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Story Archives of 'Halloween'
This Weekend: Celebrate Halloween Without Going Door to Door
By Rick Ganley on Friday, October 30, 2009.Some events this weekend are a real treat. Amy Diaz and Rick Ganley have some ideas for celebrating Halloween.
DIY Halloween Film Festival
By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, October 29, 2009.The balconied buildings and moss-dripped trees of New Orleans are a natural for horror films and, of course, for vampires. Last weekend, the pale winged monsters descended on the city's annual vampire film festival.
Fifty terrifying films from eleven countries made for four days of blood and gore in the big easy. So maybe you couldn't shape-shift and fly down. Why not program your own film festival this weekend? All you need is a mountain of popcorn and a stack of scary movies.
Since we're all about digging beneath the surface here on Word of Mouth, we asked horror film buff Bryan White to uncover some chilling films that go beyond Nightmare on Elm Street and The Shining. Bryan is the mastermind behind the blog Cinema Suicide and he's here in the studio to help us plan a truly frightening DIY film fest.
The Sentinel, dir. Michael Winner, 1977
(Photo by Perttu Raivio via Flickr/Creative Commons)
The Psychology of Fear
By Sheryl Rich-Kern on Thursday, October 29, 2009.
During the month of October, nearly 24 million Americans will wander through the twisted hallways of a haunted house, where zombies emerge from darkened corners and blood-curdling screams rise to the rafters.
Why do some people seek out that creepy feeling of being scared while others avoid haunted houses and horror films at all costs?
Word of Mouth’s Sheryl Rich-Kern visited one of the largest haunted houses in the country, Spooky World in Litchfield, New Hampshire, to find out.
(Photo courtesy of Spooky World)
Harvesting History
By Rick Ganley on Friday, October 23, 2009.As we near Halloween, we look at some walking tours and places in New Hampshire to catch the spirit and a history lesson. The Hippo's Amy Diaz joins Rick Ganley to talk about what's happening this weekend.
True Meaning of Halloween
By Andrew Walsh on Friday, October 31, 2008.Happy Halloween, from The Onion:
On The Trail of Ghosts
By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, October 30, 2008.What was once scoffed at on Scooby Doo and late night television ads, psychic and paranormal dramas are big draws on reality TV these days. A&E takes a scientific angle, following researchers from Columbia and Penn state on "Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal," and "Paranormal State." Hokey portrayals of mediums and spirit seekers have given way to high-tech phantom squads on the Sci-Fi Channel’s hit, "Ghost Hunters."
With all this playing out in America’s living rooms, it’s not so shocking that a perfectly rational library director would call for a psychic investigation of the Meredith Public Library. Staff there reported a series of strange phenomena - equipment moved around recently, shelved books mysteriously found facing the other direction moments later... Well, as the song goes, who you gonna call? Ghost Quest, a three-woman crew from New Hampshire that claims technology, psychic powers, and a deep knowledge of dark forces to understand the supernatural.
Their new book Ghost Quest in New Hampshire follows their exploits. Two team members are with us today. Becka Boyd is lead investigator and psychic medium, and Katie Boyd is lead investigator and demonologist.
Haunted Hikes in New Hampshire
By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, October 30, 2008.Anyone who’s ever sat around a campfire in the woods telling ghost stories understands just how eerie a dark forest can be. Suddenly the possibility of spirits lurking behind trees and skulking through the shadows seems real. 
The whispered stories and rustling branches give you the chills, and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
If you’re camping in New Hampshire, there’s even more reason to be frightened. The state’s forests and mountain peaks have a long, dark history, and many stories to tell. Marianne O’Connor gathers some of the spookier - or just plain out-of-the-ordinary ones - in a new book, Haunted Hikes of New Hampshire. It’s part hiker’s guide and part local history lesson. There are stories that are perfect for reading around a campfire. Some are more well-known, but many aren’t so familiar.
Marianne is a teacher in Nashua and also writes for The Hippo, and joins Word of Mouth with more on the cursed Mount Chocorua, ghost sightings on Mount Washington, and UFO abductions.
Family-Friendly Horror Films
By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, October 30, 2008.
If you’re in the mood for a little Halloween fright at the movies this weekend, you could check out Saw Five, the latest in the series of films known for its gruesome scenes of horror and human agony. Films like Saw have inspired a new breed of horror flick, and a new phrase in our vernacular: “torture porn”. They depict some of the most horrible images and situations that you could possibly imagine, if you’d even want to.
Now, not to sound like an old fuddy-duddy, but they sure don’t make them like they used to, do they? There was a time when horror flicks tried to scare the bejesus out of youngsters. Now they’re aimed an older audience, and one with a very strong stomach. Joining us is a man who loves horror films – especially those of the cult variety. Bryan White’s blog is called Cinema Suicide, and he’s put together a top-ten list of family-friendly horror flicks, partly inspired by his newborn daughter. Here they are:
Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, 1965, dir. Ishiro Honda
The Raven, 1963, dir. Roger Corman
The House On Haunted Hill, 1959, dir. William Castle
The Monster Squad, 1987, dir. Fred Dekker
Poltergeist, 1982, dir. Tobe Hooper
Something Wicked This Way Comes, 1983, dir. Jack Clayton
Gremlins, 1984, dir. Joe Dante
Quatermass and The Pit, 1967, dir. Roy Ward Baker
Horror of Dracula, 1958, dir. Terence Fisher
The Gate, 1987, dir. Tibor Takacs
Watch the trailer for Quatermass and The Pit:
Zombie Squad
By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, October 30, 2008.
How many of you know what you would do if you were forced from your home in a hurry, with only what you could carry? Where would you go? What would you need to survive? What if the threat that pushed you out was a massive uprising of the undead?
