By Derika Upshaw
Fort Hood Public Affairs
FORT HOOD, Texas — A cemetery, open field and absolute darkness set the perfect backdrop for the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation’s Horror Movie Night event July 11 at The Courses of Clear Creek.
DFMWR chose the original 1982 version of the “Poltergeist,” a supernatural horror movie where a family’s home becomes overtaken by paranormal activity.
The movie was chosen for several reasons, but mainly because of the location for the screening. “Because of the fact the burial ground (near the driving range), the ancient burial grounds and (the fact) the movie ‘Poltergeist’ is based off a neighborhood being built on a grave site,” said Norma Hernandez, community activities coordinator with the Community Recreation Division, DFMWR. “And plus, it gets really dark, super dark out here. And so, we’re hoping everybody has a spooky experience, knowing those things, knowing that about The Courses of Clear Creek.”
Hernandez noted the DFMWR team also agreed the 1982 version was the best version.
The movie started once the sun went down on a huge outdoor screen, big enough to be seen throughout the field. Participants were allowed to bring their own snacks, water, juice, lawn chairs and blankets to have the full outdoor picnic and movie on the lawn vibe. DFMWR also provided alcoholic beverages and light refreshments such as nachos, popcorn and cotton candy.
Senior Airmen Connor von Becker, part of the 9th Air Support Operations Group, 3rd Air Support Operations Group, tasked to the 1st Cavalry Division, was golfing while they were setting up and thought this would be perfect for a date night with his wife, Marisa Von Becker.
“She was actually talking about trying to watch ‘Poltergeist’ a couple weeks ago,” he said. “So, I just saw the ad for it, and the planets aligned. I got home, was like, ‘Hey, ‘Poltergeist’ is playing, so we’ve got 30 minutes if you want to go.’”
The von Beckers said they try to do a date night at least once on the weekend. Finding this movie night made it a win-win situation for them. Marisa had seen the movie countless times when she was little and thought it was great.
When told DFMWR picked this site to have the movie because of the Native American burial ground on the golf course and it being super dark on the golf course, it revitalized the spookiness of the movie.
“How close are we talking like, are we talking about like meters or like kilometers, miles,” Conner asked.
“I mean, as long as I’m not living in a house that is built on top of the cemetery because that’s the premise of the movie, and it gets, like engulfed,” Marisa said. “I think we’re good, but I think this is a really nice scene to watch it with the trees behind (the screen) and the open field, I feel like this is a really nice spot.”
The intent was for a summer series of movie nights once a month, however, the first one was canceled due to the weather. Therefore, the team had two more chances to show the community what they had to offer.
“We’re hoping that people get familiar with the golf course, Lone Star (Conference Center) and Sam Adams (Brewhouse), and the pool out there,” Hernandez said. “That’s what our idea was to have it at different locations, and (the community gets) familiar with our facilities.”
The next movie night will be on Sadowski Parade Field in August. The movie is scheduled to be “Transformers.” For more information, visit hood.armymwr.com.
