It Might Even Horrify You...

I have always been fascinated by the out-of-the-ordinary prologue at the beginning of the classic Universal film Frankenstein (1931). In this somehow eerie pre-credits introduction (added after an audience at a sneak preview in Santa Barbara was too shocked and unsettled by a horrific film for which they were completely unprepared) Edward Van Sloan (who plays Dr. Waldman in the movie) steps out from behind a curtain to offer a few words of "friendly warning," including these immortal thoughts: "It is one of the strangest tales ever told.... I think it will thrill you. It may shock you. It might even horrify you." This strange last minute addition lends a sense of foreboding to the film before it even starts. The famed prologue was parodied by Larry "Bud" Melman (Calvert DeForest) at the beginning of  the debut episode of Late Night with David Letterman on February 1, 1982. Larry "Bud" warns of "David Letterman, a man of science who sought to create a show after his own image without reckoning upon God." As we continue our Countdown to Halloween 2018, you can watch the Letterman lead-in here.