Carnival of Souls premiered on 26 September 1962 in Lawrence, Kansas. And then, like Mary Henry herself, the film disappeared. It was never properly released in the United States.

I’ve always loved Carnival of Souls. But I can say more. It is the best horror film of all time. From the crash to the final reveal, it provides nonstop unease. It also delivers more traditional scares.

The story is simple: a woman dies and it takes her a while to figure it out. She exists in two different worlds. One is the regular living world. Ghouls exist in the other world. And she attracts them in a very unsettling way.

But it’s more than that. It’s that she works as an organist in a church. It’s that her neighbor is a creepy guy who seems like he’s one hint away from sexual assault.

But above all, Candace Hilligoss in the lead role is fantastic. She makes the most banal things seem threatening. The film lives and dies on her performance.

There’s more to it, of course. The simplicity of the production — like the make-up for the ghouls. The non-threatening lighting. The film is shot beautifully. It would be an art film with a different context. And perhaps the biggest technical element: the all-organ score.

But another thing is critical to me. I love that it doesn’t explain anything. The final reveal raises more questions than it answers. The film keeps me off balance throughout. And the ending provides just enough clarity to send me away happy.

It is sad that the filmmakers didn’t get any money from this film. But they lived long enough to be recognized for their achievement. (Candace Hilligoss is still alive at the age of 90.) And now the film belongs to us all since it fell into the public domain.

Other 26 September Anniversaries

Filmmakers

• Edmund Gwenn (1877-1959): Best know for his role as Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street, we love him in Them!
• George Raft (1901-1980): Actor best known for his gangster roles in films like Scarface and Invisible Stripes.
• John Zacherle (1918-2016): Early horror TV host — first at WCAU (Shock Theater) then WABC (Zacherley at Large), and finally at WPIX (Chiller Theatre). The first of these was based on a syndicated package of classic horror films distributed by Screen Gems, which itself was called Shock Theater.
• Joyce Jameson (1927-1987): Actor known for Tales of Terror and The Comedy of Terrors.
• Patrick O’Neal (1927-1994): Actor known for Chamber of Horrors, Silent Night, Bloody Night, and more.
• Donna Douglas (1932-2015): Elly May Clampett!
• Martine Beswick (1941-): Bond girl who was also in the Hammer films One Million Years BC, Prehistoric Women, and Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde.
• Victoria Vetri (1944-): Actor known for When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth and Invasion of the Bee Girls.
• Linda Hamilton (1956-): Actor known for playing Sarah Connor in The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and Terminator: Dark Fate.
• Melissa Sue Anderson (1962-): Actor known for Little House on the Prairie but who starred in Happy Birthday to Me and Dead Men Don’t Die.
• Lysette Anthony (1963-): Actor known for Krull and Without a Clue.
• David Slade (1969-): Director of Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night.
• Sheri Moon Zombie (1970-): Wife of Rob Zombie who stars in most of his films like House of 1000 Corpses and The Lords of Salem.

Films

• Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947): Dick Tracy investigates nerve-gas-based bank robberies.
• Moon of the Wolf (1972): Werewolf in Louisiana.
• Phobia (1980): A psychiatrist’s patients are murdered in ways that relate to their phobias.
• Nemesis 2: Nebula (1995): Years after the first film, humans are enslaved.
• Gods and Monsters (1998): Not psychotronic; a biopic about psychotronic hero James Whale
• Witchhouse II: Blood Coven (2000): Archaeologists come to study unmarked graves and one of them is possessed by an ancient witch.
• House of Carnage (2006): The hills have eyes… in the woods.
• Book of Blood (2008): Researcher find a house is a crossroad of paths that transport the souls of the dead.
• The Boxtrolls (2014): A little boy tries to stop a town bent on destroying the generally harmless and adorable boxtrolls.
• The Equalizer (2014): Badass takes on the Russian mob.

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Carnival of Souls poster via Wikipedia. It is in the public domain.