Alice Rogers
Director of PR & Marketing
(502) 564-1792, ext. 4476
alice.rogers@ky.gov

http://history.ky.gov

FRANKFORT, Ky. (October 25, 2004) – Beginning Friday evening, October 29, the Kentucky Historical Society will present “Scared Kentucky Straight:  Kentuckians and the Horror Movie,” a Reel Kentucky Film Festival.  This three-day series features horror films with Kentucky connections.  The four frightful films, shown at the Kentucky History Center in downtown Frankfort are:

            Friday, October 29, 7 p.m., Halloween (1978) R

            Saturday, October 30, 11 a.m., Dracula (1931); 3 p.m. Interview with the Vampire (1994) R

            Sunday, October 31, 2 p.m., The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) unrated

Each showing will open with a brief introduction to the film.  After the viewing, film scholar, Joyce Miller, will lead an in-depth discussion about the cultural impact these four movies both represented and created.  Miller, who lives in Lexington, is the Endowed Chair of Appalachian Studies at Berea College.

The classic film, Halloween, directed by John Carpenter, a Bowling Green native, launched the slasher subgenre of horror movies.  Dracula, directed by Louisville native, Tod Browning, was the first talkie based on Bram Stoker’s novel.  Tom Cruise, another Louisvillian, starred in Interview with the Vampire, a complicated vampire film that reconnected audiences to past popular monster-style movies.  The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, edited by Covington native, Dorothy Spencer, transcended the typical haunted house subgenre by developing it into a moving drama that resonated with women in the era after World War II.

The Reel Kentucky Film Festival is for ages 17 and up.  Free popcorn provided.  Cost to attend all four films is $10 KHS members, $12 nonmembers.  The cost to view a single film is $3 KHS members, $4 nonmembers.  For a brochure and registration form, or to make reservations, call (502) 564-1792, ext 4467 or e-mail Joanie.dimartino@ky.gov.

For more information about other Kentucky Historical Society programs, you may visit the Web at http://history.ky.gov or call (502) 564-1792. 

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The Kentucky Historical Society, since 1836, has provided connections to the past, perspective on the present and inspiration for the future.  KHS operates the Old State Capitol, Kentucky Military History Museum and its five-year-old headquarters, the Kentucky History Center.   Since 1999, the thirty-million dollar History Center has welcomed almost one million visitors.   For more information about the Kentucky Historical Society and its programs, visit the Web at http://history.ky.gov or call (502) 564-1792.