Looking to amp up the spook factor these autumn evenings? One of Victoria’s creepiest locales, Craigdarroch Castle, is hosting its first Classics at Craigdarroch Movie Series this month. Every Thursday and Saturday evening in October, the castle will hold a classic horror movie screening. Halloween lovers and film aficionados alike have reason to celebrate, as cinematic classics such as Dracula, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Frankenstein, Nosferatu, and House on Haunted Hill will deliver the chills in the castle.
Craigdarroch’s manager of operations and business development Toby Stubbs has been surprised by the public’s interest in movie nights in years past.
“We mainly put on theatrical events for Halloween,” he says, “and this year we decided to do something fresh and different to kind of appeal to different crowds.”
All five films offer wonderful experiences, but one film stood out to Stubbs.
“I was unsure if one of the movies was going to sell—it was Nosferatu, a classic silent film. It was the first one to sell out. I had never seen it, so I sat down a few nights ago and watched it, and it’s so good. We were pretty surprised that people leapt on that one.”
As far as ghost-hunting at the castle goes, Stubbs chuckles and says that while people definitely have stories, the castle doesn’t really endorse them.
“In the past, we kind of would go with it, but we noticed some would take it too far, trying to conduct seances or light candles. Now we just say that many have had experiences, but we cannot confirm them,” he says, adding with a chuckle that “you can keep the Ouija boards at home.”
Each film will be shown in the ornate ballroom on the top floor, 87 stairs up (note: no elevators). Stubbs says they turn the lights down low, “like an old scary house.”
“The films are shown in a different kind of setting and the ambiance is definitely there,” he says. “The museum is mostly closed off, but you can still peek around a bit. We wanted to offer a cheaper option for everyone, so we kept the staff low to just focus on the movies.”
And if scares aren’t your thing, Stubbs reveals that the castle will be showing different films for other holidays in the future.
“The response has been so popular,” he says, “we decided that we are going to show some classic movies around Christmas as well.”
Classics at Craigdarroch Movie Series
Various times, until Saturday October 27
$11, Craigdarroch Castle
thecastle.ca