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!
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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
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