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The following is a list of Halloween events scheduled in area communities. The list reflects only events submitted to the Olean Times Herald by press time. AUSTIN, Pa. — The Austin Area School PBL Group will host its second-annual
participate. Awards will be given for “best costumes.” Some of the categories
haunted hayride from 7:30 to 10:30 pm. Oct. 23 and 24 at the Austin Dam
that may be awarded are: Best Animal, Best Cartoon Character, Best Face
Memorial Park. The tractor-drawn hayride will take participants on a scary
Painting, Best Royal, Best Rock Star, Best Sport Themed, Best Superhero,
ride through a vortex tunnel and along the dam’s haunted path, which
Best Villain, Best Food Themed, Most Eco- Friendly, Most Technologically
includes live, scary scenes. There will also be games for kids and a 50/50
Advanced, Best Book Themed, Best School Spirit themed, Best family/group.
raffle. The cost is $4 for students and $6 for adults. Food and beverages will
Meanwhile, Kane Community Hospital will offer X- ray services to parents
be available for a fee.
who would like to have their children’s trick- or- treat bags checked. Anyone
DUKE CENTER, Pa. — There will be a Trunk or Treat event from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31 in Otto Park at Duke Center. ELDRED, Pa. — Children in sixth grade and under are invited to participate in a Halloween party and costume judging starting at 7 p.m. at the Eldred Borough
who is interested in volunteering to help organize the parade can stop in at the Kane Area Community Center. LEWIS RUN, Pa. — Lewis Run will hold a Halloween party immediately following trick-or-treating, which ends at 7 p.m., in the fire hall.
Fire Hall. A pumpkin-carving contest will be held at the party, organizers said.
OLEAN — Christ United Methodist Church invites the children of Olean to the
There will also be a haunted house following trick- or treat in the ambulance
eighth-annual Trunk or Treat Celebration. Parents and guardians may bring
building, sponsored by the Revitalize Eldred Committee. Eldred borough will
children up to grade five to the church parking lot from 6 to 7 p.m. Oct. 25 to
also hold an “Eldread” house decorating contest from from now through Oct.
trick-or-treat from the car trunks of parishioners. Free cider and donuts will
31. The entry fee is $5. To enter, call 225- 4777. The winner will be awarded a
be provided.
cup at the fire hall party.
OLEAN — The Christopher Columbus Lodge will host a Halloween event
KANE, Pa. — The Kane Community Halloween Parade will be held Oct. 31. The
starting at 9 p.m. Oct. 31 at 540 N. Union St.
parade will begin lining up at 2 p.m. on Wetmore Avenue and travel at 3 p.m.
The event will end at 1 a.m. Prizes will be available for the best costumes.
to Chestnut Street, where it will disband.
Door prizes will also be available. There will also be live music. There will be
This will be a community event, and families and groups are invited to
no cover charge.
Area communities have announced their Halloween trick-or-treating hours. The information reflects the dates and times provided by press time. All communities are holding trick-or-treating on Oct. 31. Allegany: 6 to 8 p.m. Belmont: 6 to 8 p.m. Bradford, Pa.: 6 to 7:30 p.m. Bradford Township, Pa.: 6 to 7:30 p.m. Cattaraugus: 6 to 8 p.m. Cuba: 6 to 8 p.m. Duke Center, Pa.: 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Eldred, Pa.: 5:30 to 7 p.m. Ellicottville: 6 to 9 p.m. Foster Township, Pa.: 6 to 7:30 p.m. Franklinville: 6 to 8 p.m. Friendship: 5 to 7 p.m. Hinsdale: 6 to 8 p.m. Lafayette Township, Pa.: 6 to 8 p.m.
Lewis Run, Pa.: 6 to 7 p.m. Limestone: 6 to 7 p.m. Little Valley: 6 to 8 p.m. Olean: 6 to 8 p.m. Randolph: 6 to 7:30 p.m. Salamanca: 5 to 7 p.m. Wellsville: 6 to 8 p.m.
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How to throw a theme party and help break the ice Many people do not need a reason to throw a party. Although they’re commonly held to mark momentous events, like birthdays, parties can be entertaining ways to get a group of people together just for the sake of being social. Entertaining a diverse groups of friends or even family members may challenge party hosts to find methods that encourage their guests to mingle. One of the most effective ways to break the ice is to give a party its very own theme. Themed parties have a built-in conversation starter: the theme itself. Socializing can increase when other games or themed components are included in the festivities. Here are some ways to make a theme work for you. • Introduce the theme with the invitations. Let guests know that there will be a party theme by mentioning it on the invitations. The invitations also may tie into the theme. For example, palm tree invitations can indicate a Hawaiian barbecue. If costumes or specific clothing is suggested, be sure to indicate that on the invitations so guests can plan accordingly and decide whether or not to participate. • Coordinate the music. Guests will feel more comfortable if you have a steady amount of music playing in the background. Find music that fits with your theme, such as music from the 1970s for a disco party. Keep the volume moderate while guests are arriving and getting to know one another. Later on the volume can be turned up for dancing. • Arrange seats for conversation. Avoid lining up a bunch of
seats along a wall or in a straight line. Instead, group a few chairs around a snack table facing one another so that guests are encouraged to chat instead of spending the night as wallflowers. • Lead by example. If you want others to get involved and have fun with the party theme, you should lead the way. Be sure you are dressed for the occasion and participate in any games or activities that you have planned. If you want guests to get up for a round of karaoke, be the first person to belt out a tune. • Decorate the home or venue. Ensure guests know there is a specific theme by decking out the party space with the right accessories. The decor can add to the fun factor and give guests even more opportunities to converse over clever knickknacks, signs or elaborate backdrops. • Don’t forget the food. Tie your food choices into the party theme, offering foods that are theme-specific or renaming foods so they coordinate with the theme. Cheese-and-crackers platters can get fun makeovers if you use cookie cutters to cut the cheese into shapes. Plan cuisine that fits with the theme, such as pretzels and beer for an Oktoberfest party or milkshakes and French fries for a 50’s Drive-In party. By thinking creatively, you can find even more clever ways to keep guests smiling and satiated. Theme parties make it easy to tie various elements together and break the ice when guests are invited to mingle.
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By Christopher Michel
Special to Halloween Spooktacular
Fascination with an allegedly haunted house in Hinsdale hasn’t died down apparently. Every Friday and Saturday through the rest of this month and into the next, the Paranormal Investigation Tour (P.I.T.) Society is giving tours of the “Hinsdale Haunted House,” located at 3830 McMahon Road. “The tours have already sold out,” said Dave Klaes, vice president of the tour group. “We actually had to have more times for tours and even offer special tours because the interest is so great.” Klaes purchased the property about four months ago. “The last owner was actually planning to burn it down and then just sell the property. I wanted to save it,” he said. “There are a lot of people who are still curious about this place. Whenever I’ve been up there since I bought it, people stop by because they want to see the place and walk around the property a bit.” Since buying the house, Klaes has had its roof replaced and a substantial honeybee hive inside the building’s walls removed. During the upcoming tours, Klaes and members of the P.I.T. Society will take attendees through the house and around the property, telling tales of ghosts and paranormal encounters that reportedly happened there. “We really want to give people who are interested in the house the chance to come inside, have a look around and hear the stories about what happened here,” Klaes said. “We’re also hoping to share stories that people might not know about. There are just so many different stories about this house.” “We’ll also have ghost hunters here during the tours. It should be a fun experience.” The house and its alleged haunting have been the subject of several books, documentaries and paranormal investigations. The bulk of the unexplained was experienced by the Dandy family, who resided at the two-story, three bedroom home located
Christopher Michel/Olean Times Herald It’s that time of year when the home at 3830 McMahon Road in Hinsdale attracts attention from paranormal visitors.
at the end of a dead end street for five years in the early 1970s. The family eventually left the house, as brushes with the otherworldly reportedly became all too frequent and an apparent exorcism by Father Alphonsus Trabold, an ordained exorcist and friar as St. Bonaventure University, did little to quell the paranormal. Clara Miller, the matriarch of the Dandy family who changed her last name after her divorce in 1980, returned to her former residence for the first time in April 2012. During an interview with the Times Herald after her visit, Miller recounted several paranormal encounters she and her family had while living at the house. Experiences with specters ranged from bumps in the night and items being inexplicably moved to hearing what sounded like Gregorian chants coming from a nearby forest and the appearances of full-bodied apparitions.
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After the Dandys left, ownership of the house changed several times until 1986, when Florence and Joseph Misnik bought the property. They lived at the house well into their 80s. The couple died within two months of each other in 2010. The house has sat vacant since then. The house still seems to be a haven for ghosts and other spirits despite not having had a living resident in five years, Klaes said. With P.I.T. Society, Klaes has conducted paranormal investigations. “I was just there on (Tuesday) and I had an (electronic voice phenomenon) response that said, ‘I’m dead,’” he said. “I also had some of our different meters that measure electricity respond, and there’s no electricity to the house right now.” Klaes said he’s even had contact with Florence Misnik. “I’m pretty sure she still comes to the house,” he said. “When I was there, I asked for ‘Flo,’ and my meter started going off. I asked her to follow me upstairs, and the meter stayed lit up.” It’s those experiences that convince Klaes purchasing the house was a solid investment. In fact, he hopes to open a paranormal research center in it. “The house is a piece of history,” he said. “It’s definitely worth saving.”
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By Jim Eckstrom
Special to Halloween Spooktacular
Editor’s Note: In October 1991, Jim Eckstrom, now executive editor of the Olean Times Herald and Bradford Publishing Co., was a reporter and copy editor at The Bradford Era. He wrote this story for the Halloween edition of The Era that year, after visiting “the dungeon” in the basement of the former McKean County Jail in Smethport, Pa. The story involves the fate of Ralph Crossmire, convicted of murdering his mother and executed in the 1890s. “...And they hung him right here in front of his cell,” someone in the morning tour group was saying. “I guess they used a 240-pound weight and dropped it so it jerked him up off the floor. Snapped the neck like a stick.” As I looked around at the dank sandstone walls, glistening with moisture, and the mold-covered dirt floor, I could hardly accept that prisoners were once held in the basement cells — the dungeon — of the old McKean County Jail. I stepped into the cell where Ralph Crossmire, hanged in 1983 for the killing of his mother in Farmers Valley, reportedly was held. The tight cell had a musty stench and, when I thought of the convicts held there in the early years of the jail, I could almost feel a pall of gloom and despair hanging in the heavy air. What could Crossmire have been thinking as he sat in the dark while, just outside his cell door, an A-frame gallows was hammered together for his execution? According to county legend, the cell was supposed to be haunted. By Crossmire himself? Prisoners, after the hanging, had complained they couldn’t live near the cell because a ghostly spirit disturbed the area. Recalling a story I’d read, Crossmire’s sentence of death was commuted to life in prison by the governor a year after the hanging. Also, he never admitted to the horrible crime of beating and strangling his mother, whose bleeding body was found swinging from a
The Bradford Era covered the hanging of convicted murderer Ralph Crossmire on Dec. 14, 1893. Crossmire, professing his innocence to the last, was hanged in the basement of what was then the McKean County Jail. Legend said the basement — “the dungeon” — was haunted.
barn rafter after the killer attempted to make the death look like a suicide. “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit,” Crossmire said before he was jerked from the floor to dangle in death. “I forgive all who have sinned against me.” I forgive all who have sinned against me, I thought. Still, a shud-
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...continued from page 7 der wrung up through my shoulders as I conjured up thoughts of the embittered spirit of a wrongly executed man lingering in the black spaces of the dungeon … awaiting justice. … Receding voices broke me out of my reverie. A heavy door boomed and I could hear the rattling of a heavy lock. Panic surged in my chest. The group had left! The door, locked! Can’t be left in here!! GOT TO GET OUT!! I started to run for the door, my flashlight thrust ahead of me. Turning out of the cell the lighted spaces bounded in my vision as I moved. I never saw the low pipe running along the ceiling. My forehead clanged against it. Sunbursts flashed in my eyes, then nothing. … The feel of little cold feet on the back of my left hand squirmed into my consciousness through relentless pounding. I opened my eyes, only to stare into two bead-sized spheres, blood-red from the illumination of my flashlight. In fright and disgust I flung the huge rat from my hand and it thudded against the stone wall, squeaking its outrage. I sat up and wondered how long I was on the moldy floor. I grabbed my flashlight and looked at my watch. 11:55. Almost midnight? The tour began at 11 a.m.! I stumbled to the dungeon floor and pushed. I might have been pushing one of the stone walls. I pounded on the door and bellowed for anyone who might hear, only to be answered by mocking silence. Slumping against the door, I began to realize I might be in for a long stay in the black underbelly of the jail, sharing the space with … I didn’t even want to consider what. I looked into one of the first cells, remembering some plastic and other debris had been left there. I found a reasonably dry piece of cardboard and, spreading it out, sat down. As I strained to hear the slightest noise within the dungeon and without, minutes passed in the ringing quiet, my only comfort the light from the flashlight. Deciding to try to yell for help again, I returned to the door. I opened my mouth to shout when, in the dark behind, I heard a loud thump. I whirled around and stabbed the flashlight beam right and left, desperately searching for the source of the noise. I saw nothing but my ears caught a faint sound. At first I thought it was more squeaking from a rat. But after a few moments, I heard the unmistakable sound of creaking — not unlike the creaking of a new, stiff manila rope weighted down by a condemned felon as he twists and sways. Creak. Creak. CREAK. In terror, I edged along the wall to the cell where I had been sitting. Creak.
I irrationally thought the doorless cell would offer protection.. Creak. I sat on the cardboard, trying to make myself shrink. CREAK. As I stared at the cell door, the sound suddenly stopped, only to be replaced by another. At first, it was an unrecognizable moan, but soon coherent words ran over one another is an almost harmonious chant. “I forgive … sinned against … I forgive all … sinned against me … I forgive all who have sinned… “I FORGIVE ALL WHO HAVE SINNED AGAINST ME…” Though I was paralyzed with fear, I recognized the words uttered by Crossmire almost 100 years before as he stood at his awful gallows. But there was a strange tone to the spectral voice. A mocking tone. An eldritch glow played on the walls outside the cell. From the way it grew, the glow was obviously moving toward the door of the cell where I sat, helpless. Suddenly, he stood there. Crossmire’s dead white face stared at mine, but from an odd angle. To my horror I saw the elongated neck, slanting impossibly over his right shoulder. A frayed rope hung from his neck, the heavy knot set below his left ear. Horribly, he mouthed his chant past his distended tongue looping out of the corner of his lips, which were curled back in a rictus of death. Holding gray-white hands out he stepped toward me and, stooping, he lowered his clutching fingers. Just before they circled my throat I heaved up, shrieking. Ducking away, I ran through the cell door and tripped over another pipe on the floor and sprawled onto the dirt. I rolled over and saw Crossmire was right upon me, this time with the rope from his neck in his hands. He reached down, attempting to loop the rope over my own neck. I tried to fend him off, but the blows seemed to have no effect. As I was desperately fighting against the hands, voices suddenly bore through my terror. The horrific image of Crossmire began to blur and gradually was replaced by one vaguely familiar. “Easy there, take it easy,” the man said. “You OK? You must have knocked yourself out.” Blinking, the face registered as one who was on the tour. “What time is it?” I asked. “About noon. A lady realized back in the courthouse that one of us was missing so we came back to check.” As relief flooded over me, I realized I was only out for several minutes, not hours, and the terrible experience was just a… “Hey, what’s this around your neck?” Feeling chilled, I reached up to feel around my neck and my fingers closed on something. I pulled it off over my head and stared at the old frayed rope, the hangman’s knot still in place.
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1. What is the word Halloween derived from? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Why are orange and black Halloween colors? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Where did Jack o’ Lanterns originate? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. What is the fear of Halloween is known as? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Celebrating the harvest around a bonfire, sharing ghost stories, singing, dancing and telling fortunes were Halloween traditions brought to North America by whom? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. What was the first wrapped penny candy in America? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. What group of people would wear masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as humans by roaming spirits on Halloween? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. What is the average Halloween candy sales (annually) in the United States? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9. What tops the list as the most popular candy for trick-or-treaters? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Bobbing for apples is thought to have originated from what? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 11. What animals were once believed to be witch's familiars who protected their power? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 12. Unibrow, hairy palms, tattoos and a long middle finger are signs of what shapeshifting beast? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 13. With commercially successful holidays what place does Halloween come in? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 14. In folkloric tales, what beings would often visit loved ones and cause mischief or deaths in the neighborhoods they inhabited when they were alive? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 15. Count Dracula is believed to have been inspired by what 15th-century general and prince? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 16. The Count Dracula Society, vampire clubs and societies with people claiming to be real vampiresm was founded in what year and by who? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 17. There really are so-called vampire bats, but they're not from Transylvania. From where do these bats live and feed? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 18. What is believed to have been created by medieval architects and stone carvers to ward off evil spirits? __________________________________________________________________________________________________
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1. “All Hallows’ Eve” or All Saints’ Eve
3. Ireland, where people placed candles in hollowed-out turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts.
2. Orange - fall harvest; Black - darkness and death.
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Halloween is a season of colors, from the orange pumpkins sitting on doorsteps to the purple and black bats hung from windows. However, Halloween also is known for its culinary delights, particularly the sweet treats that are served at parties or handed out to trick-or-treaters. Many dierent foods have become synonymous with Halloween, with some not available any other time of year. Certain foods are enjoyed simply because they are fun, while others are tied to customs honoring the dead. Below are some of the more popular foods come Halloween and a little history behind them. • Chocolate: Chocolate is big business around Halloween. According to a recent survey from the National Confectioners Associa-
tion, 72 percent of all money spent on Halloween candy is spent on chocolate. Chocolate has been popular for centuries, but chocolate’s history is even lengthier than many people may know. Cocoa beans were harvested by ancient Olmec Indians as far back as 1500 B.C. Original uses for cocoa beans were in bitter drinks, similar to coffee. It would take centuries more for cocoa beans to be combined with milk and sugar to create the chocolate we know today. J.S. Fry & Sons and Cadbury Brothers were early purveyors of that type of chocolate.
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...continued from page 14 • Candied apples: Candied apples are usually dipped in toffee or caramel. Other apples may be dipped in a melted sugar coating, similar to the recipe used for lollipops and pulled-sugar treats. It’s believed candied apples were created in 1908, when they were meant to be a display item to entice customers into candy shops. Candied apples are popular in the fall, when they’re easier to make because that’s when apples are in abundance. In addition, the layer of candy surrounding the apple sets better in autumn weather than in the humidity of the summer. • Candy corn: Candy corn is most often found around Halloween in North America. The candy was created to look like kernels of corn. However, each candy kernel is three times larger than a real kernel. Candy corn was created in the 1880s by George Renninger of the Philadelphia-based Wunderle Candy Company. The Goelitz Confectionery Company began production at the turn of the century, calling their product “Chicken Feed.” • Soul cakes: Early origins of trick-or-treating can be traced to customs for commemorating the dead. Individuals, mainly in Britain and Ireland, would go door-to-door “souling” for cakes baked with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and raisins. For each cake they received, recipients would offer prayers for families’ departed relatives. Some people have kept the tradition alive and bake these biscuit-like cakes.
• Pumpkin pie: Pumpkin pie makes its debut in the fall when most pumpkins are ripe for the picking. Pumpkins became popular for cooking in England in the 17th century and were likely brought over to America by the pilgrims. Early pumpkin pies were savory, full of spices. Today’s pies are more sweet but still feature the familiar flavors of the past, including nutmeg and cloves. Pumpkin pie can be enjoyed around Halloween, but it usually takes center stage during Thanksgiving celebrations.
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‘Descendants,’ presidential campaign influences costume selection for Halloween this year By Kate Day Sager And Amber Turba Special to Halloween Spooktacular
As Halloween draws near each year, employees at the Paper Factory in Olean brace themselves for the onslaught of school-age children, as well as older party-goers, who want to dress in the year’s latest fashion or craze. Staff at the North Union Street store said the trend for younger girls and boys this year are costumes from the popular “Descendants” Disney Channel movie and television show. The movie depicts the adventures of children of Disney cartoon characters who include Cruella de Vil, Jafar, Evil Queen, Queen Belle and King Beast. Paper Factory employee Cris Orcutt said the demand for “Descendants” costumes has made the outfits harder to keep in stock at the store as well as other businesses in the area. She said a number of younger boys also want to cloak themselves in “Halo” action hero outfits based on the popular sci-fi video game, which are readily available at the store. “A lot of the boys also want to be zombies, and little girls always want to be princesses,” she added. Orcutt said traditional favorites for adults include nurses, witches, vampires, police and superhero outfits. She said the scary clown outfits are both loved — and feared — by customers. “People are always afraid of clowns,” Orcutt said as she walked past a particularly frightening clown on display. “I think it’s because they made those movies about them” from the Stephen King novels. Orcutt said the upcoming presidential election has also created a demand by adults for the masks of several candidates. “We’ll have the Donald Trump masks and we have the Hillary (Clinton) masks, we’ll have all the presidential masks,” she said of masks of past presidents, including Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon. “Presidents always do well,” she noted. Store owner Debbie VanScoter said a pattern she has noticed over the years is that people will shop for their children’s costumes first, and shop for themselves as the holiday draws closer. VanScoter said another trend she has seen is that more people are purchasing costumes possibly because of the convenience and quality of the outfits. “Nowadays, we sell more costumes than we rent, because they
Kate Day Sager/Olean Times Herald Paper Factory employee Cris Orcutt (foreground), models a Hillary Clinton mask at the North Union Street business as fellow employee Verity Schwindler (at rear) and a spooky witch observe. Masks of presidential candidates, such as Clinton and Donald Trump, are in demand this Halloween season.
are better quality these days,” VanScoter remarked. Shelly Baker of the Goodwill store in Bradford pointed out that, for do-it-yourselfers, the Goodwill has hats, tails, gloves, individual pieces of fabric and even full and partial Halloween apparel. Another possible way to put a costume together is to repurpose, instead of purchase, by looking around the house. Objects like torn pantyhose, old drapes and items in a junk drawer can supplement fabrics, dresses, hats and necessary accessories without spending anything at all. Meanwhile, Trisha Lombardo, marketing coordinator for Spirit Halloween in Olean, said Batman is “always a popular choice,” especially with the recent 75th anniversary and the movies that have rocked the box office over the past few years. There are plenty of options for men and women to be Batman, Robin or villains like the Joker, which is “a really fun spin on the current superhero craze,” she said. Interesting costumes and creations for this Halloween season include: The Ice Bucket Challenge (a good choice to not only further the awareness raised last year, but also to impose “challenges” on people), one or two of the many characters of AMC’s hit series “The Walking Dead” and characters from ABC’s “Once Upon A Time,” which incorporates fairy tales with pop culture to entice young adults and viewers of the hit show.
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Highest-grossing horror films perfect for Halloween Are you a scary movie buff? Do you relish in the building music and the jump-out-of-your-seat moments that unleash from you a primal scream? Many people share a love of scary movies and have made the horror genre one of the most popular. No month of the year celebrates horror movies more than October. Each October, movie theaters, television stations and viewers count down to Halloween with flick after flick featuring gore, suspense and pure horror. Many horror movies were inspired by classic literature, including works from Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, and Gaston Leroux. Horror films often incorporate mystery, suspense, supernatural elements, and fantasy in addition to themes that play on viewers’ fears. Evil creatures, witches, zombies, serial killers, and many additional nasty characters may appear in horror films. Horror film fans can trace scary movies’ origins back to the late 19th century. Some credit silent film pioneer George Méliés with creating the first horror movie, which was titled “La Manoir du Diable (The Manor of the Devil).” Japanese filmmakers also were instrumental in popularizing the horror genre. Popular literary characters, from Dracula to Dr. Frankenstein’s monster to Mr. Hyde to Quasimodo, have appeared in horror movies. Many horror movies have focused on the end of the world and the occult. Psychological horror movies also have proven quite popular with audiences, as have slasher movies, which became quite popular in the 1980s and 1990s. Many horror movie fans have a favorite subgenre, but many also will gladly watch any flick that puts a scare in them. Some horror movies have had more box office success than others, and the following are some notable horror movies that put a scare in viewers and some dollars in their producers’ pockets (figures courtesy of the Internet Movie Database). • “World War Z” ($202 million): A zombie pandemic is set to cripple the world, and one man races against time to stop it. • “What Lies Beneath” ($155 million): A woman believes her Vermont home is haunted by a ghost. • “Gremlins” ($148 million): This tale of pets that boast some
unusual qualities became a cultural phenomenon in the 1980s. • “The Blair Witch Project” ($141 million): When three film students disappear after investigating the legend of the Blair Witch, their documented footage sheds light on their fate. • “The Silence of the Lambs” ($131 million): Few filmgoers can forget Anthony Hopkins’ Oscar-winning turn as Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter, who works in conjunction with naive FBI cadet Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) to catch a vicious killer on the loose. • “The Ring” ($129 million): This film is a remake of a classic Japanese ghost story and made many viewers want to avoid their televisions after watching it.
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