Halloween Treats

As Halloween approaches there are numerous treats associated with the season - colorful leaves, parties with lavish offerings of candy, and scary tales.  The movies are a great medium for terrifying tales dating back to its inception. 

Some of the most spellbinding horror films I've ever seen are silent era offerings from the German expressionist cinema.  The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a captivatingly filmed production utilizing bizarre angles to nightmarish effect as it ensnares its viewers in a sinister tale of a sleep walker causing havoc in a small village.  There's a twist at the end which I've read is a result of  1920's
German censorship.  In 1922  F. W. Murnau treated audiences to another frightening silent Greman classic - Noserfatu.  The film counts as the first adaption of Bram Stoker's Dracula (although the name Dracula was not used in hope of avoiding payment to the Stoker estate).  The movie is as spooky as possible with magnificent imagery that has passed into the vault of horror history.

Many horror films have followed, some adaptions of literary classics like the series of films from Roger Corman starring Vincent Price based on the work of Edgar Allen Poe.  The black and white films from Universal in the 30's introduced audiences to Bela Lugosi as Dracula and Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster.  In the late 50's and 60's British based horror films from Hammer Studios often teamed Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee for full color horror classics with an erotic edge.  Italian horror films intensified their imagery of horror for chilling films like the atmospherically frightening Suspiria by director Dario Argento.  In the 80's American audiences became mesmerized by films with villainous protagonists with supernatural abilities like Pinhead from the Hellraiser series & Freddy Krueger from The Nightmare on Elm Street movies.

W. P. Rigler with Malcolm McDowell of the newest Halloween.

And of course there is the movie which draws its name from the holiday - Halloween.  The original Halloween by director John Carpenter is a thrill ride of carefully orchestrated scary moments starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence dealing with a seemingly supernatural madman that strikes upon Halloween.  The recent remake from director Rob Zombie starring Malcolm McDowell boasted a bigger budget, bloodier effects and an all star supporting cast.  

Halloween itself has been showcased by Hollywood in a multitude of styles, ranging from childhood's simple appreciation of it in Meet Me In Saint Louis to 1951's The Man With A Cloak starring Joseph Cotton as a historic writer trying to solve a diabolical mystery.

I couldn't help sharing my appreciation of such Halloween/horror icons as the vampire and the zombie in my new book titled Midnight Writings.  The book consists of my newest scary stories and articles concerning hauntings, horror films and more.  Do check it out at  www.lulu.com/spotlight/wrigler and order it for yourself as a Halloween treat!

Midnight Writings Available



Leading a ghost tour in Havre de Grace.

This is my second year of working for Havre de Haunts Tours & Paranormal Research Group.  The group has explored and investigated strange as well as historic happenings in Havre de Grace, Maryland from which a tour has been formed.  The town's tales of history, prominent visitors, and hauntings makes for an amiable walk though the picturesque water front location.  Each October chilly winds rustle the leaves as the moon peers down for added atmosphere.

The Friday night tour I led was additionally interesting as several tour customers brought along their own emf detectors - which were very active during the walk.  It is believed that the presence of ghosts can cause a disturbance in electromagnetic fields, which is what the detector reads.  Of course myriad things can trigger a reaction and at certain points when the detectors were very active there were telephone poles with numerous transformers or such attached.  Hardly an ideal scenario for ghost hunting.  Interestingly at one point in the tour the detectors became very active at my every mention of the word 'gangsters'.  Not proof, but oh so curious.



Available at http://lulu.com/spotlight/wrigler

I've had odd experiences at haunted places before.  Doors opening on their own seem a popular occurrence for me - I've had similar experiences at the Hollingsworth house in Cecil County and The Whistling Oyster in Fell's Point.  I decided to jot down these experiences for my new book - Midnight Writings.  Other articles included in the book concern my zombie make over for a day on the set of Trailer Park of the Living Dead (filmed in Cecil County, Maryland), my musings about horror conventions, films, and Edgar Allan Poe.  For these segments I must thank all those who have agreed to be interviewed by me in the past, such as actress Tanya Erin Paoli.

And there are a baker's dozen of fictional offerings as well, including The Customer in which a bothersome bar patron has an unfortunate occurrence after last call and Midnight Encounter in which a pair of grave robbers with a body on their hands get an unusual offer.  Why not take time to take advantage of the offer of buying Midnight Writings at http://lulu.com/spotlight/wrigler ?

Happy Reading & Ghost Hunting!



A murder occurred at Havre de Grace's State Theater, which once showed silent films and although long closed might not be totally abandoned.

  



Summoned Secrets

from Summoned Secrets...


The Midnight Wind

The midnight wind
chills to the bone
and will not leave
your soul alone,
so stay in bed
throughtout the night
and you just might
remain all right.



The Haunting Hour

At midnight its dark
and time for a lark
from spirits who wave
and moan from their grave
so please be afraid
and the ghosts get paid.


Order your copy of W.P. Rigler's Summoned Secrets at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/wrigler


18 strange stories of science fiction, dark fantasy, suspense, and horror.
12 poetic creations.
1 book.

Learn the secrets of...
An alien world where hunters test their skills and dragons dwell.
A library whose biographies hold the key to life and death.
History's most infamous serial killer's gambling habits.


"With a cast that includes dimension-hopping murderers, extraterrestrial monsters, and even the shade of Poe himself, Rigler's dark imagination will populate your nightmare for days to come."
Nathan Rosen, editor at microhorror.com