Vampire Bats

Vampire bats hunt only when it is fully dark.

Vampire bats, species of the subfamily Desmodontinae, are leaf-nosed bats found in Central and South America. Bats are the only mammals that can fly, but vampire bats have an even more interesting distinction—they are the only mammals that feed entirely on blood. These notorious bats sleep during the day in total darkness, suspended upside down from the roofs of caves, old wells, hollow trees, or buildings.

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Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)

You think I’m insane. You think I don’t know what I’m talking about. Well you just look in that grave where Lawrence Talbot is supposed to be buried and see if you find a body in it!

I watched the 1943 sequel to The Wolf Man, Universal Studios Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man on Svengoolie. When grave robbers, looking for buried money in the Talbot mausoleum, open Larry Talbot’s crypt they find his body and the coffin stuffed with Wolf’s-bane. Lon Chaney Jr. (played the Mummy, Dracula, Frankenstein monster, and the Wolf-Man), Larry Talbot, is free and starts seeking an end to his suffering. He locates the gypsy woman Maleva played by Maria Ouspenskaya

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The Ghost of Frankenstein

Better death… than a life like this.

I watched this 4th installment in the Universal Frankenstein movies, the 1942 “The Ghost of Frankenstein” on Svengoolie. Taking up where the previous movie left off, Frankenstein’s monster (Lon Chaney Jr.) and Ygor (Bela Lugosi) are chased out of town. They seek out the younger son of Dr. Frankenstein, played by Cedric Hardwicke, to continue his dad’s experiments. Ygor wants revenge by having his brain transplanted into the head of the monster.

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“Frankenstein” (1931)

Oh, in the name of God! Now I know what it feels like to be God!

I watched the original 1931 Universal Pictures Corp. horror movie “Frankenstein” on Svengoolie. The movie was produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. (founder of Universal Studios and head of the production from 1928 to 1936) and directed by James Whale (The Old Dark House, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein). The story was written by Mary Shelley (she published the story, also called The Modern Prometheus in 1818). Svengoolie pointed out that without this movie there would have been no Herman Munster nor Franken Berry!

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Dracula (1931)

For one who has not lived even a single lifetime, you’re a wise man, Van Helsing. – Count Dracula

I watched the 1931 Universal Pictures movie “Dracula” on Svengoolie. We see possums, armadillos, bats, and spiders while they talk about eating roaches, flys and we hear the wailing of wolves during the film. We also learn just about everything about vampires, from their need for their sacred earth, cannot be in sunlight, Wolf’s bane will repel them, they have no reflection, bullets won’t hurt them, a crucifix will temporarily force them back, they can transform into bats or wolves, they feed on blood, they can temporarily hypnotize with their eyes, and they can be killed with a wooden stake through the heart.

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