I know there were some of us wondering if we’d ever make it to the end of 2020. Only another week to go, but looks like we have survived. Or at least most of us. While this pandemic still rages on, we can only hope things will look much brighter going forward, as long as we all play it smart, and take those precautions to keep yourself safe, as well as others.

That “others” part really is the key here, folks. Too many times we care about ourselves and not those “others”. This needs to change and can so easily do so with the simplest of actions.

I know this time of year, everyone puts on their holiday face and tries to be cheery and spread joy to others. But let us see if we can’t continue that once the holiday is over. Give someone a smile. Tell a worker at whatever store you are at that you appreciate what they are doing. If you are being served, in a bar or restaurant and get good service, maybe tip them more than you normally would, with a positive word or two. Maybe they’ve been having a bad day and are really struggling with life. You have the power to maybe change that person’s life at that very moment. Or maybe you just make their day with a nice tip, showing them that not all customers are jerks. And then continue that throughout the year.

Without any conventions for us this year, we have deeply missed our extended family, our friends from our horror community. But like real families, we know we’ll be seeing them again, hopefully sooner than later. We can only hope they are doing well and making sure we try to keep in contact with them as well, even if just to say hello and Happy Holidays. Friendship is one of the best presents one can get and receive, today more than ever. It really is the gift that keeps on giving.

Okay… enough of that sentimental crap. Wishing everyone out there a Very Scary Christmas to everyone out there from us at the Krypt. Try to get a couple of horror movies in while you’re (hopefully) off for the holiday! And if all goes well, maybe we’ll see you on the road again next year. Until then, be good to yourself, and others, and Keep Discovering the Horror!

I couldn’t let today go by without wishing a Happy Birthday to the one and only Boris Karloff. Out of all the favorites in the movie world, he is at the top for me. Partly because of his portrayal of the creature in Frankenstein (1931), but also the countless other roles he appeared in over the years. Not to mention being one of kindest movie monsters out there. He was gone from this world when I was only 3 1/2 years old, but his work made a huge and lasting impact on my own life.

So for that, I, like plenty of other horror fans, am eternally grateful for the work that he has left us to continue to enjoy, over and over.

Pamela Franklin
Born February 3rd, 1950

The first movie I rented after buying my first VCR was The Legend of Hell House (1973) and it has remained one of my all-time favorites to this day. One of the reasons for that is because of one of the stars of that film, Pamela Franklin. I would learn and discover more of her work in the genre, especially the one she made her screen debut in, as little Flora in Jack Clayton’s The Innocents (1961), where she was only 11 years old at the time. But she also appeared in other titles such as Hammer’s The Nanny (1965), Necromancy (1972) and Food of the Gods (1976) both for Bert I. Gordon, and the original versions of both And Soon the Darkness (1970) and Satan’s School for Girls (1973).

Franklin always seemed to play the woman in peril, probably because of her beautiful innocent eyes and face. But no matter what she was in, we have always found her very memorable and entertaining, and still remains one of our favorite actresses from that period. Shame she left the business in the early ’80s. We highly recommend seeking out some of her films if you haven’t seen them already. And go watch The Innocents again. If only because it really is THAT good!