The Professor's Excursion - Weekend of the Living Dead

In late June I took a trip over to western Pennsylvania by myself for various reasons, many of which were related to….you guessed it

Horror movies!

My original plan for this venture was solely for going to the Monster Bash in Mars, PA. Monster Bash is a celebrated convention that focuses on vintage horror and the monster kid generation. The trip quickly blossomed into other things as well, including genealogy destinations, film shooting locations, and the Living Dead Museum. It was one of those small trips that felt like so much more by the time it was done. I left at 6 am Saturday and was back by Sunday dinner time, yet it felt like I was gone for weeks (in a good way). Before I go any further I would just like to recommend you find reasons to do some of these things. The drive was not that bad at all and for many of us Midwesterner there is this area of rich film history within driving distance. Undecided? Maybe some of this will at least generate a little curious inspiration to go. 

*Some of the pictures on here you may have already seen on our social media as I put up a few pictures while on the trip.

DAY ONE

My first destination was in Washington, PA where the filming of Return of the Living Dead took place at this farmhouse.

By all accounts the people who live there are not interested in having nerdy fan visitors so I drove around the area until finding a road up above where I could snap a picture. I did not want to disturb them, as I am sure they get enough of that. Seeing without traipsing all over the property was good enough for me. I was parked in the middle of a narrow hilly road, where if a car would’ve been coming down, would have smacked into me so I honestly was on my way fairly quickly. Pretty neat to stop by though! 

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After finding my way back to the interstate I headed up to Mars/Cranberry Township where the convention and my hotel were.Monster Bash was a different kind of animal in relation to the conventions we are used to attending. For some it would be a disappointment and for others they would like it even more. It is certainly less crowded and smelly but at the same time if you are used to shopping in a huge mall, then the local tiny one can be a rough adjustment. Personally it does not matter to me. Half of the fun is just being around those who like the same things you do just as obsessively. It was refreshing to be around everything focused at older horror. Seeing guests from William Castle films or people in Universal monster costumes was thrilling and welcomed by me. Screenings of silent rare horror films was neat and something I would not get at the other conventions I attend. So all in all it was a fantastic experience. Some highlights for me were meeting a few authors that not only do I thoroughly enjoy but who are colleagues of my father that have traded research over the years. These authors I peak of meeting are Tom Weaver and Gregory William Mank. You may have even listened to them do commentary tracks on movies like The Wolf Man or  Island of Lost Souls. They are very different types of writers but both very gracious, friendly, and talented. Check out Universal Horrors by Tom Weaver if you love all those Universal monster classics and Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff by Mank. Hollywood’s Maddest Doctors and Dwight Frye’s Last Laugh were both excellent books as well by Mank. It was my pleasure to meet them both! 

(Pardon the quality of the picture with Weaver. His friend could not get used to my iPhone so I made my peace with it)

 Lastly, one of the items I bought from a vendor was a disc (with nice packaging and extra items) that has the first 100 issues of Famous Monsters of Filmland on them. High quality scans and well organized, it is quite the treat for monster kids.

I realized there was still plenty of time left in the day so I ventured on with my checklist in hand. First stop: the Monroeville Mall. For any of you that do not already know this is the mall where George Romero’s classic Dawn of the Dead was filmed. Much of it has been remodeled obviously in the 30 plus years since it was made. However, JCPenny is still there looking much the same and you can still feel out familiar scenes while walking around. Unfortunately, the museum they had moved when new ownership took over. However, it was just moved to Evans City where the original seminal Night of the Living Dead was filmed. So, no big deal, just see it while you are there.

                        

After my time was done there, I left on a high and headed for some different locations pertinent to The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Although, High School for many is its own scary tale, I will not be including those in here as this is a horror show. If you have any interest in where I went for this movie, reach out to me and I will be happy to share!

I finished the night with a nice summer dusk drive back to the hotel through the hills of Pennsylvania. 

Day Two (Day of the Dead)

The second day, although not the meat of the trip (or why I went) turned out to be a pretty fantastic end to fast fun weekend. I began the day with some very early morning trips to genealogy spots around the in the rural hills of western PA. After that was knocked out I went over to Evans City for what would turn out to be the final stop. I had planned to go over to Indiana, Pennsylvania to see the Jimmy Stewart museum but I just spent too much time in Evans City enjoying myself to rush over there. Maybe next trip!

The museum did not open until noon so I went on over to Evans City Cemetery where the famous beginning to Night of the Living Dead was filmed. I already the names and descriptions of the stones with me that had any sort of part in the film. I was not sure what to expect as I pulled up the winding drive. Would there be a lot of tourists? Will there employees of the cemetery there who are not pleased to see me? How about local citizens trying to visit their loved ones in peace without us horror nerds wandering around geeking out with our camerasWell the answer is yes all of those people in scenarios were there; however everyone was beyond kind, gracious, and respectful to one and another. I drove around initially just trying to find the location and feeling out who was there in general. After encompassing almost the entire location I came to the very front row and saw a few fellow gentleman there taking pictures and visiting. I approached slowly and saw that they were in fact at the desired location. We ended up chatting for sometime not only with each other but also the groundskeeper Connie who was just absolutely lovely to us. The two guys (Rusty and Henry) turned out to be from Dayton, OH (not far from us) and had been at Monster Bash the day before. We all took our time on a nice sunny morning taking pictures and taking in the environment. It is one thing to snap pictures of something familiar, but as a film lover it is hard to not be moved (if not at least slightly) while standing on such a random piece of ground that started so much of the moviemaking we all love. I can only hope that if you visit sometime that you have half of the experience I did, that alone would be worth stopping by. While there, actual “normal” people stopped by to tend to the stones of those they love. They were all so friendly and very aware of why we were there. I was just blown away by the kindness of everyone because you know this cemetery has to have countless visitors stopping in there to gawk. Anyways, I took my time snapping many pictures (a few below to enjoy) and then as opening time approached I ventured down the road and across the street to The Living Dead Museum. 

A fairly small spot packed with lots of tidbits, memorabilia, items from the movies, a “Maul of Fame”, a gift shop, and plenty to keep you happy. I won’t walk you through the museum but I will share this quick story with you. While going through the exhibits I overheard a man quizzing his grandchildren on which one he had been in. I of course left them alone to the tour, for about 10 seconds. I couldn’t accept the idea of not asking so I did. He went on to explain to me what part of Dawn of the Dead he had been in, how he got the role, what it was like having a young Tom Savini do his makeup, etc. It was such a unique, random, and fun experience to have while I was there. He in turn could not believe that I had driven over 5 hours to visit there and a convention. He was the icing on the cake in terms of how amazingly pleasant everyone was. Very welcoming and warm and I hope I can recreate a fraction of this when I return. I recommend all of you horror fans, if you find yourself within driving distance, make the trip.

Pittsburgh you were a lot of fun and I cannot wait until next time!

Below are some web addresses of things and people who were visited/mentioned and pictures from the museum. Thanks for checking my trip out!

Until next trip….

Beware of the moon

The Professor

 Links

http://www.gregorymank.com/

http://www.monroevillezombies.com/museum.html

http://www.monsterbashnews.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Burnmill-Productions/254784064633364

(Rusty's Production page on facebook, Give him a like!)

Museum Visit

Episode 27 - The Monster Mash

We have begun a somewhat new format! Not for every show but it will be injected into the regular way of things from now on (hopefully). Listen in to see what's going on!

Episode 27 - The Monster Mash by Midwestmonsterspodcast on Mixcloud

Episode 26 - JAWS - Afterthoughts

 Duh Dah........

There is an endless variety of filmgoers out there and you undoubtedly know many different ones. Ones who seek a humanistic experience from their movies or those who want excitement with their popcorn, there are so many different types. We all seek different things from film on different days. However, I do have one simple way of breaking most down into two categories: those who allow themselves to be entertained and those who don’t. Jaws is a perfect example of how to see this difference in viewers.

Spielberg’s near-disastrous but in the end masterpiece Jaws is a tour de force for film goers. It inspired future generations of filmmakers but also the box office and Hollywood by giving birth to the “summer blockbuster”. Ask anyone who was going to the movies that summer in 1975 and they can tell you that lines went down city blocks and that people were sitting in the aisles to see this movie. Since then, the summer blockbuster has lost the ingenuity that it once possessed and evolved into the earth’s destruction every season (cue the smashing of the Golden Gate bridge and jets flying over). Jaws demonstrates all that goes into making a film and all that can go wrong. The production diaries, which you can buy, are a testament to dedication and sanity. All of these mentioned filmmaking miracles that were achieved are all ignored when someone says something along the lines of:

 “You can tell the shark is fake”

Words cannot describe how profound that clarification can be for the rest of us when someone lets us in on their astute analysis. Be sure to thank them when this happens. Give me a break folks; of course the shark is not real. Typically wild beasts are not trained thespians. Beyond the simple and obvious reasons why that is a stupid remark to make about a 40 year old film, it also lets us know who can and cannot enjoy movies. These are the same people who have

never been "scared" by a movie. That is very admirable that you didn’t actually fear for your life in a controlled environment like a movie theatre watching a fictitious story on the big screen. These are the people who just do not get it. When you encounter them, immediately just nod in agreement because any form of debate or further conversation will only leave you scratching your head on why they even go to the movies.

Watching movies with enjoyment requires some viewer effort. You do not have to psyche yourself out but you need to be open to the movie. I have never actually feared for my safety with a scary movie, but I have let it get under my skin.  I LOVED every minute of it and that is why we are all here, the love of the big screen. For every movie that scares you, there will be 3 people to tell you that it didn’t affect them. Their loss. If you go in to any movie thinking it is going to be bad or not interesting, then it will almost always be bad and uninteresting for you. However, if

you allow yourself to be told a story, to be enlightened or simply entertained then you can appreciate a film like JAWS. Its classic 3 acts of storytelling is a treat every time I watch it and to learn all that occurred to almost end this movie before it was done is jaw-dropping (pun intended). So next time you are excited to talk about a horror movie you watched and your friend says for the 100th time, "wasn't scary", just nod and in the future quit talking to them about these movies, there are millions out there who actually enjoy them (including the three of us).

Hopefully this detour is welcomed because honestly, we talked about the JAWS films enough on the show. I see this as one of the best examples as a catalyst for what type of viewer someone is. If you watch Jaws and your main reaction is to talk about the shark looking fake then you are missing everything…

Until next time…

Beware of the moon

The Professor

Episode 26 - The JAWS Franchise

Hot summertime, 4th of July weekend in a few days......is there a better topic to tackle than the 4 JAWS films? Listen in as we cover the highs and the many lows of the JAWS Franchise!

Episode 26 - The JAWS Franchise by Midwestmonsterspodcast on Mixcloud