On this date in 1979, the first film in a popular haunted house franchise hit screens. On July 27, The Amityville Horror was unleashed and became a box-office success worldwide. The film starred James Brolin, Margot Kidder, and Rod Steiger and was an adaptation of the novel of the same name by author Jay Anson. Of course, the film told of the ( Read more... )

As The Haunting in Connecticut feature film adaptation (I have to admit, the A&E made-for-tv version was very creepy) is about to hit theaters later this month, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at another well known adaptation of a reputedly true story in the original 1979 The Amityville Horror.  In this case, the house and ( Read more... )

With the remake of Friday the 13th raking in the money at the box office over the last two weekends, it seems appropriate that we take a trip to the original camp that doubled as Camp Crystal Lake - Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco in New Jersey. The camp is privately owned by NNJC Boy Scouts of America and is completely off-limits to Friday the 13th fans - in ( Read more... )

Happy Birthday to Betsy Palmer. The actress turns 82 today on All Saints Day. Betsy has been acting in films since the 1950s and continues to work; acting in last year's Bell Witch: The Movie, another movie based on the stories of the Bell Witch in Tennessee.

However, Betsy is most often remembered for her role as Pamela Voorhees in Friday the 13th ( Read more... )

20 years have now passed since cartoonist Charles Addams was found dead, slumped over the steering wheel of his car on September 29, 1988. Addams had succumbed to a heart attack at the age of 76. For 48 years he'd been a full-time cartoonist for the New Yorker, with another 8 years of doing spec work prior to that.

Charles was born and raised in ( Read more... )

Today's New York Times has a write-up on a group of individuals known as the Devil Hunters, who explore the Pine Barrens of New Jersey looking for the elusive, but well known, Jersey Devil.  According to the legends, the story of the Jersey Devil dates back to the 18th Century with some even pinpointing the year 1735 as the date of its birth.  The ( Read more... )