I became a horror fan from watching old black and white movies. Classic Universal Monsters and MGM horror pictures in particular. The very first horror movie I remember seeing was Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. The movie aired on a Saturday afternoon. It's difficult to imagine anyone of any age being frightened by a silly (albeit enjoyable) comedy like this one. But it did scare me. Badly. Although the movie gave me nightmares, I wanted more.
This was in Baltimore, in the late nineteen sixties. At the time a horror host movie show was syndicated in our city. Sir Graves Ghastly was on very late on Friday nights. I believe it started at eleven o'clock. Late for a boy in his single digit years. I couldn't stay up that late, and besides, my oldest brother and his friends would get drunk and watch the show. My mother did not want me to be around that sort of behavior,
One night I stayed up and watched part of a movie from the back of the room. The feature that night was a good one: Mario Bava's Black Sabbath. It's an anthology movie, and I made it through the first story. A Drop of Water terrified me, and it's still scary all these years later. I was nearly traumatized by it.
These incidents of fear did not dissuade me from the desire to watch horror movies. Quite the opposite. I was ingrained with a permanent love for horror by them.
Monster movies were incredibly popular at the time, and I was delighted when I learned that the Sir Graves Ghastly show would have a repeat showing on Saturday afternoons. I was now able to watch the movies I so passionately wanted to see.
One of the first movies I saw was the original Wolf Man. It may have been the first movie. Memories grow dim. What I have not forgotten is the awe I felt while watching The Wolf Man. I vividly remember being captivated. I couldn't wait to see the monster during the buildup scenes, but I also dreaded it. I felt that it could quite possibly drive me mad with fear.
Note the photo I have used here. It's me, around seven years old, doing my Wolf Man impersonation.
The brilliantly executed scenes of Lon Chaney Jr. shambling through the foggy woods are iconic. The Wolf Man might not be as well made as something by Tod Browning or James Whale, but it may well be the most atmospheric of the classic monster movies.
Lon Chaney Jr. has gotten kind of a bum reputation over the years. Reports of his rampant alcoholism and unprofessional behavior abounded. His later performances do little to enhance his legacy.
Chaney shambling around like a drunken golem in the 1952 live television broadcast of Frankenstein on the Tales of Tomorrow show sullied his image forever. There are conflicting reports about whether he was actually drunk on the set. He certainly appears to be grotesquely intoxicated.
Lon Chaney, Jr. did some outstanding performances in his early career, especially in the ninteen-thirty nine adaptation of Of Mice and Men. He is also very good in The Wolf Man.
You know the story even if you have not actually seen the film. The gypsy curse is legendary:
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
Though the purity of Larry Talbot heart is debatable when one considers an early scene where he peeps on a comely woman in her bedroom with a telescope.
The Wolf Man is one of the Universal Big Three. You have Dracula, Frankenstein, and of course The Wolf Man. These great monsters are an enduring part of the lexicon of our society.
Many full moons have passed since I saw The Wolf Man on that fateful Saturday afternoon. I've been a horror devotee since those days. I've witnessed it all. The hard, reality-based exploitation movies of the seventies. The slasher cycle of the early eighties. The horror comedy trend of the late eighties. The nihilistic nineties. So called Torture Porn of the two-thousands.
I think it's time for me to go back. I've been doing so for the last few years. Not just watching the classic old Universal Monsters, but Vincent Price, Hammer Studios horror, big bugs and atomic mutations. These are the seeds of what I am now, and going back helps me to understand who I have become and why horror has stayed prominent in my life.
Written by Mark Sieber
This was in Baltimore, in the late nineteen sixties. At the time a horror host movie show was syndicated in our city. Sir Graves Ghastly was on very late on Friday nights. I believe it started at eleven o'clock. Late for a boy in his single digit years. I couldn't stay up that late, and besides, my oldest brother and his friends would get drunk and watch the show. My mother did not want me to be around that sort of behavior,
One night I stayed up and watched part of a movie from the back of the room. The feature that night was a good one: Mario Bava's Black Sabbath. It's an anthology movie, and I made it through the first story. A Drop of Water terrified me, and it's still scary all these years later. I was nearly traumatized by it.These incidents of fear did not dissuade me from the desire to watch horror movies. Quite the opposite. I was ingrained with a permanent love for horror by them.
Monster movies were incredibly popular at the time, and I was delighted when I learned that the Sir Graves Ghastly show would have a repeat showing on Saturday afternoons. I was now able to watch the movies I so passionately wanted to see.
One of the first movies I saw was the original Wolf Man. It may have been the first movie. Memories grow dim. What I have not forgotten is the awe I felt while watching The Wolf Man. I vividly remember being captivated. I couldn't wait to see the monster during the buildup scenes, but I also dreaded it. I felt that it could quite possibly drive me mad with fear.
Note the photo I have used here. It's me, around seven years old, doing my Wolf Man impersonation.
The brilliantly executed scenes of Lon Chaney Jr. shambling through the foggy woods are iconic. The Wolf Man might not be as well made as something by Tod Browning or James Whale, but it may well be the most atmospheric of the classic monster movies.
Lon Chaney Jr. has gotten kind of a bum reputation over the years. Reports of his rampant alcoholism and unprofessional behavior abounded. His later performances do little to enhance his legacy.
Chaney shambling around like a drunken golem in the 1952 live television broadcast of Frankenstein on the Tales of Tomorrow show sullied his image forever. There are conflicting reports about whether he was actually drunk on the set. He certainly appears to be grotesquely intoxicated.
Lon Chaney, Jr. did some outstanding performances in his early career, especially in the ninteen-thirty nine adaptation of Of Mice and Men. He is also very good in The Wolf Man.
You know the story even if you have not actually seen the film. The gypsy curse is legendary:
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
Though the purity of Larry Talbot heart is debatable when one considers an early scene where he peeps on a comely woman in her bedroom with a telescope.
The Wolf Man is one of the Universal Big Three. You have Dracula, Frankenstein, and of course The Wolf Man. These great monsters are an enduring part of the lexicon of our society.
Many full moons have passed since I saw The Wolf Man on that fateful Saturday afternoon. I've been a horror devotee since those days. I've witnessed it all. The hard, reality-based exploitation movies of the seventies. The slasher cycle of the early eighties. The horror comedy trend of the late eighties. The nihilistic nineties. So called Torture Porn of the two-thousands.
I think it's time for me to go back. I've been doing so for the last few years. Not just watching the classic old Universal Monsters, but Vincent Price, Hammer Studios horror, big bugs and atomic mutations. These are the seeds of what I am now, and going back helps me to understand who I have become and why horror has stayed prominent in my life.
Written by Mark Sieber
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