LeonLouisRicci The "Illusion-O" Gimmick in this William Castle Movie plays a more Significant Role than Most of the other "Come-On" Stuff that the Popular Pop-Culture Icon and Huckster Delivered in His "Road-Shows" that had Kids (and Adults) waiting in Line on the Sidewalks of Theaters across America.This isn't Castle at His Best behind the Camera and the Story is Standard, although Creepy at times. There are Moments that are Surprisingly Graphic and Lines like..."When I met him his back was broken...and his lips were ripped from his face." Kiddie Fun, huh. That was William Castle. His Films were sometimes taken as Silliness, but often the Director would Insert some Real "Shocks" among the Romping.This Movie is not really as Hokey as People Remember. There is a Genuine Mystery, an Attempted Murder of a Child, a Meat Cleaver to the Head, You get the Picture. That's why when some Folks say "Scared me to death as a Kid", They mean it.That's not to say that this is "Not for Kids", it was and is, "Fun" as They say, but it has a Certain Edge to it that Resonates Real Chills. The Sound and Score are Effective, and the Ghosts are Horrifying. Members of the Family are but through the Ringer and are Genuinely Scared. Watch "Buck" (Charles Herbert) Cover His Ears to Escape the Horror that is Reflected on His Little Boy Face.All of this Sounds rather Gruesome and it is. But most View the Film with No Suspension of Disbelief and make it all a Hoot. Maybe that 's because...They "Don't Believe" in Ghosts, and have Looked at the Film through the Appropriate Filter.

Rainey Dawn How can you go wrong with 13 ghosts in a large haunted house with seances, a ouija board, lots of cobwebs in the basement, creaky doors and Margaret Hamilton?! Yea this film has all that rolled into a fun ghost story.I don't have 3-D glasses but I still could see our ghosts just fine. I'm sure if I had a pair of those groovy glasses to wear the film would be even more fun to watch but it's good enough just to see the film regardless.If you are a parent with younger children, this one would be fun to watch with them, especially for Halloween. It's not overly scary so kids might enjoy this one as well as the adults.8.5/10

TheRedDeath30 Typically, my least favorite sub-genre of horror is the ghost story. I tend to like my monsters to be more of a physical threat and don't generally go for the invisible ghosts that do nothing but knock on walls. Just not my cup of tea, ya know, but I say that to admit that this is one ghost story that I absolutely love. That's probably even more odd considering the divided opinion that I normally see on this movie, especially from younger, more modern viewers.Created by the legendary William Castle, who is probably best known for HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, this movie tells the tale of a family of four who move into an inherited house and discover that they have also inherited the ghosts "collected" by the former owner. It almost has to be said, right up front, if you know nothing about this movie DO NOT go into it expecting some terrifying chiller. I think that's probably what turns the average viewer off is they see "ghosts" in the title and expect POLTERGEIST. This is far from it. What the movie is, though, is a really fun, light-hearted horror movie. The tone reminds me a lot of an old silent film THE CAT AND THE CANARY and even more this reminds me of SCOOBY-DOO. That's probably one of the reasons that I like this so much. I grew up on that cartoon and, in many ways, it was my earliest introduction to the world of horror. I often tend to like some of these older movies that were clearly inspiration for the famous cartoon. In this movie we get ghosts of all sorts, from a headless lion tamer and his cat companion, to a grisly ghoul. None of them, though, ever seem to present a real threat to our heroes. They make noises and appear from nowhere, but like the cartoon they never actually harm any of our main characters. Much like Scooby, there is a "villain" in hiding, who is trying to use the events to unfurl his sneaky little master plan, only to be exposed in the end.Speaking of the ghosts, I have seen this movie in two different versions. The first time I ever saw it was on the DVD from the Castle Collection. This version shows the original Illusion-O ghosts. To me, this added even more to the cartoony aspect of the film and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Recently, I saw a television version without the color on the ghosts. There were merely white ghosts superimposed on the black-and-white film. If you have the opportunity, definitely track down the DVD. Even without the aid of red and blue glasses, I think seeing the ghosts in color adds to the enjoyment of the movie.All of the actors do a fine job. There are no Oscar winners here, but you have a Ward and June Cleaver set of doting parents, a pretty teenage daughter and the main star is a young boy who gets all the "good lines". There's even a cameo by the Wicked Witch of the West playing....a witch?I can't think of a modern equivalent that I could compare this movie to because Hollywood doesn't tend to make movies that are this innocent anymore. It's definitely family friendly, but there's plenty here for the horror geek to enjoy too.

Martin Teller Unlike HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, there aren't many genuine scares in this. It revolves around a gimmick (unsurprisingly, being a Castle film) with a pair of glasses: look through the red if you want to see the ghosts, blue if you don't. As one discovers watching at home, you actually don't need the glasses at all if you want to see the ghosts, and besides, who the heck wouldn't want to see them? It's an amusing trick and the film is goofy fun, but if you're looking for chills, you'll be disappointed. No one seems to be taking it too seriously... Margaret Hamilton appearing as the "witch" housekeeper should give you an indication of how tongue-in-cheek it is. The film isn't quite campy enough or original enough or anything enough to leave much of an impression, but it has a few charms.