“Long ago, on a cold dark night in this peaceful New England village, something happened. Something too terrifying to remember, something too frightening to forget.”

Since October is fast approaching, today I’ve got the trailer for 1981’s classy supernatural horror… Ghost Story! It’s a perfect movie to watch in anticipation for Halloween.

Based on a bestselling novel by Peter Straub (who’s own Julia had previously been adapted into The Haunting of Julia aka Full Circle), Ghost Story was directed by John Irvin – who you might remember from his later work like Raw Deal and Hamburger Hill. The movie has a classic late-70s haunted house tone to it – even though it was released in ’81 – which is only elevated by the cast of classic screen actors like Fred AstaireMelvyn DouglasDouglas Fairbanks, Jr., and John Houseman.

While some of the effects are more than a little dated – which is where the ’81 release date makes a little more sense – when coupled with a handful of truly unnerving scares, Ghost Story lands as a slightly flawed, but entertaining and effective shocker.