Author Archives: Jon Kitley

Music Box of Horrors 2024

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This weekend, we’ll be heading back into Chicago for this year’s 24-hours of insanity, known as the Music Box of Horrors. This annual event is one that I look forward to every year and it just keeps getting better and better, as well as more popular than ever. The fact that this year’s marathon sold out before maybe even half of the titles had been announced is just insane! That tells me that the Music Box programmers have not only continued to have a solid lineup each and every year, but that they’ve built up the trust of the fans that will buy their tickets right away, not knowing or caring what the lineup is going to be, because they know it will be worth it. This year is no different.

Of course, we will be set up there in the lounge, pimping our usual wares of horror reference books, urging fans to dive deeper into this wonderful film genre that we all love. Might have some new and interesting titles for you to peruse so make sure you stop by our table and check it out. Or, just to say hello and chat. We love nothing more than talking about horror films!

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DtH Episode 81 – Fangoria

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Four decades on, and Fangoria is still one of the leading voices of horror culture.  But in it’s heyday in the 1980s, it was the gold standard. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that Fangora was the most important part of horror culture at that time.  On this episode of Discover the Horror, we take a trip through Fango’s history and discuss how it shaped out love of the genre, as well as speculating on how it shaped the genre as a whole.  

Movies mentioned in this episode:

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New Little Shoppe Coming

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That’s right folks, issue # 51 from one of the longest running horror magazines out there, Little Shoppe of Horrors, is now taking orders for their new issue, which features a stunning cover of Nosferatu (1922). Sure, it’s not a Hammer film, but since there is Robert Eggers’ new version coming out in December, LSoH is taking this opportunity to have their usual in-depth “making of” on the very first adaptation of Stoker’s novel, with the article “The Plague of Nosferatu: The Making of a Vampire” by Rolf Giesen, who has written a couple of books on the subject, The Nosferatu Story (read our review of it HERE) and Golem, Caligari, Nosferatu.

Also, to tie into this, there will be an article entitled “Victims of his Imaginations” – Bram Stoker and an unmade Hammer title.

Then there is a couple of features on the sci-fi/horror film The Damned, as well as a piece on Hammer’s first horror title with “The Making of the Mystery of the Mary Celeste”.

Plus, all the usual goodies that LSoH pages are filled with. You can order your copy now by going to their website HERE.

Mystery Photo 10-14

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It’s just about halfway to Halloween. I hope everyone has been enjoying the first 14 days of it. I know for us, it’s been a bit crazy busy, but we wouldn’t want it any other way. Our photo from last week was from the 2014 film It Follows. I hadn’t seen it since it first came out and rewatching it on the new 4K release (which looks fantastic) and I had forgotten just how damn good and scary that film is. We only had one correct answer sent in and that was from Hoby Abernathy. Well done, Sir!

This week’s photo is a hot one! Sorry . . . too easy to not to take. But give it a look and see if you know which film this is from. Remember to send me your guess in an email to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

More Horror Soundtracks!

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As a collector in general, it can be pretty tough (and expensive) to keep up with some of the amazing things coming out that you want to add to your collection. Horror soundtracks is one thing that I’m a sucker for. Ever since seeing Jaws and realizing then just how much a great score can have an effect on the viewer, soundtracks have been on my brain. They can take you on a musical journey that transport your brain to the film playing in your head, as well as triggering the memories and feelings you had during certain sequences.

Star Wars was the first soundtrack I ever bought, but more followed. Every time I am working at my computer or reading, I have a soundtrack playing in the background. There are scores that I buy because I remember the score being effective. Then there are others that I simply buy because I can’t believe someone is actually releasing it on CD! I think “who else is going to buy this release besides me?!?!”

Here are some of the titles that have been recently announced for release, most of which I have already pre-ordered!

The Golden Age of Horror Vol. 1
Released from Dragon’s Domain Records, this CD contains scores from Hammer’s 1963 film Paranoiac, and Amicus’ Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors and The Skull, both from 1965. All were composed by Elisabeth Lutyens, who was Britain’s first female feature film composer, so it’s great to see a little attention being given to her!

Retail price is only $17.95, with a total running time of 75:31. If this is anything like their Golden Age of Science Fiction releases, this will not only be a great addition to any collection, but since this is Vol. 1, one can only dream of what might be coming next!

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Terror Tuesdays at the Sulzer Library!

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Thank you to those that came out to our first entry into this year’s Terror Tuesdays at the Sulzer Regional Library. It was a lot of fun, but that’s just the beginning! Next Tuesday, October 15th, Aaron Christensen and I will continue our weekly lectures on the horror genre, with this month’s subject being Women in Horror. For this week’s lecture, we focus on Women Directors that have worked in the horror genre.

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Women in Horror Book Titles

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For those out there interested in diving into the horror history that features women, whether it be as a scream queen, screenwriter, director, or whatever else, there are plenty of volumes of titles dedicated to just this type of learning. So, I’ve listed a few of them below with the details in case you’re interested in doing a little more digging.

1000 Women in Horror
by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
Published by BearManor Media, July 2020
600 pages.

This is a massive volume that covers a lot of ground here, with interviews, photos, and plenty of information.

You can also read our book review on this HERE. Or click HERE for the Amazon link.

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Mystery Photo 10-7

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Almost missed it, but not quite yet! Welcome to our first Mystery Photo of October! Before we get to today’s pic, let us review last week. It was from Roger Corman’s The Undead (1957), starring the lovely Allison Hayes! Congratulations to Hoby Abernathy, Kevin Hart, Bob Hartman, Christopher Highland, Bryan Senn, and Mike Shields for sending in the correct answer! Great job!

Now to this week’s photo. It might be a tough one. It also might be easy. But either way, take a look at it and see if you can identify it. Just remember to send your answer to me in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

DtH Episode 80 – Blood Thirsty Trilogy

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The Vampire Doll (1970), Lake of Dracula (1971), and Evil of Dracula (1974).

In the annals of Japanese horror cinema, this vampire trilogy from director Michio Yamamoto seems to be close to escaping into obscurity. In fact, try finding much more than a passing mention of these films in any reference books. But thanks to Arrow Video, all three of these films are at least saved from fading away in the sunlight like any good vampire, in one fantastic box set! Because these seemed to be on the outskirts of the vampire genre, we thought it would be a great opportunity for us to take a closer look at them, and to see if they need more attention. Listen and find out!

Films mentioned in this episode:

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Library Lectures on Horror History

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Since it’s now October, that means that Aaron Christensen and I will be doing our annual Terror Tuesday lectures at the Sulzer Regional Library! The first lecture is next Tuesday, Oct. 8th, starting at 6:30pm. The series this year will all be focusing on Women in Horror, with the first lecture on the Queens of Screams, where we will go over some of the talented faces that we’ve seen over the years in our favorite horror films, from Fay Wray to Bette Davis to Jamie Lee Curtis to Linnea Quigley, and many more.

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