It Wouldn’t Be the Spooky Season Without Hearing from William Castle
Steve Barton
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He’s back from the dead and ready to party… Well, that’s not exactly true, but it does seem difficult to keep William Castle (who passed away in 1977) down. His newest release from beyond the grave, House on Haunted Hill: A William Castle Annotated Screamplay (Complete with Emerg-O), was released on October 31st. And now we’ve got a book signing to tell you about. Really? Yes, really.
Okay, Mr. Castle will not be at the book signing. At least I don’t think he will, but nothing surprises me with this guy anymore. I think it would be his greatest feat to come shambling out from behind the curtain, undead, with a big silver sharpie, ready to sign copies of his book. However, what we can promise is Castle’s daughter, Terry, will be on hand to sign both the House on Haunted Hill book and her father’s autobiography. This event takes place on Thursday, November 10, at the Larry Edmunds Bookshop in Hollywood.
Details on the signing and the new book are below. Sounds like a grand old time for fans of classic horror.
About William Castle Night at Larry Edmunds Bookshop
Thursday, November 10, 7:30 pm
It’s a night of fright as we celebrate the work of William Castle with the help of his daughter, Terry Castle. Terry will be signing a new reprinted edition of her father’s classic autobiography, Step Right Up, I’m Gonna Scare the Pants Off America, and a brand new published book, House on Haunted Hill: A William Castle Annotated Screamplay, made from her father’s original script from his 1959 classic thriller with original formatting and Castle’s own hand-written notes. Trailers, clips and who knows what other surprises may be in store so come have a good scare.
About House on Haunted Hill: A William Castle Annotated Screamplay (Complete with Emerg-O)
Released on October 31, 2011, William Castle Productions proudly presents House on Haunted Hill: A William Castle Annotated Screamplay. The book features legendary horror filmmaker William Castle’s authentic working script from his 1959 classic thriller with original formatting and Castle’s own hand-written notes. This collector’s item even comes with a new twist on Castle’s famous theater gimmick, Emerg-O. The 248-page book includes a foreword by acclaimed director Joe Dante (Gremlins, The Howling, Matinee), hailing the book as “an important artifact.” It also includes an introduction by William’s daughter, Terry Castle, who shares her personal thoughts on this seminal piece of film history. A critical perspective of the film by writer and illustrator Charlie Largent is also included as well as a special welcome from William Castle himself. The Screamplay will be available in print for $24.99 via Amazon and select retailers through the recently resurrected William Castle Productions (ISBN-13: 978-0578092928). For more information please visit the William Castle website.
“It’s not that often that you find a script from this period surviving with annotations,” writes Joe Dante in the introduction, “And that’s what makes reading this script such a pleasant surprise; you can actually imagine what it was like to be there, reading the script on the set with the actors, and coming up with artistic decisions on the spot.”
About House on Haunted Hill – The Movie
House on Haunted Hill remains a classic chiller to this day. Produced and directed by William Castle and written by Robb White, the shocker is beloved not only for Castle’s suspense-filled direction but what came to be known as “The Gimmick,” carnival sideshow trickery that both scared and delighted the audience. The original film stars the inimitable Vincent Price and features the classic gimmick Emerg-O – an inflatable glow in the dark skeleton attached to a wire that floated over the heads of the uproarious audience during the final moments of the film to parallel the action on the screen.
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