One of the things that’s weird about covering the older spectrum of horror films is that it’s a bit harder to find published resources about the flicks, in particular from the time when they were in production or being screened in theaters. Sure, there are the odd, old film reviews that some newspapers have archived, but the only real publication that was covering horror in any sort of meaningful way was Famous Monsters of Filmland. But that magazine is very…hammy. It’s an odd duck of a publication that seems to be 50% advertisements, 35% photos, and the leftover 15% is a mix of groan-inducing puns and really bad jokes with a few tidbits thrown in here and there. Typically when they covered a movie it wasn’t an article on the production, but rather a Cliffs Notes breakdown of the film that is chapterized and full of photos. I suppose that if you missed the film in theaters at the time this was the only way your could experience the story, or relive it if you did see it in the theaters. These days, in the era of streaming movie libraries and an ocean of films available on home video, that kind of quaint filler is just plain weird.
So, all of that said, I still thought it might be fun to share the September 1960 article on 13 Ghosts (issue number 8) From Famous Monsters of Filmland. Just be forewarned that the puns might kill you…
As an additional treat during this Halloween season I thought I’d also share this FMoF William Castle career overview piece that the magazine ran ever couple years (and would update with any new film releases.) This one is from issue 53, January 1969.
Enjoy…
