As a “monster kid” from the late 50’s, my introduction to the world of horror began with watching the classic monsters in the Universal Studios movies that started it all. My particular host to these films was Zacherley, the “Cool Ghoul” hosting “Shock Theater” on TV.
I’ve recently acquired the entire set of Universal classics on Blu Ray, and the quality of the remasters is amazing. The film scratches are all gone, the soundtracks are crisp and clear… I’d bet these look even better than what moviegoers saw on the screens when these films made their debut in theaters!
And now, it gets even better! My wife is giving me an early surprise birthday present tonight, taking me to Plainville, CT to visit Cortlandt Hull’s “Witch’s Dungeon”, a museum dedicated to preserving the history of these classic films.
Cortlandt Hull is the great nephew of Henry Hull, who starred in the 1935 Universal film, “Werewolf of London”, the first werewolf film released by Universal. Lon Chaney Jr’s turn as The Wolf Man would come a few years later and prove to be an enduring character making numerous appearances in films.
I’m greatly excited about this visit tonight, and hope they’ll allow me to photograph the exhibits! If so, there’ll be a follow up post tomorrow with a bunch of photos to enjoy!
To learn more about Cortlandt and the museum he curates, visit his website and check out his remarkable history and the extraordinary people he’s had the opportunity to meet over the years.
Duty calls – I need to gut, thoroughly clean and degrease the shell, then rebuild our grill with a new set of burners this morning and get it restored to like new condition, a task I generally do every two years. Once done, it’s into the shower to get humanized… well, at least as human as I can get… and prepare for our journey to the Witch’s Dungeon tonight!
Hopefully, I’ll be posting again tomorrow with a boatload of photos from our trip tonight!
Until then, as always… do sleep well
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