Kryptic Army Mission: Oct. 2021 – Here There Be Witches

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Double, Double Toil and Trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble…

While some know of the witch-hunts in the Colonial America times, with the famous trials in Salem, or even all the witch-hunting that took place back in Europe from the 1400s to almost the 1800s. Some were accused because the god-fearing folk that feared “natural science” or didn’t want anything to go against their own religion or beliefs. Or they just wanted someone to blame for any bad luck that had befallen them or for any other countless human weakness. But witches and witchcraft goes back far beyond that era, even centuries before Christ and the birth of Christianity. I guess it just shows that humans have been persecuting each each other for quite some time, either out of sheer ignorance or something as simple as being different, or these “outcasts” were felt to be a threat to the “normal” way of living.

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Tommy Kirk – Rest in Peace

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Sure, while Tommy Kirk is best known for his roles in a plethora of Disney films, such as Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, and many others, you might be wondering why I would be mentioning his passing here on the Krypt. Well, like a lot of stars that “fall from grace”, they sometimes end up in some low-low-low budgeted films, which is exactly what happened with Kirk.

Disney had primed him to be an even bigger star in his youth, but once they found out that Kirk was gay, that was all it took and gave him the boot. At that time, it was hard to recover from that. Having bouts with drug addiction, which was not helping his career. After Disney, he started to work with A.I.P. in films like Pajama Party (1964), as well as working with director Bert I. Gordon in Village of the Giants (1965).

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Dr. AC’s Annual Scare-A-Thon!

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Dr. AC’s annual Scare-A-Thon is upon us once again, as he does his part to help the community through watching horror movies! As he puts it, it is Caring through Scaring! His goal is to not only watch 31 movies in 31 days, but to help show diversity, he is picking 31 movies from 31 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES! How’s that for going above and beyond!

Each year, AC choosing an organization that he feels not only needs the money, but also some more attention for the fine work they are doing. This year’s recipient is Albany Park Theater Project. When AC was telling me about this theater group, it had me really intrigued. The group is a a teen ensemble and adult artistic team that “amplifies and illuminates the voices and experiences of our immigrant and first-generation community.”

Created in 1997, works in “telling the stories of people whose voices are not always heard in ways that respect and honor them.” What a great way to help the next generation have a chance of making the needed changes we need today, as well as maybe possibly teaching something to their audience.

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Mystery Photo 9-27

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It is still officially Monday, so while I may be a wee bit late getting this posted, here it is! Our photo from last week was from Ted V. Mikels 1971 epic film The Corpse Grinders!!! You can almost hear the trailer, can’t you? Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Gary McGuire, Jason Siegel, and William Wilson. Well done!

For this week, I will say that it is a newer film but that is all the clues I will give. So take a peek, like the guy in the photo and see what comes knocking in the recesses of your mind. Remember to just send me your answer in an email (that way I don’t forget!) to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Music Box of Horrors Full Lineup

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Chicago’s own 24-hour horror movie marathon, The Music Box of Horrors, is back! While there are restrictions to attending (see website for all the details before buying your ticket), they have announced the full lineup for this year’s event. They don’t have the official times listed, but here are the films scheduled to play:

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Discover the Horror Podcast

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Yes, I am finally joining the league of podcasting. Kicking and screaming the whole time, but it looks like actually is going to happen. Had no idea the amount of work going into everything besides the actually recording the episodes, but hopefully in the next week or so, you’ll be able to see the results.

The name of the podcast is Discover the Horror, and your hosts for this, along with myself, are Damien Glonek, co-creatore of The Living Dead Dolls, and Aaron AuBuchon, who teaches film and video production and film studies at Webster University in St. Louis. We all share the passion of the horror genre, so our goal is fire up that same passion in other fans, getting them to seek out films, both old and new, and from around the world. Think of us as tour guides helping you along the path to Discover the Horror!

Stay tuned for updates on when our first episode goes live, which should be in a week or two. In the meantime, here are the links to our social media pages:

www.discoverthehorror.com
http://www.facebook.com/DiscovertheHorror
http://www.instagram.com/discoverthehorror/
http://twitter.com/DiscoverHorror

Mystery Photo 9-20

by in Mystery Photo

Welcome to another Monday, and another day closer to Halloween. But then again, we all know that Halloween is something we celebrate all year round. Well, maybe except eating all the candy … Let’s get down to business, shall we? Our last photo was from the 1974 film The Freakmaker, also known as The Mutations, starring the wonderfully entertaining Donald Pleasance and the very hidden Tom Baker. Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Brian Doering, Kevin Hart, Troy Howarth, Erik Martin, Lee Nattrass, Todd Warren. Well done indeed!

So this week’s photo might be pretty easy right off the bat. Or ax, as the case may be. Or maybe you think its that easy? Nothing like planting that little seed of doubt, huh? Take a peek and see what you think. Just send us an email with your answer to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Book Review: When Dracula Met Frankenstein

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When Dracula Met Frankenstein: My Years Making Drive-In Movies with Al Adamson
Published by Murania Press, 2021. 377 pages
By Sam Sherman

You can’t be a fan of exploitation cinema of the ‘60s and ‘70s and not know of Sam Sherman, either by name or the multitude of film titles that he had his fingers in. Sherman only has 28 credits as a producer, many of them for films directed by his good friend Al Adamson, but his mark on the film world is so much greater. He was an ad man who could come up with some of the best titles, promotional ideas, gimmicks, and all the other ballyhoo so memorable, sometimes more than the films themselves!

He is also the man that was responsible for introducing Paul Naschy to the states, when his company, Independent International, picked up Naschy’s Mark of the Wolfman when they were looking for a Frankenstein picture that they had already promised distributors. It featured two wolfmen and two vampires, but definitely no Frankenstein or his creature. But somehow, due to the creative genius of Sherman, Mark of the Wolfman now became Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror. If you don’t know the whole story already, then you’ll have to buy the book to find out!

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More Books for Your Library

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Since I’m always on a quest to add more titles to my ever-growing library of non-fiction titles on the horror genre, I’ve recently come across a few more that I wanted to let everyone know about. Most of these haven’t been released yet, or even listed on the publisher’s website just yet. But I figure the quicker I put them on your radar, you’ll look for them.

The first one is entitled Dead or Alive: British Horror Films 1980-1989, edited by Darrell Buxton. This one has been published by Midnight Marquee and you can order it either through Amazon or their site, though they don’t it listed just yet.

The next one has only been announced by the author, Bryan Senn, and that it is coming from BearManor Media, called Here There Be Monsters, which is a collection of interviews and essays on “Classics (And Not So Classic) Horror Cinema”. Coming from Senn, I’m sure it will be well worth the read!

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Flashback Weekend’s Dusk to Dawn Horror Fest!

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Want to head out to a good old-fashioned drive-in theater to see some horror classics, as well as a brand new title? Then start making your plans for this Saturday, Sept. 18th, to head out to the Midway Drive-In in Dixon, IL. Below is the schedule:

5:00PM – Horror vendors – socially distanced
7:30PM – Introduction – The Manson Brothers stars Mike Carey and Chris Margetis
8:00PM – The Manson Brothers Midnight Zombie Massacre (2021)
10:00PM – The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
12:00AM – Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
2:00AM – Bloodsucking Freaks (1976)

If you have not had the chance to see TCM on the big screen (and the screen at the Midway is HUGE being 90 feet across!!!) then now is your chance to experience it in a completely new way. Doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen it on your TV, the big screen is completely different.

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