The Salem Witch Trials!
First off, thanks for helping the Halloween Countdown make a big splash on its debut night. (Big enough to crash the server, actually!)
Second, I’ve been digging through everyone’s video suggestions for After Dark, and man, you guys sent in so much great stuff. Here’s another one:
It’s a History Channel documentary on the Salem witch trials, sent in by vhslvy. She remembers it getting a lot of play during more than one Halloween season, and now that I think about it, I do too.
After visiting Salem several times, I picked up a low-key obsession with the witch trials. The eeriness doesn’t stem from any supernatural doings, of course, but rather the clear-cut example of mass hysteria and the unfathomably cruel punishments of plainly innocent people.
This isn’t exactly a “party video,” but it sure is fascinating.
By the way, if you’ve never visited Salem and it’s at all a possibility for you, seize the opportunity. Absolutely amazing town, and even with all of the increased sensationalistic hubbub during September and October, you never get the sense that you’re in a “theme park.”
There are definitely things to see and do there, but for us it was always about the ambiance. It’s the city version of a pumpkin candle. Hell, one time we spent a weekend there during a brutal thunderstorm that just about killed the town dead, and we still had a blast.
So let’s take a note from that and add a survey:
What’s the most “Halloweenified” place you’ve ever visited?
Spill it, in the comments.
Grave of the Vampire!
Welcome, foolish mortals. Dino Drac After Dark is back at full speed!
If you’re new to DDAD, here’s how it works:
This part of the site is updated every night at 12AM EST. (In practice it’s often updated a few hours before, but let’s not dull the gimmick with minutiae.)
Most nights I post a random video found on YouTube, be it a movie, a compilation of old commercials or something more offbeat.
Other nights there might be a survey. Sometimes there won’t anything at all, which means that you guys get to chat in the comments about whatever the hell you want.
There are two driving forces behind Dino Drac After Dark:
1) The idea that night owls could always use another place to hang. When the mood is right, this place sees action all night long. There’s a great group of folks in the comments who are always up for casual conversations about geeky stuff, whether you’re into the “video of the night” or not!
2) The idea that social media isn’t enough (or even a thing) for everyone, and that some folks would like a place to interact that’s far removed from those platforms.
And hey, even if you’re not into commenting, no worries — just enjoy the movies and assorted media!
Dino Drac After Dark’s second Halloween season is going to be extra special. A while back, I asked readers to pitch videos that could carry us through October 31st, and you guys really rose to the occasion. So many great suggestions!
In fact, here’s the first of ‘em:
As suggested by Brian Arnold, here’s Grave of the Vampire from 1972.
From Brian: “It’s cheesy early ‘70s fun, and the screenplay was written by David Chase, creator of The Sopranos! He adapted it from a novel he’d written. Chase would also become a story editor on the horror TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker.”
I’ve never seen this one, but as a huge mark for anything Sopranos, I’m naturally curious. I did skim through it briefly, and it seems like the kind of movie that would’ve played on TV at 2 in the morning. So yeah, pretty perfect for this place.
Thanks for the suggestion, Brian!
Okay guys, get set for (over) two full months’ worth of weird videos and reasons to stay up late.
Hope you enjoy this year’s Halloween Countdown!
Casual Wednesday Thread!
Yeah, another one of these! I’m currently in a crunch trying to get everything in order for the launch of the Halloween Countdown on Friday night, so I’m gonna put aside the “real” After Dark updates until then. Here’s another random thread to talk about nonsense in the meantime!
(Very excited to share all of the video suggestions people sent in for Dino Drac After Dark’s Halloween season, too!)
Casual Monday Thread!
Hi guys! I’m currently drowning in work and there’s still a LOT I need to do before the Countdown gets rolling, but I wanted to put something up tonight, so let’s just call this a Casual Monday Thread. (…which is basically the same as a Free-For-All Friday Thread, but assuredly with less people!)
