Author Archives: Jon Kitley

Book Review: The Creature Chronicles

by in Reviews: Horror Reference Book and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

creaturechroniclesThe Creature Chronicles: Exploring the Black Lagoon Trilogy
Published by McFarland, 2014. 408 pages.
By Tom Weaver, David Schecter, & Steve Kronenberg

This should be a very simple review. If you want to know anything about Creature from the Black Lagoon, or its two sequels, Revenge of the Creature and/or The Creature Walks Among Us, then just buy this book. Just about anything and everything you need to know about those films is in this book. Tom Weaver, along with Schecter and Kronenberg, have researched and compiled so much information, from the cast and crew, premieres, design teams, press, music, down to all the screenwriters involved in them, all here in this book. It even has an introduction by Creature star Julia Adams.

Continue reading →

Little Shoppe of Horrors #42 Coming!

by in Misc. Ramblings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

LSoH42Richard Klemensen has been putting out Little Shoppe of Horrors for 47 years. Let that sink in a minute. Close to a half a century. If that doesn’t show the passion this man has, for his love of Hammer Films, as well as other British horror films, to keep going this long I don’t know what else would. Not to mention that the information within the amazing artwork he always has for his front and back covers, is top-notch, filled with plenty of information and stories about these classic movies that we love. So why not continue to support these independent, old-fashion, print magazines, and help keep them alive, by ordering the newest issue of LSoH now!

What is in the new issue, you ask? Ever hear of Village of the Damned, starring George Sanders and Barbara Shelley? It’s one of the best of British horror cinema from that era and is the cover story of this new issue. With an amazing cover by Steve Karchin, you’ll get to learn all about the making of Village in the Anthony McKay’s essay. There is also an interview with Max Rosenberg, who was co-founders of Amicus Films, as well as part 1 of The Hammer Diaries of Christopher Wicking. Wicking wrote three films for Hammer and worked for them for almost three years, where he kept a diary when he was a Script Supervisor. So you’ll get to read all the insights of went on during the early ’70s as Hammer was struggling to stay afloat.

All this and all the usual great things that make this one of my favorite magazines and one that I pick up religiously. I’m still in the process of ordering all the back issues that came out before I started buying it with issue #8, back in…1984!!!

You can place your order now by heading over to their website HERE. Keep showing your support by ordering your copy now! Issue #42 will be shipping out May 6th.

Mystery Photo 4-22

by in Mystery Photo and tagged | Leave a comment

Yes, we’re back once again for our Monday morning Mystery Photo. After attending two conventions in two weeks, it was pretty tiresome. Since we weren’t vending, that meant we were on our feet most of the time. Oof. Getting too old for that stuff. Anyway, the last photo we had was from the 1971 giallo L’iguana dalla lingua di fuoco, or better known in the states as The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire. Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Troy Howarth, Bryan Martinez, Lee Nattrass, & Gavin Schmitt. Well done!

Now here is this week’s photo. It might be pretty easy, but this is my little wink at what just ended yesterday, so I hope you’ll forgive my indulgence. But either way, easy or not, please make sure you do not post your answers here, so that others do have a chance. Just send your guess to us at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

mp042219

Book Review: The Lady from the Black Lagoon

by in Reviews: Horror Reference Book and tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Lady from the Black LagoonThe Lady from the Black Lagoon
Published by Hanover Square Press, 2019. 368 pages.
By Mallory O’Meara

As a horror historian (sounds such more impressive than horror fan, doesn’t it?), anytime some light can be shed on someone important in the genre, especially when that light was purposely taken away from them, then I’m all for it.

If you were to just go by the screen credits in those classic movies, you’d never know about some of the thousands of people that actually worked on them. This isn’t anything new either, since a LOT of people go without given due credit. That’s just the business. But when that business included someone taking credit for someone else’s work, even getting rid of said person because they were starting to get their deserved credit, then that that error needs to be fixed,  especially when we’re talking about the creation of one of the famous Universal Monsters. Helping do that is author Mallory O’Meara with this new book on Milicent Patrick, the woman who actually designed the Gill Man from Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Continue reading →

Did You Rondo Yet?

by in Misc. Ramblings and tagged | Leave a comment

rondobanner

Tomorrow is the cut off for voting on this year’s Rondo Awards for 2018. So if you haven’t taken a few minutes to pick your favorites and send them in, then don’t delay! There are a lot of hard working people out there promoting the genre that could always use a bit of cheering to show their work matters. Even being nominated is an honor, but bringing home the little bust of Rondo is even better. So take a few minutes, vote with your heart, and make someone’s day.

You can get to the voting ballot by clicking HERE. Just copy and paste it in an email to David Colton at taraco@aol.com.

rondo

Evilspeak #6 Now Out!

by in Misc. Ramblings and tagged | Leave a comment

Evilspeak6Just when you thought it was dead and buried, Evilspeak rises from the depths of hell to deliver once again, a magazine filled with horror! Just like it always has! And issue # 6 is filled with the usually demented drooling and drawings that you’ve come to love.

Within these pages, you’ll find coverage on movies such as Night of the Demon (1980), A Candle for the Devil (1973), Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981), The Brain (1988), Seven Women for Satan (1976), Pin (1988), and more. There’s even interviews with the likes of Chris Reifert and Elizabeth Shepherd, not to mention filled with the amazing artwork through the issue.

All you need to do is click HERE to order your copy now! And if you’re missing any of the previous issues, why not order them as well before they are all gone!

New Lugosi and Dracula Books

by in Book News and tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Thanks to BearManor Media, fans of Bela Lugosi and of Universal’s Son of Dracula just might be adding a couple of new book titles to their library! I know I will be.

The first book, Scripts from the Crypt # 9: Son of Dracula is written by Gary D. Rhodes, Tom Weaver, Dr. Robert Kiss, and Robert Guffey and contains all the wonderful information in this series of books. You’ll get the production history, fun facts, the pressbook, essays by Robert Siodmak and Curt Siodmak, as well as the script! These are great titles when you’re wanting to more about a particular film. You can get the softcover edition for $29.95 or the hardcover edition for $39.95.

Continue reading →

Fantastic Films of the Decades – Vol. 3

by in Book News and tagged , , | Leave a comment

Fantastic Films of the Decades vol 3Coming out next month, Peveril Publishing will be unleashing the latest edition of their incredible series, Fantastic Films of the Decades – Volume 3: The 40s Part 1! We have many of Peveril’s books and they truly are works of art. Just beautiful to page through and look at the incredible layouts and photos. Of course, the information in them is just as good! And now, you can add the latest edition to your own library.

With another limited release of only 500 copies,  you don’t want to be left out. There are a few copies left of the first two volumes, so you still have a chance to get caught up, which I would highly recommend.

For more information on the release, head over to their website HERE.

 

 

 

Busy, Busy, Busy

by in Conventions, Misc. Ramblings and tagged , | 1 Comment

 

Monsterpalooza banner

I know the updates here have been getting farther and farther apart it seems but have no fear. The Krypt is not close to shutting its doors anytime in the near future. I have just been crazy busy. My work in the real world has been utter chaos which has me questioning my career choice every single day. Plus, I’ve got some big writing deadlines I’m working on, not to mention trying to get the book to the final stages before going to the design and layout stage. So while the updates aren’t as regular right now, they will be back. I promise.

Adding to the things taking me away from the site is a couple of cons. Last weekend, for the very first time, the wife and I attended Cinema Wasteland not as dealers, but as regular fans. I gotta admit, it was pretty strange. There were several times during the weekend that I had a momentary thought that I needed to get back to my table. But it was fun hanging out with our friends, spending way too much money, and still getting very little sleep over the three days. And can’t wait to do it again.

But this weekend, we’re off for another first. We’re heading to the West Coast for our very first Monsterpalooza! I’ve been hearing about this show for years, so this time we decided to make it happen, and I’m really excited about it. So I would expect plenty of photos to be posted on our Facebook page over those three days. And we’ll get to actually visit Dark Delicacies as well!

So if you’re coming out to the show this weekend, maybe we’ll see you! Just look for the guy in the Kitley’s Krypt shirt with his eyes bulging out of his head at all the amazing displays!

Mystery Photo 4-1

by in Mystery Photo and tagged | Leave a comment

Don’t worry… no April Fool’s joke here. Even if I thought about it, been way too busy to even have time to come up with a good one. So instead we’ll just concentrate on our Mystery Photo this week. Last week’s photo wasn’t from a movie, but instead a TV series from the early ’70s, Sept. 15th, 1972 to be precise. The TV show was called Ghost Story and this particular episode was called The Dead We Leave Behind, starring Jason Robards and Stella Stevens. This episode in particular really gave me the creeps back then, and I think it still holds up to today as well. If you get chance to see any of these old episodes, especially this one, I would recommend it. Hoby Abernathy and Michael Shields were the only one to send in the correct answer. But don’t feel bad, this was a tough one.

So let’s go with something maybe a little easier. Maybe. Give it a peek and see what you think! As always, please don’t post your guess here so others can have a guess. Just send them to me via email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

mp040119