Based on a book by Peter Straub, Ghost Story is an old fashioned haunted yarn notable for being the final dramatic outing for song ‘n’ dance man Fred Astaire.
He’s Ricky, one of four old gents who call themselves the Chowder Society and they enjoy getting together to regale each other with tales of spooky spirits, the others are Sears James, a Lawyer, along with Dr. John Jaffrey and Edward Charles Wanderley, the Mayor.
Edward’s son dies after falling from a window. His girlfriend scared him out of it by transforming into a demon. Edward grieves for his favoured son, giving his other son Don a frosty welcome when he returns to his home town to grieve for his brother. Edward is killed when he falls from a bridge… He too witnesses the female demon who did for his son.
Soon, Don approaches the three remaining members of the Chowder society to request membership. The fee? A scary tale all of his own…
Ghost Story was a surprise hit in 1981 and ended up being the third highest grossing horror movie of the year. To give that some context, 1981 was slap bang in the middle of the great Slasher movie glut that threatened to overrun American horror cinema like Japanese Knotweed.
A refreshing break from kitchen knife murders, hockey masks and dorm room death, it still stands up today as a creepy little minor classic and as a swansong for Astaire it’s a great way to bow out after seventies disaster fodder like Towering Inferno and unexpected casting in the likes of Battlestar Galactica.
Seek it out and then gather some friends, maybe you can tell as few ghost yarns of your own…
For a more recent but equally terrifying haunted house, ghostly thriller don’t miss The Pact!
Break-out horror movie smash of the year that has been electrifying hardened genre fans and non-horror fans alike, “The Pact” combines the supernatural terrors of “Paranormal Activity” with the tense atmospherics of a serial killer thriller to create a unique, modern-day take on the classic ghost story.
And it’s out on October 1st! Pre-order yours here.
Previous Parts:
- Part I: Things That Stay Silent In The Night!
- Part II: The Terrifying Twenties
- Part III: The Uninvited
- Part IV: House On Haunted Hill
- Part V: Ghoulish Gimmicks & Shocking Spookshows
- Part VI: The Innocents – Classic British Chills
- Part VII: The Haunting
- Part VIII: Low Budget Terrors – Let’s Scare Jessica To Death!
- Part IX: The Amityville Horror
- Part X: There’s Something In The Fog!
- Part XI: The Shining
- Part XII: The Changeling
