American honeymooners Joan and Peter Allison are held captive in a mausoleum against their will by a Black Mass high priest who has chosen Joan to be the Devil’s bride.

Read more “Horror History: Monday, May 7, 1934: The Black Cat was released in theaters”

Set in the old dark Winslow house, The Black Cat is a frightening mystery thriller starring Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi and Alan Ladd. A wealthy but embittered matriarch makes a deathbed recovery only to be murdered by someone in the greedy clan gathered for the reading of her will. The family is frustrated to learn that nobody receives a penny until the very last of the old lady’s multitude of beloved cats perish. Along with the family and servants, an eager real estate agent and a single-minded antique dealer have arrived to pounce on what seemed to be a sure-fire, moneymaking opportunity. Trapped in the mansion by a raging storm, one by one, people and cats turn up dead. The only thing that remains more mysterious than the revolving doors and passageways scattered throughout the grand estate, is the identity of the murderer.

Read more “Horror History: Friday, May 2, 1941: The Black Cat was released in theaters”

Italian director Lucio Fulci applies his characteristic touch to the Edgar Allan Poe tale to tell the story of a deranged, wheelchair-bound English psychic who can record the voices of the dead on tape, and apparently possesses the ability to channel evil spirits into the body of his cat — which he then commands to take vengeance on his enemies.

Read more “Horror History: Friday, February 10, 1984: The Black Cat was released in US theaters”