{"id":17306,"date":"2021-05-16T14:30:38","date_gmt":"2021-05-16T18:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lawrencecconnolly.com\/archive\/?p=17306"},"modified":"2023-07-07T22:43:25","modified_gmt":"2023-07-08T02:43:25","slug":"craic-at-the-fright-pubremembering-the-premiere-of-creepshow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lawrencecconnolly.com\/archive\/2021\/05\/16\/craic-at-the-fright-pubremembering-the-premiere-of-creepshow\/","title":{"rendered":"Craic at the Fright Pub<\/i>:
Remembering the Premiere of Creepshow<\/i><\/br>"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Stephen King and Peter Straub read from <\/em>The Talisman at the World Fantasy Convention in New Haven, Connecticut, October 1982.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Photo:<\/span>The 21st Century Scop<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The first rule of Fright Pub is you must listen to Fright Pub<\/em>. And the second rule of Fright Pub is bring something to drink<\/em>. That’s because, at this horror-movie podcast, it\u2019s not only about the movies. It\u2019s also about the craic<\/em> \u2013 aka, the Irish tradition of freewheeling conversation over a couple of pints \u2026 or more than a couple if the craic is flowing, which it always is at Fright Pub<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Hosted by film buffs Liam Macik, Sean (Shaggy) Sears, and Lauren Connolly, Fright Pub has become the gathering place for a growing community of cinephiles, and in their latest installment, I got to drop by the bar as the trio discussed the George Romero \/ Stephen King anthology film from 1982 — Creepshow<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not an authority on the film, but I was on hand for its premiere at The World Fantasy Convention, and talking about it brought back some surprisingly vivid memories.<\/p>\n

As I recall in the podcast, Straub was a guest of honor at that year’s WFC, and one of the highlights of the convention was a reading in which he and King shared excerpts from The Talisman<\/em><\/a>. In true Fright Pub fashion, each author arrived with his drink of choice \u2013 a bottle of Dom Perignon for Straub, a six-pack of Stroh\u2019s 16oz cans for King. At the time, The Talisman<\/em> existed only in manuscript, hundreds of typed pages on white and blue paper.<\/p>\n

One of the excerpts they shared was from Chapter 18: Wolf Goes to the Movies, in which protagonist Jack Sawyer and his werewolf friend (known simply as Wolf<\/em>) attend a screening of Ralph Bakshi\u2019s Lord of the Rings<\/em>, and all goes well until Wolf starts howling in the crowded theatre.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

King read with relish, howling between sips of Stroh\u2019s.<\/p>\n

The door at the back of Cinema 6 opened. “What’s going on in here?”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

“Wolf, shut up!” Jack hissed. “For God’s sake–“<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

“OWWWWWW-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Wolf howled.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

A woman got a good look at Wolf as the white light from the lobby fell on him. She screamed and began dragging her little boy out by one arm. Literally dragging him; the kid had fallen to his knees and was skidding up the popcorn-littered carpet of the center aisle. One of his sneakers had come off.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

“OWWWWWWWW-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH-HHOOOOOOHHHHOOOOOO!”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The day after the reading, at 9:30 on a Sunday morning, we trekked half-a-mile north to the York Square Cinema where Creepshow<\/em> was screened for 500 members of the convention. No one howled like a wolf, though the place filled with cheers when King made his screen debut as Jordy Verrill in one of the two segments based on a previously published King story.<\/p>\n

On the podcast, I recalled that the segment had been adapted from “It Grows on You,” which appeared in the small-press magazine Whispers<\/em> just a couple months before Creepshow<\/em> premiered. In actuality, the segment is based on “Weeds,” which originally appeared in Cavalier<\/em> in 1977 as “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill.” The source of my faulty recollection is possibly the cover of the August 1982 issue of Whispers<\/em>, which shows a Jordy-Verrill-like character with green foliage sprouting from his face. The title “It Grows on You” is also likely to blame for my false memory.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The other segment based on a previously published story is “The Crate,” from Gallery<\/em>, July 1979. (Back in those days, the men’s magazines helped more than a few writers pay their rent.) This one features a final scene filmed at a flooded Pennsylvania quarry where I used to scuba dive with fellow-front-man for the Laughrey Connolly Band<\/a>. He went on to work for the Pennsylvania Geologic Survey, and it was there that he took a call from location scouts seeking a good place to sink a monster in a box.<\/p>\n

That old quarry has since been drained and filled in. If the box is down there, it’s covered with tons of landfill, awaiting excavation. Anyone for a sequel?<\/p>\n

\"\"We concluded my pub visit with some thoughts on Creepshow’<\/em>s reliance (some might say over-reliance) on humor. Lauren wanted to know if I had any idea why Romero and King went for laughs as often as screams. But before I could respond, our Zoom connection went wonky. Fortunately, my answer was recorded even though the hosts couldn’t chime in. What happened then? Click here <\/a>to find out. And while you’re there, be sure to click follow<\/em> because … as Jordy Verrill discovered when he poked the meteor — it grows on you!<\/p>\n

Other news: This installment of The 21st Century Scop is my first new post in weeks. As I’ve said in previous installments, I am always impressed by writers who are able to maintain a weekly blog and still keep up on the writing that pays the bills. I’m not one of them. When deadlines approach, I’m MIA until the gig work is done.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, I’ve recently caught up on a few things that I hope to be sharing in the weeks ahead. But for now, I’ll leave you with another interview, this one recorded with the always entertaining Greg Hall — aka The Funky Werepig — in which we talk about some of the projects that have been keeping me out of the blogosphere since March.<\/p>\n

Hit play. We’ll meet you there!<\/p>\n