THE HYPE TERROR IN TRANSYLVANIA SLEEPOVER AT DRACULA'S HOUSE IS A BLOOD-CURDLING EXPERIENCE.As pumpkin patches and theme parks open their haunted houses, their designers could take a few hints from Fox Family's ``Scariest Places on Earth'' series, particularly Friday's installment, ``A Night in Dracula's Castle Dracula's Castle may refer to:
Connie Menegaux of Buffalo, N.Y., convinced her husband, Jason; her dad, John; and her sisters, Cristin and Jennifer, that it would be fun to spend a long, sleepless night together in some notoriously haunted landmark of the producers' choosing. They should have known they were in for some major terror the moment their flight landed in Romania. Their destination: Hunedoara Castle, home of 15th-century Prince Vlad Dracul, known as Vlad the Impaler Vlad the Impaler (c. 980–1015) prince of Walachia; called Dracula; ruled barbarously. [Eur. Hist.: NCE, 2907] See : Cruelty and the apparent inspiration for Bram Stoker's novel ``Dracula.'' It is where Vlad developed a bizarre appetite for bloodshed, ordering the impaling deaths of hundreds of thousands of war prisoners, law breakers and other individuals who offended him. Locals believe the castle still is inhabited by the spirits of Vlad and many tormented souls who met brutal deaths in its dungeon Dungeon - Zork , bed chambers and courtyard. Connie and her family were given various ancient and modern tools for detecting spirits, and they traveled through the castle with video cameras aimed at their faces to capture every reaction to bumps in the dark, cold blasts and eerie sounds. The fine print in the show's closing credits admits some enhancements were made to heighten the production's suspense. But were Connie, Cristin and Jennifer genuinely afraid? You bet. Tune in at 9 p.m. Friday to find out whether they lasted inside until sunrise. - Valerie Kuklenski LITTLE BITS: THEY MADE IT: Champagne was popping Tuesday when seven new shows received full-season pickups. ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. gave a vote of confidence to ``Alias'' and ``According to Jim According to Jim is an American situation comedy television series originally broadcast by ABC. The show premiered with little publicity in October 2001, following the surprise hit comedy My Wife and Kids. ,'' NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. ordered nine more episodes each of ``Crossing Jordan'' and ``Law & Order: Criminal Intent,'' and the WB Network picked up all three of its new Friday comedies - ``Reba,'' ``Maybe It's Me'' and ``Raising Dad Raising Dad is a U.S. television series directed by Andy Ackerman and Dana De Vally Piazza, starring Bob Saget, Kat Dennings, Riley Smith, Beau Wirick and Brie Larson. It aired on WB from September 2001 until May 2002. .'' The seven shows join rookies ``The Guardian'' on CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. , ``Scrubs'' on NBC and ``Undeclared'' on Fox, which have already secured full 22-episode orders. WHY IS SHE SMILING?: And the woman with the $20 million grin will star in ``Mona Lisa Smile.'' No director is yet on board, but Julia Roberts has signed on to star in the project, which is scheduled to begin shooting in the spring on the East Coast. Written by Larry Konner and Mark Rosenthal, the film is described as being in the vein of ``Dead Poets Society.'' It's about a free-spirited UC Berkeley graduate who goes to Wellesley in 1953 to teach a group of young women. Both teacher and students end up influencing and learning from each other. No word either on whether Roberts will get her normal $20 million fee for the picture. - Staff and Wire Services Related - but only by marriage? ABC News correspondent Diane Sawyer interviews Carmen Carmen throws over lover for another. [Fr. Lit.: Carmen; Fr. Opera: Bizet, Carmen, Westerman, 189–190] See : Faithlessness Carmen the cards repeatedly spell her death. [Fr. Bin Laden, a sister-in-law of Osama Bin Laden Osama bin Laden: see bin Laden, Osama. , at 10 tonight on ``Primetime Thursday.'' There's no advance word on Bin Laden's relationship with her notorious brother-in-law, but we couldn't help wondering whether the fact that she is here in the U.S. - and not in Afghanistan - doesn't say it all. CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Dracula's house) (2) no caption (Scene from Fox's ``Scariest Places on Earth'') (3) no caption (DIANE SAWYER AND CARMEN BIN LADEN) |
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