The Scary Movie Project

Halloween didn’t start with candy corn and Spirit Halloween — it started 3,000 years ago in Ireland with a Celtic festival called Samhain. Matt sits down with Lisa Morton, multi-Bram Stoker Award winner and author of The Halloween Encyclopedia and Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween, to trace how we got from ancient Celtic bonfires to the second-biggest retail holiday in America.

Follow Lisa Morton: https://lisamorton.com

Find her books wherever books are sold — search The Halloween Encyclopedia

Topics covered:

• Samhain: the 3,000-year-old Celtic festival where the border between the living and the dead came down — and how the Catholic Church co-opted it with All Saints Day
• How Irish and Scottish immigrants brought Halloween to America in the 1840s, and why trick-or-treating nearly got banned in the 1930s before candy saved the day
• The real origin of the jack-o’-lantern: Stingy Jack, a drunk who outwitted the devil three times and got banned from both heaven and hell
• Halloween myth-busting: razor blades in candy, Samhain as the Celtic god of death, and whether druids actually burned people alive
• How John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) completed the holiday’s transformation into an adult celebration — and what Roseanne and The Simpsons did to spread Halloween worldwide

Guest: Lisa Morton

Website: lisamorton.com | Books: The Halloween Encyclopedia / Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/eFJB11FF30Q

Allison Broder of Who’s There Podcast still has the ticket stubs — she saw Sleepy Hollow in theaters twice in November 1999. Matt and Allison break down Tim Burton’s gothic masterpiece: why Christopher Walken’s headless Horseman is terrifying in only four minutes of screen time, the Danny Elfman score (one of the best and whether that happy ending ruins everything.

Follow Allison Broder: @whostherepc on all platforms

Find Who’s There Podcast at https://whostherepodcast.com/

• Why the Headless Horseman is nearly impossible to adapt (nine paragraphs of source material)
• Christopher Walken’s four terrifying minutes as the Horseman — and the stunt performer who also played Darth Maul
• The murder mystery hiding inside the horror film — Lady Van Tassel’s revenge and who’s really controlling the Horseman
• Tim Burton’s visual style, Danny Elfman’s score, and the Hammer horror DNA running through the whole film
• The happy ending debate, the best kills, and whether this is required fall viewing 26 years later

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

Matt and author J.W. Ocker — who watched 82 hours of every Headless Horseman adaptation ever made and themed his bathroom black during COVID — dig into J.W.'s new book Chasing the Headless Horseman. They cover the real geography of Sleepy Hollow vs. Tarrytown, why Washington Irving's original story was never a ghost story, the man with a pre-engraved tombstone already waiting in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Tim Burton's film and its secret horror origins, and why the Headless Horseman is the only monster that only works in the fall. Book out September 29th.

Follow J.W. Ocker: @jwocker on Instagram

Find the book at https://www.oddthingsiveseen.com

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

Matt and horror artist Nick Jackson - @cinetriciart - break down the entire landscape of Italian horror — Gothic origins, Giallo murder mysteries, supernatural nightmares, splatter zombie films, slasher maniacs, and Cannibal Holocaust. We cover Argento, Bava, Fulci, and rank the Gates of Hell trilogy, debate Suspiria's genre, and land on five films that will convert any Italian horror first-timer. Forget the plot. Watch the beauty. Fulci lives!

Nick's films to start with: Black Sunday, Deep Red, Demons, The Beyond.

Follow Nick Jackson: @cinetrediciart on Instagram

Find his prints on Etsy — search CineTredici Art

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

Matt sits down with Chris Rowan, owner of the real Buffalo Bill's House from The Silence of the Lambs — the 1910 Victorian home in Perryopolis, PA where Jonathan Demme filmed the climactic finale in 1991. We break down the film, discuss Anthony Hopkins' legendary 16 minutes of screen time, Clarice as the ultimate final girl, and why calling it a "thriller" was purely an Oscar strategy.

Chris reveals what it took to renovate and open the house, how Tom Savini's special effects program built the interactive well, and screen-used artifacts gifted by the previous owner.

Plus: the 35th anniversary event with Brooke Smith (Catherine Martin) — September 18–20, 2026. Guided tours, meet & greet, and a one-night-only screening on the property.

https://buffalobillshouse.com/

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

In this Halfway to Halloween episode, Matt sits down with Billy Lewis, founder of ScareNetwork.TV, to talk cryptids, ghost stories, and the indie streaming platform he's built to give paranormal, horror, true crime, and monster content a real home. They get into the Florida footage that ended up in the Smithsonian, the hunt for Chessie on the Chesapeake Bay, and why every town has a story worth telling.

CRYPTIDS & PARANORMAL COVERED: The Skunk Ape, Dave Shealy and the famous Glades footage, the Skunk Ape museum, Chessie and the Chesapeake Bay sightings, the Love Point footage, the dissertation on Chessie, Bigfoot, regional ghost stories and haunted locations

SCARE NETWORK TV: Original paranormal, horror, true crime, and monster content — documentaries, narrative features, series, and podcasts you won't find anywhere else. Available on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, and Google Play.

INFLUENCES & SHOWS DISCUSSED: Tales from the Crypt, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Jailhouse (Billy Lewis), Jack Osbourne's paranormal work

Big thanks to Tony Barber and the team at Creative AV and Entertainment (CAVE) for producing the show.

WATCH SCARE NETWORK TV:

• Web: https://scarenetwork.tv
• Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Google Play
• Watch Matt's work on the platform too or visit the following links below!

https://youtu.be/gsVoQbUboSA

https://youtu.be/A4K0Z3PWXsQ

https://youtu.be/5aSpaMxAs0M

Follow Billy Lewis & Scare Network: https://www.instagram.com/scarenetwork.tv/

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

In this episode, Matt sits down with director Bruce Wemple to break down his new haunted-house horror CAPTURE (2026), out now on VOD from Uncork'd Entertainment. They dig into the on-set glitch that inspired the film, the year-long hunt for a 1995 Sony mini-DV camcorder, and the early-2000s J-horror DNA buried in every frame.

FILM DISCUSSED:

Capture (2026), directed by Bruce Wemple, starring Kaitlyn Lunardi, Cedric Gegel, and Chris Cimperman. A lifelong orphan inherits her parents' abandoned house and finds a cursed camcorder and a box of mini-DV tapes hiding the gruesome truth about her family's past.

CRAFT & GEAR COVERED:

Outline-first writing process, locking down the perfect upstate New York location, casting Kaitlyn Lunardi in dual roles, run-and-gun shooting at the empty train station, the cursed 1995 Sony camcorder (and burning it at wrap), Red Komodo at full-frame 6K with the Metabones speed booster, DZO Vespid primes, Canon FD vintage glass, Aperture 300D/600D lighting, Quasar tubes, killing the exposition scene in the edit

INFLUENCES & COMPARISONS:

Sinister, The Ring, Dark Water, Pulse, The Beyond, The Blair Witch Project, The Conjuring, The Innocents, The Haunting (1963), The Woman in Black (2012), 13 Ghosts, Annabelle: Creation, Evil Dead 2, Halloween, Psycho

BRUCE WEMPLE'S OTHER FILMS:

Lake Artifact, Monstrous, Wendigo, Dawn of the Beast, The Hangman, The North Witch, The Retreat

WATCH CAPTURE (2026):

- Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Capture-Bruce-Wemple/dp/B0GK9TK1X2

- Apple TV: https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/capture/umc.cmc.659i765lhv23nzk4hvb804v3t

- Roku: https://www.roku.com/whats-on/movies/capture?id=7271e4325a9512d7706b31940099b03b

Distributed by Uncork'd Entertainment.

Follow Bruce Wemple: https://www.instagram.com/brucewemple/

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

In this episode, Matt and Tara explore the fascinating and complex history of witches—from the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 to modern Wicca and paganism, then dive into witches in horror films and television.

HISTORY COVERED:

Salem Witch Trials 1692, Giles Corey pressed to death, torture methods (swimming a witch, the rack, Iron Maiden), Malleus Maleficarum witch hunting guide, 80,000 executed in Europe (1500-1660), modern Wicca founded by Gerald Gardner (1950s), contemporary persecution still happening worldwide

MOVIES & SHOWS DISCUSSED:

The Blair Witch Project, The Witch/VVitch, Lords of Salem, The Craft, Practical Magic, Witches of Eastwick, Hocus Pocus, American Horror Story: Coven, Sabrina the Teenage Witch vs Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Supernatural, Bewitched

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Time Life: Witches and Witchcraft

• Scott Cunningham Wicca books

• History.com: "Witches, Real Origins, Hunts and Trials" - https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/history-of-witches

• The Atlantic: "Inside Paganism" - https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/10/inside-paganism/381764/

• Salem Witch Museum - https://salemwitchmuseum.com/

Special thanks to Megan Loney, Rachel Sullivan, Emily Cole, and Emily Fornof for research contributions.

Follow Tara Garwood: https://www.instagram.com/tarakatafilms/

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

Matt joins fellow creators at Awesome Con 2026 for a panel on building authentic communities as nano influencers. Topics include finding your niche, engaging followers, handling burnout, and why passion beats profit. With Blair Witch Experience creator Matt Blazi, author Neil Cohen, and more. Plus audience Q&A!

Matt Blazi: https://www.instagram.com/monrozombi/

Larissa Staszak: https://www.instagram.com/themidnightcreative05/

Neil Cohen: https://www.instagram.com/exitzerozombie/

And very special guests Nortsauce and Flygutzz!: https://www.instagram.com/nortsauce/, https://www.instagram.com/flygutzz/

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

Matt and Sara Alepin break down Ari Aster's devastating 2018 debut HEREDITARY, starring Toni Collette in a career-defining performance. From practical effects to hidden symbolism, we explore why this cerebral family horror demands multiple viewings. All hail Paimon!

Hereditary trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6wWKNij_1M

Follow Sara Alepin - https://www.instagram.com/sarawithoutanh/

The history of Paimon - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paimon

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

Join Matt and guest Allison Broder from Who's There Podcast as we dive deep into Adam Green's nerve-wracking 2010 survival horror FROZEN - and no, this isn't about Anna and Elsa!

Frozen trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIrnUbOmBBQ

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

Along with Sara Alepin, we explore Steven Soderbergh's PRESENCE (2024), a haunted house film shot entirely from a ghost's POV with only 33 cuts. This intimate family thriller breaks every filmmaking rule to create something truly unsettling.

Presence trailer - https://youtu.be/_GUli0vgb4Q?si=Nses5L30fjduGA8x

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

As you know, we can't get enough of the Amityville Horror so Matt is joined by Dan Cubias, author of The Amityville Horror to discuss his take on the legend, the film, and the aura of the legend that won't go away.

Buy Daniel's book, The Amityville Horror - https://diediebooks.com/products/the-amityville-horror

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

Love them or hate them, Matt, KB Loves Movies, and Horror Macaroni dive into some of their favorite horror sequels. Did one of yours make the list?

50 Greatest Horror Movie Sequels of All-Time -https://screenagewasteland.com/the-50-greatest-horror-sequels-of-all-time-50-41/

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

Matt welcomes Chris Higgins from The Bearded Film Guy and Beyond The Blood podcast to get into Rob Zombie's quotable and always violent Firefly clan trilogy.

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

Matt and Tara break down the twisted world of Zoe Kravitz’s directorial debut, Blink Twice (2024) — a stylish, disturbing, and darkly funny horror-thriller!

Blink Twice trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMcmfonGWY4

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

Join Matt and author J.W. Ocker for an in-depth discussion of NBC's criminally underrated masterpiece Hannibal (2013-2015)

Hannibal TV series trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDTzn8y-5kM

Follow J.W. Ocker - https://www.instagram.com/jwocker/

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

After giving the yearly tour and appearing on TV to celebrate 50 years of the film, it was way past time to do this episode! Matt is joined by Shai Korman, Matt Blazi, Larissa Staszak, and Tara Garwood to talk about one of the all-time horror classics.

Watch Matt's appearance on Global New Canada celebrating 50 years of The Exorcist - https://youtu.be/b6QD6FHotMg?si=UghodLelEkKzOfVq

Visit The Exorcist archives - https://library.georgetown.edu/exhibition/filming-exorcist

The Exorcist trailer - https://youtu.be/jyW5YXDcIGs?si=UsQ0MPsXeAIOIE-B

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

In Search of Darkness - THE authority on horror documentaries wraps up the 90's with 1995-99 and Matt gets to talk with Writer and Director David Weiner.

In Search Of Darkness - https://www.creatorvc.com/in-search-of-darkness

Follow David Weiner - https://www.instagram.com/itcamefromblog/

In Search Of Darkness 1995-99 - https://www.creatorvc.com/90shorrordoc

CreatorVC - https://www.creatorvc.com/

In Search Of Darkness 1995-99 Trailer - https://youtu.be/FG8l-mZqFag?si=OyS7CDHJn9PL8U40

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

Matt spends an hour with the king of horror movie locations Sean Clark to talk about his series Horror's Hallowed Grounds.

SHOW OVERVIEW:

Website: https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/

Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics!

Now with spoilerier spoilers!

https://youtu.be/74gHxaGEuew

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