Most film critics would look at William Castle and see a cheap, low-budget schlockmeister, though Castle probably wouldn’t mind that title! But what some fail to see is that Castle did exactly what he set out to do, and that to make the movie-going experience to be fun. While Hitchcock set up things to build the hype of his movies, like not being allowed to go into see Psycho (1960) once the film had started, Castle went beyond that. If you want your audience to scream during your movie… then just tell them to! And nobody did this better than William Castle.

Thankfully for me, and a lot of other Chicago area movie fans, not only do we have the Music Box Theatre, but we have it run by a bunch of similar minded fans. Recently, they paid tribute to Castle by not only screening 5 of his films but going above and beyond the ballyhoo to give audiences a true “Castle experience”. There were punishment polls, ghost viewers, tinglers running amok, flying skeletons, and even an axe-wielding Joan Crawford! While heading into the city, especially in the evening rush hour can be a wee bit nerve-wracking, taking me on average about a 2-hour commute, I did it three nights in a row. I mean, how could I pass up the opportunity? The funny thing was that no matter how stressful or frustrating the drive was, once I walked into the Music Box, all of that was forgotten. Like I had moved into some sort of sanctuary, with a wave of content and peacefulness surrounding me, telling me that everything was once again, right in the world. Even if it was only for 90-minutes.