I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

The main thing about this gimmick movie is the central twist. The mid-story surprise goes against decades of movie convention and certainly undercuts ordinary expectations. Otherwise, the so-called horror movie is pretty tame, the ghosts more like wisps than anything scary. In fact, the scariest thing is witchy-looking Margaret Hamilton doing her usual inimitable thing. Seems a nice all-American family-- momentarily impoverished-- inherits a haunted house and happily moves in. Soon, however, they're confronted by strange goings-on, but don't seem to really mind. And since they aren't much scared, neither was I and maybe the audience generally. In fact I sort of expected the family to evolve into a version of Father Knows Best kind of feel-good. Certainly, little Charles Herbert makes a first-rate mischievous boy, while parents De Camp and Woods are winsomely engaging, as is wholesome daughter Morrow. Mustn't overlook Morrow's heartthrob, handsome young attorney Milner. Together, however, their perpetual good humor further undercuts supposed horror.I recall the ballyhoo surrounding the movie's showing in my town. A lot was made of needing the glasses to see the ghosts. It's a gimmick, of course, but producer Castle needed something to offset Roger Corman's steady wave of drive-in cheapos. Anyhow, I wish the horror drama had equaled scripter White's effective use of plot surprise. Then we might have had something really memorable.

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.

Cash-strapped paleontologist Cyrus Zorba (Donald Woods) inherits an old mansion from his strange, occult-obsessed Uncle Plato and immediately moves in with his family despite the house being haunted by 13 ghosts, which are only visible through a special pair of goggles.William Castle is renowned for promoting his low budget B-movies with silly gimmicks. For Macabre, he offered a $1000 life insurance policy to every viewer should they die of fright; Emergo—developed for showings of House on Haunted Hill—saw a skeleton with light-up eyes float over the audience; The Tingler employed buzzers attached to the cinema seats to shock unsuspecting viewers; Homicidal's Fright Break was designed to weed out the cowards in the theatre; and, for 13 Ghosts, we have Illusion-O, which requires the viewer to look through a special 'ghost viewer' at certain points during the film.As such, Castle's films possess a certain hokey charm, the sheer corniness of these cheap gimmicks adding a degree of novelty to proceedings. Even though 13 Ghosts is predictable haunted house cheeze, with a creepy housekeeper (played by Margaret 'Wicked Witch of the West' Hamilton), a séance, secret rooms, and a Ouija board (which Cyrus is all too happy to let his kids play with), one can't help but admire the showmanship involved (watch the film with red/blue filters if possible; it's fun to switch from red to blue, thereby making the ghosts appear and disappear).

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.