13 Ghosts (1960)

I've brought the blog back from the dead, so it's fitting that I write about a ghost story.

I have a soft spot for cheesy horror films. The older and cheesier, the better, I say. So when I found a copy of 13 Ghosts, William Castle's 1960 classic, gimmicky horror flick, complete with "ghost viewer" inside, I couldn't resist.

I remember checking out 13 Ghosts from the public library several years ago, when I went through a cheesy horror phase. I loved that the DVD came with a "ghost viewer" — simply a cardstock sandwich with red and blue gels, sort of like 3-D glasses, except the viewer had two options: View through the red gel to see the ghosts. View through the blue gel if you don't want to see them.

Or, as Castle says during the corny intro, "If you believe in ghosts, look through the red...and if you don't believe in ghosts, look through the blue." Here's what it looks like:

Isn't that fantastic?

Oh, it gets better. The premise is comical. A destitute family of four inherits a mansion out of the blue from a crazy, mysterious uncle no one has heard from in years (he's presumed dead). A lawyer summons them to his office, where he delivers the news.

Apparently, the uncle died a week prior to the events of this story, and the lawyer managed to settle the estate and finish all the probate nonsense— without an executor, mind you — in a week's time. Horseshit, but whatever.

Anyway, the film is presented in "Illusion-O!" so at certain points in the film, when the screen turns blue, you're supposed to look through the viewer. If you look through the red viewer, the red accentuates the red ghosts, while the blue obscures them (you can still see them, just not as well — actually you don't need the viewer at all, but whatever).

Talk about gimmicky crap. Yet, I can't help but love this stuff.

Maybe it takes me back to when I watched horror movies late at night with my family. I remember a special 3-D showing of The Creature From the Black Lagoon. You had to get the 3-D glasses at some local gas station, I think. Mom or Dad — can't remember which one — brought several pairs home so we all could watch. It didn't work worth a shit.

My favorite part of 13 Ghosts isn't the gimmicky stuff, or the corny intro by William Castle, or the bad acting, or the terribly expedient legal work. No, I simply love that Margaret Hamilton plays a prominent role. Yeah, you know who I mean:

That's the Wicked Witch of the West herself, some 20 years after The Wizard of Oz. What's great about her presence in the film is all the "witch" jokes, and how well she works with them. Watch the film; I'm not going to ruin those.

Margaret Hamilton was a great lady. The Wicked Witch scared generations of people. At one point, she went on "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" to tell children that it was all just make believe, and that she was just play acting. She led a fascinating, albeit sort of sad life. Such is the price of playing one of the most iconic villains in film history.

Hamilton spent the rest of her career typecast as that character anyway. Doing a fun horror film later in her career to make fun of that typecasting was a canny move for her. I love how she's in on the joke.

Come to think of it, is that why people watch corny horror films? It's as if the film is winking to us and we're winking back. Great stuff.