Doug,

A theatre can be made totally dark, but it takes getting permission form
the fire marshal and a bit of work. What we did was cover the lit exit
signs with phosphorescent ones that glowed well enough to be seen, but
did not put of enough light to be a problem. You may also be required
to have someone sitting at a switch to turn on emergency lighting.
Point is, with a little thought and some work it CAN be done and still
be both legal and safe.

Dave

I've been fascinated by Spook Shows since I saw a TV ad for one in my hometown when I was, oh, 9 or 10. Years later I learned it was one Phil Morris did. Rhino Video has a DVD called "Spook Show Spectacular" that I've watched at least 60 times now...it's great! It has hours of TV and Radio spots for spook shows, a copy of the Larsen booklet 'Spook Show In Your Parlor' commentary by Phil Morris, an insanely awful girls-in-nighties-being-chased-by-a-guy-in-a-gorilla-suit-in-a-haunted-house movie called "Monsters Crash The Pajama Party", a great/bad 1960 black and white Bert I. Gordon ghost story called "Tormented" and gobs of other crap. But the spook show stuff is great, and so is the booklet by Jim Ridenour that comes with the DVD that is a great source of history and personal experience from someone who lived the Spookshow life. There's also a kerjillion still photos on the disc of various print ads used in newspapers over the years. This is my second favorite DVD ever! If you are into this stuff, get this now!

Charles Cameron had a couple of spook show books, and there is also a set of books by Clettis Musson. The Ghostmasters book (with the video of trailers) is a lot of fun also. I can dig these out of my library and post the exact titles. It's true, much of this stuff is hokey, but if you want the historical material, there it is.

I think that the effects in horror films are so seamless these days that campy spook magic from the 1940s won't work, unless you pair it with a real milk-bone-cruncher of a movie from that era.

Another route to go would be to do some sideshow stuff, and pair it with a short film that will scare the bejeezus out of the audience. Of course, there is only one film that fits the bill: Tod Browning's Freaks.

Yours,

Paul

Maybe a science fiction theme instead of the "spook" theme...OR...do like David Ben did with his Recreation of a victorian period magic show. Do a "recreation of a midnite Horror Stage Show experience by audiences 50 years ago." I would stay away from the stereo typed monsters like dracula etc... Just a thought.

Mark

Talk about a resurrection! Twelve years later..........I've been thinking lately that in this day and age of retro-fever a Midnite Spook Show might just work!
Sure, you've still got concerns to worry about like lit exit signs and such....but as PTBEAST mentioned there could be ways around that.

Or perhaps it's time to modernize the Midnite Spook Show with bizarre effects that work in low light......maybe you can get away with no blackout!

I've always wondered why these haven't been resurrected. With the strong cult following Rocky Horror Picture Show still has - and now The Room - I would imagine in the right town folks are still looking for that underground event they can make their own. Insurance would be an issue with today's litigious culture, but haunted houses seem to be thriving, so people are willing to be scared and pay for it.

Play Dead had many spook show elements in it. And this show might come around one day.

Exactly my thoughts, Wiz. Rocky Horror/The Room....even Svenghoulie has a strong following.....so showing old Public Domain monster flicks with a spookshow (I think) would play quite well in the right place. A college town (which I happen to live in) might be perfect.

Yes, yes, yes Matthew! And there are so many to choose from. If this site is accurate, you'll have a field day... http://www.horrortheque.com

Wiz, it looks like that site is pretty darn accurate. I'm not sure about the Universal version of Dracula being PD anymore (I know it was for a time) but the rest of them look pretty spot on. I've also got a metric ton of PD horror flicks that come in 50 movie packs from Mill Creek Entertainment! TONS of great stuff in there!

I'm thinking that arthouse theaters might be interested in something like this, but you never know if you market it right, you could possibly get a multiplex interested during the Halloween Season!