Scary Stories Documentary

On Saturday, Eric and I ventured into Salem, MA to see the documentary film I am in. We had no idea how crazy the traffic would be! I know that Salem gets busy in October, but it was only the 6th. I had hoped to visit a few of the filming locations for Hocus Pocus, but the streets were mobbed. We did drive by the historic Ropes Mansion, which was used as Allison's home. There were tons of people out front, taking selfies.

A few years ago, we drove into Salem during the summer so that my interview (as a children's literature scholar and librarian) could be filmed. I never knew how complicated making a film was until that point. When I arrived, I had to be wired with a microphone (but of course the wires couldn't be showing) and they had to get the lighting just right (which wasn't easy because too much light made my face look very white, but not enough light made my dark hair blend in with the wooden wall behind me). 

Here's my blog post from 2015, the day after my interview, including the topics I discussed.

In the first trailer for the documentary, I was shown discussing folktales and myths, and the banning of the Scary Stories books. I figured in the years since then, maybe the filmmaker would have so much more material that my measly interview wouldn't be necessary. I told myself that even if I was cut out, that I wouldn't mind because it was still a unique experience.

Yesterday as we sat in the movie screening room at the Peabody Essex Museum, I was surprised to see my face on screen not once, but twice! The first little snippet was me talking about the haunting illustrations by Stephen Gammell, particularly this one:

The second clip from my interview is my analysis of the urban legend about the teenage boy and girl in the car, and they hear a radio bulletin about an escaped murderer with a hook for a hand. The girl becomes frightened, and begs the boy to take her home. He does reluctantly, and when he steps out to open the door for her, he finds a hook on the car door handle. 

An alternate version of this story is featured in one of my favorite movies Adventures in Babysitting (and it's worth noting that babysitters also have a prominent place in urban legends)

Stories such as this function as a warning to young people about societal expectations and monitoring their behavior (two teens, alone in a car could lead to sex); the other popular urban legend about a teenager in a car is the one in which a girl is driving and a car follows her, flashing its lights at her, leading her to pull into a gas station and scream for help. The gas station attendant calls the police, and a murderer is discovered to be hiding in her backseat.

I really enjoyed the documentary itself, not just because I happen to be in it. It brought up some really interesting interpretations of the tales that I had never considered. I was extra excited because I ordered these books for my new library, and they had just arrived on Friday afternoon, so now when I go to promote them to the kids, I will have some fresh ideas in my head.

After the film, we got a drink at Notch, a micro brewery. It was pretty good, but we wish they'd had more food to offer because we were really hungry by that point. 

I don't think the doc is available for purchase yet, but I will be keeping tabs on it as it continues to be shown at more screenings.