Beautiful Jill McDonald front and back covers for this 1960s primary school English textbook, filled with lovely, thoughtful invitations to imagine, play with poems and write short creative pieces

Universal Horror (1998, dir. Kevin Brownlow) is a pretty solid, massively spoilerific history of the studio's classic horror cycle with lots of clips and background information. Talking heads include Sarah Karloff, Ray Bradbury, Gloria Stuart, Carla Laemmle, Fay Wray and a delighted James Karen.

Nearly at the end of a run through of the 1998 Universal horror documentary (narrated by Ken Branagh) and enjoying Ulmer's daughter Arianne relating how he based Poelzig on Fritz Lang, whom he considered a sadist

New newsletter-- “The abiding sense here is that physical reality, if we know how to approach it, will open up to reveal something deeper—a truer, more monstrous reality waiting out of sight.” On the 1925 Phantom of the Opera www.deadofnightletter.com/mask-mind-mo... #filmsky #horror

OLIVIA

One Step Beyond spends two episodes telling The Peter Hurkos Story, that story being newly discovered psychic powers after a fall leading him to fame, infamy and redemption as a solver of murder. It being One Step Beyond and Newland the episodes are elegant and compelling, even if it's all bollocks.

Blunder Boys (1955, dir. Jules White) marks Shemp's final exit from The Three Stooges, a Dragnet parody taking them from being soldiers to detectives-in-training and a disastrous hunt for The Eel, a 'slippery' (ouch) thief. A solid swan song for Shemp, going out with broad gags and extreme violence.

Minor in the scheme of things, I know, but still tickled at the WHSMITH band every time I pick up this edition of History of Movie Comedy by Janice Anderson

Hello Wednesday. 🖼️ Jill Barklem

A Dash Through the Clouds (1912, dir. Mack Sennett) is a fun Mabel Normand short in which her Martha is diverted from having the time of her life flying with real-life aviation pioneer Philip Parmelee so she can help her piece-of-shit boyfriend out of a jam when he tries it on with another woman.

TV Tuesday - The Buster Keaton Show "The Detective Story," 1951, finds Buster in the back of the Sporting Goods store where he is studying to be a detective. Falling asleep, he dreams that he is a private investigator. #ooldhollywood

On the 16th I’ll hosting a Q&A with writer Peter Harness alongside a screening of his 2005 adaptation of A View from A Hill. Before that I’ll be introducing an ultra rare screening of Andrew Davies’ adaptation of Poe’s Imp of the Perverse starring Michael Kitchen & Lalla Ward. Details:

Read a *terrible* essay earlier (they promised 'updated nuance' at the end after, you know, reading up on the topic) which was nicely contextualised by the rest of their posts being some okay photos and trashfire contrarianism and it really had that early 00s vibe to it. Blogging *is* back!

Wowsers, In A Lonely Place (Ray, 1950) is one heck of a motion picture. I hesitate to use the modern shorthand for something ultimately so much more complex and multilayered but it’s meta as absolute fuck. Insanely good script and phenomenal performances from Bogey and Gloria Grahame 🔥

This YouTube thumbnail from the BBC Archive looks like a lost Ghost Stories for Christmas episode...

Movie Monday - Buster Keaton's ‘His Ex Marks the Spot’, 1940 is a tale of astronomical alimony & an awful ex partner is punctuated by violent slapstick. #oldhollywood #damfino #busterkeaton

Municipal Dreams supremo John Boughton champions 60s expanded town Thetford in the latest episode of Monstrosities Mon Amour podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/m...

This Thursday, me & @benpester.bsky.social at Mount Florida books in Glasgow, won’t you join us please?

In 1921, acclaimed author Robert E. Sherwood declared that a film he reviewed was the world's worst movie. Cinematographer Byron Haskin said it was the most awful thing Hollywood ever made. It made Avengers: Endgame money. This is that movie. moviessilently.com/2025/11/02/m...

My book, Fulci's Inferno, is the first major new writing on Lucio Fulci in years, and the first to fully analyse the themes across his work. It analyses his entire career, and includes over 50 photos. This book took 8 years to research and write. I hope you're gonna love it. Link in bio.

The Gold Ghost (1934, dirs. Charles Lamont, Buster Keaton) has his spoiled rich son character Wally dumped, after which he drives from Boston to an abandoned Nevada town, meets a ghost, a gangster, and even deals with a gold rush. Slight but charming fun, Keaton as ever a master of physical comedy.

Before The Black Cat yesterday, @raynewman.bsky.social programmed Apaches, the 1977 directed by John Mackenzie. I'd never seen it before, so it was *fascinating* to see some fairly loose death statistics at its end used as a reason for 25 wild minutes of brutal deaths and weeping adults at funerals.

I was kind of hoping this might happen. Am I a bad person?

In each revisit to The Black Cat (1934, dir. Edgar G. Ulmer) I love something in this wonderful film more. This time? The tear slowly trickling from Werdegast's face, his heart breaking again when Poelzig shows him his awful basement. Karloff is beautiful death in this, Lugosi raging, defiant life.

Halloween 🎥 night: Terror at London Bridge (1985, dir. E.W. Swackhamer). What if there was a TV movie that kinda riffed on Jaws, but if it was set in Arizona and instead of a shark, a resurrected Jack the Ripper? David Hasselhoff is the cop who must ignore his bosses and stop the impossible killer.

Vibes

The Ghost Talks (1949, dir. Jules White) is a so-so Three Stooges short that resurrects plenty of old gags. It's worth it, though, for the general off-paced weirdness of it all: talking suits of armour, skeletons playing chess, the ol' bird in a skull bit, the random moments of inspired silliness.

FICTION: “This small monograph was compiled by members of the St Philips Folklore and History Society in order to record that which would otherwise be lost...” precastreinforced.co.uk/2025/10/30/f...

René Clair's PHANTOM OF THE MOULIN ROUGE tells the tale of a man whose consciousness separates from his body, leaving a lifeless shell behind until he returns. It's all fun and games until the police suspect murder, arrest the only hypnotist who can reunite body and soul, and order an autopsy.

Writing the Kolchak piece reminds me of just how abhorrently his creator Jeff Rice was treated, all because he had the audacity to ask for fair copyright treatment of him and his work. Modern theft of artist's work might wear different clothing, but the intent behind it is the same as it ever was.

Carl Kolchak: An Appreciation New post from me on a great collision of actor and character, and the films, shows and post-cancellation afterlife of one of the greats arowofopengraves.co.uk/2025/10/29/c...

Excluding the landmark Chaney film and a reinterpretation like PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE, this is the best PHANTOM movie I've seen. The Claude Rains and Herbert Lom flicks have their charms but don't click for me as a whole. This goes full-tilt paperback romance and is all the better for it.

ICYMI I wrote a vampire flash fic between yesterday evening and this morning, and you can read it in the thread below.

The Goat (1921, dirs. Buster Keaton and Mal St. Clair) finds Buster hungry, in trouble with the police and then REALLY in trouble with the cops when he is mistaken for the killer Dead Shot Dan. A wonderful, funny short, full of perfectly timed and delivered gags, incredible stunt work and direction.

The Terror (1911, dir. Albert Capellani) is a gripping 12ish minutes, telling of an actress returning home to find a would-be thief hiding under her bed. A primal fear, sure, but for me the terror of the title is for the increasingly panicked burglar trying to escape. Great directorial flourishes.

The nightmarishly surreal title sequence to SHADOWS OF FEAR (1970), ITV's incredibly nasty psychological horror/thriller anthology. Heavily reminiscent of Yellow Submarine, it's accompanied by Roger (Hammer House of Horror, George & Mildred) Webb's queasy cocktail jazz theme tune.

I wrote this collection of short stories inspired by classic radio horror shows, series like One Step Beyond and The Twilight Zone, British ghost stories, and my general predilection for the macabre. It really seems like the time of year you should be reading it*. *Other times of year are available

Happy 75th birthday to The Jack Benny Program on television, which began with Death watching a young couple smoke (for Halloween of course) and continued for 15 seasons (though I imagine the couple did not). Benny and his gang were something special. One of the television greats.

Let's take a ride... My next book is coming out with @faberbooks.bsky.social. Tales of the Suburbs: LGBTQ+ Lives Behind Net Curtains will be published March 12 2026. Preorder links in profile, and lots more on the book and the remarkable stories people told me to come over the next few months...

Kind of think it could have done with two more engaging leads and a lot more atmos but enjoyed Hands of the Ripper (Sasdy, 1971) a good deal. Some belting killings and it’s run through with rather a sad nurture-nature seam. Not a personal Hammer fave but very watchable nonetheless

👻 Ainsley’s Durham Almanac (1887) tells of Flass Well, haunted by Janet Ramshaw’s ghost. Since 1789, locals have spotted her eerie form and heard strange shrieks, keeping people away at night. Would you dare visit? 📖 Ref: XL 059.4281 AIN/15 #DurhamGhosts #DUCollections

Felix the Ghost Breaker (1923, dir. Otto Messmer) is a great, weird little cartoon. Felix tries to catch a nap on a grave (haven't we all?) only to be disturbed by a ghost who then causes chaos at a farmhouse. But Felix isn't convinced... Charming, wild, surreal, gorgeous horror-for-the-kids fun 🎃

Lonesome Ghosts (1937, dir. Burt Gillett), a little diversion that has bored phantoms calling up Mickey, Goofy and Donald's 'day and night' ghost extermination service and inviting them over just to fuck with them. The wild horror imagery of earlier cartoons is gone, but it's still good, silly fun.

Groucho Marx in an ad for the YOU BET YOUR LIFE board game. The quiz program debuted on radio #OTD in 1947 and added a TV version in 1950, making Groucho one of the new medium's biggest stars. #FilmSky

Another very enjoyable 7 minutes or so with a 'Walt Disney Comic', this time The Cat's Out (1931, dir. Wilfred Jackson). A cat tries to catch a bird, then falls foul of the residents of its Halloween-all-the-time nocturnal neighbours: giant birds and spiders, scarecrows, bats. Some beautiful frames.

Today's review covers TERROR (1911), a French suspense film directed by Albert Capellani that takes a primal fear-- there's something under my bed-- and builds a story around it. moviessilently.com/2025/10/26/t...

“This is a recording that documents the last days of Bush House... It takes as its initial source material indoors field recordings which were captured late at night in the empty rooms and corridors of the building towards the end of the BBC’s tenure...” ayearinthecountry.co.uk/the-ghosts-o...

The pilot film for Night Gallery is one of my favourite things Rod Serling did.

Talk of William Castle and it's not long until someone mentions his promotional gimmicks. Don't let that obscure that House on Haunted Hill (1959, dir. William Castle) is actually a gloriously cynical, mean, pretty solid horror-thriller. Goofy jump scares, arch acting, great atmosphere, lots of fun.

THE ADVENTUROUS AUTOMOBILE TRIP (1904) directed by Georges Méliès is the earliest example I have seen of the cinematic "fruit cart!" chase scene. Each character and every orange were meticulously hand-colored on every frame of every print by an army of skilled women with tiny brushes.