Classic Film Friday: 13 Ghosts

I picked this 1960 classic movie in honor of Halloween. The destitute Zorba family finds themselves penniless and without so much as a chair to sit on. Young Buck makes a birthday wish to live in a house with furniture, and suddenly a stranger shows up at the door with a summons from a lawyer. Little did the Zorbas know that Buck’s wish was about to come true, and then some.

It seems long lost uncle Zorba, a ghost collector of sorts, off and died and left them a house, furniture and all. And ghosts, 12 of them to be exact, the 13^th to be added by the end of the movie. Who could it be? I’ll never tell.

This isn’t anything at all like today’s version of a horror movie. Margaret Hamilton (THE Wicked Witch of the West) makes an ongoing cameo appearance as house caretaker and spirit medium Elaine. The cheese factor is sky high in some parts, and in others the primitive special effects leave something to be desired. But it is fun, especially during Halloween. And you probably won’t even have to sleep with the lights on after you’ve seen it.