Craigdarroch Castle is hosting several classic horror films this month. It began with Dracula (1931) on October 3 and continues with Frankenstein (1931) on October 10, House on Haunted Hill (1959) on October 17, and Nosferatu (1922) on October 24. In addition to the films, actor Jason Stevens will be performing a one-man play of Frankenstein every Saturday in October at 6 pm.
“We’ve done live theatre for many years; we’ve worked with Dracula and Jekyll and Hyde, so that in and of itself fit very well,” says Craigdarroch Castle executive director John Hughes. “The audience was looking for something a little bit different, but they also told us they wanted a similar feel.”
Craigdarroch Castle is especially suited to the movies being shown. The castle was inhabited at the time that Bram Stoker’s Dracula was penned and when Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein had already been adapted into a play—twice. But what really elevates Craigdarroch Castle as a venue for classic horror is the aesthetic.
“I’d have to say it’s the nature of the architecture, the massive, imposing exterior with all the big chimneys and the high, broad roofline,” says Hughes. “And because it’s lit outside it gives you that kind of spooky effect, and, certainly once you get into the building, the lighting levels are low and the rich warm wood, it lends itself to the flavour of the films.”
Choosing the movies was a process influenced by the live shows hosted at the castle over the years. Some of the movies being shown have had theatre adaptations performed at Craigdarroch.
“I think we started this process looking at some of the other performances that we’ve done, because we’ve done live theatre… We’re looking for movies that fit within the timeframe that people inhabited the space, which was the Dunsmuirs,” he says. “They weren’t doing movies at the time, but the stories existed.”
The idea for the event came from a situation several years ago, when the castle was playing host to a film crew.
“We were filming a movie here; we had to close for our typical Halloween season and we had a couple of evenings where the production team was not on site and we thought, you know what? Let’s invite a couple of people in and run some black-and-white movies, and we had two showings over one Saturday one weekend and one Saturday the other weekend and they were very well received,” says Hughes. “So when we decided to revisit our October programming, we went back to the success of those two presentations.”
The lineup is full of classics, and they have no intention of changing it any time soon, but the schedule wasn’t always just four films. Last year—the first year the event was run—included a fifth film. (All the October events will take place in the fourth-floor dance hall, up 87 stairs, with no elevators. The museum requests you don’t wear stiletto heels, as they can damage the floors. Also note that all tickets must be purchased in advance.)
“We did Creature from the Black Lagoon last year,” says Hughes. “I think the response was less enthusiastic, so we pulled it out of this year’s rotation, but we might find that we might want to pull, say, Nosferatu and put Creature from the Black Lagoon back in.”
Once the Halloween season is over, Craigdarroch Castle will begin preparing for the holiday season.
“We will be bringing Jason Stevens back to do his one-man version of A Christmas Carol,” says Hughes. “This is where Jason does all of the voices of all the characters, and it’s a very cool thing.”
Creepy Classic Movies at Craigdarroch Castle
6 pm Thursday, October 10, 17, and 24
$10-$12, Craigdarroch Castle
thecastle.ca