Entertainment Weekly - October 20, 2017

1979

Torn flesh smeared on

the sidewalk. Guts strewn

across the lawn. Skin peel-

ing in the morning sun.

This was the massacre

Anita Benarde and her neighbors

awoke to discover three days before

Halloween in 1969, after a vandal went

door-to-door in the night, shattering

jack-o’-lanterns. It wasn’t exactly the

crime of the century, but this effort

to spoil the holiday actually inspired

one of its most beloved tales:The

Pumpkin Smasher.

First published in 1972, Benarde’s

book of smoky inks and sunset

oranges was a hallmark ofWeekly

Readerlists for decades before falling

out of print, telling the story of a town

In director David

Schmoeller’s 1979 film

Tourist Trap,agroupof

college-age kids are

terrorized at a mannequin-filled roadside

attraction owned by Mr. Slausen (Chuck

Connors) and his brother, Davey (who is

really Slausen in a mask). Although the

film was rated PG, there is nothing kiddie-

friendly about the scene in which Davey

literally scares the strapped-to-a-table

Tina (Dawn Jeffory-Nelson) to death by

smothering her face in plaster.

DAWN JEFFORY-NELSONThis darned

role almost traumatized me! I could not

get off of that damn table. I’d hop

up there and [the props person] would

buckle me down with handcuffs or

whatever, and I believe there was also

a rope across my body, or another belt.

So that in itself is kind of crazy. You

feel very vulnerable.

It was either mashed potatoes or

whipped cream being put on my face.

I can’t remember which. I probably had

to act out my death five to eight times.

Not having suffocated or died of a

heart attack—thank God!—I did some

research on the breathing and what

happens to the body. You suspend your

disbelief, and you go for it.

I don’t think the film was very well

reviewed, but many more people

than I ever suspected love the film,

which is awesome. I was the acting

coach for the young boy who played

Danny in the miniseries ofThe

Shining. One of the things I found

out was that this was one of Stephen

King’s favorite films. But it still is a

surprise to me. None of us thought it

was going to become a cult classic!

TOURIST TRAP

DEATH BY PLASTER

Actress Dawn Jeffory-Nelson

recalls her heart-stopping scene in

the B-movie gem.By Clark Collis

5-MINUTE ORAL HISTORY

THE

PUMPKIN

SMASHER

ANITA BENARDE’s kids’ book was

inspired by real events.

Here, the author tells the tale.

By Anthony Breznican

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

1972

The Pumpkin Smasher (published two years beforeCarrie) features a

character even author Anita Benarde admits looks a lot like Stephen King

Dawn Jeffory-Nelson

that unites to foil a gourd-demolish-
ing witch. The book was revived and
reissued by the author and artist her-
self in 2012 after she discovered
grown-up fans buying old copies for
exorbitant prices on eBay.
“We were in a town where Hallow-
een reigned supreme. Everybody took
part in it,” says Benarde, now 92. Back
then, she was a mom of three, living in
a Princeton, N.J., neighborhood that,
like the town in her book, was unusual
for being racially integrated. That’s one
reason the trashing of the decorations
was such an affront. “For someone to
come and disrupt Halloween, it was
just unbelievable,” she says.
Rather than turn on one another
with accusations or blame, the neigh-
borhood united. “Oh, it was a mess—
but we were going to fight it. We all
decided we were going to go out and
get more pumpkins,” Benarde says.
But being an artist, she also had
another idea. She rolled a basketball-
size rock into her front yard and
painted it orange, with triangle eyes
and a crooked grin. If the smasher
returned, he or she wouldn’t crack that
one. Ultimately, this concept became
the climax of her storybook—only with
a much bigger rock. “I just wanted to
do something about it and make them
understand how wrong they were, and
that we bounced back,” she says. “Even
in my anger, I wasn’t going to let that
get the best of me.”
Benarde says she hopes there is an
enduring message in this 45-year-old
book: Stay strong. Hold together. And
THE PUMPKIN SMASHER don’t let the mean-spirited break you.

: ANITA BERNARDE; STINE: DAN NELKEN;

TOURIST TRAP

: FULL MOON EMPIRE, INC.