I absolutely love the opening moments of 1980’s THE FOG.
Mr. Machen, played by John Houseman, telling ghost stories to a bunch of wide-eyed kids on the beach.
Every one of those kids grew up to be horror writers. I just know it.
Something else I love?
Stories set in coastal towns.
So… even though I’ve watched THE FOG a hundred times, I watched it again a few nights ago.
The tale of revenge… the murderous apparitions who roll in with the fog (creatures my friend Nate always called “the spaghetti men”)… the dark and horrible crimes of days gone by… It all takes a back seat to the overall charm of the movie.
This starts as a ghost story told around a campfire, and John Carpenter never lets you forget that’s what you’re getting.
I really think it is kind of a nice little set up for a horror yarn.
BOOK PAIRING:
For more ghostly happenings and more coastal towns, might I suggest COLD SPOTS, a story of a burgeoning supernatural apocalypse and the restless dead?
