Tonight on MeTV- we wind up our macabre March with a real favorite- centered on a mysterious mansion that contains a gaggle of ghosts- some domestic tension between the couple in residence- and a group of needy subjects who are given the chance to gain wealth- IF they can avoid losing their lives! It’s the original 1959 William Castle version of “House on Haunted Hill”-starring Vincent Price!

As this beautifully clear remastered print of the film opens, we join a handful of people, all strangers to each other, as they make their way to an unusual house being rented by Frederick Loren- a millionaire- and his sultry wife Annabelle. These are five folks invited by Frederick for some sort of unusual party, and they all have one thing in common-they desperately need money! Frederick offers to fulfill those needs- by giving them the chance to earn $10,000 each! Naturally, there’s a catch- they must spend the entire night sealed up in this house, unable to leave, from midnight through to the next morning. It sounds simple enough- until it is revealed that this place is haunted by treacherous spirits- the ghosts of victims murdered here-who seem more than willing to welcome more to their number!

Adding additional tension to the situation is the fact that Frederick and Annabelle are not exactly a loving couple- in fact, Frederick thinks that his wife tried to poison him to gain control of his wealth, while Annabelle (actually his fourth wife!) believes that HE was responsible for the deaths of his previous wives. She suspects that he is planning something sinister for her with this sleepover party.

Among the guests who realize this is obviously not an episode of “Big Brother” is the house’s actual owner, Watson Pritchard, who relates the haunted history of the place- including the fact that his own brother is among the spirits supposedly inhabiting the house. He gives the party a tour of the premises, including a dungeon-like cellar that includes its own acid pit- reputed to be the site of one of the murders. It isn’t long before a few apparitions appear, causing some panic among the already uneasy guests.

Frederick explains the contest rules, provides each guest with a gun for protection (will that have any effect on ghosts?!), and offers the final option that anyone who doesn’t want to play may leave. Unfortunately, that choice is lost when the caretaker couple of the house leave early and lock the house up BEFORE the midnight starting point- leaving everyone stuck in the house, like it or not!

Thus begins the quest to try to survive until morning and gain the much-needed funds- as the guests encounter more frightening occurrences and what appears to be a death by suicide- or is it a murder? Suspicions arise that someone in the group may indeed BE a murderer- as terror and treachery stand in the way of survival!

We’ll have background information on our cast and the production and talk about the unstable gimmick William Castle invented for this film- a process he called “Emergo”! We’ll also bring you a song, promotion for a questionable mortgage finance company, and the Sven Squad out to play detective! Additionally, we’ll bring you some vintage segments including clips from the film in Svensurround, a visit with “Toon in with Me”s halibut-like host Toony, a look at the “Oops Files”- another fun feature from “Fractured Flickers”- and more!

“House on Haunted Hill” opens its doors to you tonight at 8 pm eastern/ pacific, 7 central time. As usual, you can join in on the “Live-Tweet” posting during the show on Twitter- and live comment posting on Bluesky- please add the hashtag #svengoolie to your posts. Our Chicago area viewers will get a second look at “The Mummy’s Hand” at 11 am on WCIU the U.

Today is the big day at Chicago’s McCormick Place at the C2E2 convention-where you can meet Gwengoolie, Imp, Nostalgiaferatoo and yours truly in person! You can sign up for the professional photo ops with just me or with the entire group- get autographs from us- and attend a panel in which we will all be trying to explain ourselves! For more info- check out the “appearances” tab here on our website.

I have been alerted to the fact that voting has begun for this year’s Rondo Classic Horror Awards- and I am again nominated in the “favorite horror host” category, along with many of my friends. I encourage you to vote for whoever your true favorite is- and observe all the rules, or your vote will NOT be counted! You can vote in just one or whichever categories you wish. You can vote at rondoaward.com!

And tonight, MeTV awards you the opportunity to spend the night with me, Vincent Price and a gallery of ghosts! (Please note- the offer of $10,000 for staying through the entire show is NOT valid!)