Hollywood and Halloween will descend upon Ligonier Saturday when the retro monster movie "House of the Wolf Man" makes its Midwest premiere at the Ligonier Theatre.

The film stars Ron Chaney, descendant of horror film actors Lon Chaney ("The Phantom of the Opera") and Lon Chaney Jr. ("The Wolf Man"), and pays homage to the black-and-white monster classics of the 1940s.

"I had in mind that hopefully one of the Chaneys would continue the legacy, and I guess it was bestowed upon me to do so," said Chaney, who plays Dr. Bela Reinhardt. "I liked the premise of it, and I agreed to do it. It was something I've been wanting to do for most of my life."

In the film, directed and written by Eben McGarr, five strangers are invited to Dr. Reinhardt's castle to take part in a competition for his estate. The competition turns troublesome when the doctor's butler traps the competitors in the castle. Their escape -- and survival -- depend upon their ability to uncover the castle's secret and gain their freedom.

"I know we have a lot of classic horror film fans, and I think this film was made in that vein," Chaney said. "I'm curious to see what the reaction will be because it is not like many other horror films today."

To some, a monster movie premiere in Ligonier may sound strange. To Ron Adams, it seemed like a match made in Transylvania.

Adams is the president and founder of Ligonier-based Creepy Classics, which caters to what the company calls the "Monster Boomer Generation" with its Monster Bash magazine, its online catalog of vintage monster movie merchandise and its annual Monster Bash conference in Butler County.

At this year's Monster Bash in June, Adams learned about the movie when he encountered Chaney, who said he has appeared at Monster Bash several times over the years.

The film's Dracula, actor and makeup artist Michael Thomas, who passed away in August, also was in attendance.

Originally, McGarr was planning to hold the Midwest premiere in Chicago, until Adams contacted him about bringing it to Ligonier.

"Mike always said Ron Adams' Monster Bash was his second home. In fact, we rearranged our shooting schedule to accommodate his attendance there this year," McGarr said. "When Creepy Classics contacted us to screen it, we couldn't say no. Ron told me about the theater in Ligonier, and it sounded perfect."

With Ligonier slated as the second place the film will be screened -- it played earlier this month in Los Angeles and will premiere in New York City next weekend -- work is under way to prepare for the hundreds of ghost and goblin fans who will haunt the theater.

"We've had people sign up from Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and West Virginia," Adams said. "I'm treating it as a mini version of the convention I run."

He rented the second floor of the theater so vendors could sell vintage monster movie DVDs, toys, posters and other merchandise after the film. Some cast and crew members also may be on hand at the screening to visit with audiences.

McGarr is shopping around the film and hopes it can gain wider distribution beyond the three premieres.

"You always keep your fingers crossed and hope for success," Chaney said.

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