The legendary master of fright was born on this day in 1914.

It’s kind of funny that today is the late William Castle’s birthday, because just last night I decided to begin revisiting some of his classic horror films. I had no idea, as I slid both 13 Ghosts and Mr. Sardonicus into my DVD player last night, that Castle’s birthday was just one day away; what’s even stranger is that I had planned on writing a piece about Castle’s genre contributions today!

Talk about perfect timing, eh?

William Castle may not be revered as a master of horror on the level of Alfred Hitchcock, but what Castle brought to the table was something so unique that even Hitchcock himself ended up ripping pages out of his playbook. Castle had directed no shortage of films throughout the ’40s and ’50s, but it was the 1958 film Macabre that totally changed the trajectory of his career.

With Macabre, Castle began experimenting with turning horror films into something so much more. A master showman, Castle wanted to make events out of his movies, blending together the sights and sounds on screen with interactive experiences that often made the viewer feel like they were part of the movies themselves. For Macabre, about a young woman buried alive by a maniac, Castle handed out certificates for $1,000 life insurance policies in the event that anyone died of fright during the film. He also put nurses in the theater and parked hearses outside.

Next up was House on Haunted Hill, released just one year later. The movie was filmed in “Emergo,” which meant that a skeleton would literally come out of the movie and fly above the audience on the cue of a specific scene. That year’s The Tingler was similarly presented in “Percepto”; Castle had buzzers put under select seats, which would go off and frighten viewers.

Castle’s most famous gimmick was for 1960’s 13 Ghosts. A new take on 3D glasses, theaters handed out “Illusion-O” ghost viewers to audience members, which allowed them to either view or eliminate the film’s ghosts during a handful of select scenes. The viewers were outfitted with red and blue cellophane strips, and prompts on screen let audiences know when to hold them up to their eyes. If you wanted to see the ghosts, you looked at the screen through the red strip. If, on the other hand, you were too scared to see them, you could look through the blue strip.

Castle achieved the clever effect by putting a blue filter over top of certain scenes and then superimposing the ghosts in red over top of the blue image; it’s as cool and impressive today as it must have been back in 1960. And don’t worry if you don’t have an original ghost viewer (or a pair of 3D glasses) lying around, as the ghosts appear in the film even without the red lenses.

Other notable gimmicks brought Castle’s event feel to Homicidal and Mr. Sardonicus. For Homicidal, Castle instituted a “Fright Break” before the film’s climax, allowing anyone who was too scared to head over to the “Coward’s Corner” and receive a full refund. For Mr. Sardonicus, Castle literally let audiences choose the ending of the film with a special “Punishment Poll” that allowed them to vote on the title character either having a happy ending or a miserable one. Mind you, only one ending was ever shot, but the perceived interactivity was fun nonetheless.

We may never be able to go back in time to experience Castle’s films as he intended, but the gimmicks can still be enjoyed at home with a little imagination – most DVD releases include Castle’s original intros, outros and instructions. As mentioned earlier, I watched 13 Ghosts on DVD just last night and had a blast with it, proving that Castle’s gimmickry is truly timeless.

There was nobody like William Castle, and there never will be again.

Check out vintage footage of Castle’s horror gimmicks below!