Highlights Archives
The Return of the Curse of Horror Week!!!
It's creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky, and it's underway at the Wisconsin Historical Museum — the third annual Horror Week Extravaganza! This year's cursed weeklong celebration of the demented and the macabre features a terrible triumvirate of "horror-some" activities to appeal to your devilishly delightful side — Morbid movies! Wisconsin werewolves! Activities that will let your little demons create their own spooky Halloween hat or creepy crawler!
The museum is hosting several daily films, each shown at noon and 2 p.m. On Wednesday, October 25, thrill to Gammera the Invincible (1965, 86 minutes), in which a giant fire-breathing turtle wreaks havoc on Tokyo! On Thursday, October 26, shudder at the terror depicted in Horror Hotel (1960, 70 minutes), in which a woman and her brother discover a coven of evil witches who must sacrifice a beautiful woman each year to remain immortal! On Saturday, October 28, tremble at the shocking events of The Indestructible Man (1956, 70 minutes), in which a mad scientist brings a criminal back from the dead!
In addition to these films, the museum hosts a 24-hour movie marathon from Thursday, October 26, to Friday, October 27. Dr. Ivan Cryptosis, the museum's own curator of the macabre, has chosen a wide variety of fright-filled films for your entertainment. The fun starts at 4 p.m. on Thursday. How long will you last?
The highlight of the movie marathon is a special feature — the Madison premiere of the brand-new film, The Monster of Phantom Lake, set in fictional Phantom Lake, Wisconsin. In writer/producer/director Christopher R. Mihm's tribute to the B-movie flicks of the 1950s, a shell-shocked ex-soldier transformed by "atomic waste" into a revolting monster wreaks havoc at a high school graduation party. Something horrific is afoot in Phantom Lake, though, and as the rampaging beast makes its presence known to the horrified teens, a dedicated scientist and his beautiful graduate student soon realize that they may have just stumbled upon one of the most important scientific discoveries of their lifetime. Filmed in glorious black and white, the movie has earned numerous awards at film festivals in 2006. The Monster of Phantom Lake will be shown at 8 p.m. on Thursday, October 26.
For three days — Thursday-Saturday, October 26-28 — the museum invites kids to participate in a special Halloween-themed craft activity. At 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on each of those days, children can make their own scary (or not so scary) monster.
On Halloween, the museum hosts a special presentation in its "History (make that Horror) Sandwiched In" lecture series. Join Linda S. Godfrey, author of The Beast of Bray Road: Tailing Wisconsin's Werewolf and Hunting the American Werewolf, as she discusses Wisconsin's werewolf legends. Following her remarks, see Thomas Edison's silent film, Frankenstein (1910, 15 minutes). The program begins at 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday, October 31.
And ... horror of horrors ... Dr. Ivan Cryptosis will be joined by his compatriots, creepy ventriloquist Tommy and Professor Varnus Lupesku. They will be released from their cages deep in the bowels of the Wisconsin Historical Museum to haunt, host and autograph/defile photos at various times throughout Horror Week.
:: Posted October 25, 2006
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