Alexander resident to host special movie screening

Release from Joshua P. Warren's Haunted Asheville...

For perhaps the first time since 1921, Asheville's first motion picture, Conquest of Canaan, will hit the big screen for one, free showing. The movie will be projected at Pack's Tavern, at 20 South Spruce Street beside City-County Plaza, where much of the silent feature was shot, 7pm on Tuesday, October 12, 2010. The rare film was lost for decades until late Asheville broadcaster Bill Banner tracked it down in Russia. His friend, Haunted Asheville author Joshua P. Warren, will introduce the movie, in person, to explain the strange journey taken by 3 reels of 35mm film. He will be joined by Asheville historian Vance Pollock, who has worked with Warren to compare Asheville then to Asheville now, complete with new information about the legendary tunnels beneath the city. Photos taken by filmmaker C. Eric Scott will also be on display, demonstrating how the town has evolved.

"It's hard to believe Thomas Wolfe was just 21 years old when this was shot," says Warren, who has worked on this project for years. "The Asheville he wrote about in Look Homeward Angel is the Asheville you'll see in this movie. It will be a fun, free time to look back. I also have some other surprises planned, so we'll probably screen about one hour of good stuff that night."

Being the Halloween season, after the showing, Warren also plans to take 20 paid guests into the Old City Jail and Gallows behind Pack's Tavern for a ghost hunt. That'll be first come, first serve, but tickets can be bought in advance at www.HauntedAsheville.com.

The author of a dozen books, Warren has appeared on the National Geographic Channel, Discovery, History Channel, Travel Channel, TLC, SyFy, and Animal Planet. He also frequently hosts, and appears on late-night radio programs like "Speaking of Strange" and "Coast to Coast AM." He's a native of Asheville, and produces the oldest & original ghost tours in town.

For more information, visit www.HauntedAsheville.com and www.PacksTavern.com