June 27: Shirley Jackson Day

[Gothick]

Fans,

This is an interesting article with several implicit DS connections.  DS made use of plot elements from both "The Lottery" (in the final PT1841 storyline) and the original novel (and film adaptation) THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE.  I never knew that June 27th was the date Jackson gave for the titular lottery in her short story.  That's really rather uncanny.  The 68th anniversary of the publication of "The Lottery" is Sunday June 26.

http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/looking-for-the-lottery-author-shirley-jackson/Content?oid=3404873

Best,
G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I never knew that June 27th was the date Jackson gave for the titular lottery in her short story.

That is interesting. 

[Gerard]

When I spent almost a month on-board the Queen Mary 2, one of the passengers was Richard Johnson, who played the role of the investigator in the classic screen adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House (the movie was called The Haunting).  He gave a lecture on his acting career, acting in general, and his role in The Haunting in the ship's combined movie theater/planetarium.  It was fascinating.  He laid to rest that the scene where the door bulges in from the force of the ghost was made from rubber; it was not - it was made from wood and stagehands had to carefully apply enough pressure to make it "breathe" without cracking or breaking it.  After his lecture, the film was shown in wonderful wide-screen.  I had the opportunity to talk to him in person.  Of course, I did not buy the DVD version of The Haunting being sold in the bookstore and having it autographed during a signing in the ocean liner's library.  How stupid was I?

Gerard

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The Haunting is one of my all-time favorite films. I do own the DVD - though it's not autographed by anyone. But even if you didn't get it autographed, it's too bad that you didn't buy it, Gerard, because, beyond just owning the film, there's a fun audio commentary done by all the major players: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn, Director Robert Wise, and Screenwriter Nelson Gidding.

I love to watch the film all alone with the lights out...

[Gerard]

Stupid, stupid, stupid, wasn't I, MB?  I did buy a couple books from the book store on the QM2 to have them autographed by another passenger, William H. Miller, who wrote over 60 outstanding books on ocean liner history (my shared passion with DS) and gave a series of lectures on the same voyage.  But I didn't spend a few bucks more to buy that DVD of The Haunting to be signed by Mr. Johnson.  How shortsighted could I have been?  At least I got to meet him, shake his hand, and talk with him at great length, and find out in both is lecture and our discussion about the film adaptation of Ms. Jackson's classic novel.  I guess that's more than many and I shouldn't complain about my stupidity.

Gerard (Who Also Sat Next to Stephen King In An Airport Lounge While Reading One Of His Novels And Didn't Ask Him to Autograph It - Oh, Well, Stupid Is Stupid)

[KMR]

Wow, Gerard, I've encountered some stupid people in my day, but really, that is just too much!

Just last night I picked up a galley of SHIRLEY JACKSON: A RATHER HAUNTED LIFE by Ruth Franklin. It will be published in September. It looks like it will be a wonderful book about my favorite author. (But it looks like it will also be revealing a lot of the less happy parts of her life.)

 I'm going to have to buy a copy of the published version when it comes out, because the end notes are lacking page numbers and the photographs aren't reproduced very well in the galley. This book is going to be a keeper, so I won't mind paying for a "duplicate" copy.