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Horror Hosts


Feb 2018
I'm not terribly familiar with a lot of them, because I rarely catch anything I watch on a program that would be hosted by horror-themed character, but you gotta love the effort.


Elvira was popular enough to spawn a charming b-movie about her inhereting a haunted house. She's still going, but I've heard on and off again things about her retiring. I guess she can't get enough of it.

I don't know anything about Vampira, whom Elvira was based on, besides what I've seen in the movie "Ed Wood".

Svengoolie is based in Chicago, which is close to where I grew up, but surprisingly, I've never seen much of him.

I think a favorite of many people is Joe Bob Briggs from Monster-Vision. Again, I've never seen that show, but I know Joe Bob from a few dvd commentaries, and for his scene in 'Casino'. I also gotta love the man for liking Texas Chainsaw 4. There is talk of bringing this show back.

Who else is there...

John Kassir played the Crypt-Keeper for many years, and that show was great. They're still trying to bring that one back, but without a crypt-keeper?

Of course, Freddy Krueger also hosted a decent anthology series, too. Maybe by these standards, you can also count Alfred Hitchcock as a host, if he "presents" so many stories.


Thoughts on horror hosts? Who's your favorite? Who am I missing?


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OnyxHades says:
#1

Feb 2018
There was Zacherle. I don't know that much about him. I think he passed away in 2016.
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Tromafreak says:
#2

Feb 2018
Joe Bob's the fuckin' greatest! I've seen quite a bit of Svengoolie and would feel bad for him if he wasn't so annoying. I personally find him about as funny as a 2 year old with cancer. Makes me long for Joe Bob.


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sfpx says:
#3

Feb 2018
The one babe on USA Up All Night, who was then replaced by the man-babe that is Gilbert Gottfried.


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Tromafreak says:
#4, Reply to #3

Feb 2018
Rhonda Shear. He replaced her? Fuck, that can't be good for a girl's confidence. emoticon


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sfpx says:
#5, Reply to #4

Feb 2018
Yeah. With a male dominated audience (one would assume) it's a bizarre switch, for sure.


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foz says:
#6

Feb 2018
My favourite is probably Rod Serling, his voice, his imagination (he wrote around 100 short stories, mostly for Night Gallery) he was just the man.

Emily Booth hosts a horror movie channel, i think it's simply called The Horror Channel but we don't get it on our TV package. So tho i haven't seen her hosting I'm giving her a shout for her scream queen pedigree (Cradle of Fear, Evil Aliens & Doghouse)

More well known for being a film critic Mark Kermode hosts an occasional 'extreme horror' month on FilmFour, where he'll spend a few mins introducing a cult extreme movie.

I also liked both Alex Cox & Mark Cousins when they hosted Moviedrome, but that's not restricted to horror movies.

Finally a nod to Roal Dahl who would introduce episodes of the anthology series Tales of the Unexpected. One off stories, the majority of which are based on Dahl's adult vignettes and shorts, not always horror but usualy some dark twist at the end.


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Gymnopedie says:
#7, Reply to #6

Feb 2018
Have you freeview, Foz? I had subscription TV, and I got rid of it, in favor of Freeview. It is a great channel. Yeah, she is pretty hot.


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foz says:
#9, Reply to #7

Feb 2018
Yep, a freeview box but The Horror Channel isn't there. I re-tune every year or so in case of new channels but never got THC. hmm, just googled it n got this "Sky 319 Virgin 149 Freeview 70 Freesat 138", don't have Sky, Virgin or any pay package just a black box abot the size of a VHS tape. oh well...


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Ballz says:
#8

Feb 2018
Joe Bob Briggs is my favorite. I've not been exposed to many outside of him, mainly just the Crypt-Keeper and Rod Serling.

Svengoolie's run as a host is impressive. Sure, people like Joe Bob and Elvira have managed to keep themselves somewhat relevant in the world of horror, but their shows haven't had the same kind of longevity.

I'd consider watching movies on TV more often if they had a host. Most channels edit movies, making it pointless to tune-in. The addition of a good host however would be a reason to watch.


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Yakko says:
#10

Feb 2018
In my area there were three local ones: TJ and the Ant, Rick Felski and Ned the Dead. Of the three, Ned had the longest run, though on several different channels. He was by himself at first, but later he had a sidekick, Randy "Doc" Moreau, who would give a history on the movies at the beginning of the show. He grew up in Appleton and went to high school with Willem Dafoe. I met him several years ago when he came to a writers' conference here in my town. I was the only one in the audience who even knew about Ned the Dead's Chiller Theater. I had a nice chat with him after the program and got an autographed picture.

TJ and the Ant was great. It was on every night, not just Saturday. Friday or Saturday, I forget which, he'd do an all-night marathon of horror movies until 5 or 6 am. TJ was Doug Heim, a station engineer, and ANT was All Night Theatre. He showed other movies besides horror sometimes, and really managed to dig up some obscure ones. Some of them are not listed anywhere and I've never been able to find them again. Lots of old RKO horror movies and lots of British oddities. Heim also did a kids' game show called Barney's Clubhouse Pow in the afternoon. Kids would call in on the phone and yell "pow" as an Atari-like screen was on the TV and balls would shoot at some cowboy type character. If they hit it a certain number of times they'd win something.


Rick Felski's show was Shock Theater. He had an on-air name but I can't remember it. He had corpse paint and a funny hat. I think Dita Von Teese looks like a cross between him and Rod Stewart. He showed a lot of odd movies too that I never saw anywhere else. Two of them were Graveyard of Horror and Nightstar: Goddess of Electra.


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foz says:
#11, Reply to #10

Feb 2018
you have a one degree of seperation to Willem Dafoe, wow! bit jealous.


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#12

Feb 2018
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Dr. Creep in the Dayton area. I always thought he was cool and a little scary looking. I was too young to stay up and watch his shows, but somehow I knew who he was, his sidekick too, Duffy the Dog. Commercial promos probably.

Maybe they would rerun them on some Sunday afternoons. I don't remember much about him, but I know I saw Beware the Blob! on a weekend afternoon, and pretty sure it was on his show. Had to have rerun some of them.


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#13

Feb 2018
Joe Bob Briggs rules. i have an unfinished array of MonsterVision bootlegs that i would love to be able to complete. i hope the revival comes to fruition.

haven't seen Elvira since i was a kid but i recall her being a lot of fun.

the Cryptkeeper is legendary, of course. puzzling that they'd even consider redoing the show without him. i wonder if it's fear of recasting, an intent to darken the tone, or... what.

HItchcock i'm not sure i would call a favoite as host, though i suppose he did have presence. i really like his show, though.

Svengoolie's name is weirdly familiar to me but i don't recall ever having actually seen him host. maybe he was mentioned in Fangoria or something, idk.

i watched a shitload of USA Up All Night as it aired. i haveto imagine the hosts were pretty forgettable as i remember next to nothing about them. i kept many vivd memories of the films shown for years.


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