HOW'S THIS FOR A HALLOWEEN TREAT - THE "SCARED SILLY" BOOK NOW HAS A PUBLISHER!!!

Well, here we are on Halloween, and I don’t have any tricks for you… just the ultimate treat!

* Drumroll please… *

Announcing that “Scared Silly” the BOOK now has a publisher!!!

Yes, it’s true. Split Reel LLC will be publishing the “Scared Silly” book.

How did this happen? Well, I’d been aware of publisher Rob Stone for quite a while. He’s a fellow film historian/author as well as a film preservationist and professional archivist. He penned a wonderful book on the solo films of Laurel & Hardy, appropriately titled, Laurel Or Hardy… and ultimately decided he’d love to publish a variety of books on vintage film comedy!

Rob has guested on various podcasts and virtual events including Patrick Vasey’s Laurel & Hardy Podcast and Ben Model and Steve Massa’s Silent Comedy Watch Party.

It was through Ben and Steve’s show that I learned of Rob’s subsequent publications under the Split Reel imprint, “Pokes & Jabbs: the Before, During, and After of the VIM Films Corporation,” as well as the “Pokes & Jabbs Picture Book.”

In conversation with my friend, Bob Furmanek, co-author of “Abbott & Costello In Hollywood” and the restorationist of many vintage 3-D films as well as Abbott & Costello projects under his 3D Archives initiative, Bob strongly encouraged me to reach out to Rob about “Scared Silly.”

I’m glad I did, as not only was Rob quite enthusiastic over the prospect of publishing “Scared Silly,” but his love of film history and those who research and write about it was beyond evident in the details of what he proposed to me for a publishing deal.

So, how will all this work? Details will be forthcoming as we get closer to publication date so be sure to check here often.

In deciding to move toward completion of the book, I did have to make some concessions. First off, I’ve decided that my focus will lean heavily toward “talkies.” For the simple reason that there are so many silent films that are either incomplete or missing entirely. Exceptions will of course be made for prominent participants in silent scare comedies such as Laurel & Hardy, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, Our Gang and the like.

The other main concession I’ve made is to narrow my focus even within the talkies. There are so many “borderline” entries like Hillbillies in a Haunted House and Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow that may have to fall away and be relegated to “horror-onable mention” status at best in favor of me digging into films that feature the most noteworthy of film comedy stars.

You may be wondering what this all means for the Scared Silly blog as well. The purpose of this blog was always to be a companion to the book. Now that the reality of the book’s publication is closer in view, the blog must take a backseat to it. It’s like when you get a free trial of a favorite video streaming service. You can’t possibly watch everything that streaming service has to offer during that free trial. However, if you like what you’ve seen, you may be inspired to make a financial commitment to subscribe and partake of all of it.

It’s the same with Scared Silly. I’ll continue to post some interesting news items or tidbits here or there, and re-post some articles that are favorites among fans, but I’ll be putting a moratorium on posted reviews until the book is published. Thereafter, I may post reviews of silent films or others that didn’t make it into the published book.

One more Halloween treat to remind you about: as mentioned in my previous post, I’m the guest-speaker tonight at Denny Daniels’ Museum of Interesting Things annual Halloween “Scared Silly Secret Speakeasy” event, Monday, October 31st, 2022 at 8PM EST.

You can show up live in person at the museum’s event space on Prince Street in NYC, or you can tune in virtually. Tickets are available when you click here, AND don’t forget I have a limited number of FREE VIP tickets (both in-person and virtual) if you email me at scaredsillybypaulcastiglia@gmail.com by 6PM EST tonight. Hope to see you there!

In the meantime, let’s revisit the trailer for the greatest horror-comedy film of all-time – Happy Halloween!