Let the spooky steeplechase begin! Accompanying 11 films in the 12 days before Halloween

Me looking spooked prior to a screening of 'Sherlock Holmes' (1916) earlier this month in Greenfield, Mass.

Let's see. It's three 'Phantoms,' two 'Nosferatus,' and a 'Golem,' a 'Bat,' a 'Lost World,' a Dracula,' and a Lon Chaney double bill.

That's the line-up for this year's pre-Halloween schedule, which tends to be the busiest time of the year for this silent film accompanist.

Altogether, I'll accompany 11 silent films in the 12 days prior to Halloween.

That may seem to be a lot, but it's actually a lighter schedule than in years past. This time around, for example, no "two shows in one day" bookings. 

A couple of years ago on the Saturday before Halloween, I actually accompanied three shows in three different states: afternoon in Jaffrey, N.H.; evening in Ogunquit, Maine, and then a midnight screening at the Coolidge in Boston. 

Still, 11 films in 12 days is a lot. But this is the time of year when general audiences seems most willing to sample a silent film with live music. So it's Business 101: Go where there's a market. 

 Perhaps it's the "otherworldliness" of the silent film experience. I do get a lot of knowing laughs when I say I collaborate with dead people. (That's me looking alarmed prior to a screening of Metropolis last week in Keene, N.H.)

Whatever the reason, the Halloween season is a great chance to get a few newbies curious about the art form and perhaps let it in, which can lead to attendance at future screenings.

That's a phrase I've been using a lot lately, especially since accompanying a marathon seven-hour screening of Able Gance's 'La Roue' (1923) last month: "Let it in."

Really. It seems to capture what a person needs to do today, at the most basic level, for the magic and wonder of early cinema to be experienced. So let it in. 

I could go on about this, and perhaps I will someday. (That's me still looking spooked prior to a screening of 'Cat and the Canary' (1927) last Sunday in Natick, Mass. Notice a theme here?)

But right now it's time to check the list of upcoming screenings and make sure I'll be in the right place at the right time. Hmm, if it's Tuesday, it must be 'Nosferatu.'

Below is the Cliff's Notes version of my schedule. For full film descriptions and more details, check the 'Upcoming Film Screenings' page. 

And after that, it's off to San Francisco to accompany a program at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum.

But for now, I hope you'll join me for some spooky cinema. And remember: in silent film, no one can hear you scream!

• Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, 7 p.m.: "Phantom of the Opera" (1925) starring Lon Chaney; First Congregational Church of Reading United Church of Christ, 25 Woburn St., Reading, Mass. Suggested donation $10 per person.

• Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, 7 p.m.: "Phantom of the Opera" (1925) starring Lon Chaney; Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Main Street/Route 7, Brandon, Vt.; http://www.brandontownhall.com. Admission free, donations accepted, with proceeds to help continuing preservation work.

• Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, 2 p.m.: "Der Golem" (1920); Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged. 

• Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, 6:30 p.m.: "The Lost World" (1925) starring Wallace Beery; The Flying Monkey Movie House and Performance Center, 39 South Main St., Plymouth, N.H.; (603) 536-2551. Admission $10 per person.

• Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, 7 p.m.: "Nosferatu" (1922) directed by F.W. Murnau; West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington St., West Newton, Mass.; (617) 964-8074. Admission price $15 per person.

• Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, 7 p.m.: "Nosferatu" (1922) directed by F.W. Murnau; Derry Opera House, 29 W. Broadway, Derry; sponsored by Derry Public Library.  Free admission! For more information, contact the Derry Public Library at (603) 432-6140. 

• Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, 2 p.m.: "The Bat" (1927), directed by Roland West; Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass. For more info, call the theater box office at (617) 625-5700.  Tickets $17.

• Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, 7 p.m.: "Phantom of the Opera" (1925) starring Lon Chaney; Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123. Tickets $15 general admission.  

• Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, 7:30 p.m.: "Dracula" (1931) starring Bela Lugosi; The Jane Pickens Theatre, 49 Touro St., Newport, R.I.; (401) 846-5474; https://janepickens.com/. Tickets $17 per person.

• Wednesday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m.: Lon Chaney Halloween Creepfest! "The Unknown" (1927) and "West of Zanzibar" (1928), both starring Lon Chaney and directed by Todd Browning; The Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester, N.H.; (603) 574-4826. Tickets $10 per person.