The August schedule for MeTV‘s Svengoolie Classic Horror & Sci-Fi Movie has arrived, and it’s full of Hammer Horror classics, a child with deadly mommy issues, giant Scorpions, and someone does not like folks grabbing his precious lucky charms.

Aug 2: The Black Scorpion [1957]

Volcanic activity frees giant scorpions from the earth who wreak havoc in the rural countryside and eventually threaten Mexico City. Oh, my goodness. Richard Denning (Creature from the Black Lagoon [1954]) stars as one of the scientists sent to solve this buggy mess; Tarantula [1955] star Mara Corday finds herself once again facing down some oversized arachnids. One of the most notable names behind the cameras in this production is notable individual who created the terrifying stop-motion scorpions: Willis O’Brien, the stop-motion genius behind the effects in the original King Kong [1933].

Aug 9: Werewolf of London (1935)

Precedes Universal’s The Wolf Man [1941] by six years, Werewolf of London is the first full-length feature werewolf film, and Universal’s original wolf man. While on a botanical expedition in Tibet Dr. Wilfred Glendon is attacked in the dark by a strange animal. No big deal, or is it? Returning to London, he finds himself turning nightly into a werewolf and terrorizing the city, with the only hope for curing his affliction a rare Asian flower, the Mariphasa. An interesting tidbit, Valerie Hobson, who plays Mrs. Glendon, costarred as Baroness Frankenstein in that same year’s Bride of Frankenstein [1935]. This flick inspired a Warren Zevon song.

Aug 16: Horror of Dracula (1958)

Christopher Lee first bared his fangs in this; original Hammer Dracula film and the first vampire film shot in color. It was bloodier than previous variations and added much needed erotism and enticement for Vampire’s desires.

Aug 23: The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) & Leprechaun (1993)

First this pairing is very weird…

Curse of Frankenstein was their first color horror film, and, alongside Horror of Dracula, helped establish Hammer as a horror kingdom. Peter Cushing in his first lead film role! stars as young and wealthy Baron Frankenstein, a young Swiss scientist who’s decided to play God and along the way develops some bizarrely traits. Christopher Lee appears as the Creature, who proves more difficult to control than Frankenstein anticipated and just as the original Frankenstein [1931] he too is horrible Father and not a God. The film cost $270,000 to film and earned $8 million at the box office with the gore adding to the payoff.

 Warwick Davis plays a devilish leprechaun trying to reclaim his stolen gold. Jennifer Aniston famously picked up her first film credit and soon found a group of Friends on television here portraying Tory, who must fight the leprechaun who is on his own murderous rampage.

Aug 30: Dead of Night [1977]

Dan Curtis known for Dark Shadows reteamed with  Richard Matheson (Trilogy of Terror [1975] for this follow-up anthology film. In three segments — one of which starred Ed Begley Jr. in one of his earliest leading roles/ The tales: hitch a ride in a time-traveling car (8-years before (Back to the Future); witness a very unusual vampire attack; and an evil child with those pesky and dangerous “mommy issues.”