It’s a great debate: when does Fall officially start?  If you were to ask your Hostess, I would say that Fall starts on September 1^st, and honestly, it we could start having chilly sweater weather in August, I’d be fine with that, too.  But, if I was in charge of the change of seasons, we’d go from a steamy 85° on August 31^st to a delightfully chilly 65° on September 1^st.  Of course, I’m sure that this would wreak havoc on not only atmospheric forces, but also everyone’s sinuses.  What a wonderful plot for a horror film!

But, in all seriousness, I cannot wait for the real Fall weather to arrive.  Sweatshirts, jeans, boots, and scarves, hot chocolate, and pumpkin spice everything.  I want to put on a Halloween costume, jump in a leaf pile, and decorate my entire house with fake spiderwebs, Frankensteins, and bats.

And yet, even with the rain, it’s still warm enough for shorts and a t-shirt.  When I take a walk, I sweat because it’s so humid!  It’s almost October—when will the best time of the year finally arrive?

I'm going back to my coffin.  Rap on the lid when the good weather is here.

At our last meeting, we watched the hilarious horror/comedy, Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953).  For those of you who missed the meeting, let me tell you a little bit about the film.  In this side-splitter, two bumbling American cops, Slim and Tubby, travel to England to learn police tactics.  There, the pair get mixed up in trying to solve the case of a monstrous murderer who has been terrorizing the town.  The only problem is that no one realizes that the killer is beloved citizen, Dr. Jekyll!

We had a great turnout this month, with sixteen fiends joining us for the film.  Thanks to everyone who attended.  And a special thanks to Anita, who gave me a sweet and spooky surprise!  I'll talk about that later in the newsletter!

We had TWENTY-FIVE familiar faces this month, so in the interest of time (and newsletter space being at a premium), I’m going to make this as short and painless as possible.  First, let’s focus on those actors who need no introduction.  Our heroes (and villain) were Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, and Boris Karloff, all of whom have made appearances in our films before.  Our other leading man as Craig Stevens as the amorous Bruce Adams.  Craig was also in The Deadly Mantis (June 2024) as Joe Parkman.

There were several actors cast in uncredited roles as “bobbies,” or British policemen.  So, let’s take a look at them next.  Chuck Hamilton was also cast as “corpse on the back of a pickup truck” in The Monolith Monsters (March 2022) and as a policeman in The Deadly Mantis (July 2024).  Hank Mann (who was specifically the bobby in the museum) was a waiter in Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (September 2022).  Clive Morgan was a plainclothesman in The Lodger (April 2018)—the version with Laird Cregar.  Michael Hadlow was an uncredited “flunkey” in The Strange Door (February 2018), and Bob Reeves was an operator in The Day the Earth Stood Still (May 2017).  Finally, we have Brick Sullivan, who was a Dugan Detective School graduate in Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (December 2023).

And let’s jump ahead to our uncredited extras who were featured in the park.  We have Jimmy Aubrey (man sleeping in park) who was also a townsman in Dead Men Walk (December 2019); Walter Bacon (observer in park) was a church member in Psycho (May 2015); Harry Cording (rough character in the park) was Thamal in The Black Cat (June 2017); and Ken Terrell (second heckler in park) was Joe Marcellia in The Indestructible Man (February 2021).

Wilson Benge (stage doorman) was a vigilante in The Lodger with Laird Cregar (April 2018); John Rogers (drunk in pub) was also in The Lodger as a “down and outer”.  Mob member Bert Stevens was an intelligence officer in Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (November 2017).  Harry Wilson was the man asking for a match.  He also appeared in our April 2016 film as Harry in Hold that Ghost.  And finally, we’ll wrap this list up with Duke Johnson (juggler) and Paul Kruger (wax figure).  Duke was also a juggler in Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (clearly he had a real talent for it!).  And Paul was a constable in The Invisible Man (July 2016).  Whew!

Oh, and finally, I wanted to point out what while he might not be a familiar face from our previous films, actor John Dierkes, who played the doctor’s creepy assistant, Batley, was a native of Cincinnati, Ohio!

This last meeting came with some wonderful surprises!  And I wanted to take a moment to express my especial gratitude to our fiend, Anita, for thinking of me!  As a lifelong fan of spooky stuff and of course, now as a Horror Hostess, I'm always looking for creepy new display pieces, props, and more to decorate my workspace, living space, and of course, our meeting space.  So, you can imagine how excited I was when Anita gifted me two lovely pieces: a little light-up vampire (I was told Dominic called him "Count Small") and a beautiful exotic plant (I think it's an iris).

I'm actually a huge fan of classic "blown plastic mold" models.  So, this dear little Dracula friend is absolutely perfect!  He's small and cute, he lights up, and he looks awesome!  And of course, creepy plants certainly play a big role in horror films, from Audrey Two in Little Shop of Horrors to the mariphasa of Werewolf of London.  But, "eye" think that I can safely say that a plant that is always watching you is a wonderful addition to my own creepy collection and I'm so excited for the rest of you to "see" it, too!

So I would like to express my warmest thanks to Anita for the delightfully devious decorations!  I can't wait to show them off!

Thank you for joining us for another piece of classic horror!  I look forward to seeing you all next time.  In our next film, a mad killer known as "The Face" is causing a reign of terror!  Even worse, the killer is suspected to be a werewolf!  When a young woman's fiancé is framed for the monster's latest crime, will the couple be able to clear his good name, or will they all become victims of "the face at the window"?  You'll have to join us to find out!

This next meeting is our Halloween party!  Join us for some extra treats and a trivia game!