[Film scholar and longtime member of The Classic Horror Film Board died in an auto accident on January 1. David Colton wrote a tribute on Facebook which he has kindly given permission to republish here.]
By David Colton: A gentle writer and brilliant as a moonbeam horror historian, David J. Skal, was killed in a head-on car crash on the first day of 2024 in Los Angeles. Details are only now emerging, but he was a young 71, and his out-of-nowhere loss has shaken both the horror community and the larger entertainment world as well.
David Skal was one of a handful of trailblazing horror historians who took genre scholarship to a new level in the 1980s, showing how classic characters such as Dracula and Frankenstein, writers such as Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley, and filmmakers such as Tod Browning and James Whale fit into or challenged the larger creative universes of literature and cinema.
In books such as Hollywood Gothic, Dark Carnival (with Elias Savada), The Monster Show, and Screams of Reason he demonstrated how the terrible wounds of victims returning from World War I helped animate the birth of the horror film, and how the super science of World War II did the same for atomic terrors of the 1950s.
As enthusiasm for monsters and their origins grew, he became a trusted scholar on the classic horrors of Universal Pictures from the 1930s and 40s. He especially helped pioneer the inclusion of bonus material when the films were released on DVD with not only multiple commentaries, but documentaries and features.
Included in those releases were precious artifacts such as the Spanish version of the 1931 Dracula, and Edward Van Sloan’s fragmentary and thought-to-be-lost “there are such things” end speech from Dracula.
David sometimes sparred with other horror historians on issues large — Browning’s skills as a director (He found Dracula slow going), or fun (was a piece of cardboard throwing shadows near Mina’s bed in Dracula planned or a mistake?) — but could always be counted upon to engage in elegant and readable writings.
His masterful and sadly, final work, Something in the Blood, was a deeply-researched examination of the still-elusive Bram Stoker, his relationship with Oscar Wilde, and his path from obscure filing clerk to creator of one of literature’s most enduring characters.
David was also a quiet and proud flag-bearer for the LGBTQ community, an early member of the Classic Horror Film Board, a multiple Rondo Award winner and Stoker award nominee, and a lecturer worldwide at film festivals, symposiums and conventions.
A friend who was always helpful with questions large or trivial, the fact that David is gone at only 71 is a shockwave for everyone who knew him and appreciated his understanding of the uncertain alchemy when words and film so often meet.
Farewell to a true film historian who, far too early, has left his own mark on horror history.
“Bram Stoker, working in a largely intuitive manner, and no doubt propelled by more than a few personal demons, managed to tap a well of archetypal motifs so deep and persistent that they can assume the shape of almost any critical container.” — David J. Skal, Hollywood Gothic
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I knew David only slightly. He introduced himself to me at a film convention many years ago. We spoke for about two hours, standing alone together in a quiet corner outside the speaker’s room on a Saturday evening, after the formalities of the day had concluded. I found him to be a sweet, soft spoken, gentle soul whose company was both endearing and informative.
He was brilliant beyond mere words, and an historian of immeasurable scope and substance. He towered above most film scholars, and was an inspiration to all those who write about motion picture history.
I am shocked and utterly heartbroken by the news of this senseless tragedy. Rest in Peace, my friend. I shall remain ever touched by having known you, and awed by your knowledge and talent.
You were the very best of us.
Steve
This is a huge loss to the community. Also, a mind-numbing tragedy that was completely avoidable. David was a great person as well as a fine scholar. My wife and I knew him for many years, and he was always thoughtful and of assistance when we needed anything. He will be deeply, deeply missed. Rest in peace, my friend.
–Jason & Sunni
David started making films in his garage at an early stage having neighborhood friends to donn costumes and using ketchup for blood.
I met David about 1993 somewhere in downtown NYC. We talked about Monster Show and I pitched a Tod Browning bio, especially since I had dozens of interviews with the director’s associates and friends when I visited L.A. in 1972. (I saw Freaks in college and it changed my life, but that’s another story.) First he said no, but a week later he changed his mind. Working with his (and then our) literary agent, we had a deal with Doubleday within weeks to turn to book in a year later. David dove into the writing and I into the research (then, pre-internet, so I travelled to Louisville and Kentucky to libraries and relatives. We were both very proud of the result and the collaboration remains a highlight in my career. When the first revision was pitched in June 2015 with Centipede Press, David did more writing and I more research. It was hard to tell exactly when the gloriously illustrated edition was going to be published. I only learned about it when a friend noticed last December on Centipede’s website that it was going to shipping that month. I will admit it is a wonderful volume chock full of unique photos. During a good deal of 2023 David and I were revising again (the Centipede edition revisions were finished in 2021), for the first paperback edition from the University of Minnesota (arriving later this year). My proofing skills were better than David’s, but boy did he have a great knack for the written word. Most of the paperback editing was finished before David’s death, but I’ve picked up the small slack left. We all miss David a bunch, but the thought that he died having not seen the new edition (ultimately arriving in early January, days after his death and before most of us knew he had been killed on New Year’s Day) is truly devastating.