...and now for two examples of bad design. The colors are a big problem for both of these, not because they clash, but just because they're clichéd. If I had a nickel for every time I've seen red and white on black used as the default color scheme for horror, I wouldn't have needed a student loan.
I'm no exemplar of originality, of course. Indeed, this is the color scheme of MicroHorror.com, and I have no-one to blame but myself. However, unlike the designers of these flyers, I took steps to reduce the contrast between the colors, in order to mitigate the eyestrain that this scheme can sometimes cause. Especially on the Ghostly Images of Gettysburg flyer, looking at the bold white text for more than a few seconds makes me see annoying afterimages, but turning the black to a dark gray and the white to a light gray reduces the contrast and makes it easier to look at.
I also have to criticize the typeface choices. Both flyers use Microsoft's Chiller, which I saw grossly overused this weekend. I love distressed horror typefaces, and Chiller isn't intrinsically bad, but its impact is reduced by its ubiquity. Even worse is the use of Comic Sans MS, a typeface which is both overused and poorly designed. Seeing that alone makes it impossible for me to take Ghostly Images of Gettysburg seriously.
you should also consider budget, one or both of these could be non-profit and they had to go by what they had, not everyone can afford to pay for having top notch designs printed. Budget could have been of issues. As for font styles they may have chosen a free font for that very reason, perhaps even copyright laws etc. think before you speak!
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