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Family gatherings can be murder. Even worse if you are not a member of the immediate family. As we head into this year’s holiday season, I have no doubt that many reading this will feel that even more acutely than in the past. Sure, there will be the usual gathering around the table (or in front of the TV with paper plates if you’re anything like my family), food will be served, drink will be had, and conversation will abound, but the latter especially could lead to more than a little family tension. Which is why William Castle’s classic 1959 film House on Haunted Hill feels especially appropriate for this edition of Gods and Monsters as we approach Christmas 2024. You may well feel like a stranger among strangers this year, as the guests of eccentric millionaire Frederick Loren (Vincent Price) and his wife Annabelle (Carol Ohmart) no doubt do.

[This Halloween season, we're paying tribute to classic horror cinema by celebrating films released before 1970! Check back on Daily Dead this month for more retrospectives on classic horror films, and visit our online hub to catch up on all of our Halloween 2019 special features!]

“Only the ghosts in this house are glad we’re here.” While William Castle didn’t invent the “strangers meeting in a singular location under sinister circumstances” motif that was at the heart of House on Haunted Hill back in 1959, it was Castle’s late ’50s shocker that repopularized it amongst movie fans in America, with the help of his “Emergo” gimmicks, and building on the grand success of Macabre just a year prior.

Castle put out a lot of memorable horror jaunts during his career, and even 60 years since House on Haunted Hill first thrilled audiences with its supernaturally charged mystery, its influence looms over the realm of genre storytelling and is still being felt today. Like many of Castle’s genre efforts, it delivered up immersive thrills and chills, and House became yet another major turning point in Castle’s career as well, cementing his legacy as the...

1967: The Doctors' Matt was annoyed to find Nick and John

arguing again. 1986: Ryan's Hope's& Rick wanted more time with

Ryan. 1995: One Life to Live's Viki remembered Tori killed

Victor. 2003: As the World Turns' Rose D'Angelo died."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."

― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1957: On The Edge of Night, Ed Parmalee (Les Damon) confessed his guilt to Mike Karr (John Larkin) about stabbing Bruce Thompson in the back.

1967: On The Doctors, Dr. Matt Powers (James Pritchett) interrupted the latest heated argument between Dr. Nick Bellini (Gerald Gordon) and Dr.

1967: The Doctors' Matt was annoyed to find Nick and John

arguing again. 1986: Ryan's Hope's& Rick wanted more time with

Ryan. 1995: One Life to Live's Viki remembered Tori killed

Victor. 2003: As the World Turns' Rose D'Angelo died."History is a vast early warning system."

― Norman Cousins

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1957: On The Edge of Night, Ed Parmalee (Les Damon) confessed his guilt to Mike Karr (John Larkin) about stabbing Bruce Thompson in the back.

1967: On The Doctors, Dr. Matt Powers (James Pritchett) interrupted the latest heated argument between Dr. Nick Bellini (Gerald Gordon) and Dr. John Rice (Terry Kiser).

1970: Actress Carolyn Craig,...

Ghosts are famous for their flexibility, spiraling through keyholes and up from the floorboards in search of their next mark. But movies about ghosts can be flexible too. Three classics of the genre, The Uninvited, House on Haunted Hill and The Innocents, demonstrate that there’s more than one way haunt a house.

These films never appeared on any triple bill that I know of, but I’d like to think they did, somewhere in some small town with a theater manager that knew a good scare when he saw it. How could the programmer resist it? Each film is united by a beautiful black and white sheen, eerie locales and their ability to scare the bejeezus out of you. But they’re also alike in their differences, coming at their specters from distinctly different vantage points.

1944’s The Uninvited, a three-hankie haunted house tale with a dysfunctional family subplot,...

The first Vincent Price collection from Scream Factory was a pure treasure. When October rolls around, almost nothing puts me in the Halloween mood like a constant stream of Vincent Price films on my TV. Never did I think that Scream could improve upon their original price collection, but when the films that would be included in this new set were announced, I was shocked. The first Vincent Price Collection has some really solid Price films, mostly of a Poe nature, and it was one of the most exciting releases of the year for fans of classic horror. The second set, drops the Poe theme(mostly), and includes some of Price’s most famous, well-regarded films, including a couple of my favorites. The list of films is impressive, and there are extras on most of the films. The packaging is consistent, and equally pleasing to the eyes. Scream Factory’s...

The first Vincent Price collection that was released by Scream Factory is a thing of beauty. It was announced recently that they would bringing us a second collection of Vincent Price films on Blu-ray, and I couldn’t be any more excited about it than I already am. Well, maybe I can be, because Scream Factory just released the full details of the set, and it’s going to be a good one. Check out the press release below, and please click here to pre-order your own copy of this collection, which streets on October 21. Man, October is really upon us, isn’t it?

The Vincent Price Collection II

Featuring The First-ever Blu-ray™ Presentation Of

The House On Haunted Hill (1959), The Return Of The Fly (1959),

The Comedy Of Terrors (1963), The Raven (1963),

The Last Man On Earth (1964), The Tomb Of Ligeia (1964),

And Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)

In Stores Everywhere On October...