Table of contents for #3: Weird Stats & Morbid Facts in RUE MORGUE

BORN BEFORE THE INTERNET AGE, I GREW UP DURING A TIME WHEN horror trivia could only be gleaned from the pages of books and magazines and via interview segments on entertainment programs. Despite this, I somehow (seemingly miraculously) acquired an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Jamie Lee Curtis (my Scream Queen hero at the time), John Carpenter’s Halloween, and the Alien movies, which at that point only equalled two installments. Horror facts and figures seemed so important back then, as if each morsel of info brought me closer to the celebrity or film or book I loved. I was absolutely ravenous for it – all of it. Looking back, there was definitely something magical about that time, perhaps because in the 1980s – and the decades that came before – one…

1.CAMILLE KEATON, LEAD ACTRESS IN 1978’S I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, IS THE GRANDNIECE OF SILENT FILM SUPERSTAR BUSTER KEATON. 2. JACK VAN EVERA, WHO PLAYS THE BARTENDER IN THE ORIGINAL MY BLOODY VALENTINE (1981), IS THE BROTHER OF THE HILARIOUS HOUSE OF FRIGHTENSTEIN’S BILLY VAN. 3. DIRECTOR JOHN CARPENTER (HALLOWEEN, THE THING) IS NOT THE ONLY ONE IN HIS FAMILY TO ACHIEVE FAME; HIS GREAT-GREAT-GREAT UNCLE INVENTED THE ELEVATOR. 4. AFTER HE WAS ORPHANED AS A CHILD, BORIS KARLOFF WAS RAISED BY HIS SIBLINGS. 5. NOVELIST RAY BRADBURY WAS THE GREAT-GREATGREAT GRANDSON OF MARY BRADBURY, A WOMAN WHO WAS TRIED AND CONVICTED OF WITCHCRAFT DURING THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS IN 1692, BUT ESCAPED EXECUTION. 6. COMPOSER RICHARD BAND (RE-ANIMATOR, FROM BEYOND, GHOULIES) IS THE BROTHER OF FULL MOON PICTURES’…

1. ACTRESS LYNN LOWRY ACCIDENTALLY STABBED DAVID CRONENBERG WITH A FORK DURING THE SHOOTING OF SHIVERS (1975). 2. THE STUDENT WHO IS KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS BY THE FIRE HOSE IN THE SCHOOL GYM DURING THE PROM SCENE IN 1976’S CARRIE WAS ACTUALLY KNOCKED OUT DURING FILMING. 3. ACTOR DANIEL HOEVELS ACCIDENTALLY SLIT HIS THROAT ONSTAGE DURING A 2008 THEATRICAL PRODUCTION OF MARY STUART AT VIENNA’S BURGTHEATRE, AFTER HIS PROP KNIFE WAS SOMEHOW SWITCHED OUT FOR A REAL ONE. THE AUDIENCE INITIALLY THOUGHT IT WAS ALL AN ELABORATE SPECIAL EFFECT. THE BLADE JUST MISSED HOEVELS’ CAROTID ARTERY, AND HE WAS BACK ONSTAGE THE NEXT DAY. 4. THE WOLF MAN (1941) WAS SLATED TO FEATURE A SCENE IN WHICH THE TITULAR LYCANTHROPE BATTLED A BEAR, HOWEVER THE BEAR RAN OFF DURING THE SHOOT…

1. ANIMATED FEATURE PARANORMAN IS SET IN THE TOWN OF BLITHE HOLLOW, WHICH IS A REFERENCE TO TWO CLASSIC GHOST STORIES: NOEL COWARD’S BLITHE SPIRIT (1941) AND WASHINGTON IRVING’S THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW (1820). 2. H.G. LEWIS CLAIMS THAT HIS 1967 FILM THE GRUE-SOME TWOSOME IS HIS OWN LOW-BUDGET HOMAGE TO THE ADDAMS FAMILY. 3. JOHN CARPENTER NAMED TWO CHARACTERS IN 1978’S HALLOWEEN AFTER CHARACTERS IN ALFRED HITCHCOCK FILMS: TOMMY DOYLE (FROM 1954’S REAR WINDOW) AND SAM LOOMIS (FROM 1960’S PSYCHO). 4. PETER JACKSON HAS SAID THAT HIS EARLY FILMS OWE THE MOST TO MONTY PYTHON; HE WAS SO OBSESSED WITH THE SHOW AS A YOUNGSTER THAT HE AND HIS FRIEND USED TO CUT PHOTOS OUT OF MAGAZINES AND THEN FILM THEM IN AN ATTEMPT TO EMULATE TERRY GILLIAM’S…

1. IN ORDER TO SELL THE WALKING DEAD TO IMAGE COMICS’ THEN-PUBLISHER JIM VALENTINO, WHO DIDN’T THINK A STRAIGHT-UP ZOMBIE COMIC WOULD APPEAL TO READERS, CREATOR ROBERT KIRKMAN TOLD HIM THE ZOMBIE UPRISING WAS THE PRECURSOR TO AN ALIEN INVASION. THAT WAS, OF COURSE, A LIE. 2. THE CONSTRUCTION SITE ABRAHAM FORD (MICHAEL CUDLITZ) IS SCAVENGING IN SEASON FIVE WAS BUILT FROM THE REMNANTS OF THE SHOW’S PRISON SET. 3. A SWAT TEAM DESCENDED ON THE SHOOT DURING THE FILMING OF THE SECOND EPISODE SCENE WHERE MICHAEL ROOKER (MERLE) IS FIRING A GUN ON A ROOFTOP. PEOPLE MISTOOK HIM FOR A SNIPER. 4. RICK LOSES HIS HAND IN THE GRAPHIC NOVELS; THIS WAS CHANGED FOR THE TELEVISION SERIES, LARGELY DUE TO THE AMOUNT OF CGI THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN REQUIRED.…

1. IN SIGNET’S 427-PAGE PAPERBACK EDITION OF STEPHEN KING’S NOVEL SALEM’S LOT (1975), THE WORD “VAMPIRE” DOESN’T APPEAR UNTIL THE BOTTOM OF PAGE 199. 2. THE EARLIEST WEREWOLF LITERATURE, WHICH DATES BACK TO ANCIENT TIMES, TOOK THE FORM OF POETRY. THE FIRST PROSE ENTRY, PETRONIUS’ SATYRICON, APPEARED IN 55 AD. 3. THE WORDS “ASSASSINATION” AND “BLOODSTAINED” WERE INVENTED BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. 4. JOHN LENNON’S 1964 POETRY AND FICTION COLLECTION IN HIS OWN WRITE INCLUDES A HORROR STORY, “NO FLIES ON FRANK,” ABOUT A MURDEROUS HUSBAND AND HIS WIFE’S ROTTING CORPSE 5. THE FIRST FEMALE WEREWOLF DID NOT MAKE AN APPEARANCE IN FICTION UNTIL VICTORIAN TIMES WITH THE FREDERICK MARRYAT NOVEL THE PHANTOM SHIP, PUBLISHED IN 1839. 6. BEFORE BECOMING A PROLIFIC HORROR AUTHOR WITH HIS IMMENSELY POPULAR FEAR STREET AND…

1. JACK HILL’S 1968 FILM SPIDER BABY WAS ALSO RELEASED UNDER THE TITLES THE LIVER EATERS, CANNIBAL ORGY AND THE MADDEST STORY EVER TOLD. 2. LON CHANEY JR.’S GIVEN NAME WAS CREIGHTON, BUT ACCORDING TO MANY HOLLYWOOD HISTORIANS HE WAS RAILROADED BY STUDIO EXECUTIVES INTO ADOPTING HIS FAMOUS FATHER’S NAME. 3. ACTRESS INGRID PITT (THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD) WAS BORN INGOUSHKA PETROV – WHILE HER PARENTS WERE ATTEMPTING TO FLEE NAZI GERMANY DURING WORLD WAR II. 4. KYLE SCHMID, WHO PLAYED THE VAMPIRE HENRY ON THE US TELEVISION SERIES BEING HUMAN, PREVIOUSLY STARRED AS A VAMPIRE NAMED HENRY ON THE CANADIAN TV SERIES BLOOD TIES (2007-2008). 5. NICK CUTTER (THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED HORROR NOVEL THE TROOP) IS ACTUALLY THE PEN NAME OF CANADIAN AUTHOR CRAIG DAVIDSON…

1. WHEN TOD BROWNING’S NOW-HIGHLY CELEBRATED CULT FILM FREAKS WAS FIRST RELEASED IN 1932, IT WAS A MAJOR BOX OFFICE FLOP, LOSING MGM SOME $164,000 USD. EXPLOITATION PRODUCER DWAIN ESPER (SEX MADNESS, MARIHUANA) LATER ACQUIRED IT FROM MGM FOR VIRTUALLY NOTHING; HIS DEVOTION TO SCREENING THE MOVIE IS CREDITED AS SAVING IT FROM BEING LOST. 2. THE 2009 FILM ZOMBIELAND ORIGINALLY BEGAN AS AN IDEA FOR A TELEVISION SHOW, WITH THE ZOMBIE KILL OF THE WEEK BEING A WEEKLY FEATURE OF THE PROGRAM. 3. KRISHNA SHAH’S HARD ROCK ZOMBIES (1985) WAS ORIGINALLY CONCEIVED AS A MOVIE-WITHIN-A-MOVIE FOR HIS FEATURE AMERICAN DRIVE-IN. HOWEVER, AFTER BEING WRITTEN, IT WAS CONSIDERED GOOD ENOUGH TO BE ITS OWN FILM. 4. THE WORD “ZOMBIE” IS NEVER USED IN THE RESIDENT EVIL FILMS; THEY USE THE…

1. WILLIAM FRIEDKIN HATED LALO SCHIFRIN’S ORIGINAL SCORE TO THE EXORCIST (1973) SO MUCH HE TOOK THE REEL OUT IN FRONT OF THE DUBBING FACILITY AND THREW IT ACROSS THE STREET. 2. COMPOSER DANIEL LICHT INITIALLY WROTE TV SERIES DEXTER’S THEME SONG AS PART OF THE SCORE FOR THE 1993 ANTHOLOGY MOVIE NECRONOMICON: BOOK OF THE DEAD. 3. GLENN MILLER’S 1941 SWING CLASSIC “ELMER’S TUNE” – WHICH ALSO WAS SUNG BY THE PARASITIC CREATURE IN FRANK HENENLOTTER’S 1988 FILM BRAIN DAMAGE – WAS COMPOSED BY ELMER ALBRECHT, A FULL-TIME CHICAGO MORTICIAN. 4. WILLIAM LUSTIG’S MANIAC (1980) WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR MICHAEL SEMBELLO’S SYNTHPOP HIT OF THE SAME NAME, WHICH ORIGINALLY INCLUDED THE LYRICS “HE WILL KILL YOUR CAT AND NAIL HIM TO THE DOOR.” THE LYRICS WERE SUBSEQUENTLY TONED DOWN…

1. THE SUMMER OF THE SHARK, THE TERROR OF THE MONSTER AND THE JAWS OF THE LEVIATHAN WERE ALL WORKING TITLES FOR PETER BENCHLEY’S ICONIC 1974 NOVEL JAWS. 2. ROGER WATKINS’ 1977 HORROR FILM LAST HOUSE ON DEAD END STREET WAS ORIGINALLY TITLED THE CUCKOO CLOCKS OF HELL. 3. THE WORKING TITLE OF DAVID CRONENBERG’S SHIVERS (1975) WAS ORGY OF THE BLOOD PARASITES. 4. THE WORKING TITLE FOR THOMAS HARRIS’ 1999 NOVEL HANNIBAL WAS THE MORBIDITY OF THE SOUL. 5. THE ORIGINAL TITLE OF POPPY Z. BRITE’S 1993 NOVEL DRAWING BLOOD WAS BIRDLAND; IT WAS RENAMED BY THE PUBLISHER IN HOPES OF CASHING IN ON THE SUCCESS OF BRITE’S DEBUT VAMPIRE NOVEL LOST SOULS. 6. THE WORKING TITLE FOR THE BLOB (1958) WAS THE GLOB. 7. WORKING TITLES FOR DEL…

1. IN THE 2006 REMAKE OF THE OMEN, THE NUMBERS 666 CAN BE SEEN IN THE FLORAL WALLPAPER PATTERNS OF DAMIEN’S BEDROOM. 2. FRENCH PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL FOR THE EXORCIST III (1990) CONTAINED A STILL FROM A SCENE THE STUDIO HAD CUT FROM THE FINAL FILM, DEPICTING A PRIEST IN A CONFESSIONAL BOOTH WITH HIS SEVERED HEAD RESTING IN HIS LAP. 3. ONE OF THE BUILDINGS THE CHARACTERS PASS IN JAMES GUNN’S SLITHER (2006) IS “R.J. MACREADY: AUCTIONEERS & FUNERAL HOME,” A SHOUT-OUT TO JOHN CARPENTER’S THE THING (1982). 4. THE 1995 CHILDREN’S FILM TOY STORY MAKES SEVERAL REFERENCES TO STANLEY KUBRICK’S THE SHINING (1980) – NOT ONLY IS THE ICONIC RUG PATTERN FROM THE OVERLOOK HOTEL USED, BUT THE LICENSE PLATE ON NEIGHBOUR BOY SID’S GARBAGE TRUCK READS RM237. 5.…

1. IN THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920), THE SETS WERE MADE OUT OF PAPER WITH THE SHADOWS LITERALLY PAINTED ON THE WALLS. 2. WHEN DIRECTOR VICTOR HALPERIN SUDDENLY QUIT DURING THE PRODUCTION OF WHITE ZOMBIE (1932), DIRECTORIAL DUTIES WERE TAKEN OVER BY SEVERAL PEOPLE, INCLUDING STAR BELA LUGOSI. 3. DARK SHADOWS IS ONE OF THE FEW SOAP OPERAS TO HAVE ALL OF ITS EPISODES SURVIVE, SAVE FOR NUMBER 1219. IT HAS SINCE BEEN RECONSTRUCTED USING A RECORDING OF THE SOUNDTRACK, AND A COMBINATION OF STILL FRAMES AND CLIPS FROM OTHER EPISODES. 4. DUE TO ITS SHOESTRING BUDGET, THE CREW OF BIGFOOT FILM THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK (1972) WAS PRIMARILY MADE UP OF STUDENTS. 5. DIRECTOR ED WOOD FILMED NIGHT OF THE GHOULS IN 1959, BUT THE MOVIE WAS…

1. TAISSA FARMIGA (WHO PLAYED VIOLET HARMON IN SEASON ONE AND TEEN WITCH ZOE BENSON IN SEASON THREE) IS THE YOUNGEST SISTER OF ACTRESS VERA FARMIGA (THE CONJURING, TV’S BATES MOTEL). 2. CREATOR/PRODUCER RYAN MURPHY CREDITS NICOLAS ROEG’S 1973 CHILLER DON’T LOOK NOW AS A HUGE INFLUENCE ON THE FIRST SEASON OF AHS. 3. DURING THE FILMING OF SEASON THREE, COVEN, DENIS O’HARE (WHO PLAYED CREEPY BUTLER SPALDING) STAYED IN CHARACTER EVEN WHEN CAMERAS WEREN’T ROLLING, REFUSING TO SPEAK TO CAST OR CREW. 4. THE MUSICIANS WHOSE MUSIC MURPHY SELECTED FOR THE CHARACTERS TO SING DURING THE SHOW’S FOURTH SEASON, FREAK SHOW, ARE ALL ARTISTS WHO HAVE BEEN KNOWN FOR BEING “FREAKS.” 5. IN 2014, MURPHY ANNOUNCED THAT, DESPITE THEIR SEEMING DISCONNECTEDNESS, ALL THE SEASONS OF THE SHOW ARE IN…

1. ARTIST H.R. GIGER (1940 - 2014) DID CONCEPT DESIGNS FOR TWO UNREALIZED FILM VERSIONS OF DUNE, ONE OF WHICH WAS SLATED TO BE DIRECTED BY ALEJANDRO JODOROWSKY (SANTA SANGRE) AND THE OTHER BY RIDLEY SCOTT (ALIEN). 2. BRITISH ARTIST JESSICA HARRISON CAUSED A STIR IN 2010 WHEN SHE DEBUTED A PROJECT IN WHICH SHE CONSTRUCTED FAKE EYELASHES OUT OF THE SEVERED LEGS OF HOUSEFLIES. 3. WHEN STEPHEN KING PLAYS WITH THE ROCK BOTTOM REMAINDERS, A BAND COMPRISED ENTIRELY OF PUBLISHED AUTHORS, HIS INSTRUMENT OF CHOICE IS, OF COURSE, THE AXE (GUITAR). 4. AMERICAN PAINTER VINCENT CASTIGLIA EXCLUSIVELY USES HUMAN BLOOD TO CREATE HIS ART. 5. DESPITE BEING MARKETED BY AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL PICTURES AS THE SIXTH ROGER CORMAN-DIRECTED EDGAR ALLAN POE-INSPIRED FILM, THE HAUNTED PALACE (1963) WAS IN FACT BASED…

1. AN ALTERNATE TITLE FOR GEORGE A. ROMERO’S 1973 VIRUS OUTBREAK FILM THE CRAZIES IS CODE NAME: TRIXIE. 2. THE MECHANICAL SHARK USED IN JAWS, KNOWN TO THE CREW AS “BRUCE,” SHARED ITS NAME WITH STEVEN SPIELBERG’S LAWYER. 3. THE ALTERNATIVE ROCK BAND EVE 6 TOOK ITS NAME FROM A CHARACTER IN A FIRST-SEASON EPISODE OF TV’S THE X-FILES. 4. NOSFERATU ACTOR MAX SCHRECK HAD THE RIGHT NAME FOR THE HORROR BIZ. IN GERMAN (HIS NATIVE TONGUE), THE WORD “SCHRECK” MEANS “FRIGHT.” 5. RAY DENNIS STECKLER’S INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURE: OR WHY I STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME A MIXED UP ZOMBIE (1964) WAS RENAMED AFTER A LAWSUIT WAS FILED BY COLUMBIA PICTURES DUE TO THE TITLE’S SIMILARITY TO STANLEY KUBRICK’S DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE…

1. HOLLYWOOD LEGEND HAS IT THAT FUTURE STARS ALAN LADD, RANDOLPH SCOTT AND BUSTER CRABBE EACH PLAYED UNBILLED “MAN-BEASTS” IN THE 1932 FILM ISLAND OF LOST SOULS. 2. FILMMAKER ROGER CORMAN HAS MADE BRIEF APPEARANCES IN MOVIES (ASIDE FROM HIS OWN) SPANNING SEVERAL GENRES; HIS HORROR CAMEOS INCLUDE THE HOWLING, SCREAM 3 AND THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. 3. ACTRESS CAROLINE MUNRO (MANIAC, KRONOS) PLAYS AN UNCREDITED PART AS THE DECEASED VICTORIA PHIBES IN THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES (1971) – SHE ONLY APPEARED IN THE FILM AS A CORPSE AND IN SNAPSHOTS. 4. ADRIENNE BARBEAU (THE FOG) PROVIDED THE UNCREDITED VOICE OF THE COMPUTER IN JOHN CARPENTER’S THE THING (1982). 5. ONE OF THE LESSER-KNOWN MOVIE STARS ON THE ALBUM COVER OF THE BEATLES’ SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND…

1. ELVIS PRESLEY WAS ORIGINALLY INTERRED AT MEMPHIS’ FOREST HILL CEMETERY, BUT WHEN THREE MEN BROKE INTO THE GRAVEYARD JUST FOURTEEN DAYS AFTER THE KING’S DEATH IN AN ATTEMPT TO STEAL HIS CORPSE AND HOLD IT FOR RANSOM, HIS FINAL RESTING PLACE WAS MOVED TO THE MORE SECURE GRACELAND ESTATE. 2. ONLY FOUR MOURNERS SHOWED UP FOR EDGAR ALLAN POE’S FUNERAL, LEADING REVEREND W.T.D. CLEMM (A COUSIN OF POE’S LATE WIFE VIRGINIA) TO FOREGO THE CUSTOMARY RITES. THE ENTIRE SERVICE IS SAID TO HAVE LASTED A MERE THREE MINUTES. 3. MUSICIAN BUDDY HOLLY HAD $193 ON HIM WHEN HE DIED IN A 1959 PLANE CRASH. THE MASON CITY CORONER IS ALLEGED TO HAVE TAKEN $11.65 OF IT AS HIS FEE. 4. BEFORE FINDING SUCCESS AS A CROONER, ROD STEWART WORKED…

1. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) WAS THE FIRST FEATURE FILM TO BE MADE IN PITTSBURGH BY A LOCAL PRODUCTION COMPANY. 2. THE PRODUCERS OF THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) INITIALLY TRIED TO GET THE US ARMY TO SUPPLY TANKS, JEEPS AND OTHER MILITARY HARDWARE FOR THEIR SHOOT, BUT ARMY BRASS WAS UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE FILM’S ANTI-WAR UNDERPINNINGS AND BALKED AT THE REQUEST. THE EQUIPMENT WAS ULTIMATELY SUPPLIED BY THE NATIONAL GUARD, WHO HAD NO PROBLEM WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER. 3. ONE OF THE FILMING LOCATIONS FOR STEPHEN KING’S 1994 TV MINISERIES THE STAND WAS UTAH STATE PRISON, WHICH TEMPORARILY MOVED A WHOLE WING OF INMATES TO ALLOW THE CREW TO SHOOT IN THE FACILITY. 4. PET SEMATARY (1989) WAS FILMED IN MAINE BECAUSE STEPHEN KING, THE…

1. IN 2013, A FAN MAILED JARED LETO (STAR OF REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, SINGER FOR THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS) A SEVERED EAR, ALONG WITH A NOTE THAT ASKED, “ARE YOU LISTENING?” LETO NOT ONLY POSTED A PICTURE OF THE EAR TO TWITTER, HE LATER WORE IT ON A NECKLACE. ONLINE DEBUNKERS HAVE POINTED OUT THE EAR’S RESEMBLANCE TO A REALISTIC PROP SOLD AS “BILL OBERST JR.’S SEVERED EAR.” 2. ROB ZOMBIE ONCE WORKED AS A PRODUCTION ASSISTANT ON TV’S PEE-WEE’S PLAYHOUSE. 3. DURING THE LONDON RECORDING OF IRON MAIDEN’S 1982 ALBUM THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST, PRODUCER MARTIN BIRCH WAS INVOLVED IN A CAR ACCIDENT WITH A MINI-BUS TRANSPORTING A GROUP OF NUNS. THE REPAIR BILL WAS £666. 4. IN FALL 2011, FORMER WEEZER BASSIST MIKEY WELSH PREDICTED HIS…

1. DIRECTOR WILLIAM LUSTIG BROUGHT SERIAL KILLER FRANK ZITO TO LIFE IN 1980’S MANIAC BY COMBINING TRAITS FROM REAL-LIFE MASS MURDERERS TED BUNDY AND DAVID BERKOWITZ (A.K.A. THE SON OF SAM). 2. JOHN LANDIS ONCE CONFESSED TO DARIO ARGENTO THAT HE’D DECIDED TO GO INTO DIRECTING AFTER SEEING THE ITALIAN FILMMAKER’S 1970 FILM THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE. 3. THE SONG “HEY MAN, NICE SHOT” BY INDUSTRIAL ROCK GROUP FILTER WAS PENNED IN REACTION TO THE PUBLIC SUICIDE OF PENNSYLVANIA STATE TREASURER BUDD DWYER ON JANUARY 22, 1987. DWYER HAD BEEN CONVICTED OF RECEIVING ILLEGAL MONETARY KICKBACKS BUT CLAIMED INNOCENCE RIGHT UP UNTIL HIS DEATH. 4. HANS JANOWITZ, CO-SCREENWRITER OF THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920), GOT HIS INSPIRATION FOR THE FILM’S STORY AFTER DISCOVERING HE MIGHT HAVE SEEN…

1. IN DAVID CRONENBERG’S 1981 MOVIE SCANNERS, THE EXPLODING HEAD EFFECT WAS ACHIEVED WITH A LATEX MODEL FILLED WITH DOG FOOD AND RABBIT LIVERS, WHICH WAS THEN BLOWN APART WITH A SHOTGUN. 2. TO INCREASE THE PERCEIVED SIZE OF THE DEAD “SPACE JOCKEY” ALIEN IN 1979’S ALIEN, DIRECTOR RIDLEY SCOTT FILMED HIS CHILDREN WEARING MINIATURE SPACE SUITS. 3. IN THE SWEDISH VAMPIRE FILM LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, SOUND EFFECTS WERE ACHIEVED BY BITING INTO SAUSAGES TO REPLICATE BITING INTO SKIN AND FLESH, DRINKING YOGURT TO SOUND LIKE DRINKING BLOOD, AND RUBBING THE SKIN OF TWO GRAPES TO EMULATE THE SOUND OF CHILDREN BLINKING. 4. ACCORDING TO THE ROUGH GUIDE TO CULT MOVIES, THE SEMEN THAT APPEARS IN ICHI THE KILLER’S OPENING SEQUENCE WAS REAL AND PROVIDED BY TETSUO DIRECTOR…

1. THE LAST MOVIE JIM HENSON (1936 - 1990) PERSONALLY OVERSAW CREATURE EFFECTS FOR WAS NICOLAS ROEG’S ADAPTATION OF ROALD DAHL’S THE WITCHES (1990). 2. ACCORDING TO THE PORTABLE OBITUARY, THE LAST WORDS OF ACTOR JOHN BARRYMORE (DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE) WERE “DIE? I SHOULD SAY NOT, DEAR FELLOW. NO BARRYMORE WOULD ALLOW SUCH A CONVENTIONAL THING TO HAPPEN TO HIM.” 3. RENOWNED COMPOSER BERNARD HERRMANN (PSYCHO, IT’S ALIVE) DIED THE NIGHT AFTER HE FINISHED SCORING MARTIN SCORSESE’S TAXI DRIVER, BUT HIS MUSIC HAS BEEN USED IN AN ADDITIONAL 51 FILMS (AND COUNTING) SINCE HIS DEATH. 4. WHEN ALICE COOPER AND HIS BAND FLEW TO ENGLAND FOR THEIR FIRST EUROPEAN TOUR IN THE EARLY ’70S, COOPER SPENT PART OF THE TRIP CHATTING AWAY AMIABLY WITH THE LITTLE OLD LADY…

1. AT THE INSISTENCE OF MGM EXECUTIVES, DAN CURTIS WAS FORCED TO CUT APPROXIMATELY 35 MINUTES OF FOOTAGE FROM THE FINISHED PRINT OF NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS (1971) IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS. AS A RESULT, SEVERAL CONTINUITY ERRORS WERE CREATED. 2. IN JOHN POGUE’S ORIGINAL SCRIPT FOR DAVID CRONENBERG’S THE FLY REMAKE, THE MAIN CHARACTER DESTROYS ONE OF THE TELEPODS AND THEN USES THE OTHER TO COMMIT SUICIDE BY TELEPORTING HIMSELF INTO THE AIR. 3. MALTESE-BORN MADELEINE AND MARY COLLINSON, THE TWIN PLAYBOY PLAYMATES WHO WON THE ROLE OF THE TITULAR SISTERS IN HAMMER’S TWINS OF EVIL (1971), HAD THEIR PERFORMANCES DUBBED FOR THAT FILM. 4. FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA WAS SO UNHAPPY WITH GARY OLDMAN’S SCREAM AS DRACULA IN THE 1992 FILM OF THE SAME NAME, THAT LUX INTERIOR…

1. WHEN ANTHONY PERKINS EXPRESSED DOUBTS ABOUT REPRISING THE ROLE OF NORMAN BATES IN PSYCHO II (1983), CHRISTOPHER WALKEN WAS CONSIDERED AS A REPLACEMENT. PERKINS, OF COURSE, EVENTUALLY TOOK THE PART. 2. DIFF’RENT STROKES STAR DANA PLATO WAS OFFERED THE ROLE OF REGAN IN THE EXORCIST (1973) BUT HER MOTHER WOULDN’T ALLOW HER TO APPEAR IN THE FILM. SHE DID HAVE A SMALL PART IN EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC (1977). 3. BRAD PITT AUDITIONED FOR THE ROLE OF MIKE IN PHANTASM II (1988), BUT LOST OUT TO JAMES LEGROS. 4. BOTH BELA LUGOSI AND JOHN CARRADINE TURNED DOWN THE ROLE OF FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER IN JAMES WHALE’S 1931 VERSION OF FRANKENSTEIN. LUGOSI PASSED BECAUSE IT WASN’T A SPEAKING ROLE, PER SE, AND CARRADINE SAID HE “HADN’T STUDIED ACTING FOR SO LONG…

1. ACCORDING TO THE BOOK WES CRAVEN: THE MAN AND HIS NIGHTMARES, WHEN THE FILMMAKER PENNED THE SCRIPT FOR 1972’S THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, HE “HAD NEVER THOUGHT OF WRITING A SCARY MOVIE BEFORE.” 2. IN ORDER TO SEE HAMMER FILM DOUBLE BILLS IN HIS YOUTH, AN UNDERAGE PETER JACKSON WOULD “TRY TO GET IN BY LOOKING AS MUCH LIKE SIXTEEN AS I COULD.” 3. ACCORDING TO THE WOLF MAN’S CURT SIODMAK (IN THE BOOK HOLLYWOOD CAULDRON), ACTOR PETER LORRE “HAD A SADISTIC STREAK” AND ENJOYED WATCHING LIVE SURGERIES BEING CONDUCTED. 4. FILM REVIEWER JOHN BLOOM TOLD TEXAS MONTHLY IN 1990 THAT HE CREATED HIS B-MOVIE-LOVIN’ REDNECK ALTER EGO JOE BOB BRIGGS AS “AN ATTEMPT TO REVIVE A FORM OF HUMOROUS NEWSPAPER FICTION THAT WAS PRACTICED IN THE…

1. BEFORE SHOOTING STARTED ON THE AMITYVILLE HORROR REMAKE IN 2004, THE BODY OF A MURDERED FISHERMAN WASHED UP ON A RIVERBANK NEAR THE MAIN HOUSE. 2. RICHARD LANCELYN GREEN, BIOGRAPHER OF SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE AND ONE OF THE WORLD’S LEADING EXPERTS ON SHERLOCK HOLMES, WAS FOUND STRANGLED IN 2004 BY A SHOESTRING TIGHTENED USING A WOODEN SPOON. AUTHORITIES HAVE YET TO FIND HIS KILLER. 3. IN 2010, MICHIGAN AUTHOR LISA ANN REARDON (THE MERCY KILLERS) PLED GUILTY TO ATTEMPTED MURDER AFTER SHOOTING HER FATHER TWICE WITH A SHOTGUN. 4. SUSAN CABOT, STAR OF DRIVE-IN CLASSIC THE WASP WOMAN (1959), WAS BEATEN TO DEATH WITH A WEIGHTLIFTING BAR BY HER SON IN 1986. SHE WAS 59. 5. FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER AND ACTRESS BERRY BERENSON (1982’S CAT PEOPLE), WHO WAS PERHAPS…

1. ACTOR LIONEL ATWILL (MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM, SON OF FRANKENSTEIN) SAW HIS CAREER DESTROYED AFTER A SEX SCANDAL RESULTED FROM A RUMOURED ORGY THAT HAD OCCURRED AT HIS 1940 CHRISTMAS PARTY. 2. DIRECTOR JOSÉ MOJICA MARINS (BEST KNOWN FOR PLAYING COFFIN JOE) WAS EXPELLED FROM CATHOLIC SCHOOL AT AGE THIRTEEN FOR MAKING A MOVIE DEPICTING EXTRATERRESTRIALS LAUNCHING AN INVASION OF EARTH AND KILLING PRIESTS. 3. DURING A LATE ’70S SCREENING AT THE LYRIC GRINDHOUSE THEATRE ON 42ND STREET IN NEW YORK CITY, THE CROWD BECAME SO IRATE A “CUT” VERSION OF BLOODTHIRSTY BUTCHERS (1970) WAS SHOWN, THEY THREW A REFRIGERATOR OFF THE THEATRE’S BALCONY. 4. CARRIE HENN, WHO PLAYED NEWT IN ALIENS (1986) WHEN SHE WAS TEN YEARS OLD, WAS SO BULLIED BY HER CLASSMATES BECAUSE SHE APPEARED…

1. DURING THE FILMING OF 1992’S BRAINDEAD (A.K.A. DEAD ALIVE), THE JACKET DONNED BY ACTOR IAN WATKIN (IN THE ROLE OF UNCLE LES) BECAME SO SOAKED IN FAKE BLOOD IT WAS ABLE TO STAND UPRIGHT ON ITS OWN. 2. MORE THAN SIX GALLONS OF FAKE BLOOD WERE REQUIRED TO SHOOT THE EIGHT MURDER SCENES IN 1973’S THEATRE OF BLOOD. 3. FOR THE FILMING OF BLOOD FEAST (1963), H.G. LEWIS REQUIRED THE FAKE BLOOD TO BE EDIBLE, CAUSING BARFRED COSMETICS TO ALTER THEIR FORMULA. WHAT LEWIS FAILED TO TELL HIS CAST, DESPITE ASSURING THEM THAT THE CONCOCTION WAS HARMLESS, WAS THAT ITS BASE INGREDIENT WAS KAOPECTATE (AN ANTI-DIARRHEAL DRUG). 4. BARF BAGS WERE GIVEN OUT TO AUDIENCES AT 1979 SCREENINGS OF LUCIO FULCI’S ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS, APPARENTLY DUE TO CONCERNS THE…

1. MAGICIAN HARRY HOUDINI DIED ON HALLOWEEN IN 1926 OF A GANGRENOUS APPENDIX, A CONDITION HE DEVELOPED AFTER BEING SUCKER-PUNCHED SEVERAL DAYS EARLIER IN MONTREAL, CANADA. 2. PLAYWRIGHT TENNESSEE WILLIAMS (A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE) ACCIDENTALLY CHOKED TO DEATH ON THE CAP OF A BOTTLE OF EYE DROPS HE WAS ABOUT TO USE. 3. SIX YEARS AFTER POET SYLVIA PLATH COMMITTED SUICIDE BY TURNING ON THE GAS IN HER OVEN AND PLACING HER HEAD INSIDE, HER HUSBAND TED HUGHES’ MISTRESS TOOK HER LIFE AND THAT OF HER FOUR-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER IN THE SAME MANNER. 4. WHEN 45-YEAR-OLD AUSTRALIAN MIME WAYNE CONDO DROPPED DEAD OF A HEART ATTACK MID-PERFORMANCE DURING THE SUMMER OF 1998, IT TOOK THE AUDIENCE SEVERAL MINUTES TO REALIZE HIS COLLAPSE WAS NOT PART OF THE ACT. 5. AN EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD…

1. ACTOR DANIEL BEER, WHO PLAYED RANDY IN 1987’S CREEPSHOW 2 SEGMENT “THE RAFT,” ALMOST DIED FROM HYPOTHERMIA DURING FILMING. THE CREW WANTED TO CONTINUE THE SHOOT, BUT DIRECTOR MICHAEL GORNICK THREATENED TO QUIT. BEER WAS TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AND RECOVERED. 2. BRANDON LEE, BRUCE LEE’S SON, WHO WAS KILLED WHILE FILMING AN ACTION SEQUENCE FOR THE CROW (1994), HAD A PREMONITION HE WOULD DIE ON THE FILM’S SET. 3. THE FILMING OF BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY’S TOMB (1971) WAS FRAUGHT WITH TRAGEDY, BEGINNING WHEN PETER CUSHING’S WIFE TOOK ILL ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE SHOOT AND PASSED AWAY THREE DAYS LATER (RESULTING IN CUSHING QUITTING THE PICTURE), AND CONTINUING WHEN THE FILM’S DIRECTOR, SETH HOLT, DROPPED DEAD OF A HEART ATTACK MID-PRODUCTION. 4. ACTOR VIC MORROW WAS DECAPITATED…

1. FOR HER ROLE AS THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, 5’4” ELSA LANCHESTER WALKED ON STILTS THAT MADE HER 7’ TALL. ADDITIONALLY, THE BANDAGES SHE WORE WERE SO CONSTRICTIVE SHE HAD TO BE CARRIED AROUND THE STUDIO. 2. TO PLAY LEATHERFACE IN THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974), GUNNAR HANSEN HAD TO WEAR THREE-INCH HEELS, WHICH CAUSED HIM TO CONTINUALLY HIT HIS HEAD ON DOORWAYS. 3. MOST OF THE JACK-O’-LANTERNS IN THE 2007 MOVIE TRICK’R TREAT WERE MADE OUT OF EITHER FOAM OR CERAMIC. AN ON-SET JOKE WAS THAT NO PUMPKINS WERE HARMED DURING THE MAKING OF THE FILM. 4. IN ORDER TO CREATE THE GIANT RAT FX NECESSARY FOR THE 1982 CANADIAN HORROR FILM DEADLY EYES, DACHSHUNDS WERE DRESSED UP AS OVERSIZED RODENTS. 5. BEN ROCK, DIRECTOR OF ALIEN RAIDERS (2008),…

1. BACK IN 1975, JOHN CARPENTER (HALLOWEEN) AND BOB CLARK (BLACK CHRISTMAS) PLANNED TO COLLABORATE ON A FILM CALLED PREY, WHICH CONCERNED A TRIO OF CITY WOMEN TERRORIZED BY A MURDEROUS FAMILY OF APPALACHIANS. THE MOVIE WAS NEVER MADE. 2. THE $8 MILLION BROADWAY MUSICAL ADAPTATION OF STEPHEN KING’S CARRIE DEBUTED IN 1988 AND CLOSED AFTER JUST FIVE SHOWS, MAKING IT ONE OF THE BIGGEST FAILURES IN BROADWAY HISTORY. 3. BRAM STOKER HAD A NIGHTMARE ABOUT VAMPIRES AFTER EATING A DINNER OF CRAB MEAT, AN EXPERIENCE THAT INSPIRED HIM TO WRITE DRACULA (1897). 4. WILLIAM FRIEDKIN ALLEGEDLY WORKED SO SLOWLY ON THE EXORCIST (1973) THAT ONE CREW MEMBER WHO WAS OFF WORK WITH THE FLU RETURNED THREE DAYS LATER TO FIND THE DIRECTOR WORKING ON THE SAME SHOT. 5. OPRAH…

1. TERENCE FISHER, RENOWNED DIRECTOR OF HAMMER’S THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957), WAS A SAILOR BEFORE BEGINNING HIS CAREER IN FILM. 2. WRITER/DIRECTOR JOSS WHEDON (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, THE CABIN IN THE WOODS) BEGAN HIS SCREENWRITING CAREER ON THE POPULAR SITCOM ROSEANNE. 3. JACK NICHOLSON BEGAN HIS CAREER AS A GOPHER FOR ANIMATORS WILLIAM HANNA AND JOSEPH BARBERA – WHO WOULD LATER CREATE SCOOBY-DOO – BEFORE WORKING WITH ROGER CORMAN, APPEARING IN FILMS SUCH AS THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS AND THE RAVEN. 4. RAY HARRYHAUSEN NOT ONLY SERVED AS A COMBAT CAMERAMAN IN WWII, HE ALSO MADE ONE OF THE ERA’S PROPAGANDA FILMS: GUADALCANAL. 5. WILLIAM PETER BLATTY, AUTHOR OF THE EXORCIST, ONCE CONSIDERED BECOMING A PRIEST. 6. MAKEUP EFFECTS ARTIST GREG NICOTERO (THE WALKING DEAD) FIRST MET…

A HUGE BLOODY THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED MAKE THIS SUPPLEMENT POSSIBLE, including Rodrigo Gudiño, April Snellings, Vanessa Furtado, Andrew Wright, Dave Alexander, Andrea Subissati, Amy Bridges, Brenton and Wednesday Bentz, Claire Horsnell, Jennifer McKinney, John W. Bowen, Ed Butts, James Burrell, Patrick Dolan, Charlotte Stear, Ali Chappell, Brett McNeill, Michael Doyle, Greg Chant, James Jesus Maggot, Scott Swanson and Benoit Black. Thank you as well to all the Rue Morgue readers who have submitted factoids to the magazine over the last dozen years and to the wacky, weird world of horror (and all those who create in it) for giving us these crazy stories to tell. RUE MORGUE MANOR APRIL 2015…

1. AN EARLY DESIGN FOR THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON WAS BASED ON THE OSCAR STATUETTE. 2. PRODUCTION DESIGNERS ON NIGHT OF THE DEMON (1957) USED MEDIEVAL WOODCUTS OF SATAN AS INSPIRATION FOR THE DEMON’S APPEARANCE IN THE FILM. 3. PLAGUE! THE MUSICAL – A BLACK COMEDY LOOSELY BASED ON THE GREAT PLAGUE OF LONDON – TOURED THE UK FRINGE FESTIVAL CIRCUIT IN 2008, WINNING AN AWARD FOR ITS SOLD-OUT PERFORMANCES. 4. FOR SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991), ANTHONY HOPKINS BASED HANNIBAL LECTER’S VOICE AND SPEECH PATTERNS ON AUTHOR TRUMAN CAPOTE AND ACTRESS KATHARINE HEPBURN. 5. JACQUES TOURNEUR’S FILM I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943) WAS LOOSELY BASED ON THE LITERARY CLASSIC JANE EYRE. 6. DIRECTOR WILLIAM LUSTIG BROUGHT SERIAL KILLER FRANK ZITO TO LIFE IN 1980’S MANIAC BY…

1. GENE SIMMONS, WHO OFTEN SPITS FAKE BLOOD ONSTAGE WITH HIS BAND KISS, CAN’T STAND THE SIGHT OF REAL BLOOD. 2. VETERAN BRITISH ACTOR DAVID WARNER, FAMOUSLY DECAPITATED IN 1976’S THE OMEN, WAS SO CREEPED OUT BY HIS DEMISE IN THE FILM THAT HE REFUSED TO EVEN LOOK AT THE DUMMY HEAD USED IN THE SHOT. 3. DUE TO CHRISTOPHER LEE’S ARACHNOPHOBIA (FEAR OF SPIDERS), THE TARANTULA SCENE IN THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1959) HAD TO BE FILMED WITH THE SPIDER CRAWLING UP A STUNTMAN’S ARM. 4. ACTOR BRAD PITT (WORLD WAR Z) SUFFERS FROM SELACHOPHOBIA (A FEAR OF SHARKS). 5. ALFRED HITCHCOCK SUFFERED FROM OVOPHOBIA, THE FEAR OF EGGS. 6. FAIRY TALE WRITER HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN WAS SO CONCERNED ABOUT BEING BURIED ALIVE HE INSISTED THAT ONE OF…

1. THE FREDDY GLOVE USED IN A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET PART 2: FREDDY’S REVENGE (1985) ALSO APPEARED IN EVIL DEAD II (1987) BEFORE VANISHING FROM THE SET OF A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS LATER THAT SAME YEAR. IT WAS NEVER RECOVERED. 2. DIRECTOR ROGER CORMAN WAS A GENIUS AT MAKING FILMS ON A SHOESTRING BUDGET AND REUSING STOCK FOOTAGE WAS KEY TO THIS. THE FOOTAGE HE CAPTURED OF AN ACTUAL BURNING BUILDING MADE IT INTO SEVERAL OF HIS FILMS, INCLUDING 1960’S HOUSE OF USHER AND 1962’S TALES OF TERROR. 3. ILSA, SHE-WOLF OF THE SS (1975) WAS FILMED IN SECRET ON THE SETS OF HOGAN’S HEROES. 4. PARTS OF JACQUES TOURNEUR’S CAT PEOPLE (1942) WERE SHOT ON SETS PREVIOUSLY USED FOR ORSON WELLES’ THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS…

1. TROMA ENTERTAINMENT PRESIDENT/TOXIC AVENGER AUTEUR LLOYD KAUFMAN HAS A DEGREE IN CHINESE STUDIES FROM YALE UNIVERSITY. 2. SEAN CUNNINGHAM, DIRECTOR OF THE ORIGINAL FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980), SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED A CAREER IN MEDICINE BEFORE SETTLING ON THE FILM BIZ. 3. STEVEN SPIELBERG WAS ONLY 21 YEARS OLD WHEN HE CO-DIRECTED THE PILOT EPISODE OF ROD SERLING’S NIGHT GALLERY IN 1969. 4. ACCORDING TO THE INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE, TAKASHI MIIKE (ICHI THE KILLER, AUDITION) HAS RACKED UP 98 DIRECTOR CREDITS SINCE 1991. 5. LUCIO FULCI (THE BEYOND, CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD) HAD A LIFELONG OBSESSION WITH EDGAR G. ULMER’S 1945 FILM NOIR DETOUR. 6. GODFATHER OF GORE HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS (TWO THOUSAND MANIACS!, BLOOD FEAST) HAS CO-AUTHORED BOOKS ON AMERICAN PAINTER NORMAN ROCKWELL, PLATE COLLECTING AND DIRECT MARKETING. 7.…

1. THE FIRST OSCAR EVER AWARDED TO A HORROR FILM WAS BEST ACTOR FOR FREDRIC MARCH’S PERFORMANCE IN 1932’S DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. 2. THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES (1964) IS CREDITED WITH BEING THE HORROR FILM WITH THE LONGEST TITLE. IT WAS ALSO PROMOTED AS “THE FIRST EVER MONSTER MUSICAL.” THE HORROR OF PARTY BEACH, WHICH WAS RELEASED THE SAME YEAR, WAS PROMOTED AS “THE FIRST HORROR MUSICAL.” 3. THE GHOUL (1934), STARRING BORIS KARLOFF, WAS THE FIRST BRITISH HORROR FILM MADE WITH SOUND. 4. ACCORDING TO BRYAN SENN’S BOOK A YEAR OF FEAR, 1932’S DOCTOR X, STARRING LIONEL ATWILL AND FAY WRAY, WAS THE FIRST COLOUR HORROR FILM. 5. THE 1957 FILM EL VAMPIRO WAS THE FIRST MEXICAN FEATURE ABOUT VAMPIRES.…

1. DON COSCARELLI AND HIS PRODUCING PARTNER PAUL PEPPERMAN ORIGINALLY INTENDED TO ADAPT RAY BRADBURY’S NOVEL SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES FOR THE SCREEN BUT WERE INFORMED BY BRADBURY HIMSELF THAT MICHAEL DOUGLAS HAD ALREADY BOUGHT THE RIGHTS TO IT. THE PAIR MADE PHANTASM (1979) INSTEAD. 2. PHILIP NUTMAN (1963-2013), AUTHOR OF THE ACCLAIMED HORROR NOVEL WET WORK, BEGAN HIS PROFESSIONAL WRITING CAREER AT AGE FIFTEEN. 3. HORROR/SCI-FI AUTHOR WHITLEY STRIEBER COLLABORATED WITH HIMSELF ON CATMAGIC (1986), A BOOK CO-WRITTEN BY STRIEBER AND HIS PSEUDONYM, JONATHAN BARRY. 4. THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO (1764), WIDELY CREDITED AS ONE OF THE FIRST GOTHIC NOVELS, WAS NOT NECESSARILY A POINT OF PRIDE FOR AUTHOR HORACE WALPOLE. IN FACT, WHEN IT WAS FIRST PUBLISHED, WALPOLE SUGGESTED ANOTHER CREATOR FOR THE WORK IN THE BOOK’S…

1. BETTY BUCKLEY, WHO PLAYED MISS COLLINS IN CARRIE (1976), WENT ON TO PLAY CARRIE’S MOTHER IN THE FAILED BROADWAY MUSICAL ADAPTATION OF THE FILM. A VERSION OF THE SONG “WHEN THERE’S NO ONE,” WHICH WAS WRITTEN FOR THAT PRODUCTION, APPEARS ON HER 1994 ALBUM CHILDREN WILL LISTEN. 2. FRIDAY THE 13TH ACTRESS ADRIENNE KING, WHO PLAYED ALICE IN THE ORIGINAL MOVIE, RELEASED HER OWN WINE CALLED CRYSTAL LAKE, FROM VALLEY VIEW WINERY. IT SELLS FOR $25 A BOTTLE AND INCLUDES HER AUTOGRAPH. 3. GRAND GUIGNOL THEATRE FOUNDER OSCAR MÉTÉNIER ALSO WORKED FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, WHERE ONE OF HIS JOBS WAS TO ESCORT CONDEMNED CRIMINALS TO THEIR EXECUTIONS. 4. MIKE RAVEN, STAR OF 1971’S CRUCIBLE OF TERROR, A FILM HE HELPED FINANCE, ALSO FOUND SUCCESS IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY,…

1. MORE THAN 160 DIFFERENT ACTORS HAVE PLAYED DRACULA SINCE THE BEGINNING OF CINEMA. THE COUNT IS THE MOST FILMED MOVIE MONSTER OF ALL TIME. 2. IN 1996, MTV PRESENTED GODZILLA (THE MONSTER) WITH A LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD ON ITS ANNUAL MOVIE AWARDS SHOW. THE LEGENDARY JAPANESE ICON ALSO HAS A STAR ON HOLLYWOOD’S WALK OF FAME. 3. FROM JULY 1984 TO SEPTEMBER 1985, RALSTON FOODS MANUFACTURED GREMLINS CEREAL AS A TIE-IN TO THE MOVIE. 4. THE VAMPIRE HAS BEEN USED TO ADVERTISE MANY THINGS OVER THE YEARS, INCLUDING ALARM SYSTEMS, CAT FOOD AND SOFTWARE. IT WAS ALSO USED IN A RECRUITING CAMPAIGN FOR THE LUTHERAN CHURCH, WHICH FEATURED THE LINE: “WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO HOLLYWOOD, THERE’S MORE TO CHRISTIANITY THAN STOPPING VAMPIRES.” 5. THE BRIDE FROM BRIDE OF…

1. DURING THE CASTING OF TV’S THE X-FILES, NETWORK EXECUTIVES AT FOX WERE VERY MUCH AGAINST GIVING THE ROLE OF SCULLY TO GILLIAN ANDERSON. ACCORDING TO ANDERSON, THE PRODUCERS WERE ORIGINALLY INTERESTED IN PAMELA ANDERSON FOR THE PART. EVEN DURING THE FILMING OF THE SHOW’S PILOT, THEY CONTINUED TO WORRY THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE CAST SOMEONE “SEXIER.” 2. ACCORDING TO KEITH TOPPING’S BOOK A VAULT OF HORROR, INGRID PITT (THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD) WAS ONCE THE “KARATE PARTNER” OF ELVIS PRESLEY. 3. BARBARA STEELE (BLACK SUNDAY) WAS SET TO CO-STAR WITH ELVIS PRESLEY IN THE 1960 FILM FLAMING STAR, BUT WAS LATER REPLACED DUE TO HER THICK BRITISH ACCENT. 4. THE FIRST MODERN PIECE OF FICTION PERTAINING TO MUMMIES IS THOUGHT TO BE JANE WEBB’S THE MUMMY! A TALE…

1. THE STUDIO BEHIND SE7EN (1995) WANTED THE FILM’S FINALE TO BE CHANGED TO SOMETHING LESS BLEAK, BUT ACTOR BRAD PITT DECLARED HE WOULD NOT DO THE PROJECT IF THE ENDING DEVIATED FROM THE ORIGINAL SCRIPT. 2. WHEN IAIN BANKS’ GENRE-CROSSING NOVEL THE WASP FACTORY WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE UK IN 1984, THERE WAS MORE PUBLIC OUTCRY ABOUT THE NARRATIVE’S CRUELTY TOWARDS ANIMALS THAN ITS INSTANCES OF CHILD MURDER. 3. THE DARK EYES OF LONDON (1940), STARRING BELA LUGOSI, WAS THE FIRST BRITISH HORROR FILM TO BE GIVEN AN “H” RATING. “H” STOOD FOR “HORRIFIC” AND MEANT THAT NO ONE UNDER SIXTEEN WOULD BE PERMITTED INTO THE THEATRE. 4. CHICAGO BAR KUMA’S CORNER ANGERED THE CATHOLIC CHURCH WHEN IT LAUNCHED ITS “GHOST BURGER,” WHICH IS NAMED AFTER THE SWEDISH…

1. WHILE SHOOTING BLACK SUNDAY (1960), DIRECTOR MARIO BAVA REFUSED TO LET STAR BARBARA STEELE SEE THE ENTIRE SCRIPT. INSTEAD, HE ONLY GAVE HER THE PAGES THAT THEY WERE FILMING THAT DAY, FORCING HER TO LEARN HER LINES ON THE SPOT. 2. DURING THE FILMING OF CANDYMAN (1992), VIRGINIA MADSEN WAS HYPNOTIZED SO HER PUPILS WOULD REMAIN DILATED. THIS WAS THE LOOK DIRECTOR BERNARD ROSE WANTED HER CHARACTER TO HAVE WHEN CONFRONTED BY THE TITULAR VILLAIN. 3. BEFORE SHOOTING THE OSSUARY SCENE IN ANTHROPOPHAGUS (1980), PROP BONES WERE RENTED BECAUSE THERE WEREN’T ENOUGH REAL ONES LEFT AT THE LOCATION, AN ACTUAL CRYPT. LATER, THE CLEAN-UP CREW ACCIDENTALLY RETURNED ALL THE BONES – REAL AND FAKE – TO THE RENTAL COMPANY, WHICH THEN GAVE THE REAL ONES BACK TO THE FILMMAKERS.…

1. THE WORD “ZOMBIE” ENTERED IN THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY IN 1819. 2. THE FIRST THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE OF THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE TOOK PLACE JUST ONE YEAR AFTER ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON’S TALE WAS PUBLISHED IN 1886. 3. THE FIRST PAPERBACK BOOK IS BELIEVED TO BE AN 1867 EDITION OF JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE’S FAUST. 4. A COPY OF POE’S FIRST BOOK OF POETRY, TAMERLANE AND OTHER POEMS (1827), SOLD AT AUCTION IN DECEMBER 2009 FOR $662,500, SETTING A NEW RECORD FOR AMERICAN LITERATURE. 5. THE NEW YORK MIRROR PAID EDGAR ALLAN POE $10 FOR HIS POEM “THE RAVEN” WHEN IT FIRST PRINTED THE PIECE IN 1845. 6. BEFORE THE 1841 PUBLICATION OF EDGAR ALLAN POE’S “THE MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE,” THERE WERE NO DETECTIVE…

1. BEFORE 1931’S FRANKENSTEIN MADE HIM FAMOUS, BORIS KARLOFF TOURED WESTERN CANADA EXTENSIVELY WITH A SMALL REPERTORY THEATRE GROUP. 2. CLINT EASTWOOD’S FIRST FILM ROLE WAS THAT OF A LAB TECHNICIAN IN REVENGE OF THE CREATURE (1955). 3. FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA ONCE WORKED AS ROGER CORMAN’S ASSISTANT, EARNING $90 A WEEK. 4. PRIOR TO DIRECTING THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974), TOBE HOOPER SHOT AN HOURLONG PBS DOCUMENTARY ON TOUR WITH FEELGOOD FOLKIES PETER, PAUL AND MARY OF “PUFF, THE MAGIC DRAGON” FAME. 5. WES CRAVEN BEGAN HIS SHOW BUSINESS CAREER AS A RUNNER FOR A TRAILER-EDITING FIRM. 6. PETER JACKSON DIDN’T ALWAYS WANT TO BE A DIRECTOR. FROM THE AGE OF EIGHT UNTIL HE WAS IN HIS EARLY TWENTIES, HE DREAMED OF WORKING IN SPECIAL EFFECTS. 7. BEFORE MOVING TO…

1. THE EXORCIST III WAS PURPORTEDLY SERIAL KILLER JEFFREY DAHMER’S FAVOURITE MOVIE. 2. THREE MONTHS AFTER HIS 1977 DEATH, GRAVE ROBBERS STOLE THE CORPSE OF CHARLIE CHAPLIN FROM CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY CEMETERY IN SWITZERLAND. THE THIEVES ATTEMPTED TO HOLD THE BODY RANSOM BUT WERE CAUGHT AND CHAPLIN WAS LAID TO REST ONCE MORE. 3. CONVICTED MURDERER CLIFTON BLOOMFIELD WAS ON PROBATION WHEN HE WAS CAST AS AN EXTRA IN SONY PICTURES’ 2008 PRISON DRAMA FELON. NO ONE INVOLVED WITH THE PROJECT HAD ANY KNOWLEDGE OF HIS CRIMINAL PAST. A MONTH AFTER SHOOTING WRAPPED, HE KILLED AN ELDERLY COUPLE DURING A HOME INVASION. 4. BRAZILIAN SOCCER STAR BRUNO FERNANDES DAS DORES DE SOUZA WAS SENTENCED TO 22 YEARS IN PRISON FOR HIRING A FORMER COP TO KIDNAP, BEAT AND KILL HIS PREGNANT 25-YEAR-OLD…

1. JOHN CARPENTER TURNED DOWN THE OPPORTUNITY TO DIRECT FATAL ATTRACTION (1987). 2. BEFORE THE EXORCIST WAS OFFERED TO WILLIAM FRIEDKIN, IT WAS TURNED DOWN BY JOHN BOORMAN (DELIVERANCE), MIKE NICHOLS (THE GRADUATE), PETER BOGDANOVICH (THE LAST PICTURE SHOW) AND ARTHUR PENN (BONNIE AND CLYDE). 3. TERRY GILLIAM (TWELVE MONKEYS) CREATED THE ORIGINAL TITLE SEQUENCE FOR GORDON HESSLER’S SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN (1970) BUT AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL PICTURES REFUSED TO USE IT. 4. GENE HACKMAN PURCHASED THE FILM RIGHTS TO THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS AND PLANNED TO BOTH DIRECT AND STAR IN IT AS HANNIBAL LECTER BEFORE GETTING COLD FEET OVER THE VIOLENT CONTENT. THE ROLE OF LECTER WAS SUBSEQUENTLY OFFERED TO SEAN CONNERY, WHO IMMEDIATELY TURNED IT DOWN FOR THE SAME REASON. 5. PAUL W.S. ANDERSON TURNED DOWN AN…

1. FOLLOWING HIS PERFORMANCE IN THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961) ACTOR OLIVER REED RECEIVED MORE THAN 50 MARRIAGE PROPOSALS FROM ADORING FANS. 2. MICHAEL BERRYMAN, STAR OF THE HILLS HAVE EYES (1977), WAS BORN WITH MORE THAN TWENTY BIRTH DEFECTS. 3. JOHN CARRADINE NEVER UTTERS A SINGLE WORD IN THE 1972 FILM SILENT NIGHT, BLOODY NIGHT. THE CROAKING SOUNDS MADE BY HIS CHARACTER WERE ALL ADDED IN POST. 4. GENEALOGISTS AT ANCESTRY.COM CLAIM TO HAVE CONNECTED TWILIGHT ACTOR ROBERT PATTINSON’S FAMILY TREE TO THAT OF VLAD THE IMPALER. 5. PETER CUSHING (THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN) CONSIDERED THE BLOOD BEAST TERROR (1968) THE WORST FILM OF HIS CAREER. 6. IN PAUL SIMPSON’S THE ROUGH GUIDE TO CULT MOVIES, ACTOR RUSSELL CROWE CITES THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) AS ONE…

1. CHRISTIAN SLATER, WHO REPLACED RIVER PHOENIX IN 1994’S INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE FOLLOWING HIS DEATH, DONATED HIS ENTIRE SALARY FROM THE SHOOT TO CHARITY IN MEMORY OF HIS FRIEND. 2. WHEN JAPANESE HEAVY METAL MUSICIAN HIDETO “HIDE” MATSUMOTO COMMITTED SUICIDE BY HANGING HIMSELF USING A TOWEL ATTACHED TO A DOORKNOB, AT LEAST TWO DEVASTATED FEMALE FANS COPIED HIM. 3. THERE ARE CONFLICTING REPORTS AS TO WHERE EX-BEATLE GEORGE HARRISON DIED. IT IS BELIEVED THIS MISINFORMATION CAME AT THE BEHEST OF HARRISON HIMSELF, WHO DIDN’T WANT THE PLACE OF HIS DEATH TO BECOME A TOURIST DESTINATION. 4. UPON HER DEATH, THE MISTRESS OF 19TH-CENTURY FRENCH NOVELIST EUGÈNE SUE BEQUEATHED HIM HER SKIN WITH ORDERS THAT ONE OF HIS BOOKS BE BOUND WITH IT. THE VOLUME WAS VIGNETTES: LES MYSTÈRES DE…

1. THE FIRST PATENTED OUIJA BOARDS WENT ON SALE IN 1891 FOR $1.50 USD. 2. ONE OF TOM SAVINI’S FIRST JOBS WAS ON PITTSBURGH’S LATE-NIGHT MOVIE SHOW CHILLER THEATRE, WHERE HE DID THE MAKEUP EFFECTS FOR HORROR HOST “CHILLY BILLY” CARDILLE AND OTHER CREATURES. HE WAS FIFTEEN YEARS OLD. 3. THE FIRST WIDELY AVAILABLE COMPUTER GAME WITH A VAMPIRE THEME WAS ACCOLADE’S ELVIRA: MISTRESS OF THE DARK (1990). 4. THE NOW-STANDARD PRACTICE OF MOVIE STARS WEARING SUNGLASSES WAS FIRST POPULARIZED BY THE PUBLICITY-SHY LON CHANEY (1925’S THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA). 5. HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS’ BLOOD FEAST (1963) IS THE OLDEST FILM ON THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT’S LIST OF OFFICIAL “VIDEO NASTIES.” 6. TWIN SISTERS MADELEINE AND MARY COLLINSON, STARS OF HAMMER’S TWINS OF EVIL (1971), WERE ALSO THE FIRST TWINS…

1. AT THE TIME OF ITS RELEASE, TOBE HOOPER’S THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974) WAS NOT ONLY BANNED IN PARIS, FRANCE, IT ALSO CAUSED A RIOT IN THE THEATRE DURING ITS SAN FRANCISCO PREMIERE. 2. FOR A TIME, BOTH ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948) AND ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1953) WERE BANNED BY FINLAND’S FILM CENSORS. 3. SURREALIST ANIMATOR JAN ŠVANKMAJER WAS BANNED FROM FILMMAKING FOR SEVEN YEARS BY CZECH AUTHORITIES AFTER THE RELEASE OF HIS SATIRICAL 1972 SHORT FILM LEONARDO’S DIARY. THE BAN WAS EVENTUALLY LIFTED UNDER THE CONDITION THAT ŠVANKMAJER ONLY ADAPT CLASSICS OF LITERATURE. 4. DUE TO STRICT MORAL CODES AND LAWS, NO HORROR FILMS WERE PRODUCED IN INDIA UNTIL THE 1970S. 5. WHEN THE BAD SEED WAS RELEASED THEATRICALLY IN…