And of course there was Asmodeus. Afternoon kid's shows had hosts, so the concept was familiar. But having that type of character transposed to the dark hours was startling and intriguing, to say the least. Asmodeus was an imperious, sarcastic character. His garb was macabre mod, he smoked a cigarette and had a fairly elaborate castle set.
A year, year and half later, Creature Features debuted on KTVU CH 2, hosted by Bob Wilkins. Wilkins was the absolute antithesis of Asmodeus. He was a mild, slightly built guy with glasses and a cigar. And in contrast to the Shock It To Me top class film library, Creature Features came out of the gate with Horror of Party Beach, followed in quick succession by Curse of the Living Corpse and the immortal The Vulture, with Akim Tamiroff in a turkey suit.
Somewhat incredibly, Creature Features flattened Shock It To Me. Wilkins was an appealing presence, a bit like a cornball Bob Newhart. The ratings went through the roof. Creature Features soon became a twice weekly double bill on Friday and Saturday and knocked Shock It To Me off the air.
The program's popularity led other stations to launch their own hosted horror movie shows. KBHK CH 44 tried first by syndicating The Ghoul from Cleveland in 1973, and again a decade later with Son of Svengoolie from Chicago. In the meantime, KEMO rather peevishly ran an unhosted show called The Original Creature Feature.
Another huge influence was the Carlos Clarens book, An Illustrated History of Horror and Science-Fiction Films, which took these movies out of the gee whiz world of Famous Monsters and placed them in the larger context of cinema. It was the first book that led me to look at horror films critically.
What circumstances led to local stations creating their own horror movie series/hosts?
DG: Although Vampira initially appeared back in 1954, the horror host genre officially followed the release of the Universal SHOCK! package of horror movies in 1957. It's difficult to conceive now, but this was the first time this type of thing was being seen on television (Vampira was a localized Los Angeles phenomenon), and to an audience in the late 50s and early 60s, this was pretty strong stuff. This is also the best explanation for why so many of the hosts were comic in their approach. Humor further softened the experience.
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
excellent interview on a great topic - I loved Elvira when I was in LA and the Ghoul here in Cleveland, keeping you company while you watch the (mostly) bad scay movies. Thanks Rechercher!
2 - Pereire
Very cool story. Merci bien Rechercher!
3 - Vic R
What an informative and well-written piece. Great to know that even the hosts in different markets didn't know each other. My cousins from Cleveland and ourselves from Chicago used to regale each other with tales of our local Creature Feature horror hosts and the movies they showed. Great stuff, Rechercher.
4 - Tom Terrell
In the late '60s, my sister Bevadine and I would dance on Zacherley's "Disco Teen Dance Party". We'd go down to Newark, NJ's Symphony Hall on Thursdays and Fridays to tape the show. They'd have local bands and big time R&B acts. We became local celebs a la American Bandstand. And Zach was the coolest, nicest cat. We were his favorites. Man it was a gas!! Zach was one of my TV idols. To meet him and talk and hng out with him was beyond the pale. Cat was Kyrpt Kool!!
5 - Doktor Goulfinger
Hey there Tom:
Man! That is so cool that you were on Disc-o-teen!
Zacherley is indeed the coolest. When I think of horror host royalty, I consider Zach the King, Vampira the Queen and Ghoulardi the court jester. They are clearly the most influential, and you cannot discuss host history without placing them at the top of the pyramid.
And thank you, Rechercher, for the nice editing job on my clumsier responses. The illusion of eloquence is uncanny.
DokG