October 26: TV Tower of Terror

On this day in 1997 Tower of Terror, a television film, directed by D. J. MacHale and based on the Florida theme park attraction The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, aired on The Wonderful World of Disney for the first time.
The movie begins with a flashback to Halloween, 1939 … the night the elevator gets struck by lightning as it reaches the eleventh floor. All 5 passengers aboard disappear, only to return as ghosts!
Cutting to the present - the Hollywood Tower Hotel is now believed to be cursed and haunted by the spirits of the elevator riders. No one is able to make sense of it all - except would-be reporter Buzzy Crocker (played by actor Steve Guttenburg), who hopes to write a newspaper article on the story with his teen niece, Anna (portrayed by Kirsten Dunst).
They team up with an old lady named Abigail (played by Amzie Strickland) who tells them that if they find a belonging of each person on the elevator they will be free from the hotel.

Dunst went on to be nominated for a Young Artist Award.

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