A Halloween Nightmare

So it happened again. That nightmarish dream that always catches me off-guard in the days leading up to Halloween night. You know the one. Where it’s Halloween night, trick-or-treat is beginning and I suddenly realize that I don’t have anything set up. Nothing. I’m immediately smothered under a blanket of panic and dread…

And then I wake up. It’s completely dark and I have no idea where I’m at. Confused, I look around. I see the clock. 3:12 am. It was all just a nightmare. Again…

For the past 3 or 4 years, I have had this happen, and I’m actually used to it by now. The stress of the Halloween season manifests itself in this same dream that always seems too real. It almost serves as a warning to make sure that everything is ready to go.

And even this year, with our new location and a scaled-back display, the stress begins to mount and the nightmare still arrives. Luckily, I seem to be ahead of the game this time around. I’ve brought most of my props to the new house, and I now know when my official neighborhood trick-or-treat is (Sunday the 27th, from 5-7, which actually kinda sucks, but I’ll go into that a bit more at another date…).

So my internal warning has gone off and the final run-in to Halloween is on! Time to get those last few things checked off the list and hope that we have a good turnout. 16 days until the big night. Are you ready?

I'm headed back out to the garage. Good luck, everyone.

 

TCM Halloween 2019 Classic Horror Schedule

I have a confession to make. Do you know the traditional Halloween classic, Hocus Pocus? Of course you do. Everyone knows it. It's a Halloween staple.

I cannot stand that movie. I HATE IT. Everything about it. Bette Midler's absurd buck teeth and Kathy Najimy's ridiculous and annoying crooked smile. I LOATHE IT. From start to finish. It makes me want to scratch my eyes out any time it's on.

So when FreeForm announced their "31 Nights of Halloween" schedule, I just knew that bad things were coming.

And sure enough, as I glanced down the schedule, there it was. Literally every single night, ending with a damn marathon. Of Hocus Pocus. Why!? Why!? That movie SUCKS! Every year, they play that damn movie every single day. Can't get the rights to play ANYTHING else!?

And this is why FreeForm will not be played in October at THIS house...


But luckily for me and other fans of something a little more spooky and a little more classic, Turner Classic Movies comes to the rescue again!

They just announced their October Classic Horror schedule and it looks amazing! 31 days of solid, classic horror, cult and monster movies. AND NO HOCUS POCUS.

I could literally fill my DVR with their schedule. So many great titles to get you through the Halloween season!!

But what REALLY caught my attention this year (and it should catch yours, too), is an absolute stunner of a double feature on the morning of Saturday, October 19th. Get your DVRs ready!!

Back-to-back 70s blaxsploitation horror classics, starting at 2:30 am with Sugar Hill. The stunning Marki Bey seeks revenge on the mob for killin' her man, all with the help of a powerful voodoo priestess and her army of undead zombies. This movie is so damn good!! If you haven't seen this one yet, it needs to be at the top of your list!!

And after a sweet spoonful of Sugar Hill, make sure your DVR is set to record at 4:15 am when TCM follows it up with the baddest blood sucker around, Blacula! Deadlier than Dracula! William Marshall (and those amazing eyebrows and sideburns) eats up every scene he's in, playing Mamuwalde, the black vampire. So much class and he really plays the hell out of his character! "You, sir, must be ill."

As we continue down the schedule, there are classics being played every day, ending with a Halloween marathon of some of the biggest names in classic horror. I could seriously lock the doors, pop up a bucket of butter-slathered popcorn, lay on the couch and watch movies all day. If only I didn't have something else going on that day...

So check out the full schedule, fill up that DVR, and enjoy some creepy, classic horror as we roll through October.

Because this just ain't gonna cut it...

Turner Classic Movies Halloween Schedule 2018

Turn the lights down low. Pop up the popcorn. Light a few candles. And get cozy in front of that TV. Because tonight starts the annual Turner Classic Movies Halloween horror marathon! 

No "Hocus Pocus" here, just 28 straight days of some of the best in classic horror, leading up to an incredible, all-day Halloween horror celebration.

I'm clearing out my DVR now to make room for all the savory titles on this year's list! Check out the full programming schedule over at Turner Classic Movies, or check out a great, condensed horror-only schedule at Bloody-Disgusting.

Get to your couches early, because the classics start tonight at 8!!

  

  

TCM Classic Horror in October

Time to clear those DVRs! Thought Catalog just posted the list for Turner Classic Movies' October classic horror schedule and it is pretty amazing (hopefully they don't mind me posting the whole list here, but I've added imdb links for each film so that you can get a brief synopsis of any that you haven't seen before):

Sunday 10/1 

8:00 PM Dracula (1931)


9:30 PM Dracula’s Daughter (1936)


11:00 PM Son Of Dracula (1943)

Monday 10/2
12:30 AM Nosferatu (1922)

Tuesday 10/3
8:00 PM Frankenstein (1931)


9:30 PM Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)


11:00 PM The Mummy (1932)

Wednesday 10/4
12:30 AM The Wolf Man (1941)


2:00 AM Island Of Lost Souls (1933)


3:30 AM The Black Cat (1934)


4:45 AM The Invisible Man (1933)

Sunday 10/8
2:00 AM Night Of The Strangler (1972)


2:15: PM My Blood Runs Cold (1965)


8:00 PM The Return Of Dracula (1958)


9:30 PM House Of Dracula (1945)


10:45 PM Billy The Kid vs. Dracula (1966)

Monday 10/9
12:15 AM The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (1920)


2:00 AM Jigoku (Hell) (1960)


4:00 AM Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan (1959)

Tuesday 10/10
8:00 PM Cat People (1942)


9:30 PM The Body Snatcher (1945)


11:00 AM Martin Scorsese presents: Val Lewton – The Man In The Shadows (2007)

Wednesday 10/11
12:30 AM I Walked With A Zombie (1943)


2:00 AM The Seventh Victim (1943)


3:30 AM Bedlam (1946)


5:00 AM The Leopard Man (1943)


6:15 AM The Ghost Ship (1943)


7:30 AM Isle Of The Dead (1945)

Thursday 10/12
5:00 AM The Power (1968)

Friday 10/13
6:30 AM Kiss Of The Tarantula (1976)


8:00 AM The Snake Woman (1961)


9:30 AM Village Of The Damned (1960)


11:00 AM The Nanny (1965)


1:00 PM The Innocents (1961)


2:45 PM A Place Of One’s Own (1945)


4:30 PM The Bad Seed (1956)


6:45 PM The Curse Of The Cat People (1944)

Sunday 10/15
2:15 AM Blacula (1972)


4:00 AM Scream Blacula Scream (1973)


8:00 PM Horror Of Dracula (1958)


9:45 PM The Brides Of Dracula (1960)


11:30 PM Black Cats And Broomsticks (1955)

Monday 10/16
12:00 AM The Phantom Carriage (1921)


2:00 AM Diabolique (1955)


4:15 AM Gaslight (1944)

Tuesday 10/17
8:00 PM The Devil’s Bride (1968)


9:45 PM The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957)


11:15 PM The Mummy (1959)

Wednesday 10/18
1:00 AM The Curse Of The Werewolf (1961)


2:45 AM The Plague Of The Zombies (1966)


4:30 AM The Reptile (1966)

Sunday 10/22
2:00 AM Willard (1971)


3:45 AM Ben (1972)


8:00 PM Dracula, Prince Of Darkness (1965)


10:00 PM Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (1969)

Monday 10/23
12:00 AM The Monster (1925)


2:00 AM Eyes Without A Face (1960)


3:45 AM Kwaidan (1965)

Tuesday 10/24
8:00 PM The Innocents (1961)


10:00 PM Diary Of A Madman (1963)

Wednesday 10/25
12:00 Curse Of The Demon (1957)


2:00 AM Carnival Of Souls (1962)


3:30 AM From Beyond The Grave (1974)


10:00 AM The Devil’s Own (1966)

Thursday 10/26
5:30 AM Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966)

Friday 10/27
8:00 PM Psycho (1960)


10:15 Pretty Poison (1968)

Saturday 10/28
6:15 AM Mark Of The Vampire (1935)


7:30 AM The Devil-Doll (1936)


9:00 AM What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962)


11:30 AM Little Shop Of Horrors (1960)


1:00 PM Village Of The Damned (1960)


2:30 PM Children Of The Damned (1964)


4:15 PM House Of Dark Shadows (1970)


6:00 PM Night Of Dark Shadows (1971)

Sunday 10/29
12:00 AM M (1951)


2:00 AM The Brood (1979)


3:45 AM Repulsion (1965)


8:00 PM Taste The Blood Of Dracula (1970)


10:00 PM Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)

Monday 10/30
12:00 AM Häxan: Witchcraft Through The Ages (1922)


2:15 AM Onibaba (1964)


4:15 AM Ugetsu (1953)

Tuesday 10/31
8:30 AM White Zombie (1932)


10:00 AM Mad Love (1935)


11:30 AM Dementia 13 (1963)


1:00 PM 13 Ghosts (1960)


2:30 PM The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)


4:30 PM House Of Wax (1953)


6:00 PM Poltergeist (1982)


8:00 PM The Old Dark House (1932)


9:30 PM The Haunting (1963)


11:30 PM House On Haunted Hill (1959)

Wednesday 11/1
1:15 AM The Cat And The Canary (1939)


2:45 AM The Old Dark House (1963)


4:30 AM The Bat (1959)

Wow. That's a lot of really great, classic horror films playing throughout the entire month. The folks over at TCM really put together a fantastic list that will keep me watching all month long. I guess now there's no reason to go over to the Freeform Channel and hold my nose while they play Hocus Pocus 56 times in a row...

  

2014 MHC Preliminary Bus Tour Info Announced

This week, the Midwest Haunters Convention announced the preliminary bus tour info for their 2014 convention.

 
From their site:

Thursday Night Bus Tour (June 5, 2014)
The 2014 Midwest Haunters Convention pre-convention bus tour leaves Columbus late morning/early afternoon on Thursday, June 5th on a tour of some amazing Ohio haunts and attractions including a behind-the-scenes visit to Robert Kurtzman’s FX shop Creature Corps and the Guinness Book of World Records holder for the Longest Haunt in the World - The Factory Of Terror! The tour returns late Thursday night to our host hotel in Columbus. Check back often for the latest details on this tour!

Friday Night Bus Tour & After Party (June 6, 2014)
After many years, The Friday Night Midwest Haunt Tour returns to visit the world famous ScareFactory! Explore this massive production facility and see giant monsters, cool effects, fabrication demos and as many as three massive haunted attractions under construction for the 2014 season.  This will be a rare behind-the-scenes tour of the world’s largest manufacturer of animatronics for the haunt industry filled with surprises and terrifyingly cool products that you won’t want to miss!

After the ScareFactory tour, buses roll out to see the ScareAtorium! The ScareAtorium is the ULTIMATE FEAR EXPERIENCE in one of Ohio’s best and largest haunted attractions. The 40,000 square foot venue, located in Columbus, features two attractions; the “Northland Asylum” and “Rip’s 3D Funhouse.” A combination of special effects techniques are used to thrill guests, ranging from highly detailed sets and the latest props to acting techniques and elaborate characters!

Following the ScareAtorium, buses will return to the convention center in time for the Friday Haunt Tour After Party produced by the 13th Floor Haunted House and The House of Torment! If you have ever been to one of their events you know what sort of fun to expect and if you haven’t, be warned!  These guys know how to throw a party!  Check back often for more information on these events and tours. Tickets for the Friday Night Tour and the Friday Night After Party sponsored by the 13th Floor go on sale soon!


I'm starting to get excited for the 2014 convention. It looks like I'll be up for the Friday bus tour and after party along with the convention trade show and Saturday night Masquerade Party (although I would really love to check out Kurtzman's Creature Corps on the Thursday tour). Honestly, I don't think my liver could take anymore than that!

If you were on the fence about attending or you haven't been to the Midwest Haunters Convention yet, do yourself a favor and go. This will be my fourth year attending and it is an absolute blast. Every year we go a little crazier and we have a little more fun. And along with that, we meet more really cool people. It's a great convention that's geared toward the home haunt crowd (and their budgets) and it has a very laid back atmosphere.

See you there!