One of the first known page snaps of the HORROR REPORT was from the spring of 2001– the ‘Drudge’ style was invasive on the Internet, and it’s how the HORROR REPORT initially looked when we began. It’s worth noting: The page snap also shows my ICQ number. I recently tried to log on but forgot my password. I am sure I’m not the only one..
For the sake of consistency, the HORROR REPORT has never changed its view. We still voice our opposition to the endless sequels. It’s fascinating to look back so far and see what news headlines the HORROR REPORT was covering, things such as ‘recent signs of water on Mars,’ DrCasey.com closing down–it was a great horror site–and the FINAL DESTINATION 2 script was getting prepped. So many of the sites that the HORROR REPORT linked to in 2001 are now gone, closed, and removed.
Not even artifacts remain in many cases. X X X The HORROR REPORT has earned its street cred (we think) in breaking some interesting news about radio over the years, including the career of Art Bell. In 2001, the HORROR REPORT broke news that Bell was being hit by death threats ..
In another report in May, the HORROR REPORT confirmed that the website AINT IT COOL was wrong about Jamie Lee Curtis and Halloween 8. Though we still hated the idea of the 8th movie..
The HORROR REPORT reported this in the summer of 2001:
Matt Drudge and Tim Burton had online fight after Drudge revealed PLANET OF THE APES ending as a top story on his site; Burton cried foul, Harry Knowles slammed Drudge, Drudge told Knowles to “eat another twinkie” on AINT IT COOL message boards…
VHS was king in the 20th century. But in 2001, the HORROR REPORT lamented the impending demise of the way we watched and rented movies.. Fast forward to 2014, and we can write the same thing about DVDs, malls, and movie theaters. But we’ll stick to what we said in 2001 about VHS:
Where have you gone VHS cassettes…our VCRs turn their lonely eyes to you, ooh ooh ohh
What’s that your say, Blockbuster video, DVD came and ate them all away…hey hey hey…The begining of the end for VCRs began today, as Blockbuster video announced plans to scrap 25% of its VHS inventory to make room for the ever-expanding DVDs…
Extra footage, producers cuts, cast interviews…the world is beginning to turn to the digitally enhanced movie-experience…
…Hope BETA saved some room in its cold pit of ruin…
We laugh at our opinion now. DVDs weren’t all that bad. And tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems.
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On September 3, 2001, the HORROR REPORT detailed a big haul of cash for the horror movie JEEPERS CREEPERS. The film was highly praised by this website, but at the same time extensive reporting was done concerning the sordid past of director Victor Salva. We felt icky knowing the history, but regardless loved his movie. We wrote this in 2001,
Websites across the internet are exploding with debate on the new movie by Victor Salva, who for weeks was being slammed for his past, including sexual assault on a 12 year old during the making of another late 1980s low budget horror flick. Salva’s past, which included prison time for his character failures, was brought back to haunt him, just as soon as his movie was placed on the screen to haunt the men, women, and children in theatres…
Jeepers Creepers, as early as July, was endorsed by Clive Barker, long-time horror expert…Moreover, Wes Craven–the man behind the late 1990s horror film change because of Scream–agreed saying that Jeepers Creepers was a return to good, old fashioned horror.
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By September 2001, there was something else on the HORROR REPORT’S mind–and everyone else’s too.. Suddenly, real horror overshadowed that of the box office. As it did since that day..
This is how the HORROR REPORT as the news broke.. we updated early and often that day–live FTP-ing as though Twitter existed, but it did not..
And then, almost a month later, terrorism was still on the mind of everything.. Actually, that prospect stayed on everyone’s mind since then. The HORROR REPORT on September 26, 2001:
September 11 2001 marked a pivotal change in my personal life, and the life of this website. Forever, the ideals of what a young 21 year old believed were crushed and smashed like steel from buildings.. The United States entered into a phase of war that never stopped, even now we fight and battle in raging places across the world. The HORROR REPORT was shaped by the true horror that took place, and we realized that sometimes reality was much more frightening than anything on the big or small screen.. the HORROR REPORT became the site that documents all things bumping in the night, or all world events giving us fright.. because the world is a scary place…
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On Halloween 2001, the HORROR REPORT attempted to sum up the overall feelings of the season of the witch during wartime. I recall that I submitted this article to my local newspaper, THE POTTSVILLE REPUBLICAN AND HERALD as an editorial, and it was picked up in several other newspapers at the time. I wrote,
However, there seems to be good reason to be afraid, maybe. The FBI and CIA and White House and DOJ and Supreme Court and local governments and post offices and everything in between tell us it’s not over, and they showcase that fact with every death and sickness and warning from anthrax exposure.
Halloween…the night he came home has turned into Halloween the night they’ll stay home.
However, in many places, Halloween will go on. And, as we see above, kids and adults will sport their Hannibals, and they Michaels and Freddys and Jasons, so as long as they’re in by the designated time set forth by local governments–governments that this year tell us they will crack down on people trick or treating passed curfews. Even more, some curfews are as early as 8pm, or 7pm…
Life has been forever changed due to recent events. Horror became real. For a moment, we thought we were watching a never-ending movie, but realize now that it’s real, so real it won’t end. So real Halloween’s part in our lives has been questioned.
Retailers, who know Halloween is the second most money-making holiday of the year, are telling us something different for a change in 2001. Kids aren’t buying the goblins and ghosts, or Freddys and werewolves. This year, they’re being rescue workers, police officers, and firefighters. Expect more flags this year. Expect more fear, too.
Halloween during wartime, 2001…
People were worried that year.. They suddenly didn’t know what was scarier: Reality or fake masks.. fiction or war. The answers in media were clear: The endless clean up of the World Trade Center complex was ongoing. Bodies were being found on a regular basis, and the President was addressing the nation about war.. During the Halloween season, the sudden fear was that shopping malls were going to be targeted by terrorists.
It was the first in a long series of ‘yellow’ and ‘orange’ alerts to come..
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By the year’s end, the HORROR REPORT was reporting on the mysterious contraption that was set to revolutionize the world. It was called ‘Ginger.’ And then was unveiled as the Segway.
It didn’t revolutionize much of anything.
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The HORROR REPORT finally ended the year 2001 with this attempt at a summation:
The year anything could happen…and did…
The year planes flew into buildings…
The year when bad movies were respected…
The year when George W. Bush earned respect…
The year Usama bin Laden became a household name…
The year Donald Rumsfeld became a household name…
The year Gary Condit got away with it…
The year the Taliban didn’t…
The year the nation’s very soul was rocked…
The year when the f-word flew loosely on network TV for one day….
The year when network TV aired commercial-free for 3…
The year when for two days we saw the same sky our ancestors saw…
The year that was 2001..
….is over…..