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10/28/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/28/2026 21:55

Hunting for the Eerie at BU’S Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center

Hunting for the Eerie at BU'S Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center

The Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center houses the papers of filmmaker Terry Gilliam, a former Monty Python member, writer, and animator. Above are Polaroids from the set of the 1995 postapocalyptic science fiction thriller 12 Monkeys, which he directed.

Arts & Culture

Hunting for the Eerie at BU'S Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center

A creepy dummy, photos from the set of Hitchcock's Psycho, and a vampire-hunting kit are among the intriguing ephemera in the center's collection

October 28, 2026
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Halloween is this weekend, and, in a nod to the holiday, BU Today decided to hunt for some spooky objects right here on campus. We turned to our friends at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, housed in Mugar Library, which preserves the personal collections of many 20th-century public figures in fields ranging from literature to civil rights to film. The center's archivists dug deep into their collection to assemble an array of artifacts from their shelves that are sure to send a chill down your spine.

"A lot of people in our collections crossed paths with the spooky and uncanny here and there throughout their careers," says J.C. Johnson (COM'99), a longtime processing archivist at the Gotlieb.

We chatted with Johnson and Jane Parr, the center's reading room and reference services manager, about the story behind each item-and which items give them the creeps. (Hint: It's a very lifelike doll.)

Happy Halloween!

Fats, the Ventriloquist Dummy

Fats is an unsettling but fully functional ventriloquist dummy that stands about three feet tall. He starred in Magic, the 1978 horror film directed by Richard Attenborough. The movie follows a ventriloquist, played by Anthony Hopkins, whose vicious dummy takes control as Hopkins tries to rekindle a romance with his high school sweetheart, played by Ann-Margret.

The prop is part of the Joseph E. Levine Collection. Levine, who grew up in a Russian Jewish immigrant family in Boston's West End, was one of the country's most successful film producers and distributors in the United States during the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. His credits include Godzilla (1956), The Graduate (1967), and The Producers (1968).

According to IMDb, Hopkins was allowed to take Fats home to practice. But the dummy proved to be so unnerving that Hopkins called the film's consulting ventriloquist in the middle of the night, threatening to throw Fats into a canyon unless someone came to pick it up immediately. Attenborough ultimately went to Hopkins' house to calm him down.

Magic has since become a cult classic. Earlier this year, it was announced that prolific horror director Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead) would direct an upcoming remake.

When BU Today recently visited the Gotlieb, staff members were waiting for a chance to meet Fats, who normally spends the year in storage. "Yeah, he can walk independently," Parr jokes.

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte Set Photos

Hollywood legend and two-time Oscar winner Bette Davis grew up in Lowell, Mass., and was always "proud of her New England Yankee background," Johnson says. The photos on display are from Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)-for which Davis received her final Oscar nomination-and Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte, another psychological thriller made two years later. "Bette Davis did several of these thriller movies in her 50s, as she was finding that people weren't offering her the same roles," Johnson says.

Johnson considers Davis' memorabilia one of the Gotlieb's most high-profile collections. The archive includes photos, personal scrapbooks filled with clippings of her reviews, and audio and video recordings.

Vampire-Hunting Kit

Throughout his long and varied career in radio, film, and television, British American actor Roddy McDowall often worked in science fiction and fantasy. His papers at the Gotlieb include scripts, photographs, audio and video recordings, and other materials documenting his work in the original Planet of the Apes film series and the subsequent television series, The Twilight Zone, and other productions.

In 1985, McDowall starred in Fright Night, a film about a young boy who moves next door to a washed-up late-night horror movie host (McDowall), and enlists his help to kill a vampire. When filming wrapped, McDowall, who died in 1998, received this vampire-hunting kit as a parting gift. It came complete with a garlic clove, crucifix, and wooden stake (which fortunately appears to be unused).

Behind-the-Scenes Photos from the Set of Psycho

Noted photographer Eugene Cook shot for Life magazine, a job that often gave him rare behind-the-scenes access. In 1960, he was invited to the set of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh.

"There are some amazing behind-the-scenes photos of the making of that movie," Johnson says. In some cases, Cook's images resemble iconic shots from the film, including a photo of Lee's body double during the shower scene.

"The level of coverage he was allowed is just phenomenal," Johnson says. "Nowadays, everyone has to turn in their cell phone and gets watermarked scripts."

Later in his career, Cook became a professor of photojournalism at BU's College of Communication before serving as director of public affairs and special projects at the College of Fine Arts, according to his 1986 obituary.

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