Halloween horror marathon: Carnival of Souls

poster-carnival-of-soulsSo, technically, the Halloween horror marathon I mentioned got an early start yesterday. After hitting up Schaake’s Pumpkin Patch Saturday afternoon, we adjourned to the Nuthouse Annex for chili, pie, Sloppy Joe turnovers, cupcakes, pop, and candy. Yes, we are all in our thirties, and yet, occasionally, we eat like we’re teenagers. Anyhow, being as how we got some pumpkins, and everything was all Halloween-y at the Annex, we had to watch a Halloween movie. Thanks to TCM on Demand, we chose the classic Carnival of Souls.

Carnival of Souls is a perfect movie for anyone who lives in Lawrence. The wife and I live four blocks away from the home that served as the boarding house where Mary Henry lived, and many of the locations are in our happy little college town. The film is, definitively, one of the most surreal horror films out there, and one can see how much George Romero took from it for Night of the Living Dead six years later.

Herk Harvey’s film is creepy. The film is more atmospheric than full-on scary, and the atmosphere created is total. Be it the ominous organ driven score or the fellow tenant who won’t take no, it’s difficult to watch this movie and not come away with anything less than a sense of unease. The addition of the Man and the associated jump scares are only icing on the cake.

You can download Carnival of Souls at the Internet Archive, and I highly suggest doing so.

The list of what else I plan on covering (list subject to change, based on whatever I can find at the library and what gets recommended by Doug at Liberty Hall).
The Blob
The Gate
Carnival of Souls
Wrestlemaniac
Return of the Living Dead
Near Dark
Night of the Comet
Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Creeps
The Frighteners
Nightmare In Wax
Re-Animator
C.H.U.D.
To be determined