ (1965) from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Friday 1st August, ‘A Howling in the Woods’ (TV Film 1971) from 11.30-12.15 a.m. on Monday 4th August, ‘The Blood Beast Terror’ (1968) from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Friday 8th August, ‘The House on Haunted Hill’ (1958)  from 11.15-12.45 a.m. on Friday 22nd August and ‘The Night Caller’ (1968) from 11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 29th 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 2nd 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 9th 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 16th August, ‘This Island Earth’ (1955) from 10.40-12.05 a.m. and ‘Barbarella’ (1968) from 12.05-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 23rd 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 30th 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 6th September. On BBC 1 the ‘Ghost Story for Christmas’ was ‘The Ash Tree’ by M. R. James, shown on Tuesday 23rd 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 14th 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 21st 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 28th 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 4th 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 11th 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 22nd December 1976 (it was shown again the following year on BBC 1 at 10.30 p.m. on Wednesday 25th May 1977 and also in 1982 on BBC 1 on Saturday 25th 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 28th December and 1978 gave us ‘The Ice House’ on 25th 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 5th January, ‘The Strangler’ (1964) from 11-12.45 a.m. on Monday 12th January, ‘Castle of Evil’ (1966) on Monday 19th January, ‘The Sorcerers’ (1967) from 11-12.45 a.m. on Monday 26th January, ‘Curse of the Crimson Altar’ (1968) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Monday 2nd February, ‘The Devil’s Daughter’ (1973) from 10.30-11.55 p.m. on Monday 9th February, ‘Who Killed Teddy Bear?’ (1965) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 23rd February, ‘Die Monster Die’ (1965) at 11.30 p.m. on Monday 1st March, ‘The Haunted Palace’ (1963) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Monday 8th March, ‘The Terror of the Tongs’ (1961 Christopher Lee) on Monday 15th March, ‘Tales of Terror’ (1962) from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Monday 22nd March, ‘The Curse of the Fly’ (1965) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Monday 12th April, ‘The Mummy’ (1932) from 11-12.30 a.m. on Monday 26th April, ‘House of Dracula’ (1945) from 11.15-12.35 a.m. on Monday 3rd May, ‘The Screaming Woman’ (1972 TV Film) from 11.15-12.45 a.m. on Monday 10th May, ‘Dracula’ (1931) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Monday 17th May, ‘The Earth Dies Screaming’ (1964) from 11.30-12.40 a.m. on Monday 24th May, ‘The Night Caller’ (1968) from 11-12.35 a.m. on Monday 14th June, ‘The Hand of Night’ (1968) at 11 p.m. on Monday 21st June, ‘Taste the Blood of Dracula’ (1970) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 13th August, ‘The Mummy’s Shroud’ (1966) on Friday 20th August, ‘Trog’ (1970) on Friday 27th August, ‘Strange Case of Dr. X’ (1942) at 11.30 p.m. on Monday 6th September, ‘Phantom of the Rue Morgue’ (1954) from 10.30-12.05 a.m. on Monday 20th September,  ‘Tales from the Crypt’ (1972) on Friday 24th September, ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ (1956) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 4th October, ‘The Gorgon’ (1964) from 10.30-12.05 a.m. on Monday 11th October, ‘Scream and Scream Again’ (1969) at 10.45 p.m. on Friday 15th October, ‘The Dentist’s Surgery’ (a short film by Jonathan Crane) at 8.45 p.m. on Saturday 4th December and ‘Tales from the Crypt’ (1972) at 11.30 p.m. on Monday 20th 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 2nd January and continued with: ‘Gargoyles’ (1972 TV Film) on Friday 9th January, ‘The Mummy’s Shroud’ (1966) on Friday 16th January, ‘Twenty Million Miles to Earth’ (1957) on Friday 23rd January, ‘The Invisible Ray’ (1936) on Friday 30th January, ‘Moon of the Wolf’ (1972 TV Film) from 10.30-12.30 a.m. on Friday 6th February, ‘Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man’ (1943)  from 11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 13th February, ‘House of Frankenstein’ (1944) on Friday 20th February, ‘Revenge of the Creature’ (1955) on Friday 27th February, ‘Gorilla at Large’ (1954) from 11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 5th March, ‘Dracula’ (1931) on Friday 12th March, ‘Die Monster Die’ (1965) on Friday 19th March, ‘The Colossus of New York’ (1958) on Friday 26th March, ‘Scream of the Wolf’ (1973) on Friday 2nd April, ‘Dracula’s Daughter’ (1936) from 11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 9th April, ‘House of Dracula’ (1945) on Friday 16th April, ‘The Gorgon’ (1964) from 11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 23rd April, ‘Phantom of the Rue Morgue’ (1954) on Friday 30th April, ‘Count Yorga Vampire’ (1970) on Friday 7th May and ‘King Kong’ (1933) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 14th 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 18th February from 10.30-12.15 a.m. The next was ‘The Oblong Box’ (1969) on Friday 25th February from 10.30-12.15 a.m. ‘Countess Dracula’ (1970) on Friday 4th March from 10.30-12.15 a.m. ‘Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde’ (1971) on Friday 11th March from 10.30-12.15 a.m. ‘The Abominable Dr Phibes’ (1971) on Friday 18th March from 10.30-12.15 a.m. ‘The Vampire Lovers’ (1970) on Friday 25th March from 10.30-12.15 a.m. and ‘Twins of Evil’ (1971) on Friday 1st 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 2nd 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 9th 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 16th 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 23rd 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 30th 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 6th 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 13th 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 20th 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 27th 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 3rd 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 10th 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 7th October from 10.30-12.20 a.m. ‘The Body Stealers’ (1969) on Friday 14th October from 10.30-12.15 a.m. ‘The Power’ (1968) on Friday 21st October from 10.30-12.30 a.m. ‘Frogs’ (1972 stars Ray Milland) on Friday 28th October from 10.30-12.25 a.m. ‘Killdozer’ (1974) on Friday 4th November from 10.30 p.m. ‘Madame Sin’ (1972 stars Bette Davis) on Friday 11th November from 10.30 p.m. ‘They came from Beyond Space’ (1967) on Friday 18th November from 10.30 p.m. ‘Satan’s Triangle’ (1975 TV film stars Kim Novak) on Friday 25th November from 10.30 p.m. ‘Project X’ (1968 stars Christopher George) on Friday 2nd December from 10.30 p.m. ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ (1955) on Friday 9th December from 10.30 p.m. and ‘THX 1138’ (1971) on Friday 16th December from 10.30 p.m.



Mark of the Vampire


One of the most memorable and chilling horror moments for me occurred on Thursday 22nd 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 10th February, ‘The Haunted Palace’ (1963) on Friday 17th February, ‘The Fly’ (1958) on Friday 24th February, ‘Dr. Phibes Rises Again’ (1972) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 3rd March, ‘Witchfinder General’ (1968) on Friday 10th March and finally ‘Shock’ (1946) on Friday 17th 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 8th 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 15th July, ‘The Quatermas Experiment’ (1955) from 10-11.20 p.m. and ‘The Crazies’ (1973) from 11.50-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 22nd 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 29th July, ‘White Zombie’ (1932) from 10.40-11.55 p.m. and ‘House of Wax’ (1953) from 12-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 5th 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 12th 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 19th August and ‘King Kong’ (1933) from 10-11.35 p.m. and ‘Superbeast’ (1972) from 11.40-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 26th 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 22nd September, ‘Willard’ (1971) from 11-12.45 a.m. on Friday 29th September, ‘Don’t be Afraid of the Dark’ (1973) from 11.30-1.00 a.m. on Friday 6th October, ‘The Creature from the Black Lagoon’ (1955) from 11.15 p.m. on Friday 20th October, ‘Ben’ (1972) from 11-12.45 a.m. on Friday 27th October. ‘The Creeping Flesh’ (1972) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Friday 17th November, ‘Trog’ (1970) from 11.10 p.m. on Friday 24th November and ‘The Day of the Triffids’ (1963) from 11 p.m. on Friday 1st 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 9th 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 16th February from 11-12.40 a.m. followed by ‘Dracula A.D. 1972’ (1972) on Friday 23rd February from 11-12.45 a.m. ‘I Monster’ (1970) on Friday 2nd March from 11.30-12.55 a.m. ‘Scream and Scream Again’ (1969) on Friday 9th March from 11-12.45 a.m. ‘The Wicker Man’ (1973) on Friday 16th March from 11-12.40 a.m. ‘Theatre of Death’ (1967) on Friday 23rd March from 11-12.45 a.m. and finally ‘Dracula has Risen from the Grave’ (1968) on Friday 30th 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 14th 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 21st 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 28th July, ‘Black Friday’ (1940) from 11-12.05 a.m. and ‘The Mummy’ (1959) from 12.05-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 4th 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 11th 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 18th 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 5th May 1979 and ‘Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb’ on Saturday 11th 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 2nd 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 9th November, ‘The Dunwich Horror’ (1970) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Friday 16th November, ‘Ritual Evil’ (1970 TV Film) on Friday 23rd November, ‘The Initiation of Sarah’ (1978) from 11-12.45 a.m. on Friday 30th November, ‘Look what Happened to Rosemary’s Baby’ (1977 TV Movie) from 11 p.m. on Friday 7th December, ‘Blood on Satan’s Claw’ (1970) from 11-12.45 a.m. on Friday 14th December and the series ended with ‘Good Against Evil’ (1977 TV Movie) from 11 p.m. on Friday 21st 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 10th May, ‘War of the Monsters’ (1966) on Saturday 17th May from 10.50 a.m.-12.30 and ‘Monster from an Unknown Planet’ (1975) on Saturday 24th 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 23rd May from 11.05 p.m. ‘Soylent Green’ (1973) on Friday 30th May from 12.55 a.m. ‘Dr. Strange’ (1978 stars John Mills) on Friday 6th June, ‘The Green Slime’ (1968) on Friday 13th June, ‘Fantastic Planet’ (1973) animation, on Friday 20th June from 11-12.30 a.m. and ‘The Blob’ (1958) on Friday 27th 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 28th 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 5th 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 12th 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 19th 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 26th 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 2nd 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 9th 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 16th 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 23rd August and concluding with ‘The Beast Must Die’ (1974) from 12-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 30th 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 13th February; other films were: ‘Frankenstein must be Destroyed’ (1969) from 11-1 a.m. on Friday 20th February, ‘Fear in the Night’ (1972) on Friday 27th February, ‘Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell’ (1973) on Friday 13th March, ‘Island of Terror’ (1966) on Friday 20th March, ‘Night of the Big Heat’ (1967) on Friday 27th March, ‘Land of the Minotaur’ (1976) on Friday 3rd April and ‘The House that Dripped Blood’ (1971) on Friday 10th 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 4th 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 11th 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 18th 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 25th July, ‘Bedlam’ (1946) from 10.30-11.45 p.m. and ‘Bug’ (1975) from 11.45-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 1st 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 8th 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 15th 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 22nd 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 7th September and part two on Wednesday 9th 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 15th January from 11.05 p.m. ‘The Uncanny’ (1977) on Friday 22nd January from 11.05-12.50 a.m. ‘Shock Treatment’ (1972) on Friday 29th January, ‘Halloween’ (1978) on Friday 5th February, ‘I Don’t Want to be Born’ (1975) on Friday 12th February, ‘Die Screaming Marianne’ (1971) on Friday 26th February, ‘A Taste of Evil’ (1971) on Friday 5th March from 12.05 a.m. ‘Psychomania’ (1972) on Friday 12th 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 27th 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 7th January; the following films appeared in order: ‘Panic’ (1978) from 12 a.m. on Friday 14th January, ‘The Babysitter’ (1980 TV Film starring William Shatner) from 11.35-1.30 a.m. on Friday 21st January, ‘Countess Dracula’ (1970) on Friday 28th January, ‘Who Slew Aunty Roo?’ (1971 starring Shelley Winters) from 11.35-1.25 a.m. on Friday 4th February, ‘The Nanny’ (1965) from 11.35-1.25 a.m. on Friday 11th February and ‘What’s the matter with Helen?’ (1971) from 11.35-1.30 a.m. on Friday 18th 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 9th 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 16th 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 23rd 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 30th 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 6th 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 13th 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 20th August and on Saturday 3rd 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 27th May and went on to include: ‘The Intercessor’ on Friday 3rd June, ‘Feet Foremost’ on Friday 10th June, ‘Afterward’ on Friday 17th June, ‘The Maze’ on Friday 24th June, ‘Seaton’s Aunt’ on Friday 1st July and ‘Bewitched’ on Friday 8th 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 22nd October and continuing with: ‘Peeping Tom’ (1960) from 11.20-1 a.m. on Saturday 29th October, ‘From Beyond the Grave’ (1974) from 11.15-12.50 a.m. on Saturday 5th November, ‘The Shuttered Room’ (1967) at 11.55 p.m. on Saturday 12th November and ‘The Satanic Rites of Dracula’ (1973) at 11.40 p.m. on Saturday 19th 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 8th July, ‘Rose’s Last Summer’ from 11.20-12.20 a.m. on Friday 15th July, ‘The Prediction’ from 11.15-12.15 a.m. on Friday 22nd July, ‘Waxworks’ from 11.15-12.15 a.m. on Friday 5th August, ‘The Last of the Sommervilles’ from 11.15-12.15 a.m. on Friday 12th August, ‘The Incredible Doctor Markesan’ from 11.15-12.15 a.m. on Friday 19th August, ‘The Cheaters’ from 11.20-12.20 a.m. on Friday 26th August and ‘Grim Reaper’ from 11.15-12.15 a.m. on Friday 2nd August; the following year also saw episodes: ‘Dialogues with Death’ from 11.20-12.20 a.m. on Wednesday 12th September, ‘Pigeons from Hell’ from 12.10-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 22nd September and ‘Masquerade’ from 12.55-1.55 a.m. on Saturday 29th 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 9th 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 28th January and continuing with: ‘Ruby’ (1977) from 11.25-12.45 a.m. on Saturday 4th February, ‘Legend of the Werewolf’ (1974) from 12-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 11th February, ‘The Reincarnation of Peter Proud’ (1975) from 11.30-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 18th February, ‘The Ghoul’ (1975) from 11.30-12.55 a.m. on Saturday 25th February, ‘Superbeast’ (1972) from 11.35-1.05 a.m. on Saturday 3rd March, ‘Daughters of Satan’ (1972) from 11.40-1.05 a.m. on Saturday 10th March, ‘The Mephisto Waltz’ (1971) from 11.25-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 17th March, ‘The Possessed’ (1965) from 12.15-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 24th March, ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ (1964) from 11.35-1.05 a.m. on Saturday 31st March, ‘Zoltan, Hound of Dracula’ (1978) from 11.30-12.55 a.m. on Saturday 7th April and ‘Quatermas and the Pit’ (1967) from 10.45-12.20 a.m. on Saturday 14th April.



 Cat People

On Saturday 2nd 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 6th July, ‘Devils of Darkness’ (1965) on Friday 13th July, ‘Dr Phibes Rises Again’ (1972) on Friday 20th July, ‘Terror in the Wax Museum’ (1973) on Friday 27th July, ‘Asylum’ (1972) on Friday 13th August, ‘Fright’ (1971) from 11.35-1.20 a.m. on Friday 24th August, ‘Dr Blood’s Coffin’ (1961) from 11.35-1.20 a.m. on Friday 31st August, ‘Blind Terror’ (1971) from 11.35-1.15 a.m. on Friday 7th September, ‘Vampire Circus’ (1971) at 11.35 p.m. on Friday 14th September, ‘Repulsion’ (1965) from 11.35-1.25 a.m. on Friday 21st September and ‘Circus of Horrors’ (1960) from 11.35-1.20 a.m. on Friday 28th 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 23rd 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 28th December, ‘The Mummy’ (1959) at 11.45 p.m. on Saturday 29th December and on Friday 4th 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 11th January, ‘Mark of the Vampire’ (1935) from 11-12.10 a.m. and ‘Vampyr’ (1932) from 12.10-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 18th January, ‘Frankenstein’ (1931) from 11-12.15 p.m. and ‘The Vampire Bat’ (1933) from 12.15-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 25th January, ‘The Old Dark House’ (1932) from 11-12.20 a.m. and ‘Dracula’s Daughter’ (1936) at 12.20 a.m. on Saturday 1st February, ‘The Mummy’ (1932) from 11-12.20 a.m. and ‘The Mask of Fu Manchu’ (1932) at 12.20 a.m. on Saturday 8th February, ‘Werewolf of London’ (1935) from 11-12.20 a.m. and ‘The Raven’ (1935) from 12.35-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 15th 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 22nd 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 1st 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 8th 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 15th 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 22nd 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 29th 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 5th April, (no ‘Monster Horrors’ on Saturday 12th April), a single film ‘House of Dracula’ (1945) from 12-1.15 a.m. on Saturday 19th 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 26th 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 4th July, ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ (1978) from 10.35-12.45 a.m. on Friday 11th July, ‘The Uncanny’ (1977) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Friday 18th July, ‘The Black Room’ (1935) from 11.30-12.40 a.m. on Friday 25th July, ‘The Witches’ (1966) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Friday 1st August, ‘The Reptile’ (1966) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Friday 8th August, ‘And Now the Screaming Starts’ (1973) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Friday 15th August and ‘Crucible of Terror’ (1971) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Friday 22nd August.

In late autumn 1986 BBC 2 showed the classic ‘Whistle and I’ll come to you’ (1968) on Saturday 8th 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 25th December from 10.55-11.10 p.m. followed by ‘The Ash Tree’ on Friday 26th December from 12-12.15 a.m. [Saturday 27th], ‘Wailing Well’ on Sunday 28th December from 12.35-12.50 a.m. [Monday 29th], ‘Oh Whistle and I’ll come to you, my Lad’ on Monday 29th December from 12.05-12.20 a.m. [Tuesday 30th], and ‘The Rose Garden’ on Tuesday 30th 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 18th July, ‘I Walked with a Zombie’ (1943) at 11.25 p.m. on Friday 31st July and ‘The Curse of the Cat People’ (1944) at 11.20 p.m. on Friday 4th 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 27th June, ‘The Curse of the Werewolf’ (1961) at 11.30 p.m. on Saturday 4th July, ‘The Kiss of the Vampire’ (1962) at 11.20 p.m. on Saturday 11th July, ‘Quatermas and the Pit’ (1967) at 11.25 p.m. on Saturday 18th July, ‘Frankenstein Created Woman’ (1966) at 11.40 p.m. on Saturday 25th July, ‘Rasputin – The Mad Monk’ (1966) at 10.30 p.m. and ‘The Nanny’ (1965) at 12 a.m. [double bill] on Saturday 1st August, ‘Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb’ (1971) at 10.55 p.m. on Saturday 8th August, ‘Dracula has Risen from the Grave’ (1968) at 11.35 p.m. on Saturday 15th August, ‘Frankenstein Must be Destroyed’ (1969) at 11.20 p.m. on Saturday 22nd August and ‘The Devil Rides Out’ (1967) at 10.55 p.m. on Saturday 29th 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 15th November, ‘Curse of the Cat People’ (1944) on Tuesday 22nd November, ‘I Walked with a Zombie’ (1943) on Tuesday 29th November, ‘Bedlam’ (1946) on Tuesday 6th December, ‘Isle of the Dead’ (1945) on Tuesday 13th December and ‘The Body Snatcher’ (1945) on Tuesday 20th 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 14th May, ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ (1961) from 9-10.30 p.m. on Monday 21st May, ‘The Premature Burial’ (1961) from 9-10.20 p.m. on Monday 4th June, ‘Tales of Terror’ (1962) from 9-10.30 p.m. on Monday 11th June, ‘The Raven’ (1963) from 9-10.30 p.m. on Monday 25th June and ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ (1964) from 9-10.30 p.m. on Monday 2nd 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 25th 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 27th December, ‘The Old Dark House’ (1932) at 2 a.m. on Friday 20th December, ‘The Black Cat’ (1934) at 1.40 a.m. on Saturday 30th December, ‘The Invisible Man’ (1933) at 12.55 a.m. on Sunday 31st December, ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ (1935) from 2-3.10 a.m. on Monday 1st January 2001 and ‘The Wolf Man’ (1941) from 1.10-2.15 a.m. on Wednesday 3rd 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!

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