Chatting with ghosts: The Basement interviews William Castle

Halloween is our favourite holiday here in The Basement, and we've got something special planned for our Oct. 29 episode to celebrate.

With the help of psychic and frequent Basement contributor Mike S., and the marvels of modern Facebook technology, Shawn and I are going to conduct a live online and onair interview with the spirit of famous Hollywood film director, producer and actor William Castle.

Yes, Castle is back from beyond the grave and he's willing to take some time out from overseeing the collaborative horror novel Scare It Forward (which yours truly is taking part in) to answer some questions about his life, career and the movies he made.

Castle may be best known for his gimmicks. For example, The Tingler (1959) was about a docile creature that lives in the spinal cord, is activated by fright, and can only be destroyed by screaming. In the film's finale, one of the creatures removed from the spine of a mute woman is let loose in a movie theatre. Some seats in theatres showing the Tingler were equipped with larger versions of hand-held joy buzzers that were attached to the underside of the seats. When the Tingler in the film attacked the audience, the buzzers were activated as a voice encouraged the real audience to scream for their lives.

We're going to open a discussion section on our Facebook page at about 10 p.m. PST on Oct. 29. Our conversation with Castle, who has regained the ability to type but not to speak, will begin in that section soon after. Those who want to listen can tune in live at 92.5FM CFBX Kamloops or www.thex.ca. If you want to watch the discussion unfold, or even have a question to ask, stop by our Facebook page.

Shawn and I are very excited about this interview, a Basement first. And we encourage everyone to stop by Scare It Forward, give it a read, and leave a comment or two.

And don't forget to tune in next week for reviews of Case 39, The Road and our discussion on era flops circa 1985!

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