You could either make a copy of the Handbook for the Recently Deceased or buy one and dress up as any dead person.
Some Beetlejuice costume inspiration:
Category: movie
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Halloween Costume Inspiration: Beetlejuice
Handbook for the Recently Deceased made by n3do on Etsy -
Horror Cinema Trivia: The Curse of the Poltergeist Franchise
“With Poltergeist‘s success came a creepy mystique that the classic film is shrouded in real-life tragedies that some interpret as a curse.
“The majority of the fuel for the alleged curse stems from the deaths of multiple cast members. In total, four cast members died during and soon after the filming of the series. Two of these tragic deaths were highly unexpected and puzzling, leading many fans to speculate on the trilogy’s eerie implications.
“Carol Anne Freeling, the young focal point of the series, was played by Heather O’Rourke. Only six years old when the first Poltergeist film was released, O’Rourke captivated audiences with her stark blond hair, doll-like appearance, and big, inquisitive eyes. Sadly, however, she was misdiagnosed with Crohn’s Disease in 1987. The following year, O’Rourke fell ill again, and her symptoms were casually attributed to the flu. A day later, she collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest. After being airlifted to a children’s hospital in San Diego, O’Rourke died during an operation to correct a bowel obstruction, and it was later believed that she had been suffering from a congenital intestinal abnormality. She will be, and has been, missed by fans around the world.
“Dominique Dunne, who played the original older sister Dana Freeling, met an equally tragic and unforeseen fate. In 1982 Dunne separated from her partner, John Sweeney. In November of that year, he showed up at Dunne’s house, pleading for her to take him back. When she refused, Sweeney grabbed Dunne’s neck, choked her until she was unconscious, and left her to die in her Hollywood home’s driveway. Sweeney was sentenced to six and a half years in prison but was released after three years and seven months.
“The other two cast member deaths, while unfortunate, were not as unpredictable or mysterious. The evil preacher Kane from Poltergeist II was played by Julian Beck. In 1983, Beck had been diagnosed with stomach cancer, which took his life soon after he finished work on the second installment of the series. The same film was met with further tragedy, after Will Sampson, who played Taylor the Native American shaman, died after undergoing a heart-lung transplant, which had a very slim survival rate.”
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Classic Horror: Frankenstein Behind the Scenes
Boris Karloff having a nice cup of tea and a piece of toast between shots of Frankenstein, released in 1931.
From Twenty-One Behind the Scenes Shots of Classic Hollywood Movies
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Horror Cinema: One Cut of the Dead
A friend invited me out to go see the new Japanese horror film One Cut of the Dead. As soon as I watched the trailer, I knew I wanted to see it.
I highly recommend it. The movie succeeded in mixing horror with comedy in a very satisfying way. I found it original and engaging — from the spooky and dark moments to the ridiculousness of the sitcom-like antics. I left the theatre feeling charmed by the whole experience and will certainly watch it again and again.
Ueda, Shin’ichirô. One Cut of the Dead, Enbu Seminar, 2017 (Japan).
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Horror Cinema Trivia: The True Story That Inspired Nightmare on Elm Street’s Dreamtime Horror
“I’d read an article in the L.A. Times about a family who had escaped the Killing Fields in Cambodia and managed to get to the U.S. Things were fine, and then suddenly the young son was having very disturbing nightmares. He told his parents he was afraid that if he slept, the thing chasing him would get him, so he tried to stay awake for days at a time. When he finally fell asleep, his parents thought this crisis was over. Then they heard screams in the middle of the night. By the time they got to him, he was dead. He died in the middle of a nightmare. Here was a youngster having a vision of a horror that everyone older was denying. That became the central line of Nightmare on Elm Street.”
– Wes Craven, from Freddy Lives: An Oral History of A Nightmare on Elm Street
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BHS: Child’s Play (1988)
A cool behind-the-scenes image from 1988’s Child’s Play.
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Horror Cinema: The House of the Devil
I recently re-watched Ti West’s The House of the Devil. I remembered liking how spooky it was, but I forgot how much I liked the storyline. The narrative both pops and lulls as it unfolds toward a dark ending about free will and Satanism. The gore is bloody and satisfying. The heroine is strong and resourceful. The villains seem distant but are many and close by. So spooky!
Admittedly, I might be biased because Rosemary’s Baby is one of my favourite movies and The House of the Devil pays an intriguing homage to the Unholy Trinity. Its ending is very different than its predecessor’s, however. It is unresolved yet satisfying, which I liked. I am very much a Ti West fan!
West, Ti. The House of the Devil, MPI Media Group (theatrical) / Dark Sky Films (DVD and VHS), 2009.
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Go on, take a bite.
Hand, David (Supervising). Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, RKO Radio Pictures, 1937.
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Horror Cinema Trivia: Psycho (1960)
Hitchcock’s Psycho was the first American film to ever show a toilet flushing on screen.
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Horror Cinema: The Bride (1973)
A marriage made in heaven … and a honeymoon in hell!
The Bride, also known as The House That Cried Murder, is a horror tale reminiscent of a Tales From the Crypt story. Told in a dreamy and moody way like only horror movies from the 1970s can, it begins with a betrayal that makes watching the traitors suffer at the hands of the vengeful victim feel like a satisfying, rewarding punishment.
If you like the slower pace of older movies, then this one is for you. I do think that the frights and ending are worth it, while bearing in mind the time and place when it was made.
Watch the film, if you haven’t yet and if I have peaked your interest:
The Bride, also known as The House That Cried Murder (1973) – FULL MOVIE Pélissié, Jean-Marie. The Bride / The House That Cried Murder, Bryanston Distributing (USA), 1973.
