Tired of the regular Halloween fare and want something off the beaten path?  Adults ages 18 and up, skip the lines at the haunted houses and theaters and join me at the Emmet O’Neal Library’s annual horror movie double feature, Nightmare on Oak Street, on Saturday, October 24th.  We’ll start at 5pm and finish by 9 so you will still have plenty of time to visit your favorite weekend haunts! Dinner will be served.

First up is a 1977 classic creepy-crawly!  In this thriller directed by Robert Scheerer that will leave your skin crawling, a group of guests at a tony resort fall prey to a slew of malevolent ants with chemically poisoned bites. Expecting a weekend of luxurious self-indulgence, visitors at the ritzy Lakewood Manor soon discover they’re the entrée of the day for an army of insects with an appetite for human flesh. This campy classic stars Suzanne Somers, Robert Foxworth and Myrna Loy (rottentomatoes.com).

Going back a little deeper in the B-horror pond, we end with this 1972 “nature-run-amok” flick.  The slimy denizens of the Everglades organize a particularly nasty rebellion in this enjoyable entry which favored drive-in venues of the mid-’70s. The story takes place amid the festivities honoring the birthday of crotchety, wheelchair-bound Southern patriarch Jason Crockett (Ray Milland), a chemical-industry magnate whose pesticides are responsible for much of the toxic pollution found in the swamplands. The revelry ends quickly, however, when thousands of local fauna decide to crash the party. Under the apparent telepathic guidance of the less-than-menacing swamp bullfrogs, armies of snakes, insects, and snapping turtles tear their way through the cast. Competent direction, great use of swampland ambience, and spooky sound effects help provide a suitably large dose of the creepy-crawlies. (rottentomatoes.com)

Ages 18+ only. For movie titles and to RSVP, contact Holley at hwesley@bham.lib.al.us or 205-445-1117.