Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Dare you plumb the depths of public domain horror?


Halloween is rapidly approaching (only 17 days away!) so our patrons are understandably checking out loads of horror films. [On a personal editorial note, I find it fantastic that there is an entire month dedicated to fear.] We've previously covered our horror collection on Pinterest, which is still the best resource for finding the various scary movies in our collection.

But what if you want to dig deeper? For the hardcore horror aficionados – as well as anyone who wants to get a good horror movie without leaving their dorm – we wish to direct your attention to Horrortheque.

Horrortheque collects public domain horror movies (essentially, ones for which the copyright has lapsed) and provides videos of them where available. Many films released in the 1930s or earlier have entered the public domain, but others as recent as the 1980s are also freely available. Some of them, like Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, are stone-cold classics. Horrortheque grabs many of its videos from public YouTube uploads, many of which have been removed, so their availability within the site is a little iffy. But once you have the names, they should be readily accessible via a quick Google search.

This is a fun site for horror enthusiasts and film history buffs looking for something seasonal that's a little less trodden. The public domain overflows with of all sorts of film oddities, and there's perhaps no better time to dive in than during a holiday about the mysterious and scary.

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