Scary Live-Action Disney from the Ron Miller Era
Speaking of the Disney family and getting back to things scary, here's some scary Disney live-action to consider for Halloween viewing.

"Child of Glass" is a television movie from 1978. I'm not even sure if it is available anywhere, and I haven't seen it since it freaked me out as a kid. I just remember it being very scary for me. It runs 93 minutes and is set at an antebellum mansion where the ghost of a murdered little girl haunts the new residents.

"Watcher in the Woods" is now out on a DVD from Anchor Bay. It was a theatrical film from 1980, starring Bette Davis and Lynn-Holly Johnson and runs 84 minutes. I can recall this one being suspense for me as a kid, but not nightmare-inducing like "Child of Glass". Johnson plays Jan Curtis, a young woman whose family has just moved to a remove estate owned by a reclusive old woman (played by Bette Davis). Something is haunting Curtis, and there seems to be a connection between the haunting and the disappearance of a young woman like herself decades ago.

The DVD has two alternate endings, and the theatrical ending proves to be the best. If you want to see how cheesy special effects could get before cheesy advanced digital animated effects, watch those alternative endings. But if you just want a good mood piece for Halloween, watch the regular film.

"Something Wicked This Way Comes", released in theaters in 1983, based on the Ray Bradbury novel of the same name, is available, but I don't know if it is on DVD yet. Anchored with master actors Jason Robards and Jonathan Pryce, the film tells the story of two boys living in a small Midwestern town that is invaded by a sinister carnival, and one of those boy's relationship with his aging father.

This film holds a special place in my heart, as I studied the film, the novel, and related short stories from Bradbury in the process of creating an elaborate ride-through attraction based on Professor Dark (Pryce) and his Pandemonium Carnival as part of my college thesis project. I still have a model taking up a nice chunk of my bedroom.

So there you have some suggestions for seasonal viewing that don't get vulgar.

Have Fun and Get Theatrical
I'm well aware of the various traditions contributing to our present-day activities in the U.S. around October 31 and November 1, and I know that there are people who do not make a distinction between these days and any other, or have alternative activities to offer on such days, or consider any form of celebration on these days to be wrong. I'm not going to use this column as a place to discuss the controversial issues involved. If you avoid any kind of special activity to mark this time of year, that's fine by me.

As I started out this edition of the column saying, one of the ways I look as this time of year is as an opportunity to explore creativity and get a little theatrical, putting on a show for friends, family, and neighbors. So, whether you prefer to dress up like James Tidemanson Kirk and go door-to-door in hopes of getting a sack full of candy, or whether you set up fake tombstones in on your front lawn, I say be careful, have fun, and put on a good show.