Halloween is a time for frights, chills, and... insurance?
While that might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of spooky season, some of the most iconic horror films and ghostly tales have a surprising connection to the insurance world.
From death-by-fright policies to séance protection, Paul Miller peels back the cobwebs on some classic Halloween insurance stories from the movies and beyond.
William Castle - horror's greatest showman
Low-budget horror film producer William Castle publicised his film Macabre using a $1,000 insurance policy from Lloyd's of London. The money would be paid to the family of any cinema patrons who died of fright whilst watching it.
Copies of the policy were displayed in cinemas and tied in with the plot of the movie which featured an insurance scam and death by fear. Castle stationed nurses in the foyer and a parked hearse outside theatres which led to his film becoming a hit.
Castle’s flair didn't end there. For Bug, a mutant cockroach horror, he took it up a notch by insuring a giant robotic cockroach for a whopping £1,000,000—a true testament to his commitment to shock and awe.
Dracula
Taking inspiration from Mr. Castle, United Artists went one better by claiming that twelve different insurance companies turned them down because their film The Return of Dracula was “simply too terrifying." Dracula himself was insured though. Well, Bela Lugosi. He would wear so much make-up when playing the role that he was concerned he would age prematurely and so, insured against that risk at Lloyd's.
Frankenstein & the spoof policies
In 1943, Universal produced 'Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man' and again used insurance for publicity. They gave each cinemagoer a spoof policy that protected them against 'sheer fright, heart palpitation, hair-on-end, blood chill, spine tingles and climactic terror.' It was signed by two officers of the 'Universal Shock Insurance Co.' - Frank N. Stein and Wolf Mann.
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was released five years later, in 1948. The pair had previously insured cinemagoers against death by laughter but when making this film, they held a different policy from Lloyd's. If they fell out and were no longer able to work together, they would receive $250,000 to compensate for loss of earnings.
Séance insurance
One of the spookiest policies underwritten at Lloyd's was one put together in 1938 for a man in Cornwall. He insured himself against the risk of seeing a ghost because he was afraid that if he did see a spirit, it would frighten him to death.
A few years later, in 1951, a man named Eric Deeping attended a séance in Chalk Farm, London where a spirit communicated with him. It was a Frenchman from the 14th century and told him that he would be killed in a car accident on May 20th of that year. He subsequently insured himself at Lloyd's for £25,000 in the event of accidental death on that day. The policy cost him £12, 10 shillings but thankfully, no claim was made.
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