Chicago’s own Music Box Theatre has announced the date for this year’s Music Box of Horrors, which will take place on Saturday, October 24th, starting at noon! We can all hope that things will be back to some sort of normality so us devious horror fans can enjoy another 24 hours of madness! I missed last year’s marathon because we were at an out-of-town show so this year we are hoping to make our return!

So far, they only have two titles announced, but I gotta say, they’ve picked to stellar movies! The first one is one of the last great pictures from the King of Ballyhoo, William Castle! Joining forces with Joan Crawford, we get Strait-Jacket (1964), with this twisted tale of axe-murderer on the loose. Screening from a 35mm print!

Also, a very rare treat is a 35mm screening of Amando de Ossorio’s Demon Witch Child (1975), starring Spanish regulars Lone Fleming & Julia Saly. Also known as The Possessed, this may not be the best in the Spanish director who invented the Blind Dead, but it is a lot of fun, especially when enjoyed in a theater full of other horror fans. I think both of these will play nicely at this year’s event.

They will also be holding a tribute to the late great Stuart Gordon, who we recently lost. Gordon had made an guest appearance at one of the previous Music Box marathons and he was (as he always was) such a great guy and so much fun. No details on the tribute, but whatever they pull from his filmography will be worth it.

Tickets are on sale now, only $25 if you purchase them before May 31st. Then they go up to $30 until the day before the event. If you wait until the last day, it will be $35. And remember, last year’s marathon sold out. So don’t wait too long to get your tickets.