Horror Host Icon: Baron Von Porkchop

Dayton, Ohio really does have its fair share of Horror Host history, with many of them being household names and each meaning something to their viewers. Names like Dr. Creep, The Creeper and A. Ghastlee Ghoul have graced the TV Screens of many late night viewers and each have inspired and entertained generations of Monster Kids and each of them helped shape my creative mind in their own ways. And in 2010 the Dayton market was pretty dry when it came to Horror Hosts as Iris & Retina of Mondo Smash A’Go-Go had slowed down and reruns of New Shock Theater and The Ghastlee Movie Show were hard to find on the access stations DATV and MVCC, and then that void was filled when Baron Von Porkchop and his Terrifying Tales of the Macabre hit DATV like a frightening freight train! And still to this day Baron Von Porkchop is the cities current King of late night viewing and a fan favorite to many. This Horror Host Icon update will be one that will not only talk about Baron Von Porkchop and his Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre, but will also give a little behind the scenes and facts that many do not know. So it’s with great honor and pride that I bring to you readers Horror Host Icon: Baron Von Porkchop. So let’s travel to Porkchop Manor and see what BVP has in store for us.

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Baron Von Porkchop is a ghoul who originally died in the 1800’s after a wagon accident that also left his wife The Baroness dead! The couple was buried in two different locations when their enemy Count Van Lambchop paid for their burials as a fake act of kindness to impress the townspeople of New Burlington. Decades passed and in 2010 Baron and Baroness Von Porkchop where dug up and come back to life and while Ghouls they continue their lives at their now moved Manor as their old town of New Burlington was flooded and the town moved to a hidden location in Ohio. And while their pork meat empire slaughter houses are now closed they did generate money while they were dead and their bank account is well stocked with cash and making it very easy for them to continue on and have all types of adventures around the state of Ohio. Baron Von Porkchop dresses in a nice black coat, with a top hat, blue vest, glasses with a magnifier and has very pale grayish skin. While he is a ghoul he is not a flesh eater and has a very fun loving nature with a hint of an ego. He really enjoys hosting the movies and bringing his viewers his show as his “Piggies” as he calls them are like his close friends. Baron is very much in love with The Baroness as he would do anything to make her happy, and his best friend is the family butler Bean. Baron Von Porkchop besides his show has done lots of cool things in and around Dayton as he has hosted a Halloween Theme Dinner party at Lily’s Bistro, he has been a guest and attended conventions like HorrorHound Weekend, I.C.E. and Cinema Wasteland to name a few. He has hosted movies at theaters Englewood Cinema and Danbarry Huber Heights. He has hosted verity show “Dirty Little Secrets” at Wiley’s Comedy Club. At Gilly’s Jazz club an event called “Baron’s Ball” was held that had many great music acts play for Baron and his guests, not to mention he even hosted the freakshow event called “Captain Johnny’s Whiz Bang” at Gilly’s. He has attended Halloween Parties for fans and even has done charity events. Plus he has appeared in comic books namely “Shocking Macabre Theater” by Sparkle Comics. As you can see Baron does lots of great things for fans to enjoy, and he has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. Stephen Alexander II is the man who plays Baron Von Porkchop and is not only my cousin but also was a founding member of the “Gem City Gentlemen Of The Gilded Beard” a beard club that did events for charity, he also is a writer for comic book company Sparkle Comics and is a pretty creative guy who also makes custom Funko Pop! Figures, creates enamel pins and repairs old smoking pipes.

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Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre began in 2010 and started airing on DATV, MVCC and The Monster Channel with host Baron Von Porkchop and took viewers by storm as the area of Dayton, Ohio was in need of an active Horror Host as many of the hosts had taken time away or retired. Out the gate Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre gained a great following with loyal viewers who enjoyed Baron Von Porkchop and the crazy world around him. The show is still going strong as of 2021 and has had a number of regular episodes as well as many specials, showing that BVP is here to stay! The show is one that takes Baron all around the city of Dayton as well as conventions and events and even has guests and story arches…it’s like a Horror Host sitcom wrapped around cheesy films. Baron on the show not only hosts classic public domain films but also hosts many independent films of all types of budgets. Baron has even hosted wrestling matches from Rockstar Pro Wrestling for a special. Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre is a staple of Dayton airwaves and still has many more episodes and specials to come.

But did you know that Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre was original going to be new episodes of Shock Theater and was slated to be the return of Dr. Creep as Dayton’s Horror Host? For years Dr. Creep and I talked about bringing his show back as while his health was on a decline he had the itch to get back to hosting movies and entertaining viewers. So to prepare for his return I wrote out several episode ideas and decided to film a Horror Host show that would be just seen by my friends in order to truly get ready for Dr. Creep’s return. So while chatting with my cousin Stephen we decided that he would act as the host and the name Baron Von Porkchop was created by me due to his sideburns. We came up with an idea of Baron going fishing to capture a Creature From The Black Lagoon type fish monster in order to serve him to dinner guests, Baron was more of a snarling sinister type Host with a toned down voice, in other words he was more played on fear and not laughs. We choose the movie Night Fright to host and once filmed I made generic opening credits for the show we were calling “Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre” and once edited I burnt it onto a DVD and gave copies to a few fiends including Rick Martin and Andy Copp both who brought back Dr. Creep with New Shock Theater back in the late 90’s, and the response we got from the episode and Baron Von Porkchop was overwhelming with everyone saying that we should do more episodes and turn him into an ongoing Horror Host! Andy Copp told me he thought I had something special with Baron and even said that he could get it aired on public access station DATV, and with those kind words among many others Stephen and I decided that we would indeed keep Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre as it’s own series and when Dr. Creep’s health would get better I would do both shows! Sadly Dr. Creep’s health only got worse and on January 14, 2011 the world lost this amazing man and host, and this was very sad for not only Dayton but for all who enjoyed Dr. Creep’s antics.

As the show grew I knew that I had to cast my friend and then co-worker Stephanie Stidham in the show so she became Baroness Von Porkchop, and the show just kept growing from there. While working on Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre BVP has had the pleasure of working with many of the Horror Hosts from Dayton’s past like A. Ghastlee Ghoul, Dr. Freak and Iris & Retina and this to me shows the bond that our area hosts have together. Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre has become a true Friday night tradition for many viewers as we have gotten fan snail mail and emails from viewers as even our home station of DATV has gotten mail about how much the shows means to our viewers and one amazing thing was a local retirement home have movie nights watching Baron! Heck even during the 2020 pandemic we even filmed a few Specials to help our viewers out and give them some laughs during the hard time. I truly love creating the show Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre alongside my cousin Stephen and we have more ideas and spooky, silly adventures planned for Baron coming up over the next few years.

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As like all good Horror Hosted shows Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre has it’s fair share of amazing cohosts and sidekicks that live in and around the Porkchop Manor. The lovely Baroness Von Porkchop is the voice of reason when it comes to the decisions made in and around the Manor, she is elegant and stunning and was a former Miss Slaughterhouse Pageant winner and is one of New Burlington’s most beautiful women, The Baroness is played by Stephanie Stidham. Bean is the longtime hunchback butler for the Porkchop’s and is the one who for over a century took care of Porkchop Manor and is responsible for finding them and bringing them back to life, he is a silly goofy man who helps BVP get into all types of wacky adventures and always encourages his off the wall and lazy ways. Bean is played by Bruce Lerma who is the nephew of Horror Hosts Iris and Retina from Mondo Smash A’ Go-Go! Jenkins The Pigman was the first pigman experiment that BVP and Bean created and they decided not to kill him for his meat and keep him as a member of the manor, Jenkins is very strong and also has a darkside and will do whatever he can to protect Baron and Baroness. Jenkins The Pigman was played originally by Gary Wolf and later on by myself among others. The manors cook is JD The Meatman a loyal and skilled meat cutter who has worked for Baron in his old slaughterhouse and now works in his kitchen, JD is played by artist Eric Shonborn. Viola Poison was at one time the maid for Porkchop Manor and was skilled in not only cleaning but also using Poison, she also had a massive crush on the Baron and this is what lead to her leaving the Manor, Viola was played by Emily Marshall. And these are the main sidekick characters that make up Porkchop Manor!

Baroness Von PorkchopBeanJenkins The PigmanJ.D. The MeatmanViola Poison

The Baron also has some friends in and around town that includes his neighbors Sleazy Tom a laid back ladies man who while sleazy does have a good heart who was played by Max Ervin (who sadly passed away in 2013) and on the other side is Mr. G the lizard headed mascot form the closed down Renaissance Music Media store who is enjoying retirement and is still played by Geoff Burkman. The Son Of Hercules a strong man of myth and legend and is one of Barons best friends and is played by Mike Ritchie. Melvin is a monster-faced goofball who is the helper of Stephen Von Frankenstein and enjoys hanging out with Baron and is his Halloween buddy, Melvin is played by the legendary local actor Josh Weinberg! And this is just a drop in the hat of the townies that live in New Burlington as names like Oliver The Werewolf, Mr. Pepperton, Susie The DJ, Beerwolf, Wolf Hunter Duke, BK King, Reporter Ted The Fox, Mr. O and so many others make up the townies.

Sleazy TomMr. GSon of HerculesMelvin

Also Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre has had some review hosts that make up one of the shows segments with the original being Reverend Zealot who brought back The Cult Corner that he use to do on New Shock Theater that was hosted by Dr. Creep! Filmmaker Andrew Copp played Reverend Zealot for the second season and sadly he passed away in 2013 making another loss for the show. Brett does video game reviews on his Bad Or Rad segment that started in the third season and he is blogger Brett Prescott. Both Zealot and Brett help make episodes of Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre more special for viewers and both are vital to making the show even more fun.

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But while BVP has his fair share of friends he also has those in New Burlington who dislike him and the fact he hosts movies for viewers of Public Access, and these sticks in the mud want to end Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre…or even take it over! His main nemesis is Count Van Lambchop the poultry King played by Thomas Smith who is extremely competitive and is upset that he did not become the host of Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre as he and his wife the lovely Countess Van Lambchop played by Jaimie Mazzone were resurrected before the Von Porkchops. They also have a very loyal butler named Cornbread who dislikes Baron, but he truly cannot stand Bean! The three of them do whatever they can to annoy and be thorns in the side of Baron as they think they should be the center of attention. The next major hater of BVP is Baron Von Porkchop Jr. played by musician Todd The Fox is a crazy fraud he has the people of New Burlington believing that he is truly his son, he is manipulative as well as short tempered and dangerous! And this is just a drop in the hat of the villains of the show as names like Chicken Man, Fulci Zombie, Headless Horseman, The Sadness, Crazed Fan and David J. Getz also cause issues. Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre is like no other Horror Host show from the area as it truly does have a massive world and tons of characters that make it up.

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When Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre started up as a full show I spent so much time building the world of New Burlington and knew that I wanted it to be filled with all types of townies from normal people, monsters, retired mascots and even movie characters from indie made films…and one other character that was planned was Baby Von Porkchop who was going to be The Baron and Baroness’s daughter that was going to be played by my friend KD Cyr, the character would have been stuck in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey and would have sent video messages to her parents about her adventures from the haunted woods. You see KD lived near the barrens and was a creative soul that I meet on social media and we hit it off as both of us loved Horror and cheesy movies, and when creating the character I had her 100% in mind and she as well helped create the attitude and storyline for Baby. I was so excited to have her on board for the show and at one point an episode was planned that would have had Baron, Baroness and Bean heading into the Pine Barrens to find her only to have a run in with the Jersey Devil of course! KD would do some trial run footage with a friend and make-up designs, but would never share as she always said that footage was bad as she was nervous in it, and I would encourage her and of course put no stress on her. We put off the characters debut so that she could find what worked for her with playing Baby, and all was going well. But sadly in 2015 the world lost a truly amazing person as KD passed away from a car accident when a reckless driver crashed into the back of her car. Truly heartbreaking news when I found out and even if she never made an appearance on the show she is still to all of us a part of our cast family, and I felt it was only right when writing about the show that she gets the respect she deserves. My deepest sympathy goes to her family and friends as she was an amazing and creative soul.

KD Cyr Baby Von Porkchop

One thing that I love seeing is fan art done by our viewers as well as just fans of Horror Hosting and over the years we have gotten some pretty amazing pieces of art sent to us! Crazy even some of the artists have who sent us some of the art ended up being on the show! As a creator of Baron Von Porkchop and Sparkle Comics when anyone takes the time to make art for us it’s very appreciated and we love seeing them! Below is some art from many of the talented artists who have drawn BVP over the years. And I want to also send out a massive thank you to everyone who has ever sent us fan art or done art featuring Baron Von Porkchop or any of the cast of Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre. Artwork below features ones done by Brett Prescott, Eric Shonborn, MonkeyGoatBoy and Bradley Beard.

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Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre has had many regular episodes as well as specials over the years and each of them I enjoyed making, being apart of and even watching, but one has always stood out as the most important episode to me and that was Episode 8 as it was the tribute to the late Dr. Creep who passed away before the episode was filmed. The original idea for the episode was it was suppose to be Baron Von Porkchop hosting a dinner party that the guest of honor was to be Dr. Creep who would have taken over the episode sharing stories of his years of being a Horror Host and they would have hosted a Bela Lugosi film. But sadly Dr. Creep who was in poor health passed away on January 14, 2011 at the age of 69, and this was a sad day for all of Ohio and those of use who grew up watching Dr. Creep and knew the man behind the grease paint. And the episode that was suppose to be his comeback to TV ended up being turned into a celebration of his life and memory. The episode was turned into The Baron and Baroness throwing a dinner party to honor Dr. Creep’s memory and had many of his friends on talk about his life and tell fun stories. Many names showed up like A. Ghastlee Ghoul, Dr. Freak, Jeff McClellan, Rick Martin, Geraldo The Hunchback, Reverend Zealot, Mr. G and even characters like Melvin, Duke The Wolf Hunter and Son Of Hercules showed up to pay respects. After the guests shared their stories we showed classic clips of Dr. Creep from Shock Theater. It was very magical hearing each of these guys sharing their stories of traveling, hanging out and working with Dr. Creep. Many also told stories of meeting him for the first time or shared stories he had told them…it was very magical and was something that I hope he would have been proud of. Below is a picture from that film shoot with all the people involved in one shot. Well I need to also say thanks to Juliet Fromholt, Emily Marshall, Maurice Smith, Josh Weinberg and Eric Shonborn all who helped makes the special possible but are not in the picture.

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For me one of the greatest honors of doing and creating this show was when on September 11, 2021 when Baron Von Porkchop was inducted into the Horror Host Hall Of Fame as part of the 2020 class in Ohio! BVP took his place with the other Icons from Dayton that was placed in the Hall Of Fame like Dr. Creep, A. Ghastlee Ghoul and The Creeper! This introduction was well attended and BVP was inducted by “The Mummy and The Monkey” an amazing Horror Host duo from Cleveland, Ohio. It was really cool seeing Baron on stage getting the honor of being inducted in, as the years of hard work paid off and it was awesome to see the fans clap for him to get this honor. While the Hall Of Fame was very odd as it was a smaller event due to the on going pandemic and some audio issues plagued the start of the ceremony it was something very special for BVP and myself.

Baron Von Porkchop and his Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre as you can see is a show that has became a main stay in Dayton, Ohio and has expanded to the world thanks to the online stations like The Monster Channel and even the online viewing streams of DATV and MVCC. And really one of the biggest honors making this show is getting feedback from the fans as well as being inducted into the Horror Host Hall Of Fame thanks to fan votes as well as votes from his peers. And we are now at the point of this review to talk about the episodes and I decided to not cover all of the episodes of Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre as I will cover Baron Von Porkchop again in the future so I decided to cover seasons one and two as well as the specials that went along with those two seasons. The movies plots will be taken from our pals at IMDB with some being written by myself as well as all the hosts segments. So if you are ready lets spend sometime at Porkchop Manor and have some fun with BVP and his friends that make up New Burlington.

Baron Episode 1

TTOTM: House On Haunted Hill
Starring – Vincent Price & Carol Ohmart         Not Rated       1959

Host: Earl The Gravedigger leads Baroness Von Porkchop and Bean to a dug up gravesite and when the coffin opens its Baron Von Porkchop! Once back at the manor that is located in New Burlington they get cleaning as the place is dusty and Baron even meets his neighbor Sleazy Tom for the first time that wants him to watch his 1900 # dating ad. In the end Baron informs the Piggies at home that we will be returning next week with a new spooky film to share with them.

Movie: Eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren and his 4th wife, Annabelle, have invited 5 people to the house on Haunted Hill for a “haunted House” party. Whoever will stay in the house for one night will earn ten thousand dollars each. As the night progresses, all the guests are trapped inside the house with ghosts, murderers, and other terrors.

Baron Episode 2

TTOTM: Driller Killer
Starring – Abel Ferrara & Carolyn Marz     Not Rated     1979

Host: Baron Von Porkchop and his friend and butler Bean are working in the manors garage on making a pig man in order to raise and then slaughter and sell his meat as Pig Man Sausage! Throughout the episode Baron and Bean work on the Pigman trying to give him life and add organs as well as use electricity to try and start his heart. In the end when all looks as if it has failed the Pigman rockets up to life and runs from the garage…Baron and Bean end the issue by shooting the Pigman dead so that he would not run amuck in New Burlington.

Movie: Reno is an artist struggling to survive in NYC. He draws inspiration from scenes of daily street life and occasional random violence. Under pressure to finish his oft-delayed grand masterpiece, his psychotic alter-ego takes over and he begins killing random vagrants to boost his creativity, not quite realizing that it is happening in reality. When an art dealer grimly rejects Reno’s finished masterpiece, Reno’s mental condition quickly deteriorates.

Baron Episode 3

TTOTM: Frankenstein ‘80
Starring – Gordon Mitchell & Xiro Papas     Not Rated     1972

Host: While walking through the woods Baron Von Porkchop runs into a weird looking creature man named Melvin who informs him that Stephen Von Frankenstein needs his help! As Baron follows Melvin to Castle Frankenstein he is told by Stephen that his Monster is now free and wondering the woods! So Baron along with Melvin go looking for The Monster only to find him in a very bad mood!

Movie: A mad scientist creates a monster called “Mosaico,” who breaks out of the laboratory to hunt down and kill beautiful women.

Baron Episode 4

TTOTM: Ulysses Against The Son Of Hercules
Starring – Mike Lane & Georges Marchal     Not Rated     1962

Host: Baron, Baroness and Bean get a call from The Son Of Hercules that he needs their help in order to get back a golden apple that is in the hands of an old witch that is inside a haunted collage! So brave Baron and Bean take the quest and leave Baroness behind, while on the quest the encounter a zombie and ghosts before coming face to face with the witch…the coward out and run away before getting the apple. On their way back to face The Son Of Hercules they are coming up with a story in why they failed in the quest only to be greeted by the Baroness who had went the quest along and retrieved the apple!

Movie: Ulysses offends the gods by blinding the Cyclops, so they send Hercules to capture him and bring him to them.

Baron Episode 5

TTOTM: Five Minutes To Live
Starring – Johnny Cash & Ron Howard     Not Rated     1961

Host: Baron and Baroness head to grocery store Big Bear in Lebanon, Ohio in order to sell them his freshly made Pigman sausage as when he was alive that chain was very much into stocking his quality pork products. But to their horror Big Bear is out of business and hanging around was one of the stores old managers who tells them they should sell their meat by going door to door…and Baron and Baroness do just that and turn it into a computation on who can sell more! The split up and meet all types of strange people trying to sell them this meat…in the end The Baroness comes out the winner!

Movie: Fred narrates the film in flashback, detailing a suburban bank robbery that goes awry. In his simple plan, he hires a hard-up hood, Johnny Cabot to take the wife of the bank’s vice president hostage. Cabot will hold her until he gets a call alerting him that Fred has been successful in getting ransom money. Cabot waits, and watches the Wilson house as the husband leaves for the bank and their young son heads off to school. Posing as a door-to-door guitar instructor, he forces his way into the house and takes Nancy Wilson hostage. At the bank, Fred talks his way into Ken Wilson’s office, and presents his personal check for $70,000, intending that Wilson will withdraw the funds to cover the check as a ransom for his wife. He has Wilson call home to prove that Nancy is being held by the unstable Cabot, and gives Wilson 5 minutes to make his.

Baron Episode 6

TTOTM: Fury Of The Wolfman
Starring – Paul Naschy & Perla Cristal     Rated PG     1972

Host: Baron Von Porkchop gets the invite of a lifetime as he is able to sit down and have a one of one interview with world famous werewolf hunter Duke! Duke The Wolf Hunter was seen in the second shot on video film “The Wolf Hunter II” and shares is secrets of hunting down werewolf scum. Also along for this amazing interview is Bean who is star struck by the hunter, as well as a heck of a lot of blood sucking Cicadas who are trying to ruin Baron’s show!

Movie: Waldimar Daninsky, a lone survivor of a Tibetian expedition, returns home to find his wife has been unfaithful to him. Carrying the curse of the pentagram (or pentagon, as stated by the monk who nursed him back to health), the fury of the wolfman is unleashed! After disposing of his cheating spouse, he finds himself captive in a castle by a female mad scientist conducting mind control experiments. In a vein attempt at escape, he discovers the freaks left over from past experiments dwelling in the dungeons.

Baron Episode 7

TTOTM: Night Fright
Starring – John Agar & Dorothy Davis     Not Rated     1967

Host: Baron Von Porkchop is going fishing to try and snag a fish creature using Beans brain as bait! He is trying his hardest to capture this creature as he wants to serve his meat to his dinner guests that are gathering the next episode to honor the late great Dr. Creep! In the end Baron is able to snag the creature!

Movie: A government space experiment into the effects of cosmic rays on animal life goes horribly wrong, creating a mutant monster that terrorizes a rural community.

Baron Episode 8

TTOTM: Dr. Creep Tribute
Starring – Dr. Creep & Dow Thomas     Not Rated     1970-1990

Host: Baron and Baroness Von Porkchop are throwing a dinner part to honor Dr. Creep the Dayton, Ohio iconic Horror Host. They have JD The Meatman cook up the Creature Meat and have snacks and treats for the guests as Bean escorts them to the dinner table. Guests include Rick Martin, A. Ghastlee Ghoul, Jeff McClellan American, Dr. Freak, Geraldo The Hunchback, Duke The Wolf Hunter, Son Of Hercules, Melvin, Mr. G and Reverend Zealot and they all share amazing and fun Dr. Creep stories and myths.

Movie: Clips of Dr. Creep over the ages from his shows Shock Theatre, Saturday Night Dead and New Shock Theater. As well as some of his public appearances over the years at events.

Baron Episode 9

TTOTM: Independent Short Films
Starring – Dave Wean & Kipp Poe     Not Rated     1990’s-2000’s

Host: The Baroness wants Baron and Bean to clean up the garage as its getting out of hand with boxes that is filled with old media, toys and forgotten relics…but cleaning is no fun so they decide to dig out some independently made horror short films and share them with the Piggies at home! They also find out that Mr. G has moved in next-door and he as well shares a short film! And when all said and done Baron and Bean do nothing and the Baroness is not very happy!

Movie: Indie short films shown on this episode are “The Cask Amontillado”, “Dreadful”, “Callback”, “Songs In The Key Of Satan” and “Outpost 31”.

Baron Episode 10

TTOTM: Phantom From 10,000 Leagues
Starring – Dave Wean & Kipp Poe     Not Rated     1955

Host: Baron Von Porkchop is very distracted from hosting the nights film as he has gotten himself a video game console and is playing the game Space Invaders as he thinks that by playing the game he is saving the Earth. He is so focused that he is ignoring the issues of the manor as well as his wife The Baroness and friends Sleazy Tom, Bean and Jenkins The Pigman!

Movie: An unusual radioactive rock on the sea bottom mutates the ocean life into a horrible monster. When charred, radioactive bodies begin to drift ashore a scientist and government agent investigate the phenomenon, and it’s connection to a local marine biology professor.

Baron Epiosde 11

TTOTM: Quiet Nights Of Blood And Pain
Starring – Amanda DeLotelle & Loren Goins     Not Rated     2009

Host: Baron Von Porkchop has cult indie filmmaker Andy Copp over to the manor to chat about his legacy of making films, television shows as well as his work with Dr. Creep. And of course Bean is around to make sure their guest is uncomfortable or is that comfortable?

Movie: The movie deals with two soldiers home from the Iraq war suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but in vastly different ways. One see’s her life falling apart in night-terrors, flashbacks, insomnia, and a total lack of government support. The other still believes he is fighting the war now that he is back on American soil. Still convinced he is supposed to torture and kill any and everyone who can be viewed as Anti-American. Soon they will be at a crossroads and blood will be flooding the American streets.

Baron Episode 12

TTOTM: White Pongo
Starring – Richard Fraser & Maris Wrixon     Not Rated     1945

Host: Baron Von Porkchop and Bean are on the hunt for a creature that broke into the manor and stole one of the Baronesses little figures! The two head to the woods and soon find that they are looking for a Were-Gorilla, and they try to get the item back as well as avoid its rage.

Movie: Suspecting that a safari guide is a wanted killer, undercover policeman Geoffrey Bishop joins a safari led by the suspect for a scientist that hopes to find and prove that a fabled white gorilla is a missing link.

Baron Episode 13

TTOTM: I Eat Your Skin
Starring – William Joyce & Heather Hewitt     Rated PG     1971

Host: Baron and Baroness Von Porkchop get a visitor who claims he is their long lost son, but the thing is they never had a son! Baron Von Porkchop Jr. starts to be a menace around the manor as well as starts to interfere in the personal life and business life of Baron that causes him lots of issues. But it’s soon seen that BVP Jr. is not stable and Baron must find a way to get ride of him once and for all.

Movie: A cancer researcher on a remote Caribbean island discovers that by treating the natives with snake venom he can turn them into bug-eyed zombies. Uninterested in this information, the unfortunate man is forced by his evil employer to create an army of the creatures in order to conquer the world.

Baron Episode 14

TTOTM: Atomic Age Vampire
Starring – Susanne Loret & Alberto Lupo     Not Rated     1960

Host: Baron Von Porkchop is forced to find a job as Baroness is sick of him just hanging around the manor so he gets hired to be a DJ at New Burlington’s radio station. And of course Baron has no clue what he is doing and causes all kinds of havoc on the air as well as broadcasting dead air!! And as fast as he is hired he hides so they can not fire him.

Movie: A stripper is horribly disfigured in a car accident. A brilliant scientist develops a treatment that restores her beauty and falls in love with her. To preserve her appearance the doctor must give her additional treatments using glands taken from murdered women. His unexplained ability to turn into a hideous monster helps with this problem but does nothing to win her love. The doctor’s woes multiply as the police and the girl’s boyfriend begin to close in on him.

Baron Episode 15

TTOTM: Wolf Hunter 1 & 2
Starring – Matt Hoffman & Jason Gilmore     Not Rated     2001/2006

Host: Baron Von Porkchop heads to the werewolf infested Malice’s Bridge in order to get an interview with the famous Wolf Hunter, but he soon finds out that the hero is not showing up but instead he is being stalked by many werewolves from Independent B Movie films like Scars, Red-Eye, Man-Beast and Oliver. But lucky for BVP his luck foils many of their attempts to make him dinner.

Movie: The Wolf Hunter: Malice king of all werewolves is rampaging in Ohio and a business owners daughter has been kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend who is now a werewolf and the states only hope is The Wolf Hunter. Wolf Hunter 2: Malice is still on the loose and now his biggest rival Ravenger has entered Ohio and a werewolf turf war is about to go down, and The Wolf Hunter who is trying to kill off the werewolves and keep order has his own issues when Duke another Wolf Hunter is called in. Can the two work together and stop this werewolf invasion?

Baron Episode 16

TTOTM: Vampire
Starring – John Beal & Coleen Grey     Not Rated     1957

Host: Baron and Baroness Von Porkchop get sad news that their butler and friend Bean has to leave the manor as he has found a wife and plans on starting his own family. And now Baron and Baroness must hold interviews in order to find his replacement and all types of people show up in order to get the job and some of them are perfect fits while others are weirdoes. In the end BVP shoots them all down before hiring maid Viola Poison strictly on her good looks. Lots of cool cameos in this episode including Geraldo The Hunchback from New Shock Theater.

Movie: A kind, small-town doctor mistakenly ingests pills made from vampire bat blood and they turn him into a dangerous fanged creature.

Baron Episode 17

TTOTM: Legend Of Bigfoot
Starring – Ivan Marx & Peggy Marx     Rated PG     1975

Host: Baron Von Porkchop gets fellow Dayton, Ohio Horror Hosts Iris & Retina to help him hunt down a Bigfoot as he needs the creatures meat in order to make his famous BigFoot Chili to enter into the New Burlington Chili Cook-Off! The Horror Hosts wonder around the woods and hear the yells of the creature as well as find the evidence that they need to know they are on the right track. And in the end Baron is able to take down one of the creatures.

Movie: A documentary about the legendary creature, Bigfoot, with emphasis on him being the missing link.

Baron Episode 18

TTOTM: Undertaker And His Pals
Starring – Warrene Ott & James Westmoreland     Rated R     1966

Host: Baron Von Porkchop has brought his whole crew (Baroness Von Porkchop, Jenkins The Pigman, JD The Meatman and Viola Poison) to the New Burlington Chili Cook-Off as he has entered his famous Bigfoot Chili, but the compotation is heavy as rival Count Van Lambchop and his wife The Countess has also entered their chili in the contest. Viola and Jenkins try to help rig the voting by messing with others chili as Baron and the Count continue their life long feud. With a panel of guest judges that include musicians and comic book artists it’s a chili showdown for who takes first place. This episode also has a cameo from Bean!

Movie: An undertaker and his two friends, who are restaurant owners, drum up business by going out on the town and killing people; the restaurant owners use parts of the bodies for their menu, and the undertaker gets paid by the families to bury the remainder. Their racket goes awry when 2 detectives suspect that something isn’t quite kosher.

Baron Von Porkchop 0010Baron Von Porkchop 0011Baron Von Porkchop 0012

Now that we have taken a look at the first two seasons (season three and on will be for another future update) lets take a look at the special episodes that when along with these first two seasons.

Son of Hercules Special

Son Of Hercules Power Hours: Samson
Starring – Brad Harris & Mara Berni     Not Rated       1961

Host: The Son Of Hercules hosts his own show that was a failed TV Polit that he was trying to get TBS to air in the 1980’s. This special has Son Of Hercules giving work out tips, arm wrestling an alien as well as showing his love for heavy metal music. A silly fun time with the Mighty Son of Hercules!

Movie: While traveling through the kingdom of Sulom, Samson is arrested and finds that the queen no longer reigns and that a power-mad warlord and his army of mercenaries now controls the kingdom. Samson teams up with some of his one-time adversaries to battle the usurper and restore the rightful queen to power.

Baron Halloween Episode 1

BVP Halloween Special 1: The Sadness
Starring – Jason Young & Garrison Kane     Not Rated       2006

Host: Baron Von Porkchop celebrates Halloween by going to the site of The Sadness Collage Murders, and once there he starts coming across bodies and thinks that the students are adding the spooky holiday festivities, but the Baron soon realizes that The Sadness has returned to the scene of the crime and that Baron might just be his next victim.

Movie: A young collage student witnesses the murder of her next door neighbor and makes the mistake of talking about it on her friends radio show, and now the killer knows as The Sadness has shown up to the collage and wants to silence her and her friends forever as he never leaves a witness behind.

Baron Beards of Science Special

BVP Charity Special: Abraham Lincoln
Starring – Walter Huston & Ian Keith   Not Rated       1930

Host: Baron Von Porkchop and Count Van Lambchop are having an argument about the location of Lambchop’s new poultry farm when the zombie of Abbe Lincoln and his subjects come back from the grave and are hungry for brains and both Barons and Counts look good to them, so now the two foes must survive together in order to escape the zombie version of America’s 16th President. Done for the Gem City Gentlemen Of The Gilded Beard charity event.

Movie: Brief vignettes about Lincoln’s early life include his birth, early jobs, (unsubstantiated) affair with Ann Rutledge, courtship of Mary Todd, and the Lincoln-Douglas debates; his presidency and the Civil War are followed in somewhat more detail, though without actual battle scenes; film concludes with the assassination.

Baron Halloween Episode 2

BVP Halloween Special 2: Werewolf Of Ohio
Starring – Josh Weinberg & Matt Hoffman     Not Rated       2001

Host: Baron Von Porkchop and his friend Melvin are going trick or treating and Baron is not following the safety rules and is making all kinds of mistakes, but they soon meet an old man who tells them the story of The Headless Horseman, and little does Baron know that The Headless Horseman is now in New Burlington and has his site on making this Halloween very fighting for our Horror Host.

Movie: Josh is a young man who’s family has been killed by a werewolf and has spent his life trying to track and kill the beast, now with a trusty Cameraman and the world famous Wolf Hunter he tracks down this killer beast for one final showdown.

Baron Horrorhound 2012

BVP HorrorHound 2012 Special: Corpse Vanishes
Starring – Bela Lugosi & Luana Walters     Not Rated       1942

Host: Baron Von Porkchop is a guest at the HorrorHound 2012 convention and has decided to leave Viola Posion and Susie The DJ in charge of his table as he goes on a quest to find and win the heart of Horror Hostess Marlena Midnite of Midnite Mausileum. And while on his quest he stops along the way to talk to his fellow Horror Hosts as well as celeberties in attendance including Gunner Hansen and Doug Bradley. And when Baron finds her will he win her over or chicken out.

Movie: Dr. Lorenz, a mad scientist, wants to keep his elderly wife young. He does this by kidnapping young females and extracting fluid from them. He then injects this fluid into his wife.

Baron Arcade Special

BVP Arcade Special: Beast of Yucca Flats
Starring – Tor Johnson & Conrad Brooks     Not Rated       1961

Host: Baron Von Porkchop heads to the store Game Swap as they have just gotten in a new Pac Man Arcade Machine for play and he is annoyed that he has to wait in line as all he wants to do is play a game of Pac Man and even has brought his tip book as well as Jenkins The Pigman along for the experience. But will Baron be able to play a game before the store closes as the line is long and his anger is rising.

Movie: A defecting Soviet scientist is hit by a nuclear explosion near Yucca Flats and roams around as a beast.

Baron Halloween Special 3

BVP Halloween Special 3: Indie Short Films
Starring – Stephen Alexander & Zach Prater     Not Rated       1990’s-2000’s

Host: Baron Von Porkchop and Melvin are dared to stay the night in the haunted graveyard of Dr. Freak by JD The Meatman and with snack food in hand and shaky nerves the two hang out and tell each other ghost stories that are really short films from Indie Horror Film directors. But when Horror Host Dr. Freak shows up will be mad about his trespassing guests or will he join in on the spooky tales of terror this Halloween night.

Movie: Indie Films show are “El Toro 2”, “Hellraiser: Warehouse”, “Mummy vs. The Stalker”, “The Return Of Freddy”, “Bark At The Moon: Malice”, “Bark At The Moon: Scars”, “Nightmare” and “High Hopes”.

Baron Black Friday Special 1

BVP Black Friday Special 1: Farmer Joe
Starring – Mike Ritchie & Henrique Couto     Not Rated       2001

Host: Baron Von Porkchop has made a half man and half chicken creature that was suppose to be for Thanksgiving but had pitty on the creature and let him live, but now the Chicken creature is a menace and is always on his cell phone and is just rude to everyone he comes across! Baron goes to get advice from the BK and learns that he must kill his creation with an ax, but can he do it?

Movie: Danny is a young kid who is being bullied and on a dare goes to a haunted farm and summons the spirit of the crazed Farmer Joe who is out for revenge on the man who sold him bad seeds and ruined his harvest many years ago, but he also has Danny and his bullies on his radar of death, can Danny’s Dad save his sons life and soul, or is all hope lost now that Farmer Joe has returned.

Baron Halloween Special 4

BVP Halloween Special 4: White Zombie
Starring – Bela Lugosi & Madge Bellamy     Not Rated       1932

Host: Baron Von Porkchop and Melvin this Halloween decided to rent a small cabin in the country to get away from all of the craziness that they have been through the past three years, but unlucky for them the Fulci Zombie an ax swinging undead serial killer is around and wants to make them both dead! But will Baron and Melvin figure out a way to stop this murdering rampage or will they just be more victims on his ever-growing list.

Movie: A young man turns to a witch doctor to lure the woman he loves away from her fiancé, but instead turns her into a zombie slave.

Baron Black Friday Special 2

BVP Black Friday Special 2: Razor
Starring – Jason Gilmore & Josh Weinberg     Not Rated       2002

Host: Chicken Man is back and is running all around New Burlington causing issues for all the locals and making them all very angry, and they want to know who is the man behind this menace and many point the finger at Count Van Lambchop and Baron now must stop his creation before the town discovers the truth that this cell phone texting annoying chicken is his doing.

Movie: A young man is plagued with memories of a past he seems to have lived and a father who was pure evil, now Mike must unravel a mystery that all leads to a blood drinking killer that has been around for centuries and try and figure out how his life and past are tied to this psycho.

Baron Von Porkchop 0013Baron Von Porkchop 0014Baron Von Porkchop 0015

Baron Von Porkchop is a Horror Host that has brought Dayton, Ohio and beyond viewers laughs, scares and cheesy movies for over 10 years now and the cast of characters that make up New Burlington have all did their part to make this show special. And from the bottom of my heart I want to think every cast member and every fan that has made Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre must see TV and apart of your life, as well as make the dreams of this blogger come true as I have always wanted to create my own show and I cannot think of a better person to create this show with then my cousin Stephen. And like I have said this will not be the only Horror Host Icon update about Baron Von Porkchop so you fans, friends and readers will have more to look forward to in the future. But now lets talk about our next update that will be our Halloween update and will take us away from the world of Horror Hosts and into the world of SOV Horror as we look at a 1990’s gem called “Hatchet”! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch an indie film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for some VHS Horror Fun.

HatchetSOV copy

Horror Host Icon: Commandant Gore

Horror Hosts have always been an important part of Dayton, Ohio culture with Channel 22 bringing Shock Theatre with host Dr. Creep to viewers starting back in 1972 and many amazing hosts followed in the good Dr.’s footsteps like A. Ghastlee Ghoul, The Creeper, Baron Von Porkchop, Iris & Retina, Rayne and Dr. Freak to name a few and all made impacts with viewers. But one host here in Dayton never reached a cult statues with viewers and faded away into obscurity with very few ever speaking his name and I am talking about Commandant Gore and his show Gorevision that haunted airwaves on MVCC Public Access here in Dayton. With this I have searched the VHS vaults and trade lists high and low to bring you this Horror Host Icon(?) update based on the one and only bringer of the gore, the master of splatter, the duke of mayhem Commandant Gore. I should also note that this update will be a fast one as there is not much to say and or information about this show and host out in the world. On a side note due to some timing issues Juliet’s look at Horror Host Stella Desire has been pushed to a later date.

Commandant Gore 1

Commandant Gore is a shape shifting dead nazi who is upset with the living and is seeking vengeance and revenge on the them and he figures what better way to get what he seeks then to host classic horror movies as well as showcase death metal bands from the area on a public access show! He would host the show via the studios of MVCC as well as in the basement of an apartment complex from the Kettering, Ohio area. The Commandant was not a fun joking kind of host and hosted with a snarl and a sinister tone. He also really liked the gore and violence from the movies and embraced all things evil. His appearance would change from episode to episode as would his body size making viewers wonder just what the Commandant was up to as sometimes he would look like a zombie while others he would have grease paint smeared on his face. The show Commandant Gore hosted was called Gorevision and started in 2000 on Centerville, Ohio public access station MVCC and only lasted a handful of episodes before the show faded away and was not even shown in reruns, and this happened around 2003-2004. In 2005 Commandant Gore tried to bring the show to the Internet, but that never happened and that marked the final end to the show. The show did become the subject of lots of public access urban legend as to why MVCC pulled the plug on the show and booted it from air with some claiming it was because some of the subject matter they showed while others talk about how by accident they put peanut butter in one of the editing machines causing hundreds of dollars in damages and that was the nail in the shows coffin! Even word is that all the master copies of the show have been destroyed and that Gorevision can only be found in the collections of diehard Dayton Horror Host collectors as well as those who were apart of the Horror Host Underground who might have gotten the episodes to play on other Access stations. While Commandant Gore might not be a household name I am sure some fans remember his show and enjoyed his bloody antics. I should also note that many people including Rick Ammon as well as many of his friends played Commandant Gore, and he as well made a small amount of public appearances mostly at Cinema Wasteland Convention as seen below in this pictures, he is the one behind A. Ghastlee Ghoul in the first two and is almost cut off in the third.

Commandant Gore 2Commandant Gore 3Commandant Gore 4

Growing up I watched lots of shows on MVCC with host shows like The Ghastlee Movie Show, Moraine Playhouse Theater, Cult Theater and New Shock Theater being must watches! Not to mention oddball shows like Eat More Carp, Media Only and Neon Maddness were enjoyed as were music shows like Metalmania and Zoo World. And yes I do remember when Gorevision hit the airwaves and while I enjoyed seeing movies like the Blind Dead I was never a mega fan of the show and didn’t watch that often. While I have always been a huge fan of Horror Host shows Gorevision for me was just lost in the sea of other Dayton area hosts who brought shows and antics that I found to be way more enjoyable. Plus I had always found the show to slightly lack focus when it came to presenting the host Commandant Gore as he needed to be the main attraction of the show and not random title cards and local metal bands. But while I might not have been a fan I can still give credit that Commandant Gore and his Gorevision is apart of Dayton, Ohio Horror Host history.

Commandant Gore 5Commandant Gore 6Commandant Gore 7

Gorevision also spawned other Horror Hosts or should I say Horror Host personalities who claimed the mantel of being a host and yet never produced or made a show in the case of one! As these hosts were Dr. Horrific and even a Dr. Creep Jr. emerged after the disbanding of Commandant Gore’s short time on TV. I have only heard rumors of Dr. Horrific having a show or two and I had heard zero of Dr. Creep Jr. ever having one. So I don’t want to spend too much time on these two as they have no legacy of Hosting on TV, but I do sadly want to say that Jeff Ammon who played Dr. Horrific passed away in 2020 and Lonnie Ray Lynch who played Dr. Creep Jr. passed away in 2014. And I do make this promise if any episodes of either of these “Hosts” are found I will give them the honor of having a full Horror Host Icon update, as I have always said all Hosts mean something to their viewers and no Host is two big or small to be given these update respect.

Dr Horrific 1Dr Creep Jr and Dr HorrificDr Creep Jr

Gorevision and Commandant Gore was very much a more underground Horror Host here in Dayton and with that comes episodes that are hard to find and if not for the likes of A. Ghastlee Ghoul and the late great Andy Copp this update would have not been possible as they both had episodes to share. I want to remind you that I will be taking the movies plot write up from our friends at IMDB and will myself write the breakdowns of the Host segments. So if you are ready put on your glasses as its time to see the world in Gorevision!

Gorevision American Nightmare Pt 2 DVD

Gorevision: American Nightmare (1983)
Starring – Lawrence Day & Lora Staley     Rated R     1983

Host: Commandant Gore does not make an appearance in this episode and we start the show with a few songs from a local metal band.

Movie: A man investigates the disappearance of his sister with the help of her roommate. He uncovers a trail of prostitution, incest, blackmail…and murder.

Note From Matt: This episode has the second part and final part of the 1983 film American Nightmare.

Gorevision Itchi The Killer Ep 0 DVD

Gorevision: Itchi The Killer: Ep 0
Starring – Chihiro Suzuki & Takashi Miike     Not Rated       2002

Host: A Title Screen off center welcomes the viewers to Gorevision, and no appearance from the shows host or characters.

Movie: A masochistic mobster meets his match in the dark streets of Tokyo. His nemesis, Ichi, is a psychopathic killer with an unrelenting thirst for bloodshed. A horrifying secret burns in his mind, and his hands deal death without mercy. At last, the shrouds of mystery are parted to reveal the origin of the monster. The city will know its greatest fear at the unveiling of Ichi the Killer.

Note From Matt: This episode is very poorly put together and is Episode 3 from them. And I think they forgot that the Host is what makes an iconic Horror Host show and that he needs to appear in your episodes!

Gorevision Return Of The Evil Dead DVD

Gorevision: Return Of The Evil Dead
Starring – Esperanza Roy & Tony Kendall     Not Rated     1973

Host: Commandant Gore opens the show sitting in the studio with red and black grease paint smeared all over his face. He informs us this is another of the looks he takes on and talks about the nights film and then ushers us in to it.

Movie: 500 years after they were blinded and executed for committing human sacrifices, a band of Templar knights returns from the grave to terrorize a rural Portuguese village during it’s centennial celebration. Being blind, the Templars find their victims through sound, usually the screams of their victims. Taking refuge in a deserted cathedral, a small group of people must find a way to escape from the creatures.

Note From Matt: The movie has bad audio at the start of the film and has a hiss throughout.

Gorevision SS Experiment DVD

Gorevision: SS Experiment
Starring – Paola Corazzi & Mircha Carven     Rated R     1976

Host: The only Host segment for this episode is a title card of center that says the night’s movie is presented in “Gorevision Sytle”.

Movie: Near the end of WW2, prisoners of war are used in experiments to perfect the “Aryan” race.

Commandant Gore 8

Commandant Gore is one of those hosts that I think had potential of being a creepy host if only he had direction and scripts. They should have kept the same actor in the role and showcased him more in the episodes, as there is no reason why he should not be seen in every episode and he should be shown more than once per episode when he did appear. Over all while he was not the cream of the crop when it comes to Dayton, Ohio Horror Hosts, he still has his place in the area’s history and as I said before I am sure he had his fans. And here at Rotten Ink I made a promise to myself to cover any and all Dayton, Ohio Horror Host from the past and present and I am sure many of you are learning about Commandant Gore for the first time! For my next update we will be walking away from the world of Horror Hosting and will be heading to the world of Forgotten Heroes as we will be taking a look at Tiger Girl from Gold Key Comics! So until next time, read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie of two and as always support your local Horror Host! Say do you think Gold Key Comics Tiger Girl is related to Atlas Comics Tiger-Man?

Tiger Girl Preview Logo

Best Fried Food Chicken – Dayton, Ohio Edition

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. For this update I am going to do something a little weird and yet so fitting for my tiny slice of the world-wide-web. I am sure you are wondering just what I am up to, right? Well alongside my cousin Stephen and my pal Josh, we are going to decide who has the best fast food fried chicken in the Dayton, Ohio area! You see originally a few years back we were going to do this for signature fast food hamburgers, but unlucky me cannot eat red meat anymore…so we all decided to do this with ranking fried chicken instead! We decided that Saturday nights would be our Fried Chicken eating time, we would have to eat a three-piece meal after work and we would base our voting on these things:

Presentation: How well the chicken looks as well as the over all look of how the restaurant put our meal together.

Breading: How the breading tastes with how much flavor it packs.

Tenderness: How juicy the chicken meat is.

Taste: The over all taste of the Fried Chicken, how well do all these elements blend together.

Each of these things are graded on a scale of ½ – 5 points each with a perfect score being 20 and the lowest being 2 points. So if you are ready, let’s talk Fast Food Chicken for this silly update that could be the start of Rotten Ink’s food reviews! So pack some extra napkins as this one is going to get a little greasy. Oh and let’s start our list from worst to best. We ate a total of six restaurants, and “Thank You” to all these Fried Chicken places for making this update possible. Also we only based this on one meal and keep in mind all fried chicken is good fried chicken so just sick back and have fun with this update.

# 6

Lee’s 3pc Chicken was one we ate around 8:35pm, and the presentation for me was very low as I found my chicken not too appealing and very dry looking and my wing was thrown in with my green beans. So I gave it a 2.5 as again the presentation was not that appealing at all. Next up was the breading that was lacking in flavor and had just a black pepper taste earning a score of 2. The tenderness was not present for most of the chicken in this meal, and because the leg was pretty dang tender I gave it a 2.5…and I am not sure why I gave it that high. And lastly is taste, and over all I gave it 2.5 as well as the Presentation and Tenderness was not top notch and the Breading was what kept the meal very tasty. I should also note that after I ate the chicken I had green beans, mashed potatoes with gravy and a Pepsi to drink. Lee’s is the second most popular fast food chicken restaurant here in Ohio, and while I’ve had good meals from them before, this was not one of them, and that’s why here on Rotten Ink it made it to the #6 spot. I should also say that both Stephen and Josh rated their 3pc chicken about the same as mine which helped it lock this spot. Total Score for Lee’s is 24.5 out of 60.

# 5

Church’s 3pc Chicken was one we ate around 9:00pm, and the presentation for me was standard as I found my chicken to appealing but nothing special. So I gave it a 2.5 as again the presentation was average. Next up was the breading that was lacking in flavor and was very bland. I mean the breading to me had no flavor at all so that earned it the score of 2 from me. The tenderness for Churches was very surprising as I found the meat to be tender and juicy, and this was a solid 3 from me! And lastly is taste, and over all I gave it 2.5 as the Presentation and Breading was average and the tenderness was what kept the meal really good thanks to the Chicken leg. I should also note that after I ate the chicken, I had mashed potatoes with gravy that was just okay and a tasty honey biscuit. Church’s Chicken was a fast food place I ate lots when I worked near one, and I find it to be a good cheap chicken restaurant that, while not at the top, it did lock the # 5 spot! And this was one 3-piece meal that we all gave almost the same scores! Good old Church’s brought in a total score of 31.5 out of 60.

# 4

The KFC 3pc Chicken was one we ate around 8:30pm, and the presentation for me was very low as I found my chicken not too appealing and also I felt was very small compared to other chicken I have had from them in the past. So I gave it a 1 as again the presentation was not that appealing. Next up, the classic 11 herb and spices for the breading is legendary and there is a reason so many other fried chicken places have tried to mimic the recipe, so I gave it a very solid 4! Now for tenderness I would say that the three pieces I ate was good but was lacking in juice and tasted more like store bought oven baked fried chicken…so in other words, it was middle of the road hence I gave it the score of 2.5 as it was very average. And lastly is taste, and over all I gave it 2.5 as well as the Presentation and Tenderness was not top notch and the Breading was what kept the meal very tasty. After I ate the chicken, I had green beans, mashed potatoes with gravy and a Pepsi to drink. Over all KFC is the most popular Fast Food Fried Chicken Restaurants and here on Rotten Ink it made it to the # 4 spot, showing that not all popular things are the best! Keep in mind, I do like KFC and respect what Colonel Harland Sanders did for the world of Fried Chicken it’s just a shame that the meal this time for me was just so-so. I should also say that both Stephen and Josh rated their 3pc chicken slightly better then I did which helped it lock this spot. The 11 Herb and Spices brought in a total score of 36.5 out of 60.

# 3

Popeyes was eaten on October 5, 2019 at around 9:45pm and was our dinner for the evening. When getting this three piece meal, it came in a box with the companies logo on it and once opened the fried chicken was covered in Caujun Fries and the chicken itself looked really good and that’s why I ended up giving it a score of 3 for presentation! I moved on to tasting the breading that was on my chicken and after taking bites of it I found that it was really good and had its own style of flavor unique to Popeyes and that’s why I as well gave it the score of 4! The Tenderness of the chicken was good with the leg being juicy and the wing being kind of dry, and that’s why I decided to give it a score of 3.5. The taste of the chicken, the great presentation and the tasty breading made for a top notch meal, and that’s why it got a 4 and was a solid meal with a great tasting biscuit, flavorful fries and a cold Coke to drink. I have yet to have a bad meal from Popeyes and after adding up the scores from Josh, Steve and I they got 40 out of 50 locking the 3rd spot easily.

# 2

On October 11, 2019 we had Sharks Fish & Chicken for lunch, and as always we all got a three-piece meal and we ate it around 1pm. The meal came in a Styrofoam container and the three pieces of chicken sat on top of a mountain of french fries, two pieces of white bread and came with coleslaw and hot sauce, and when looking at this I was impressed and it reminded me of a good home cooked meal so that’s why for presentation I gave it a very solid 3 ½. Next up was the breading and after taking a few bites off one piece that tasted slightly over cooked, I decided to take some off another piece, and wow it was very good and had a salty and yet kind of sweet taste and I gave it 4 points. When eating my first piece as I stated before it was slightly over cooked and the meat was a little dry, but good gosh the next two piece was so juicy my mouth is watering just thinking about it and that’s why for tenderness I gave it a 4. And lastly, the taste over all was great and the breading and the juicy meat is what locked 4 more points from me! I would say that this was a really good meal and very tasty and after adding up all out points Sharks got a score of 43.5 out of 50 showing that Sharks knows how to do friend chicken right!

# 1

Krispy Krunchy Chicken was eaten on September 28, 2019 at around 2:30pm and instead of dinner, we had them for lunch! When getting this three piece meal it came in a nice white bag that had the companies logo on it and once out of the bag, the friend chicken and sides looked very tasty and that’s why I ended up given it a score of 3.5 for presentation! I moved on to tasting the breading that was on my chicken and after taking several bites of just the breading, I found that it was amazing and rivaled the 11 Herb and Spices of KFC and that’s why I as well gave it the score of 4! Like the breading the tenderness of the chicken was on point and was very juicy and very tender and that’s why I gave it a 4.5 as it was very close to being perfect. The taste of the juicy tender chicken and the flavorful breading made for a fantastic meal that was top notch and that’s why it got a 4.5 and was again almost perfect. I want to also note that I had Mashed Potatoes and a biscuit with my meal, and they as well were really good. Stephen and I rated Krispy Krunchy very similar as Josh was a little more rough with them and gave lower points. And after adding our scores together Krispy Krunchy brought in 45 out of 60!

So there you have it, in Dayton, Ohio a group of three friends have awarded the Best Fast Food Chicken Award to Krispy Krunchy Chicken as the meal we all had was pretty dang fantastic! But I am sure you are wondering what each person’s top three chicken places were. Well, let me break that down for you as well and will list starting with the top ones on each person’s list.

Stephen: Krispy Krunchy, Sharks and Popeyes
Josh: KFC, Sharks and Popeyes
Matt: Krispy Krunchy, Sharks, Popeyes

Well I hope you enjoyed this silly update and who knows maybe next time we will cover some other weird food and let you the readers know what is the best of the best in our books. I am also working on the design for these Food Review updates so bear with me as I know this one is not that visual appealing, and I hope for the next one it will be amazing! So for my next update I am walking out on Fast Food and will diving into another of our American Hero updates, just in time for the Fourth of July.  Our hero this time? Super Green Beret! So until next time, read a comic of three, eat a friend chicken meal or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next time for the adventures of the Super Green Beret.

Bill Fugate's Super Green Beret

 

Horror Host Icon: Rayne

Dayton has had its fair share of male hosts with names like Dr. Creep, A. Ghastlee Ghoul, The Creeper, Baron Von Porkchop, Retina and Dr. Freak all coming to mind and being some of the most popular ones. But when thinking about female hosts from Dayton there are far fewer with Iris being the only full host and the others being co-hosts like Baroness Von Porkchop and Suspira…but did you readers know that we did have a second female host that sadly only lasted three episodes? Her name was Rayne and her show was Studio Cinema. Behind Iris I think she is the area’s second fully fledged female Horror Hostess who had her own show, making her very important when it comes to the rich history of Dayton Hosts. So for this quick update it’s with great honor that I bring to you Horror Host Icon: Rayne as I continue my look at the Horror Hosts of Dayton for 2020…wait her show is set at the 2020…it’s a perfect year to cover her!

Studio Cinema started in 2015 and made its premiere on YouTube with the first episode being uploaded on September 10, 2015 to give viewers a taste of what was to come. Two more episodes would be filmed, and they would go direct to DVD and could be purchased at the 2020 where the show was set. The show was created by Carl Merritt who directed a vampire film called “Abe’s Tomb” and is the owner of the 2020 as well as Stacy Rayne, who is a model and the show’s host. The show’s vibe was fun and had a real indie horror touch that made each episode feel like its own little mini movie. In each episode Rayne and the models have to deal with goofy, creepy and terrible customers. The show has a really indie horror feel to it and the pacing is set in place that showcases the annoying customer as well as the pushing of Rayne who must deal with the issue by dealing death. The customers in each episode would be played by an Indie Horror Movie director or a local photographer that would go on to be interviewed later in the show about their work. The show would come to an official end on November 2, 2016 when director and producer Carl Merritt made the announcement on the show’s Facebook page. While the show did not last long it still made a splash with local Horror Host viewers and earned its place in the history books of Dayton, Ohio Horror Hosted Shows.

Rayne is a host like none other in our area as she is a manager of a photo studio who does her day-to-day job, and when pushed by terrible customers, she deals with them in brutal ways. You see when Rayne is sent to the edge, she changes into Hunter. a killer who gets joy in dealing with these pains and deals out a helping hand of murder with her knife, machine gun or whatever else she can get her hands on! Rayne wears a pink shirt that has The 2020 on it and while friendly, she does have a sinister edge to her. Meanwhile Hunter wears all black and is 100% violent, as she will kill in order to protect the models and keep The 2020 a safe place for all. Rayne is lovely and deadly and is Dayton’s second Horror Hostess and delivered three solid and fun episodes to her viewers before retiring for Hosting in 2016. Will she ever come back and bring new episodes of Studio Cinema to Dayton…only time will tell.

Like all good Horror Host shows Studio Cinema had its own co-host/sidekick with model MC Arthur who helped the customers at The 2020 as well as delivered her own silly jokes as she wanted to also become a stand up comic. The cool thing about MC is her blonde hair and overly bubbly nature made her a great contrast from Rayne/Hunter. Plus MC is in all three episodes and is the main focus in two of the episodes as the rude customers are the ones who give her guff. So while she is not the host, MC is clearly the show’s co-host and is the nice balance to play off Rayne. I’m not really sure why they didn’t just turn the show over to MC when Rayne retired, as I think she could have done a good job of hosting at least a few episodes.

Studio Cinema and its Hostess Rayne are a part of Dayton history, and I want to thank the show’s creator Carl Merritt for hooking me up with DVD copies of this show as well as allowing me to share some of the photos he has taken of Rayne while she was modeling. So I am sure you have guessed that we are at the part of this Horror Host Icon update where I will be talking about the episodes I own on DVD, and I want to remind you that I will not be grading these episodes and that I will be taking the film’s write ups from our friends at IMDB with the host segments write ups done by me. I want to also say that I had to make the cover for the first episode as it was an online release only, so that’s why it’s not as cool as the official ones. So if you are ready, let’s travel to The 2020 and see what Rayne has in store for us!

Studio Cinema: Giant Gila Monster
Starring – Don Sullivan & Lisa Simone     Not Rated     1959

Host: We start the show and meet Rayne, the manager of photo studio the 2020 that offers not only models to photograph but also Horror Movies on DVD! Ryan has to yell at a customer who is touching the model M.C. rudely as she is trying to book a customer over the phone, but the photographer keeps touching the model and gets his final warning from Rayne to stop! When he does not listen, Rayne deals with the handsy creep once and for all. Rayne goes on to give a fact about the night’s movie before M.C. has to clean up the body parts of the now dead customer. Next she interviews a local actor about his weird roles, and then shares a story about a real life serial killer who killed his own mother. While working on paperwork, Rayne is visited by M.C. and she tells a really bad joke as she says she wants to become a comedian. In the end Rayne thanks us for watching and warns the viewer that Hunter will rip their tongues out if they don’t have nice things to say.

Movie: A couple of teenagers are reported missing in a small Texas town, and it is thought they eloped. Sheriff Jeff turns to his friend Clarence Winstead, a garage mechanic and leader of a hot-rod gang, for help. After a series of tragic motor accidents, it becomes apparent that a giant Gila monster is roaming the area depleting the town of its citizens and visitors, including two hot-rodding teens, and planning to attend the big record-hop party.

Studio Cinema: Brain That Wouldn’t Die
Starring – Jason Evers & Virginia Leith     Not Rated     1962

Host: Rayne welcomes us back to the studio and tells us about the night’s film and also shares what business the 2020 has set up for the day. Rayne next gives some trivia facts about the film and then gets a visit from Ray, a client who wants to buy some Horror Movies and also comes off very sleazy and puts down the selection of films to model MC! And when Ray gets out of hand, Rayne turns into Hunter and uses a switchblade to gut him like a hog! Hunter turns back to Rayne and she once more talks about the film as well as the customers that do business with the 2020. Rayne once more shares a true crime story about a man who threw his own guts at the comics! We next join Rayne as she has a sit down interview with director Ray Basham who made the film “Hillbilly-Bob Zombie”. And once the movie is over, Rayne ends the show and plugs some websites and lets us know she will see us for the next episode.

Movie: Dr. Bill Cortner has been performing experimental surgery on human guinea pigs without authorization and against the advice of his father, also a surgeon. When Bill’s fiancée Jan Compton is decapitated in an automobile accident, he manages to keep her brain alive. He now needs to find a new body for his bride-to-be and settles on Doris Powell, a glamor model with a facial disfigurement. Jan meanwhile doesn’t want to continue her body-less existence and calls upon the creature hidden in the basement, one of Bill Cortner’s unsuccessful experiments, to break loose.

Studio Cinema: Little Shop Of Horrors
Starring – Jonathan Haze & Dick Miller     Not Rated     1960

Host: On this third and final episode of Studio Cinema, Rayne introduces the night’s film as she is very happy to show this classic film. A new model at The 2020 is with a photographer who likes to scare people, and when he scares the model, he is yelled at by both Rayne and M.C. who tell him to knock it off. Once back Rayne once more delivers some trivia about the nights film and is disrupted by a door to door sales man who is way too pushy, and for this Rayne turns to Hunter and he is shot and killed. Once back as Rayne she shares once more a twisted tale of true crime that fits into the death of the door-to- door salesman. Later the prankster photographer sends the model to change as he nabs a nearby Halloween mask and scares the models again, and with this Rayne turns to Hunter and throws the photographer out the window to his death. After this Rayne interviews a Dayton area photographer about what motivates him and his styles. In the end, Rayne chats about her love for the movie and so ends Studio Cinema.

Movie: When the clumsy Seymour Krelboyne spoils two flowers of a client, the owner of a small florist shop Gravis Mushnick is ready to fire him. However Seymour tells that he has mixed two plants of different breeds at home and created a hybrid named Audrey Jr. and Mushnick decides to give another chance to his employee. On the next day, Seymour brings Audrey Jr. that becomes the pride and joy of Mushnick, his other employee Audrey Fulquard and clients. Out of the blue, the flower seems to be dying and Seymour accidentally learns that she likes blood. One day, Seymour is upset since he does not know how to feed the flower and he walks along a railroad. When he throws a stone near a railroad track, he accidentally hits the head of a man that falls on the track and is a train runs over him. Seymour brings the pieces of the man to the shop and finds that the plant likes flesh. On the next morning, Audrey Jr. has grown and become the attraction of the shop. But how will Seymour feed his plant.

So as you can see, while Rayne and Studio Cinema had a very small run, they still are very much apart of Horror Host history in Dayton, Ohio. With the year being 2020 and The 2020 still being opened, who knows if the show will ever return and if Rayne/Hunter will return to deal with terrible customers and bring viewers cheesy Horror Movies….only time will truly tell. So for the next update we will be stepping away from the world of Horror Hosting and will be heading back to the world of comic books as we will be taking a look at a Marvel Horror character Zombie as we will be doing another Marvel Horror Showcase update. So until we meet again, read a comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. Oh and beware of the zombies as not all of them are flesheaters.

Horror Host Icon: A. Ghastlee Ghoul

It’s late night in Dayton, Ohio and you are flipping stations waiting for the midnight hour so that you can turn to public access and catch a Horror Host that was like none other in your area. His show was a mix of Night Flight and Shock Theater and was filled with crude humor and off the wall skits, and if you were lucky the episode might have porn clips (minus all nudity) set to the song “She’ll Be Coming Around The Mountain”! This magical show was called The Ghastlee Movie Show, and its host was A. Ghastlee Ghoul. No joke, this was on my must-watch list every week as this show was so crazy, so fun and so off the wall, it really was something I looked forward to watching while relaxing in my room after a long week of school and laughing my butt off to Ghastlee and his cohorts’ zany segments and skits.

While Dayton has had its fair share of Horror Hosts like Dr. Creep, The Creeper, Dr. Freak, Baron Von Porkchop and Iris & Retina and all of them are top notch, there is only one A. Ghastlee Ghoul. It’s my complete honor to bring you readers this very special Horror Host Icon update that is all about the one and only master of the late night puns, A. Ghastlee Ghoul!

The Ghastlee Movie Show started in 1991 and was spawned off another public access comedy show called “The Underground Sideshow” from 1988 as it started off as a skit about a reluctant Horror Host. And with that skit, a new breed of Horror Host show was born in Dayton as it took over the time slot of the show that spawned it and became a late night hit with viewers.

The show lasted for decades, and Ghastlee was a Horror Host that I can remember kids talking about once I moved from Waynesville to Kettering as everyone enjoyed the rapid fire pacing and the chaos of the skits with the use of music and visuals. His show was like nothing seen before from a Horror Host…at least in our area!

A. Ghastlee Ghoul became such a popular host that he also began appearing on other local access shows like “Media Only” and even “New Shock Theater,” teaming him with one of his biggest inspirations, Dr. Creep! Ghastlee’s zany show even helped spawn the world youngest Horror Host Dr. Freak and this even lead to him appearing on his show “Cult Theater” and giving the film Zombie 4 the old “Mystery Science Theater 3000” treatment. The show’s popularity among public access viewers grew and this lead to A. Ghastlee Ghoul becoming the official second most popular Horror Host in the Dayton market and lead to so many other cool appearances that we will get into a little later.

One of The Ghastlee Movie Show’s most watched episodes had him starring at the camera the whole time looking sad, and this both worried and puzzled viewers as they just didn’t understand what was going on…and that was the point and it had them coming back for more! Over the years The Ghastlee Movie show has slowed down with new episodes coming only in the form of the occasional special or Ghastlee appearing on other shows like Baron Von Porkchops Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre. But while The Ghastlee Movie Show might be entertaining viewers and fans with reruns right now, plans of new episodes are in the works as of this update! I will say never count A. Ghastlee Ghoul out as who knows when a new Ghastlee Movie Show will emerge from the depths of Dayton and introduce a new breed of viewers to this innovative and one of a kind show.

When I first moved from Waynesville to Kettering, I hated it so much as I was always the strange monster kid who loved to talk about Horror Movies and draw pictures of monsters and demons…and this new school was not about it as the kids were all fine but 97% of the staff was not and thought I was in some sort of cult and was dangerous…it was the satanic panic all over again! But while Kettering Schools sucked ass, it was during this time that I discovered The Ghastlee Movie Show. I had seen him on other shows like “Media Only,” but while here in Kettering I really got to discover just how amazing his show was.

I watched every Friday night and would even tape it and watch the reruns. His show was that mesmerizing to this then-teenage monster kid. My favorite episode to watch was when he hosted the film The Manster as he inserted himself into the movie and did some great comedy bits that fit perfectly with the events of the film. I also saw his starting at the camera episode and watched the whole thing…in fact several times…I know that explains a lot!

I first got to meet Ghastlee in person at one of the Horrorama Movie Marathon events and became life long friends with him when I answered a trivia question about his show and won a prize. After this, Ghastlee and I emailed each other from time to time, and I was even lucky enough to be on his show once (more on that later) and would go to events he was hosting like screenings at Neon Movies. We also both would be at many of the same conventions once my friends and I started the SOV film company Independent B Movie.

A. Ghastlee Ghoul is like a second father to me and has always watched out for me as well as has always been around when needed and has supported all my weird creative outlets as I have always been around for him. He is a true friend who has helped inspire many of my projects including the creation of Horror Host Baron Von Porkchop that I created back in 2010 alongside my cousin Stephen. I am a very lucky person as I have lots of great people in my life, and I am lucky to call many of the Horror Hosts I grew up watching friends like A. Ghastlee Ghoul, Dr. Creep, Dr. Freak, The Creeper and Iris & Retina of Mondo Smash A’Go-Go all who are Dayton Hosts. So here is a big thank you to Bob Hinton, the man behind A. Ghastlee Ghoul for all his years of friendship and for being an amazing Horror Host and a great person.

A. Ghastlee Ghoul was just that – a ghoul who has a pail white face, a goatee and long hair who has a twisted and fun sense of humor and is filled with random and off the wall thoughts and jokes. His original look was wearing all black with a long black coat and a strange looking glove that was deformed looking. His attire would later change to a long red & black coat with a red hat, and this became his signature look.

Ghastlee’s sense of humor is a little twisted, and he has no filter and a manic style of hosting. While Ghastlee has hosted films, he mostly was known for hosting clips that had a gonzo style of editing that included clips of adult films mixed with old commercials and horror movies all set to music. While a ghoul, A. Ghastlee Ghoul is not the flesh eating kind and is more of the pun infested kind who enjoys making people laugh as well as become shocked by his brand of humor.

Besides his show and hosting movies, Ghastlee is also known for playing in bands in the area as well as hosting a radio show, making him a multi talented Ghoul! Besides being the host of The Ghastlee Movie Show, he has also guest starred and hosted many other shows like New Shock Theater, Cult Theater, Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre, The Spooky Movie, Weird Web Theater and many more! While A. Ghastlee Ghoul might not be of the flesh eating variety, this Ghoul how ever is the type to both humor and frighten you with his quick wit and zany personality.

Like any good Horror Host show, the Ghastlee Movie Show has its fair share of co-hosts and sidekicks! With one of the early ones being the one and only Uncle Jasper! But then was added Lou The XXX-Mas Devil, who is smooth and a ladies man and an amazing co-host that adds lots of fun moments to the show. Then came Jeff McClellan, American, a cigar chomping pro American who has strong right views. Grimsburger The Doorman was his grunting, raw meat-eating doorman, and lastly was the Horror Hostess Suspira who added a horror lady charm to the show. Plus over the ages he had many other guests that include Dr. Creep, Dow Thomas, Dr. Freak and Baron Von Wolfstein! And for those who might not know, I once played a character on his show and was called “Son Of A. Ghastlee Ghoul” who was indeed a fraud when his real life daughter showed up and fronted me out! That was such a fun time, and the episode had both not only me but also my pal Jason Gilmore. All the co-hosts are so important to this show and each added their own touch to making Ghastlee Movie Show even more special for viewers.

Good old Ghastlee has also spread his madness to many great events as well as he is a staple at many conventions over the years with his main appearance being at Cinema Wasteland in Strongsville, Ohio where he even hosts an event called “Ghastlee Night At The Movies” that showcases his zany games and even musical performances and this is a staple for Wastelanders. In 2004 Ghastlee even had his own convention here in Dayton at the Convention Center called “Ghastlee’s Scary Camp” that was a great time for everyone who attended and had many great guests like Sid Haig, Conrad Brooks, Bill Hinzman and Heather Leigh Davis to name a few, not to mention David “The Rock” Nelson was also running around!

A. Ghastlee Ghoul also has been in many bands around here with his two most popular bands being Rat Sass and Splattertude, and they have played at many great venues and has even had “A. Ghastlee Night At Gilly’s” events at the classic Gilly’s Jazz Club! He has live hosted movies at theaters like Neon Movies, Page Manor, Englewood Cinema and even Danbarry Huber Heights and even has co-hosted charity movie marathon Horrorama off and on for years. He also did Frightfest, a meet and great at a Blockbuster Video in Middletown, a very cool idea that brought video rental store and Horror Host together. He has written many short stories as well as co-authored the cult classic novel “Underpants Of The Dead” as well as wrote two of the stories used in the comic book series “Shocking Macabre Theater” that also showcases Ghastlee as one of the main characters! Not to mention he has even hosted comedy and freakshow acts alongside Baron Von Porkchop at Wiley’s Comedy Club!

In his early days as Bob Hinton, he ran many haunted houses….and this is just a drop in the hat of all the amazing things A. Ghastlee Ghoul has done in and around the Ohio area, showing that this Horror Host and the man behind it truly is a creative mastermind. Oh man I should also say that in 2004 he made the horror comedy film “Joe Nosferatu: Homeless Vampire” that also showcased many other Horror Hosts including Dr. Creep & Dr. Freak! And he even has done radio with his show “Wackadoo Wax Radio” with co-host Comrade X…man A. Ghastlee Ghoul/Bob Hinton really is a man of many talents! One more thing that is very important to Horror Host fans around the world is Ghastlee is also one of the founding creators of The Horror Host Underground, a very cool group that allowed viewers from all around the U.S to see hosts from other states!

On March 19, 2016 at Horrorhound Weekend, the “2016 Class of the Horror Host Hall Of Fame” induction took place and in this class was the one and only A. Ghastlee Ghoul. To me this was long over due as Ghastlee truly is an iconic host who had a style all to his own, setting him apart from the pack. For this event Ghastlee was inducted by Halloween Jack and Baron Von Wolfstein, and I was honored that he wanted me on stage with him during this time for him to be honored for all his years of hard work being a Horror Host. A. Ghastlee Ghoul was joined in his class by the likes of Feep, Ivonna Cadaver, The Great Zucchini and Ghost Host to name a few. It was great to see Ghastlee get the respect and honor he 100% deserved as he really is a true icon of Horror Hosting and has done so much for Hosting on screen and off it!

Shocking Macabre Theater has two issues released by Sparkle Comics so far and features Dayton’s best Horror Hosts like Dr. Creep, The Creeper, Baron Von Porkchop and of course A. Ghastlee Ghoul all sharing scary stories with the readers. Artist Damien Brunk is the one who brings the host parts alive on the pages. But what people do not know is that when Sparkle Comics first started in 2016, one of the first comics in development was a comic based on A. Ghastlee Ghoul that would have him and Lou The XXX-Mas Devil going on Scooby-Doo style adventures. The art for this series was going to be done by my friend Brett Prescott who also would have helped write the adventures along with myself, and we would have had A. Ghastlee Ghoul also help with the stories. The idea would have taken Ghastlee and Lou all over the state of Ohio and would have had them running into local legend monsters as well as would have had an enemy known as The Phantom who would wear all black and would almost be like the Super Goof baddy Phantom Blot but way more sinister and mean. This sadly got sidelined and never made it into full production as we mostly just worked on character designs and loose plotlines. As of now, the comic is one the list of comics that are no longer being developed, but who knows, maybe one day Brett and I will work on this comic series and at least deliver a one shot issue. Check out some of the art design below to see how this comic would have looked.

Before we get to the episodes, I would like to take a moment to talk about his most iconic one in which Ghastlee starred at the camera for 30 minutes straight as candle smoke entered the frame. The watchers of Dayton public access were mesmerized by this episode as it was met with mixed reactions! Many viewers just watched in amazement to try and figure out if Ghastlee was pulling a joke; many others thought he was trying to steal their souls or hypnotize them and it was part of some sort of devil worshiping ritual! When I saw the show when it originally aired, I picked up more of a sad vibe, almost like Ghastlee’s heart had been broken and this was his way of dealing with it. Ghastlee himself would go on and say that the episode was an experiment to see if people would watch the full episode and find a meaning in it. This episode lives on still to this day as people who love Dayton, Ohio Horror Hosts talk about this episode amongst themselves, I think one amazing thing about this episode is the fact that people wrote in to the station to complain about it and this causes major stress between Ghastlee and the station. This episode is truly one that needs to be seen as it’s one of the oddest episodes of The Ghastlee Movie Show you will ever see.

So as you can see, A. Ghastlee Ghoul is a true Dayton original Horror Host entertainer who has entertained, confused and inspired many viewers over the years of his show. And now it’s time for me to take a look at some of the shows I have of A. Ghastlee Ghoul on DVD as part of my horror host collection. I want to thank Bob Hinton himself for getting me almost all of these episodes as well as fellow Horror Host tape traders. I do not give these episodes a star rating and the host segments are written by me with the films’ write-ups coming from our pals at IMDB. I am also not going to cover the DVDs of “Best Of The Ghastlee Movie Show” nor “Grimsburger Raw” as those are clip shows and I want to showcase the full episodes. I also have a ton of episodes and these are the ones I selected at random to showcase The Ghastlee Movie Show. Some of these episodes are the ones that made me a fan all those years back. So if you’re ready, let’s dive into the weird and wild world of A. Ghastlee Ghoul and his movie show!

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Alcohol Patch
Starring – Uncle Jasper & Erin Ghoul         Not Rated       2000

Host: Ghastlee, wearing a fur coat, is hanging out with Uncle Jasper and once more welcoming us to the show with his super quick wit and racy humor. He also talks about the theme of the year as well as how only 141 people watch his show. He also showcases the new alcohol patch and then brings on a group of teens who are his live audience. He talks more about the patch and interviews the teens and shows some random clips and skits before ending the show. Also his daughter shows up to end the show properly as he is on the alcohol patch.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Anther Dimension
Starring – A. Ghastlee Ghoul   Not Rated   1998

Host: Ghastlee joins you from another dimension to host the night’s show and treat us to soothing music over psychedelic colors and images. Ghastlee returns to warn the viewers about being trapped in another dimension and tells them all not to get stuck in one as it’s bad! Then back to the music; this time set to clips from movies. Ghastlee comes back and asks for help to escape from the other dimension and that really this episode is just a concept as he has run out of ideas! Then back to clips and skits that include classic skits used on classic episodes. Ghastlee joins the viewers again from the dimension and ushers them out of the episode.

Note From Matt: This is episode 52 of The Ghastlee Movie Show.

Ghastlee Movie Show: Bad Trip At Creepy Crick
Starring – Jesse Nutt & Gary Davis     Not Rated       1992

Host: Ghastlee shows up a little way into the movie and is upset they started the show without him and is even more mad they are showing this shot on video B-movie! Next time we show Ghastlee, he is on set and shows a fake commercial for foot care. And when the film is over, Ghastlee enters the film and beats the actors with a stick! He also shows a music video and a Little Lulu cartoon.

Movie: A group of friends are fishing at a small creek and are warned by a Monster Hunter that a fish monster is on the loose and people have been turning up dead! The group of friends decide to stay instead of leave and to their horror the monster shows up! The group of friends turn the table on the monster and find that the creature is in fact not real and is just the Monster Hunter dressed up. And in the end a twist happens and the film quickly ends.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Bill
Starring – Bill Hicks       Not Rated     1994

Host: A. Ghastlee Ghoul is sitting in his home and is ranting about how companies are using music from the likes of John Lennon and Janis Joplin to sell products! He also does a silly musical bit about Seattle as well as talks about his sadness of the passing of Bill Hicks.

Movie: What is shown is the last stand-up act of comedian Bill Hicks in Arkansas.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Chili Cook Off
Starring – Dr. Creep & Dave Sullivan     Not Rated   2002

Host: Ghastlee Ghoul, alongside Jeff McClellan, is heading to an Irish Pub in Brookville to meet with Horror Host Icon Dr. Creep to eat chili at a cook off! Also on hand to eat chili is Wild Man Dave Sullivan of show Media Only. Ghastlee and crew eat chili and rate it and are having a great time do so for charity. In the end, they event takes to long to pick a winner, and Ghastlee lets the viewers know in his book # 28 was the winner.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Coming Around The Mountain
Starring – Dr. Creep        Not Rated       1997

Host: Ghastlee starts the show talking about his show being “TV M” and that people should tune in because boobs. And he takes jabs at the city of Moraine as well as terrible commercials being aired. He then shows the classic “She’ll Be Coming Around The Mountain” skit that has the song mixed with porn clips. And then he talks about his most viewed episode –  of him just starring in the camera the whole episode and the how people complained about it. We then show Ghastlee with Dr. Creep at the Inferno club talking about running for President. And once more he starts up about being TV M and how raunchy he can be now because of it and proceeds to tell dirty jokes.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Community Watch
Starring – A. Ghastlee Ghoul      Not Rated       1993

Host: A. Ghastlee Ghoul is very concerned about the community and wants to talk about censorship of books and how terrible it is that a local church is doing book burnings and how terrible it is that libraries are taking books off shelves. Ghastlee returns to his normal set and talks a little about the film Bram Stoker’s Dracula and says the movie sucks! We are then treated to skits and music montages clipped together in Ghastlee fashion. This episode also shows a live White Zombie video filmed here in Dayton, Ohio. In the end, Ghastlee makes more jokes and thanks viewers for watching.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Death Of A Rude Dude
Starring – Rick Martin & Dr. Creep     Not Rated     1995

Host: On his set Ghastlee tells some jokes and then shows a short film called “Death Of A Really Rude Dude” that ends up just being about him bragging about himself to the female workers of Public Access. And later in his set, Ghastlee starts drinking and being angry with his crew and has a guest named A. Smithee who was flown in from Hollywood. Smithee gets upset when he realizes that Ghastlee has never seen one of his films. After Smithee storms off the set, he plays a few funny spots, and then gets a visit from Dr. Creep minus his makeup who warns him to change his behavior, and after the visit he goes to the control room and gets a package that has a dead rat in it. Once back on his set he talks about boobs on public access and asks viewers if they would like to see them, and once more Dr. Creep visits with a warning, as Ghastlee keeps being rude and crude and his final warning comes while Ghastlee is in the restroom. In the end A. Smithee grabs a knife and stalks Ghastlee down the halls, and finally Smithee with a samurai sword cuts off Ghastlee’s hand and head!

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Elvis Lives
Starring – Lou Vuto     Not Rated     1993

Host: Ghastlee welcomes us to his show while he tells some crude and silly jokes on his set. He also interviews an Elvis impersonator named Lou Vuto and even ends the show lip-synching to an Elvis song.

Movie: The movie section of this episode is clips and music mixed together in a Night Flight kind of way. Also thrown in are some silly skits from Ghastlee and his old comedy troop of friends. Also plays a few Elvis inspired music videos that include the animated “All Dug Up” video of a skeleton Elvis in his coffin.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Episode
Starring – A. Ghastlee Ghoul & Jimmy Hoffa   Not Rated   1991

Host: This starts with Ghastlee doing a skit about hair loss and a hair club that will help you grow hair…because you are a werewolf! Ghastlee Ghoul emerges from a black and red screen and welcomes the viewers to the show and tells some Halloween and Pee-Wee Herman jokes and does a skit about Jeffrey Dahmer. Ghastlee next talks to a chunk of concrete that is Jimmy Hoffa and a filmmaker who claims he has slept with many famous females. Ghastlee then tells some news from the afterlife and then his friends go and share “ghost” stories. Ghastlee returns and has a segment called “Be Funny Or Be Dead” and if they win they get free White Castle burgers for life or die by them; the comedian dies by a giant burger. Ghastlee ends the show dancing and telling the viewers he will see them next week.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Episode 4
Starring – Sock Puppets         Not Rated       1992    

Host: This episode starts with a man being killed with a hammer, and then Ghastlee starts the episode singing the blues with funny lyrics, that then goes into a talk about discrimination against the dead. And then he goes into silly skits about MTV Camera school that teaches you how to film young women. He then shows Night Of The Living Dead done with sock puppets, and Ghastlee is mad as he thought it was the real film! Ghastlee fires his producer and shows cheesy trailers for fake movies, and then reads the plots for some movies that he could possibly show. Ghastlee then just shows some clip style music video he put together.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Episode 18
Starring – A. Ghastlee Ghoul & Angry Neighbors     Not Rated     1993

Host: Ghastlee starts the show off with his set going crazy and then tells some of his normal crude and funny jokes about dead people and Dhamer! And after skits he returns with some more crude jokes and takes us to a segment called “Life’s Eternal Mysteries.” Then he goes to a White Zombie music video and then a skit about an old people stunt school. Back on the set, Ghastlee is visited by two guys that want to throw Ghastlee out of the neighborhood as they think he is causing issues with their TV as well as all the buried skeletons…and a mob is outside waiting to railroad him out of town for good! Ghastlee escapes, and then he shows a few more skits before the show ends.

Note From Matt: This episode is a little rough in quality at the start.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Episode 59
Starring – The Clapper     Not Rated   1999

Host: The episode starts with a Betty Boop cartoon set to music, and then we are treated to clips and music! The clip is from an old Sword and Sandal movie ,and he has a man clap over and over as a man whips a female prisoner as more clips are overlaid with music and voices added.

Note From Matt: This episode was dubbed the “Labor Show”.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Episode 62
Starring – Erin Ghoul & Dave Sullivam           Not Rated           2000

Host: We start with a skit making fun of hillbillies and Kentucky, and then we are treated to some music over clips. Ghastlee is shown dancing around and falls when his daughter Erin shows up and opens the show. He then takes back over and starts his quick-witted jokes once again. And after dancing and falling again, we are shown more clips set to music and sound effects. Then he shows the trailer for the unreleased horror comedy film “Stop It Your Killing Me!” Back to Ghastlee on the set who ends up talking Wild Man Dave Sullivan for public access show “Media Only” and the pair go back and fourth. We then get some music performance by a metal band. Wild Man and Ghastlee once more share shots back and fourth and then talk about how Public Access is Free TV. We then cut to music with clips, and then Erin Ghoul ends the show and tells viewers not to watch her dad’s show as it rots your brain!

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Episode 64
Starring – Uncle Jasper & Lou The XXX-Mas Devil     Not Rated     2000

Host: This episode Ghastlee is on set and is on the phone stretching his leg high up over his head and is shocked when the viewers are there! He then shows some clips from Neon Movies and one of his Ghastlee Night At The Movie events he held in the theater. During this he also shows shout-outs from other horror hosts like The Ghastly One, Count Gore de Vol and Halloween Jack! And then to the Cannibal Harry’s fake commercial along with other odd skits are played. And then there’s more footage from Neon Movies of Uncle Jasper on guitar playing Werewolves Of London as the crowd howls!

Note From Matt: Sadly this episode has a few audio issues from the master tape at the start of the episode.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Episode 70
Starring – Count Gore De Vol     Not Rated     2000 

Host: This episode starts with clips of Ghastlee, almost like a greatest hits package and then shows a vampire girl mixed with weird clips and footage of Blair Witch Project with the song “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” playing over it. And then he shows a trailer for a film called “The Devil’s Sex Slave” and then as well shows clip from a SOV horror comedy film. And then once more we go into a crazy music videos of clips from all types of movies, shows and videos set to different music tracks. He plays a fake foul car commercial followed by the zombie Elvis “All Dug Up” animated video. And then we get a quick message from Horror Host Legend Count Gore De Vol about Ghastlee Ghoul. We then go back to the music videos one being the video for “Terror” by the band My Ruin that is mixed with movie clips.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Equinox
Starring – Edward Connell & Barbara Hewitt       Rated PG       1970

Host: A. Ghastlee Ghoul is in the bathtub with the Necronomicon, and horror hostess Madame Mortem reads from the book and finds that a curse has been put into place that has all horror hosts having to host the 1970 film Equinox! The next break we get a visit from Count Gore de Vol who talks about the real equinox. Next up are Remo D and the following Professor Griffin, Dr. Fear, Halloween Jack, Dr. Creep, Dr. Sarcofiguy, Bone Jangler and more with Ghastlee showing up throughout to spread his zany brand of humor and ends the show with a singing SpongeBob SquarePants and the Necronomicon!

Movie: Four teenagers go on a woods hike and encounter a creepy forest ranger and a crazy old man. The old man is a scientist who had found a mysterious book bound in human skin, the Necronomicon, and when he had read its cryptic symbols it conjured monsters into existence. The teenagers keep the book, and are then pursued by monsters, a demonic cult, and the ranger. The ranger turns out to be a red flying devil in human disguise.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Frightvision
Starring – Jeff McClellan & Sleazy P. Martini      Not Rated      2000  

Host: A. Ghastlee Ghoul is at Frightvision Convention and is meeting with his fans and takes a few moments to also chat with his fellow Horror Hosts and celebrities like DJ Neil, Sleazy P. Martini of GWAR, and he is joined by Jeff McClellan, American. Ghastlee also shows off his view from his hotel room and shows Jeff dancing on his bed to the song “Jungle Boogie.” Jeff also wanders around and films the antics of the convention, and Ghastlee at one point walks around and chats with some folks. He also shows a clip of Sleazy P.’s new video at the time.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Get Out Of Hell Card
Starring – A. Ghastlee Ghoul       Not Rated       1992

Host: Ghastlee is on his set and is paranoid about people being after him, and then comes the Ghastlee style quick wit jokes! Ghastlee then does an impersonation of George Takei of Star Trek fame and then tries his best to do a female auction and all the girls tell him NO to being on the show. In-between Ghastlee’s jokes, we are treated to music video set to clips and cartoons. In the end after making some God jokes, he tries to use his Get Out Of Hell Free Card and the set blows up in a ball of fire!

Note From Matt: The end of this episode has lots of bad tracking issues and while you can hear it the picture is gone for long moments. And finally before the episodes over the recording stops.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Giant Gila Monster
Starring – Don Sullivan & Fred Graham         Not Rated           1959

Host: Ghastlee Ghoul decides to host the movie The Giant Gila Monster and puts himself in the motion picture and cuts jokes and delivers snarky remarks. And Ghastlee does this for the whole movie with funny results. We later cut to Ghastlee on his set as he has a guest that was a man who was once eaten by a Gila Monster, but when he finds that his guest was a fraud, he really does feed him to a Gila Monster! Then we go back to the movie, and once more Ghastlee inserts himself into it. At intermission Ghastlee eats something from the bottom of his boot and shows a fake coffee commercial before going back to the movie.

Movie: A couple of teenagers are reported missing in a small Texas town, and it is thought they eloped. Sheriff Jeff turns to his friend Clarence Winstead, a garage mechanic and leader of a hot-rod gang, for help. After a series of tragic motor accidents, it becomes apparent that a giant Gila monster is roaming the area depleting the town of its citizens and visitors, including two hot-rodding teens, and planning to attend the BIG record-hop party.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Ghastlee Yule ‘94
Starring – Scott Huff & Dow Thomas     Not Rated     1994

Host: The episode opens with the song Christmas in Heaven set to all types of clips. Ghastlee on his set is with the body of his dead neighbor as a young woman in a bikini dances around. He then shares more clips and skits including 1800-HiScott about a chubby man who charges you to chat with him as well as Scott’s parade footage, and then Ghastlee on his set again ushers us to more skits including Dow Thomas singing Jingle Bells as Bob Dylan. Dow Thomas then joins Ghastlee on the set and gives Ghastlee a skull for Christmas and then treats the viewers to a couple of songs. Ghastlee breaks down the film “It’s A Wonderful Life” and then we get more skit clips. Ghastlee then talks to a man claiming to be Santa, and then a clip of an elf who is mad about his treatment. Ghastlee next talks to a guy named Bo, who talks about seeing Santa and being kidnapped by him! In the end he ushers the viewers out of the episode with a song by Dow Thomas.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Ghastlee Yule ‘98
Starring – Dow Thomas & Scott Huff     Not Rated     1998

Host: Like always, this Ghastlee Yule starts with some music and clips and we then join Ghastlee in studio covered in Christmas garland and is singing his own Christmas song about getting sex for the holiday. He then tells viewers that as always he will be running reruns and so starts skits from the past Ghastlee Yule specials that include “1900-HiScott”, Dow Thomas singing Christmas songs, Bikini woman dancing and of course Ghastlee talking about Christmas in off the wall ways.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Ghastlee Yule ‘06
Starring – Suspira & Jeff McClellan     Not Rated       2006

Host: A. Ghastlee Ghoul is on his set along with Jeff McClellan, Grimsburger The Doorman and Suspira. While she plays the video 12 Days of Christmas and animated short, Ghastlee leads the guys in carols about William Shatner. Next Suspira and Mayhem Zann of the band Splattertude give a quick gross countdown, and then we are treated to a Christmas Cartoon. Later Ghastlee has a massive joint and then ushers us into a Bob Hope picture being set on fire after he tells some fun jokes. We then are treated to some classic segment from past Ghastlee Yule specials. In the end Ghastlee and his crew wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and he does a William Shatner impersonation on reading the twelve days of Christmas.

Note From Matt: Sadly most of the end credits are missing from this episode

The Ghastlee Movie Show: HorrorFind 2001 Pt. 1
Starring – Bruce Campbell & Michael Berryman    Not Rated     2001

Host: A. Ghastlee Ghoul and Jeff McClellan are at HorrorFind 2001 Convention and are walking around showing the amazing stuff for sale as well as showcase some of the stars on hand at the event. Ghastlee takes a moment and talks to Michael Berryman from the Hills Have Eyes. He next talks to Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell about making movies and the pair zing off each other. Ghastlee next films the costume contest at the event hosted by Count Gore de Vol and Bruce Campbell…in the end after the winner is picked the show ends.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: HorrorFind 2001 Pt. 2
Starring – Edgar Allen Poe & Drew Williams     Not Rated     2001

Host: Ghastlee and Jeff McClellan are still at Horrorfind Weekend, and before they show more convention hijinks they visit the grave of Edgar Allen Poe and Ghastlee reads a passage from one of Poe’s story. Ghastlee then shows a few moments of Horrorfind, and then we join Jeff McClellan at the grave of Poe and he as well reads a passage! Then back to Horrorfind, and then they walk around a haunted house that was apart of the convention! He then has an interview with Phantasm actor Reggie Bannister, and the pair talk trees, politics and guitars. He then interviews special effects god Tom Savini, and they chat all about getting home after a long weekend.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: I’m Sick
Starring – A. Ghastlee Ghoul      Not Rated       1993

Host: The show starts off with clips as Type Of Negative music plays as well as other rock music, and as well as an animated Jerky Boys prank call. We catch up with Ghastlee who is sick in bed and is under covers and whining and farting….but really he is faking it and wants to go out and party! We are then treated to more clips, music and odd skits and even a Type O Negative music video for Black # 1. We next join Ghastlee as he is throwing up in the toilet, and we go to another music video as the show ends.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Jan-Gel
Starring – Conrad Brooks & Dale Clukey       Not Rated      2000

Host: Ghastlee and Jeff McClellan are on set with a VHS copy of the film Jan-Gel made by director/actor Conrad Brooks! They both take shots at the film as well as Conrad Brooks as they are clearly not fans and say that the film is the worst film in history. And of course throughout the film Ghastlee adds in his own edits and sound bits. He comes back and talks to Athens, Ohio Horror Host Lizzy Ax (who as far as I know never did one episode), and they usher us back to the cheesy movie. When we join Ghastlee next he is with his neighbor and they once more poke fun at the film and then take us back to the film. In the end Ghastlee with Lizzy wraps up the episode by showcasing his show and once more trashing the night’s film. And then we are treated to a music video that features clips from Chris Seaver film “Mulva Zombie Ass-Kicker”.

Host: Without doubt, the most intriguing caveman epic of our time. Jan-Gel, thawed from his 50,000 year sleep, dedicates his new life in the present day to mutilating anyone he can find as he roams the hills of Maryland and West Virginia. Dresses in a leopard skin, and not much else, he wreaks havoc and still finds the time to fall in love with young Beth Simmons. However, special agents Conrad Brooks and Gary West are hot on his trail. Can they stop him before he finds his next victim?

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Jeff McClellan
Starring – Jeff McClellan     Not Rated     1999

Host: This episode has A. Ghastlee Ghoul welcoming Dr. Creep back to Horror Hosting with his public access show New Shock Theater! Ghastlee also lets the viewers know that this marks his 10 years on the air and that he is going to start throwing crap at the viewers and see what sticks…but Ghastlee is soon taken off the air when Jeff McClellan American shows up and hijacks the show and answers calls from viewers giving his pro American advice. In the end, Jeff McClellan pulls out a gun and Ghastlee rushes him and the episode ends with a cliffhanger!

Note From Matt: This appears to be the first appearance of the co-host character Jeff McClellan American and makes this a true key episode in the series as Jeff would go on to be the one of the shows most popular co-hosts. This is also episode # 55.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Jeff McClellan Pt. 2
Starring – Jeff McClellan    Not Rated     1999

Host: This episode has Jeff McClellan having a debate on who will be the host of the show with A. Ghastlee Ghoul who is being backed up by Lou The XXX-Mas Devil and as their secret weapon they bring porn clips to try and get the votes. The pair take calls from viewers and give answers to questions that are all off the wall and with the dash of the classic crude humor. The debate ends with a to be continued!

Note From Matt: This is the second appearance of Jeff McClellan and is also episode 56!

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Koala
Starring – Stuffed Animal & Candles       Not Rated      2000

Host: This episode is just a plush toy koala bear sitting on a counter with candles and incense lit as music plays from bands like Type Of Negative, Phish, Journey and Jim Croce. The whole episode goes this way.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Lap Dance Computer
Starring – Corn Dervish       Not Rated      1999

Host: A. Ghastlee Ghoul has gotten himself a Lap Dance Computer and has fun with the machine and even runs around the set naked! He even has a fan join him on the episode named Corn Dervish! Not to mention, Ghastlee as always has his fair share of clips set to music to entertain the late night viewers, and after messing with Corn, he ends the night’s episode with looking on the bright side of life.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Leslie Nielsen
Starring – Leslie Nielsen & Green Jello     Not Rated     1993

Host: Ghastlee is on his set and starts the show off by telling some jokes and is mad that viewers are mad about him showing White Zombie videos and instead shows a video from the band Green Jello that was filmed in Dayton, Ohio. After the video, Ghastlee shows some things that fans have sent him in the mail like a glass, VHS tape and sunglasses. He next shows a segment of Grace Jones reading Little Red Riding to kids that of course ends with her freaking them out. Ghastlee next pops on and chats with Leslie Nielsen, and the interview goes awkward and the man turns out to be a fraud and is really be a human bomb that explodes on set. In the end, we are treated to another Green Jello live shot video from Dayton.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: The Manster
Starring – Peter Dyneley & Jane Hylton       Not Rated         1959

Host: In this episode Ghastlee decides to host the movie Manster and adds a twist as he adds himself into the film as well as gives his own joke remarks during scenes! And I mean really, Ghastlee shows up on screen in the movie and cuts jokes and one-liners! During a break in the movie Ghastlee interviews a drink Doctor and after drinking the powerful drink, he grows another head!! And then back to the movie… Ghastlee ends the show with his second head disappearing and talking to Neal from Public Access’ Metalmania who gives Ghastlee a bomb that blows up.

Movie: An American reporter in Japan is sent to interview an eccentric Japanese scientist working on bizarre experiments in his mountain laboratory. When the doctor realizes that the hapless correspondent is the perfect subject for his next experiment, he drugs the unfortunate man and injects him with a serum that gradually transforms him into a hideous, two-headed monster.

Note From Matt: This is one of my favorite episodes, and many of the jokes in this one crack me up with the “Wish You Were Here Larry” bath scene one for me being the best.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Messiah Of Evil
Starring – Michael Greer & Marianna Hill       Rated R       1973

Host: Live from the Monstercast on the Monster Channel has A. Ghastlee Ghoul and Jeff McClellan hiding under a bed with their Bozo The Clown doll and are chatting about the night’s first film of the evening Dead People aka Messiah Of Evil and are lured out from hiding with a beer by Suspira! But the movie is really scaring them as Suspira and Mayhem Zann are mad about them being scared so they bring in a man’s man in who makes Ghastlee and Jeff eat raw meat! And at one point Lou The XXX-Mas Devil is trying to sleep as Ghastlee and Jeff talk about the night’s second movie Funeral Home.

Movie: Messiah Of Evil A young woman goes searching for her missing artist father. Her journey takes her to a strange Californian seaside town governed by a mysterious undead cult.

Note From Matt: Sadly this is only the first movie of the Monstercast so the rest of the show is not on the disc.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Moving Show
Starring –Baron Von Wolfstein & Grimsburger     Not Rated         2005

Host: Ghastlee is moving and needs to bring down his set and move all his props as he calls this episode “The Ghastlee Moving Show” his only help is Horror Host legend Baron Von Wolfstein and the crazy Grimsburger The Doorman! After feeding Grimsburger some meat and drinking some beers, they start the task. During this time for breaks he shows some clips of Scary Camp, Twisted Nightmare among many other Ghastlee Ghoul related things as well as shows the short movie Joe Nosferatu. In the end Ghastlee and his helpers show the old set that is now barebones. Clips of Conventions and the short film Joe Nosferatu are shown.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Pantomime
Starring – Jeff McClellan & Grimsburger The Doorman     Not Rated     ???

Host: Ghastlee and Jeff McClellan start to show lip-synching to a trailer of the Caddy that has bad words as bloopers. He then shows music montages before we next join Grimsburger The Doorman who is listening to bad music! We then get more lip-synching between our hosts Jeff and Ghastlee to celebrity bloopers, and of course more montages of clips and trailers thrown in for good measure! Jeff then interviews Rosetta Workman who was at Cinema Wasteland working the table for filmmaker Andy Copp and even chats with Dr. Creep for a second about how women make better sales people at conventions.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Prison
Starring – Neal Turpin & Dow Thomas     Not Rated     1992

Host: Ghastlee Ghoul opens the show from a TV Screen and is in jail for giving the finger to a cop when Neal Turpin from a local music show enters the set and takes over the show! Neal spends the time making fun of Ghastlee and showing music videos from bands like Judas Priest. All the while Ghastlee acts as if he is doing a special to show how bad prison is, and he is scared when a creepy prisoner sneaks up behind him! Between the videos he also shows a comedy short done by Shock Theater icon Dow Thomas. Neal starts to give away some of Ghastee’s stuff, and he gets mad about it and once more appears on the set as everyone leaves him all alone.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Psychomania
Starring – Nick Henson & Mary Larkin     PG      1973

Host: Lou The XXX-Mas Devil is in charge of the show and is at the new set with a drunken guy named Matt, and all the while A. Ghastlee Ghoul and Jeff McClellan are in Tennessee with Horror Host Dr. Gangrene of Chiller Cinema on his set as well as a haunted attraction he was part of for Halloween. In the end Lou shows a very shortened and music over dialogue version of the film Psychomania.

Movie: A gang of young people call themselves the Living Dead. They terrorize the population from their small town. After an agreement with the devil, if they kill themselves firmly believing in it, they will survive and gain eternal life. Following their leader, they commit suicide one after the other, but things don’t necessarily turn out as expected.

Note From Matt: This is episode 84 of The Ghastlee Movie Show, and the episode oddly has no end credits.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Scary Camp Preview
Starring – Reverend Zealot & Ken Kish     Not Rated     2004

Host: This episode features Joe Nosferatu Homeless Vampire pushing for viewers to attend Scary Camp, a very cool horror convention in Dayton that was put on by A. Ghastlee Ghoul. Joe then does his best to showcase the guests that include Sid Haig and Tom Sullivan to name a very few. We are also treated to clips of films some of the guests are in as well as clips from films showing at the event. We then are treated to a revival done by Reverend Joe Bob Billy Jean with guests that include New Shock Theater’s Reverend Zealot as they try and save the souls of those horror fans who like CGI effects.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Staring
Starring – A. Ghastlee Ghoul & Candle   Not Rated     1996

Host: A Ghastlee Ghoul starts the episode with no opening credits, but instead starts it off just starring into the camera with a candle lit underneath his face and nature sounds playing in the background almost making its own ambient music. Every once in a while you will hear someone cough in the background adding a new layer off weirdness to the episode. Ghastlee does not speak a word and just stares at the viewer, he struggles not to blink as his eyes even start to tear up. In the end he swirls some incense around, and the episode ends with a message that thanks the viewers for watching this experiment.

Note From Matt: This is one of the most iconic episodes of The Ghastlee Movie Show as viewers truly were confused by what they were watching! This also was his most watched episode and triggered people to write in to the Public Accesses station to complain about how they felt the episode was demonic. True classic Ghastlee at his best, and this is also episode # 38.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Ted V. Mikels
Starring – Ted V. Mikels & Shanti     Not Rated     2000

Host: Ghastlee opens the show letting the viewers know that he and Jeff McClellan have just gotten back from the horror convention Cinema Wasteland and shares Jeff getting beat up by a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle! But the main attraction is Ghastlee interviewing cult film director Ted V. Mikels and actress Shanti about his long history of making classic drive in films like Astro-Zombies, The Corpse Grinders, Blood Orgy Of The She-Devils and is promoting the film The Corpse Grinders 2. Ted and Shanti have a blast talking about the making of the film The Corpse Grinders 2, and it’s clear Ghastlee had a blast chatting with them. Ghastlee ends the show with saying he has to send Ted a copy of this interview and then is amazed that Ted will be watching The Ghastlee Movie Show.

Note From Matt: This is episode 66 of The Ghastlee Movie Show.

The Ghastlee Movie Show: Toxic Zombies
Starring – Charles McCrann & Beverly Shapiro     Not Rated     1980

Host: It’s Ghastlee’s Halloween Special and it starts with Horror Host Remo D wishing us all a happy one! We then show that Ghastlee is hanging out at a haunted attraction with Jeff McClellan and chats with some of the folks going to the haunted path as well as the world’s youngest Horror Host Dr. Freak! Later Ghastlee, Jeff, Dr. Freak and Suspira start to walk around the haunted path and meet some of the creepy monsters and the people who paid to walk it. All the while, Ghastlee breaks the rules and runs wild at the attraction with his band of cohosts. In the end they run into Tommy Gunn of Freakshow Deluxe who tells the haunted history of the land, and they as well see the legend Dr. Creep and they chat about Toxic Zombies!

Movie: After drug crops are sprayed with a chemical by a passing airplane, the growers of the crop are poisoned by the chemical and turn into zombie-like mutants.

A Ghastlee Ghoul is a true legend of Horror Hosting, not only in the state of Ohio, but the world, and any other Host of the past or present cannot match his style and wit. Ghastlee is a host all his own that some have tried to copy, but none have mastered. If you are a fan of Horror Hosts and have never seen an episode of A Ghastlee Movie Show, check out this unique show.

I also hope that Ghastlee himself enjoyed this long overdue Horror Host Icon update as much as I enjoyed writing it. Check back on this update from time to time as I will be adding new episodes from time to time to make this update even more epic!

For our next update, we are walking away from the weird and wild world of Horror Hosts and will be entering the world of Malibu Comics and taking an adventure with the ultra team Exiles! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host! I will see you next update as I am very much looking forward to writing about Malibu Comics again!

Horror Host Icon: Iris and Retina

Not all of Dayton, Ohio’s Horror Host’s are Doctors, Ghouls, Creepers or Barons. Some of them are just very cool cats who enjoy life and all the joys movies, music and companionship bring us all. The hosts I am talking about are Iris & Retina of Mondo Smash A’ Go-Go, a show like no other in the Dayton area as they blend mondo and horror together for one entreating show. Iris & Retina in my opinion are often over looked when it comes to the impact they have made in Horror Hosting in Ohio as they have always meant something to their viewers and delivered a show that was like none other in the area before or even after it. So it’s with great pleasure that I bring to you Horror Host Icon: Iris & Retina, an update that has been long over due!

Mondo Smash A’ Go-Go started in 2007 and took viewers of Public Access by storm as hosts Iris & Retina were unlike the hosts that preceded them and their show took a way different approach to Horror Hosting. Each episode was very different, as they would take us from locations like their home all the way to skits in cemeteries and everything in-between, and unlike most Horror Hosts of that time, they did not have a regular set and would show all types of films not just in the Horror Genre. The show would last around seven episodes as of this update and plans for more are being talked about as Iris & Retina have more films to share with viewers, and this blogger does know for a fact that one episode has been partly shot and at some point will be finished. Mondo Smash A’Go-Go aired on DATV, MVCC as well as The Monster Channel and got released on DVD by Iris & Retina and has built a following among Dayton viewers and beyond. To this day their episodes air of DATV as part of the Horror Host Underground that airs after Baron Von Porkchop on Friday Nights. Their episodes can be found on YouTube as well so do yourself a favor and give them a watch as they are highly entertaining and are truly different from the rest of the pack of Dayton Hosts.

Iris and Retina are two lovebirds that live in a world of psychedelic Americana and enjoy sharing their knowledge and love of movies with the viewers as well as their love for music and even snack recipes and really gets into hosting. Their tagline for viewers is “From Our Living Room To Yours,” and they mean it as many episodes do take place in the couple’s living room, but they also do travel outside it and each episode seems very surreal and almost hypnotic. Both Iris & Retina, besides being talented Horrors Hosts, are also talented musicians, and they will also play a little song for the viewers on some episodes! The thing that also sets these two apart from all the other Horror Hosts from Dayton, Ohio is that neither Iris nor Retina are the co-host and each share the same amount of the hosting duties! While Hosts like Dr. Creep, A. Ghastlee Ghoul and Baron Von Porkchop have very important sidekicks and co-hosts, they are the solo star of their shows while on Mondo Smash A’Go-Go both are the main host! Plus another thing that sets them apart is that they are just normal people doing cool things and bringing you movies in a world of colors and imagination. Iris & Retina are great Horror Hosts who have made their mark in Dayton and beyond with their cool lucha laidback explosion style of hosting, and I for one would put theme in my Top 5 favorite Horror Hosts from Dayton, Ohio!

When not Hosting Horror Movies on Public Access, Iris & Retina who are played by Louie and El Bean Lerma put on their luchador masks and becomes El Muerto and Infinity, part of one of the area’s top psychedelic surf bands Team Void who rock the Dayton area and beyond! One cool thing about Team Void is that they have played at The Baron’s Ball hosted by Baron Von Porkchop and “A Ghastlee Night At Gilly’s,” both events that took place at the iconic Gilly’s Jazz in Dayton and teamed them up with fellow Ohio Horror Hosts. Team Void is a pretty popular band in the Dayton music scene, and if you ever find yourself in town when they are playing, do yourself a favor and check them out.

So for this Horror Host Icon update, I am lucky enough to have been granted a 6 question interview with the one and only Retina of Mondo Smash A’Go-Go! So sit back and see what this cool cat has to say about his life as a Horror Host in Dayton.

Me: Welcome, Retina to Rotten Ink.  My first question has to be what or who got you into hosting?

Retina: Loved horror movies in general growing up into my adulthood. My father was in the Air Force and was able to travel USA and abroad. My first horror show host was a gentleman, husband of my 2nd grade teacher, his host name was Sea Creep. To begin each show, he would climb out of the ocean onto the beach and chase his fellow co-host Marilyn. I thought that was so cool! When we came back to the United States, stationed at Dayton, Ohio Wright Patt. 1972 I became addicted to Dr. Creep! I was able to be on his final show, playing Bass for a local band called THE DATES -XXX. What a THRILL!!! I also tuned in to horror show hosts like The Cool Ghoul/Cincinnati Ghoulardi/Cleveland, Bob Shreve from Pat Prime Playhouse, and in a weird way, Uncle Al kids’ show host from Cincinnati. Dug Capt Wendy’s Go-Go Boots the most! From Indianapolis was Sammy Terry!!! All big influences on Retina’s career.

Me: So out of your first classic episodes of Mondo Smash A’Go-Go, what is your favorite one?

Retina: My favorite MSAGG is -of course the final one we did. The beginning of Season 2, “Night Of The Living Dead” with you and the Baron Von Porkchop’s help… also we had a killer band, Akillis Green, their song, “Cannibal Love” really fit the theme. Personally, I love the 2nd episode, “Wild Guitar” – we had such a blast making it in our living room. It was the first time we danced and played music as a duo, Iris and me, and also played multiple characters. And then we did “Bloody Pit Of Horror” the first season finale, that was in Mondo Vision, our version of 3D processing. Iris and Retina also cracked up the audience with their studio being haunted by an entity, calling another show, WRAPS and TABS to investigate and exorcise the spirit making for a funny scene! Also of course Iris and Retina were playing all roles again.

Me: There is a rumor of a new episode that is in the works, can you share with my readers what film you’re hosting and what you and Iris get up to in the episode?

Retina: Hmmm crazy… we started to finish our 2nd season, we have much in the can with the movie, not to give anything away, it’s a classic Gamera movie. Iris and Retina will be hosting as marionette puppets traveling into space to reach Gamera for an interview but ran into Godzilla first so we interviewed him as well! Bonus! We have plans for other titles “Frankenstein Meets The Space Monster” one of my favorites, “Not Of This Earth” Roger Corman classic, as well as “Undertaker And His Pals”

Me: When this episode is released, are there plans for more Mondo Smash A’Go-Go’s to be unleashed on the viewers?

Retina: As I mentioned Q3 there are plans to finish our 2nd season. We ended 2nd season’s premiere, S2 “Ep1, “NOTLD.” Iris and Retina to share the movies and be seen to the public in different ways: marionettes sculpted by Luis Lerma. We have lined up musical guests. Also special guests, pop over to help us out throughout the season. We’ve had a nice break from our movie playback escapades pursuing our music career; TEAM VOID is at our tenth year! MSAGoGo will come out in our eleventh year, est 2008. Looking forward to bringing more MSAGoGo Movies from our living room to yours and our versions to you, Spoiler Alert… look for Mondo Vision to evolve.

Me: So if you guys could host any film what would you pick?

Retina: For me, I would like to do a Triple Feature, “I Was A Teenage Frankenstein,” “I Was A Teenage Werewolf,” actually make that a Quadruple Feature: “Blood For Dracula,” and finish it off with “How To Make A Monster!” They were all released in 1959 the year I was born. I have watched them all on television growing up. And then I will hand this question over to Iris, she loves “Dirty Dancing”…we would have a great time traveling out to the locations for a dancing cool life experience. Then travel to England for a fun run with “Witches” because she loves all the author Roald Dahl’s strange tales. And finally run through hosting and toasting “Hold That Ghost” rocking Abbott and Costello movies with “A and C Meet The Mummy” and loves all Billy Wilder, and all Trinity with Bud Spencer Movies!! Travel around the world for her favorites… We are also fans of the Beach movies, Peter Sellers movies, Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, John Waters collection, William Castle mad fun, the Raimi’s Franchise,”Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein” and “High Anxiety” and “SIN CITY”… the list goes on.

Me: And lastly do you have any advice for future Horror Hosts that might be reading this?

Retina: My advice is to watch as many movies as you can! Enjoy them, experience them, and learn from them, watch them again! True fans of horror movies make a great horror show host. Find your identity and how you want to express yourself to your audience, and be informative, as well as go all in to entertain your audience! You watching you, do what you like! Be original. Stick to sharing your excitement with telling the story to host a great show! You can be creative using what you already own on the DIY editing systems, cameras, find local locations. Remember production value is important and embrace happy accidents like trains passing thru the background of your shoot, or a reflection in your car windows to add a deeper story, etc. etc. etc.

I want thank Retina for taking a few moments of his time for this interview and really do hope the world gets more Mondo Smash episodes, and while Iris & Retina and their show Mondo Smash A’ Go-Go might not be as talked about as Shock Theater, it still has made its mark on public access viewers and much like Moraine Playhouse Theater their show is safe for viewers of all ages and has top notch hosts attached to them. I for one also think that they should some day be put into the Horror Host Hall Of Fame as they are truly great Horror Hosts!

So let’s now talk about the episodes I own on DVD, as lucky for me and you readers, I own all the episodes they have released so far and really want to thank both Iris and Retina for them as I bought and was gifted these episodes from them! I will not be giving these episodes a star rating and will be taking the film’s write ups from our pals at IMDB and I will write about the Host segments to give you a little taste on what Iris & Retina are up to in them. So sit back, relax and groove with Mondo Smash A’ Go-Go! Oh and I am going to do these episodes in order of release!

Mondo Smash A’ Go-Go: Santo vs. Vamp Woman
Starring – El Santo & Lorena Velazquez      Not Rated      1962

Host: Our Hosts Iris & Retina welcome the viewers to their living room to enjoy a classic Mexican action horror movie that is a renamed El Santo film and give us some history of the night’s film as well as its Lucha star. Next break they teach the viewers how to make some very tasty nachos and guacamole for a movie snack! We next join Iris & Retina as they have Team Void play a song for the viewers with a Lucha twist. In the end Iris & Retina tell us about next week’s film and play us out with a song by Team Void.

Movie: The vampire women in Mexico have awakened from their sleep, commanded by their master, The Evil One, to find him a bride. They choose as their target the beautiful daughter of a local professor. To rescue his daughter, the professor calls El Santo (Samson in some US versions), a silver-masked wrestler for justice.

Mondo Smash A’ Go-Go: Wild Guitar
Starring – Arch Hall Jr. & Nancy Czar      Not Rated      1962

Host: Once more from their living room Iris & Retina welcome us to another episode of Mondo Smash A’ Go-Go, and Retina with his guitar in hand tells us about the night’s movie as Iris dances and as well shares facts about the flick and its stars. We next join Iris & Retina who on this break decide to teach the viewers how to do the dance the twist, before taking us back to the movie. We next join Iris & Retina as they go up against two other couples in a twist contest that include a female vampire and a werewolf! But in the end Iris & Retina win the contest and show that Horror Hosts are the best at everything! After the movie our hosts tell us about the movie that is coming up on the next episode and then play us out with a song inspired by Wild Guitar.

Movie: A young Arch Hall, Jr. is given a shot at the big time by the unscrupulous owner of a small record company played by Arch Hall, Sr. (aka William Watters).

Mondo Smash A’ Go-Go: Carnival Of Souls
Starring – Candance Hilligoss & Herk Harvey      Rated PG      1962

Host: Iris and Retina welcome us to the show, and they share some facts about the film as well as its cast and crew. Iris and Retina are drinking cups of coffee during the break, and Iris explains how much she enjoys being a Horror Host! Iris becomes scared when she sees a zombish version of Retina in a mirror and doesn’t want to watch the movie alone! In the end Iris is dancing with the ghostly Retina, and the pair tell the viewers what next weeks film is! As the credits roll, both Iris and Retina are ghostly and dance and wish us all a good night.

Movie: Mary Henry is enjoying the day by riding around in a car with two friends. When challenged to a drag, the women accept, but are forced off of a bridge. It appears that all are drowned, until Mary, quite some time later, amazingly emerges from the river. After recovering, Mary accepts a job in a new town as a church organist, only to be dogged by a mysterious phantom figure that seems to reside in an old run-down pavilion. It is here that Mary must confront the personal demons of her spiritual insouciance.

Mondo Smash A’ Go-Go: White Zombie
Starring – Bela Lugosi & Madge Bellamy       Not Rated        1932

Host: Iris & Retina have been invited to Haiti to attend a friend’s wedding and talk about the night’s film as well as its crew and cast including Bela Lugosi. We next join Iris & Retina who are at a small table having a cocktail when Iris falls into a trance over a rose Retina was going to give to the bride! During one break, they show the short film “Betty Boop Meets Dracula” for the intermission of the episode. Iris & Retina bring you a 3-D Three Stooges Short film after the film to help add to the episodes fun time! In the end our hosts Iris & Retina share what the next film will be.

Movie: Young couple Madeleine and Neil are coaxed by acquaintance Monsieur Beaumont to get married on his Haitian plantation. Beaumont’s motives are purely selfish as he makes every attempt to convince the beautiful young girl to run away with him. For help Beaumont turns to the devious Legendre, a man who runs his mill by mind controlling people he has turned into zombies. After Beaumont uses Legendre’s zombie potion on Madeleine, he is dissatisfied with her emotionless being and wants her to be changed back. Legendre has no intention of doing this and he drugs Beaumont as well to add to his zombie collection. Meanwhile, grieving ‘widower’ Neil is convinced by a local priest that Madeleine may still be alive and he seeks her out.

Mondo Smash A’ Go-Go: A Bucket Of Blood
Starring – Dick Miller & Barboura Morris       Not Rated       1959

Host: Iris & Retina are at a coffee shop and are doing an open mic, and Iris is hyping up their show via spoken words, and once done they talk about the film as well as its cast and crew all the while cleaning the tables of the coffee shop…the film is also being shown in Mondo-Vision! Through out the episode the people around Iris & Retina act like beatniks as our hosts serve drinks to them as a snitch named The Fink keeps calling into his “boss”. The snitch figures out that Iris & Retina are frauds and their show is really just a drawing on a TV Screen that is static! In the end they coffee shop still celebrates Iris & Retina and they show a trailer from the next film to be shown!

Movie: Walter Paisley, nerdy busboy at a Bohemian café, is jealous of the talent (and popularity) of its various artistic regulars. But after accidentally killing his landlady’s cat and covering the body in plaster to hide the evidence, he is acclaimed as a brilliant sculptor – but his newfound friends want to see more of his work. Lacking any artistic talent whatsoever, Walter has to resort to similar methods to produce new work, and soon people start mysteriously disappearing.

Note From Matt: This is the first episode that Iris & Retina brought in background actors to fill roles of people at the coffee shop. Plus is the first film shown in Mondovision that required special glasses to watch.

Mondo Smash A’ Go-Go: Bloody Pit Of Horror
Starring – Mickey Hargitay & Rita Klein       Unrated       1965

Host: Iris & Retina are in their living room once more and give us viewers a little history on the night’s film as well as its crew and cast. They also call friends of theirs from a ghost hunting show called “Wraps & Tabs” and try and get them to come over. The night’s film is also shown in Mondovision! Once back they welcome Wraps & Tabs to their home, and these guys are going to try and help them find a weird shadow and voice that seems to be coming from a spirit! Iris & Retina give the ghost hunters and viewers a tour of their house and show some of the spots they think are haunted. The next segments have Wraps and Tabs investigating the house as odd things happen around them. They soon make contact with the spirit that was really just the show’s executive producer who was yelling at them to get the episode done and turned in so that it could air! In the end Iris & Retina show back up and end the show with a trailer for their next film “Manster” that was never made.

Movie: Writer Rick and his publisher Daniel Parks finally find the ideal location in Italy to shoot some photographs for Rick’s Horror photo-novel when they come across an ideal spot. The seemingly deserted castle looks perfect from the outside, so Rick and Daniel, accompanied by his secretary Edith, their photographer Dermott, and his five young models decide to break in. They soon find the castle is actually occupied by former actor, Travis Anderson, who initially is annoyed with these visitors until he recognizes Edith, his ex-fiancée amongst them. He decides to give them permission to use his castle, but warns them that the dungeons are off limits. Will they heed his warning?

Note From Matt: This is the second film in the series to have a film shown in Mondovision that required the special glasses.

Mondo Smash A’ Go-Go: Night Of The Living Dead
Starring – Duane Jones & Judith O’Dea       Not Rated        1968

Host: As always Iris & Retina welcome us to the show and introduce the night’s film and talk about it as well as the cast and crew as well as tell us about guests Team Void and Akillis Green! While in the cemetery, Iris & Retina are attacked by a pair of zombies who chase them into a near by house. Later in the cemetery a News Reporter and his Camera Man are reporting on the zombie outbreak as Team Void show up and are interviewed by him as this Lucha Rock Band are master zombie killers. They also update the viewers to locations in the area that are safe. As Team Void gun down zombies, we go back to the classic movie. Once back to the house Iris & Retina run into band Akillis Green, and they perform the song Cannibal Love, but the zombies get in and bite band member Dave who they lock in the basement as the rest go out and protect the house from the zombie horde, but in the end all of the band dies in a zombie attack. In the end Team Void is still killing zombies in the cemetery as the News reports on the safety! Iris & Retina also return and thank the special guests and so ends the final episode of Mondo Smash A’Go-Go…for now!

Movie: Barbra and Johnny visit their father’s grave in a remote cemetery when they are suddenly set upon by zombies. Barbra manages to get away and takes refuge in what seems to be an abandoned farm house. She is soon joined by Ben who stopped at the house in need of gas. Beset by the walking dead all around them Ben does his best to secure the doors and windows. The news reports are grim however with creatures returning to life everywhere. Barbra and Ben are surprised when they realize there are 5 people hiding out in the basement: Harry, Helen and Karen Cooper; and a young couple, Tom and Judy. Dissensions sets in almost immediately with Harry Cooper wanting to be in charge. As their situation deteriorates, their chances of surviving the night lessen minute by minute.

Note From Matt: In this episode Baron Von Porkchop plays the News Reporter as well as one of the zombies, Count Van Lambchop plays one of the zombies and I play the News Camera Man!

Iris & Retina take their place in the history books of Horror Hosts from Dayton, Ohio, and they truly are the most unique Hosts as they have a style that is unlike all the others. I for one am a fan and very much looking forward to new episodes, as Dayton needs more active Horror Hosts! I also want to thank Retina for the interview as well as alerting me to Sea Creep, a Host that I now must find footage and learn all about, and who knows maybe one day if I can uncover footage he may get a Horror Host Icon update! Also if you want to check out Mondo Smash A’Go Go, episodes can be found on their official YouTube page, so make sure to check them out if you enjoy Hosting and good classic Public Domain films. For our next update we will be leaving the world of Horror Hosting behind and will be taking a look at the world of Horror Fan Films, those amazing films made by fans that keep characters alive and bring new scares to viewers. So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next time for a new update that I hope will become yearly!

Horror Host Icon: The Creeper

Dayton has had its fair share of Horror Hosts with Dr. Creep of Shock Theater on Channel 22 being the most well known and loved. After Dr. Creep went off the air in 1985, the Horror Hosting void was filled years later thanks to public access and Hosts like A. Ghastlee Ghoul, Dr. Freak, Iris & Retina, Baron Von Porkchop, Commandant Gore and The Creeper who entertained and brought back the local host to TV airwaves. Growing up I have spent lots of late nights and early weekend afternoons watching Horror Hosts on the TV, and one that in my opinion has been way over looked here in the Dayton, Ohio area is The Creeper who hosted a great little show called “Moraine Playhouse Theater” that provided so many moments of entertainment for me and my brother Bryan. Thinking about it, I think The Creeper and A. Ghastlee Ghoul both started their Horror Host careers at the same time in 1989, making them both the official first Dayton, Ohio Horror Hosts to fill the void of the legend Dr. Creep! So it’s with complete honor that I present to you again, and for some the first time, a host who brought so much joy to my youth and one that should be remembered for all he has done for not only Public Access TV but also the city of Moraine.  So welcome to this long overdue update as I bring to you Horror Host Icon: The Creeper!

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The Creeper was a host who enjoyed hosting locally shot Horror and Science Fiction no budget films on his show called Moraine Playhouse Theater that started in 1989 and aired on the public access stations MVCC and later DATV. No one is sure what The Creeper’s backstory is or why he loves to show cheesy locally shot movies but did know that he as well thought the armature films were stinkers but highly enjoyable. Over the shows run The Creeper had two looks that stuck out the most with me, with one being eye glasses with huge fake eyes, a red nose and a Halloween mask worn on the top of his head and backwards given the appearance that he had white hair and the more used and normal look for the later years of the show was a mask that was bald on top and white hair on the sides with an older vampire appearance that showcased wicked long teeth at the top of his mouth. But The Creeper’s appearance changed many times turning his run on public access even wearing a Jason Voorhees Hockey Mask! The Creeper just like Dr. Creep was known for his sinister high-pitched laugh that he would deliver through out the episode and would be something viewers would look forward to hearing. The Creeper’s style for hosting Moraine Playhouse Theater was that he would open and close the movie and would tell you at the start the films title and who was acting in it, while at the end he would most the time promote the film some more with also at times telling us about the next film to be shown. But while in most cases having a Horror Host only host during the opening and closing would not fair well with viewers it worked for The Creeper as Moraine Playhouse Theater was about an hour long and never felt like it over stayed it’s welcome with the armature cheesy film. One things for sure those who grew up watching The Creeper on Moraine Playhouse Theater understand that this nasally talking, high pitched laughing Horror Host was truly a great way to fill the void of Dr. Creep as our local Dayton, Ohio Host and made No Budget Horror films cool to watch and make.

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The Creeper was played by Dave Miller who at the time was working for the City of Moraine in the Parks and Recreation department and even as of this update he is still working for the city. He started his public access career in 1979 with the show “Moraine Recreation Update” and from there he and his friends would later go on to make their own No Budget Films and created “Moraine Playhouse Theater” as an outlet to show the films as well and encourage fellow Ohio viewers to write, produce and direct their own films with a chance to be shown on Moraine Playhouse Theater or better yet able to help on one of their films. For his time on Public Access Dave Miller has won many awards including an Arnie and as well is respected for all the stuff he has done for the city of Moraine. Dave also in his free time likes to hike looking for history and also enjoys going on ghost hunting adventures! Dave Miller is a man who takes pride in his city, state, family and making entertainment! I want to also note that he had a show called “Moraine Teen Theater” that was much like Moraine Playhouse but the films were done my teenagers!

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The Creeper never had any real sidekicks on his show but he did have many recurring characters in the movies he would show like the Paranormal Investigators, who were a group of scientists who would look into legends and cryptozoology creatures. They were very popular amongst the viewers and I can remember talking to kids at school about them as well as my brother and me would try and predict what other monsters they could have them hunt from Bigfoot all the way to Frankenstein’s Monster in future movies. We also had Deputy Cheeks, Sheriff Cobb and Billy Joe Black Bear all who lived in Colorado and hated the masked killer Jason Myers. But hands down the most popular character and the one that almost anyone who watched this show remembers is the hockey mask wearing supernatural serial killer named Jason Meyers who starred in four films that aired on the show and even was interviewed by The Creeper on one episode of the show! So while no characters shared the hosting duties with The Creeper on Moraine Playhouse Theater, the show did have many of the returning characters in the no budget movies feel like a part of the shows lore because they where! Below is a picture of the Paranormal Investigators as well as Jason Meyers all whom made this Horror Host show even more special for us the viewers.

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While the Jason Myers Friday The 13th knockoff films are some of the most iconic flicks that The Creeper had hosted one other has always stuck out to me! Moraine Playhouse Theater episode 7 were he hosted the film “Trail Of The Werewolf” that was an adventure of the Paranormal Investigators who travel to Minnesota in order to stop a killer werewolf who has been making short work of the locals. The Creeper segments were nothing to special and had him wearing a hockey mask in what appears to be a kitchen and while he is as entertaining as ever it was the over all cheesiness of the film that stuck out the most to me. The werewolf was just a man in a half faced werewolf Halloween mask, but to be honest I think that’s what I love about it the most. The effects of the kills was pure backyard stuff and tame and the soundtrack like most of the movies made for this show was taken from Night Of The Living Dead. My favorite scene from the film is when The Werewolf attacks a gravedigger in the cemetery, so fun and holds the true spirit of independent no budget cinema. You see I have always been a fan of werewolves and as you long time readers and friends know my first ever original shot on video film was “Werewolf Of Ohio” and with Trail Of The Werewolf being made years before it, I wonder if maybe this film and episode of Moraine Playhouse Theater helped inspire my cult shot on video film, it’s very possible as I know that this show was my introduction to armature local shot on video films. The copy I got of this episode came from the master tapes of The Creeper and while it has glitches I still found it to be as entertaining as it was in the past and this could be my favorite film of the series with my favorite host segments being on Moraine Playhouse Theater episode 4 aka the episode that shows Jason Still Lives Part 2: The Ski Resort Murders. So I want to send out a big thanks to The Creeper and the cast of crew that made this show and its movies as they helped shape this aging Monster Kid into what he is today.

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After about 15 years of being away from TV screens across the Dayton, Ohio area I had to look high and low in every local graveyard and abandon video rental stores to find him and I am proud to say that The Creeper has been found and was nice enough to take a few moments away from watching his shot on video no budget horror films to give me a interview! So here it is 5 Questions with The Creeper…

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Matt: Welcome to Rotten Ink Creeper, and I guess my first question for you is when did you decide to become a Horror Host and unleash Moraine Playhouse Theater onto the viewers of MVCC Public Access?

Creeper: Growing up I enjoyed watching Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr. and Christopher Lee horror movies and from that interest I purchased a super 8 movie camera.  My friends and I in high school began making silent movies in 1973 and trying to add sound to them with a tape recorder.  In 1979 working for the City of Moraine I was introduced to MVCC and began filming, writing, editing and hosting Moraine Parks & Recreation shows for the municipal access channel.  In the late 1980’s I began the Moraine Playhouse Theater shows hosted by The Creeper.  We wanted to write, act in and show our movies on TV and thought that some kind of horror host character would work good to introduce and make fun of our own movies.

Matt: So what if any Horror Hosts inspired you to become a host yourself?

Creeper:  Growing up before cable TV my television at home could only pick up four local channels and if the weather was good I could get one Cincinnati channel and one Indianapolis channel.  I watched Dr. Creep in Dayton, the Cool Ghoul in Cincinnati and Sammy Terry out of Indianapolis.  They were funny and played all the Universal classic monster movies.

Matt: So over the years us viewers always wondered why you changed your appearance so much, was it to keep us guessing at what was next from you?

Creeper: I really didn’t want to change the appearance of The Creeper.  I had a creepy looking half ghoul/ half old man mask that was perfect for The Creeper.  But I used it every year for Moraine’s haunted house attraction (which became Slash Moraine) which we ran three or four weekends every October for Moraine Parks & Recreation.   So eventually the mask wore out.  So in some Playhouse Theaters I grabbed whatever mask was handy, one time just grabbing the Jason hockey mask and wrapping myself in a bed sheet.  It added to the cheesy-ness of our productions.

Matt: Your show Moraine Playhouse Theater has had many fan favorite episodes, but what is your favorite episode?

Creeper: We began in 1989 and through 1999 we had over a dozen shows.  Among them we had four movies centered around the “Jason” character, one movie where we battled a werewolf, another movie aliens and UFO’s.  But my favorite movie was when the Paranormal Investigators battled a vampire in “Trail of the Vampire”.  It was classic poor acting, cheesy special effects, but a good story line which always keeps us laughing every time we watch it.  My second favorite is “Cops & Robbers” (we spent a lot of time on that creative title didn’t we?) which is a fast paced police tale in which the detective’s are on the trail of a criminal genius named “The Viper”.  Depending on the availability or lack of availability of the person playing the Viper, if you look real close sometimes the Viper has a full head of hair, sometimes he is going bald.

Matt: The final question that is on all the minds of us who grew up watching your show is will their ever be new episodes and will we ever see “Trail Of The Zombie” the lost adventure of The Paranormal Investigators?

Creeper: I am going to say yes you will see it by years end.  I need to learn digital editing at MVCC because editing and creating the final product is the most fun aspect of moviemaking to me.  We have a zombie footage scene that we filmed in back in 1991 and have filmed scenes for this movie at least four or five other years.   I guess it is time to try to come up with a plot to tie them all together (if that is even possible) and finish filming this epic movie.  And yes, The Creeper will host the show and I am sure he will mock the script and the poor acting.

Matt: Thanks for all these wonderful answers Creeper!

WOW! That’s fantastic news as it would be great to have another Dayton, Ohio Horror Host active to go alongside Baron Von Porkchop. And with rumors of a new episodes by Iris & Retina of “Mondo Smash A’ Go-Go” being in the works, Dayton might just become a hot bed for Horror Hosts again! I want to thank The Creeper for taking time away from his no budget films to answer these questions for me and my readers as it’s always fun to chat with a Host!

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So we are now at the part of this Horror Host Icon review where we take a look at the episodes I have on DVD-R.  I want to thank Andy Copp, who, a long time ago for my birthday, got me a copy of Episode 4.  Also, a big thank you to Dave Miller and the staff of MVCC who got me all the remaining episodes.

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Moraine Playhouse Theater:  Cops And Robbers
Starring – Tim Clark & Dave Miller     Not Rated      199?

Host: The Creeper, wearing a skull mask, introduces the 6th episode of the series and hypes up both films that will be shown! The first is called “Cowboy And Indians” and acts as the warm up film as it’s a vintage 1970’s super 8 film. After the first film, The Creeper is wearing a goblin Halloween mask and explains that he will be going Trick Or Treating and then introduces the second film, a detective themed flick. At the end of the show, The Creeper wishes everyone a Happy Halloween and tells us about the next film that would appear on the show.

Movie: Jack Hammer and Joe Monday are two good detectives who are in the big city and must try to end the crime wave of the evil masked crime lord, The Viper, and his sinister henchmen!

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Moraine Playhouse Theater:  Jason Still Lives
Starring – Scott Golden & Tim Clark    Not Rated    1989

Host: The Creeper comes out of a coffin and informs us that the night’s film is inspired by the Friday The 13th film series and will showcase the talents of many of Moraine, Ohio’s top armature actors. At the end of the show, The Creeper is drinking blood and introduces his son The Leper who is over 200 years old and briefly interviews him and shows his son’s short film “Fleshy Headed Mutants 2051”!

Movie: Jason Myers is a hockey masked killer on a cruise ship who comes ashore and starts killing people in Ohio! Can the local cops put a stop to his rampage or will this killer on the loose rid the town of its entire population?

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Moraine Playhouse Theater:  Jason Still Lives 2
Starring – Scott Golden & Dave Miller    Not Rated   199?

Host: The Creeper is once more in a great mood as he brings us the second film in the Jason Myers series.  He is so happy that he also gets to interview the killer live on the show! But joy turns to terror as the silent killing machine Jason does not take kindly to The Creeper’s judgment of him and attacks our host!

Movie: Jason Myers is back and now in Colorado on a murdering spree during a blizzard that leaves Sheriff Cobb and Deputy Cheeks on the hunt for the madman, all the while braving the cold and getting the help of a mountain man named Billy Joe Black Bear! In the end Jason has his final stand on a cliff that leaves the hockey masked killer falling to his death…or does he?

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Moraine Playhouse Theater:  Return Of Jason 3
Starring – Scott Golden & Tim Clark    Not Rated    1992

Host: The Creeper is walking down a hall and notices the viewers.  He lets us know that today’s first film is a comedy short called “Junior: The Mean Little Boy,” changing up the pace from horror to silly comedy. The Creeper is now in master control of a TV station and tells us that today’s film was requested by fans and that it took two years to complete! But sadly this episode is not complete and is not only missing the end of the movie, but also the end of The Creepers closing segment.

Movie: Deputy Bud Cheeks and Sheriff Cobb are upset when the body of Jason is missing after falling off the cliff at the end of the second Jason film.  They go back to the scene of the crime and find that the killer could be alive still! After a phony press conference, Cobb and Cheek know that they must really stop the killer once and for all. Now Jason Myers is loose again and starting his killing spree on all those who get in his wicked path for revenge, but this time in Chicago.  So our Colorado law enforcement team of Cheeks, Cobb and Billy Joe Black Bear comes to Chi-Town to save face for lying.

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Moraine Playhouse Theater:  Jason Part IV
Starring – Scott Golden & Tim Clark    Not Rated    2000

Host: The Creeper is in a living room, covered with a blanket and introduces the day’s film, the fourth in the chilling Jason Myers series.  Our host informs us that this film was 8 years in the making. He also informs us that this is the show’s Halloween episode and ushers us into the film.

Movie: Jason Meyers is brought back to life at his funeral after a relative of one of his victims breaks into the funeral home and brings the killer back to life by accident. Deputy Bud Cheeks is once more on the hunt to bring down Jason and tries to get Billy Joe Black Bear to help him on the case again but instead must go to Chicago alone to bring him down. Can the world’s favorite goofy deputy do it?

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Moraine Playhouse Theater:  Trail Of The UFO
Starring – Scott Golden & Tim Clark   Not Rated   1991-1997

Host: The Creeper is chilling in his office and shares a short film called “The Return Of The Vampire” and then chats about aliens & UFO’s and the new adventure of The Paranormal Investigators who star in the day’s film. The Creeper ends the show wearing a tux and thanks us for watching both films and dares us to join him for the next episode.

Movie: The Paranormal Investigators are back and this time are on the hunt for a UFO that has been tormenting a small town. When they themselves are abducted and wake up with missing hours, they wind up in a farmhouse with an alien outside with a message for NASA and the human race.

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Moraine Playhouse Theater:  Trail Of The Vampire
Starring – Dave Miller & Tim Clark    Not Rated    199? 

Host: The Creeper brags about how his show won an Arnie Award, meaning that they are the best of Public Access! He then informs us that this is the first in a series featuring The Paranormal Investigators that will always be on the trail of some sort of monster!

Movie: The Paranormal Investigators are back and this time are on the hunt to stop a vampire outbreak that has lead to many deaths and points back to Count Dracula! Can our team put an end to his blood sucking curse?

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Moraine Playhouse Theater:  Trail Of The Werewolf
Starring – Scott Golden & Tim Clark   Not Rated   1992

Host: The Creeper is now wearing a Hockey Mask and a blanket and once more is very hyped to bring you the best of the worst of Moraine shot on video horror and ushers us with glee into the day’s movie. After the first movie, The Creeper brags about how bad the films he shows are but also delivers another short film for us to enjoy called “Janitor Man”! Once the film’s over, The Creeper wakes up from a nap and closes the show.

Movie: Harry is a wildman who is wandering around the town and at night, during the full moon, is a werewolf! But on the case once more are the legendary Paranormal Investigators who are going to stop the werewolf’s rampage!

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The Creeper and Moraine Playhouse Theater were truly staples of my childhood viewing as he and the cheap movies he showed always brightened my day. I can remember watching his show in Waynesville and when traveling with my parents and brother to Kettering to visit my grandparents, talking with my brother about the show. So I want to say a truly big THANK YOU to The Creeper for all the years of public access entertainment he has delivered, and I for one think he should be in the Horror Host Hall Of Fame as he helped inspire me as well as other creative people in the Dayton area. For our next update, we are going to walk away from the world of Horror Hosts and into another chilling “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update about the 2014 film I, Frankenstein! So until next time, watch a Horror film or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update for a shocking good time with Frankenstein’s Monster known as Adam.

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The Undead Files: The Dead

What is it about zombies that strike not only fear but also entertainment value with people? TV is filled with shows like The Walking Dead, Z-Nation and iZombie. Video games like Left 4 Dead, Dead Rising and Resident Evil are strong sellers. Not to mention comic book shelves are filled with many undead titles like ‘68, Walking Dead, Marvel Zombies and many Night Of The Living Dead titles. But what is it that draws us to the notion of the dead coming back to life to eat our brains or flesh? Why are we so obsessed with zombies, and why are they so ingrained into our culture now? In this Undead File Update, we will be taking a look at a comic book series made by Arrow Comics that pushed the envelope of gore and started many comic readers’ love for the underground gore comics and a series that inspired many artists and writers to make zombie comics of their own, The Dead. So be prepared to walk among the dead as we talk about this cult comic series among other things of the living dead nature.

Zombie Hand Coming From The Grave

The Lane To The Dead is an urban legend around these parts that was brought to the light of day thanks to the book series “Haunted Ohio” written by Chris Woodyard, who did a small write up about it.  I also heard other stories from people who claimed they knew about it as well. The story goes that there is abandon graveyard that sits deep in the woods that is walled off with not only brinks but also barbwire and razor wire to keep people out and something in! You see the graveyard in this undisclosed location is said to house zombies that were created by the government during experiments and when they found that they could not kill them…again they trapped them all in this cemetery that acts as a dumping ground for them. It’s said that you must walk a long dirt lane that leads to woods and when entering them you must walk miles deep to get to the cemetery, and you know when your close as the moans and noises of the zombies can be heard. When living in Waynesville when I was like in 4th or 5th grade a classmate who’s dad worked for the government told him that they have reanimated bodies but that they can only keep it “reanimated” for seconds before they pass again, does this story fit in with The Lane Of The Dead…I doubt it as I don’t believe what my classmate told me as almost the whole school watched Night of the Living Dead on TV the weekend before. When I was in my late teens Josh Weinberg and I tired all we could to find the Lane To The Dead and failed, as it’s doubtful it’s real…but if it is the undead walk among us here in Ohio!!

What I Think Lane Of The Dead Looks Like

The Toraja people of Indonesia have a ritual for burial and death, their culture has a fascination with it and can be seen all over their villages. You see they believe in the afterlife and this leads to them the funeral that can some times take place weeks or months after death as all family members must be present. The bodies are stored in the church in limestone caves or even in the house of a loved one, during the wait the corpse is cared for as if it’s still alive given baths, groomed, dressed regularly and even offered meals! Once the family is all present and the money raised for burial the funeral starts that can as well last for days as depending on the wealth of the family consists of feasts, mourning the dead and animal sacrifices that they believe the dead animals will help the soul of their loved one cross over to the other side faster. The bodies are placed in a wooden coffin and then placed in a burial chamber carved into the side of a large rock as they think this is the between Heaven and Earth and will help the spirit find its way…but wait this is not the last you will see of your loved one! Once a year in August loved ones will pull out their dead loved ones and wash, groom and dress them, then make repairs to the coffin and then “walk” them to their place of death and than back to their coffin. And this repeats forever no matter how long your loved one died you show them this respect. And some smaller tribes of people claim that the dead are walking themselves, while others claim its all a trick done by the funeral people. Does the dead truly walk or is this all some sort of tradition that we all just don’t understand, one things for sure and that these peoples loved ones are never forgotten. Below is some photos of the “walk” of the dead.

Toraja Dead 1Toraja Dead 2Toraja Dead 3

I love independent horror films and that’s why I have made my own No Budget Epics and have produced Horror Films for such directors as Andy Copp, Henrique Couto and Chris Seaver over the years and that’s why I have chosen this zombie film that should and could be made into a comic series called Zombie Chronicles that was released in 2001 and put out by Sterling Films and Brain Damage Films on VHS and DVD. The film is about a reporter who picks up an old man named Ebenezer Jackson who is heading to the same small town as her, along the way they make a stop and he shares some real life zombie stories with her! In the end she finds out he himself is a ghost and she might be the real target of the living dead. The film is as backyard as they come and looks as if it was shot on Super VHS or something along those lines and the effects are pure backyard stuff with some being really good including one woman who’s face has been ripped off and she gives her last dying breath. Most of the zombies are in cheap looking masks or terrible Halloween makeup bought on discount from K-Mart. But this could be a great series of comics and follow Ebenezer as he wonders around America finding people on lonely stretches of Highway and tell them chilling stories of the undead, with no budgets holding it back this could be as brutal as any zombie comic in history. Each issue would have a motorist, traveler or drifter coming in contact with Ebenezer who would tell them two to three zombie stories while they traveled the road or even stopped for the night at a rundown motel or camp site aside the road. After each issue the person hearing the stories would be marked in some way from not just physical but mentally as well. This would have to be done as a independent comic in order to truly up the gore and pack in some nudity as well, I would say a company like Rough House Publishing or even Studio Akumakaze would be great companies to make this comic come to bloody life and out of my artist friends that would make this amazing would be Rachael Lare, Damien Brunk or Jeff Potter all who would capture the horror nature of the series. This comic series would never happen sadly as no one remembers it nor when it was released did it come out to major fan fare as it went direct to video and faded away into horror film obscurity. Oh yeah the film was directed by Brad Sykes who made such other low budget films like Camp Blood 1 & 2, Demon’s Kiss, Death Factory and Mad Jack to name a few, the film also stars Janet Tracy Keijser who is easy on the eyes even if she is a little off acting in this film. Z-Grade flick check it out of you like your horror with a little cheese.

The Zombie Chronicles 1The Zombie Chronicles VHSThe Zombie Chronicles 2

When WWE bought out ECW and tried to re-launch the brand on the Sci-Fi network in 2006, it was a shell of what it was.  Gone were the days of New Jack using a cheese grader on Hack Meyers as blood poured out.  Gone were the days of Raven fighting Tommy Dreamer in a barbwire match all for the attention of Beulah, and what we got instead was a watered down version with Big Show being a top star as well as supernatural wrestlers like The Boogeyman, vampire Kevin Thorn and yep, The Zombie! Tim Roberts was the man with the cheesy gimmick who made his debut on the first episode of ECW on the SCI-FI Channel and was quickly beat down by The Sandman and his Singapore cane, you see the network wanted “monsters” added to the roster and this was the WWE’s way of saying we will add them and they will be used as jokes and get beat down fast and easy. The Zombie would float around for a short time loosing matches until he quietly disappeared from the company. Roberts was better known under the ring name Tim Arson and was a pretty big attraction in multiple Puerto Rico wrestling federations and won many belts over his career there, he also toured independent federations and even took on Matt Striker under the Arson gimmick that aired on WWE Heat. After becoming The Zombie for ECW he would also take bookings under that gimmick for small wrestling promotions. Sadly on January 7 2015 Roberts died of unknown causes at the age of 38. While he might not have been a household name here in America his fourteen year long wrestling career sported him fans all over the world.

ECW Zombie 1ECW Zombie 2ECW Zombie 3

People love zombies so much that Adult XXX films have been made about them! Yeah films that have male and female zombies getting busy with humans and each other have seen the light of day. These kind of Adult Films just shows you how much the American Culture loves Zombies that they want to see them not only eat humans but also do it with them! Many of these films also have a Horror Film nature to them and add gore and twisted storylines to these films, while others have no plots and are just scenes of goofball actors in masks and cheap Halloween makeup doing the deed with females who are there to collect a paycheck. There are parodies of George Romero dead films as well as The Walking Dead and everything in between, so if this is your thing and you find Zombies sexy I am sure one of these odd adult films will be sure to please.

Dawna Of The Dead PosterWalking Dead XXX Female ZombiePorn Of The Dead Poster

Here in Dayton, Ohio we have lots of Food Trucks and one of the most popular is a gourmet hotdog truck called Zombie Dogz that people line up for rain or shine to get a tasty large sized hotdog! Each hotdog has a horror themed name like “Hunk A Hunk A Rotting Flesh,” a tribute to Elvis Presley that is a hotdog with bacon, pan seared bananas flambéed in banana liquor topped with homemade cashew butter.  Or you could try “Gem City Slasher” that has the hotdog with avocado salsa, white truffle oil, red onions, bacon bits and cilantro sour cream! My favorite one is called “Calling In Dead” that has truffle oil mac n’ cheese and cracker crumbles all placed on top of the hotdog! Besides the Dayton area, you can also find Zombie Dogz as a food vendor at Horror Hound Weekend Convention in Cincinnati, and for comic book readers they are also spotted many Fridays at Bell, Book and Comic. If you’re ever in the area and enjoy a good specialty hotdog, check them out as I am sure you will not be disappointed.

Zombie Dogz logo

Arrow Comics was created by Ralph Griffith and Stuart Kerr in 1985 and was a black and white independent comic company that the pair started by publishing a magazine called “Fantastic Fanzine.”  After seeing how much of a hit the first issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was, they decided to open a comic book branch and gathered local talent like Guy Davis, Susan Van Camp, Randy Zimmerman and Vincent Locke to name a few and Arrow Comics was born! Issues of titles like Deadworld, The Realm, Tales From the Aniverse, System 7, Oz and Nightstreets hit comic shops, but by 1989, they were in trouble due to revenues for some of their top selling titles being tied up, causing them to have to move some of their titles to Caliber Comics. After a few years of silence, they tried to make a comeback in 1993 and released a savage zombie comic called The Dead, but sadly the re-launch was very short lived. In 2008 they made another comeback and started to make webcomics called Spank The Monkey and Rebel Nun and plan on giving many of their titles comebacks in this modern world of comic books. Being a long time comic reader as well as a Monster Kid, I can remember seeing these issues at local comic shops and even had a few of their OZ titles, but never did have any of the zombie ones as I think most of those were behind the counter kind of titles and I was too young to buy them. But while Arrow Comics was never as impactful as many of the other small companies of the time like Malibu, Now or Innovation, they still made huge impacts on their readers who enjoyed something different than Superman or Captain America. I must also state, I love their motto “Our Target Is Entertainment; Our Aim Is Quality”.

Arrow Comics logo

In 2015 Rough House Publishing, a comic company run by Derek Rook, who was the man behind Xmachina Comics, the company who brought you the “Gates Of Hell”, “Halloween: The Return To Haddonfield” and “Phantasm” comics as well as worked on the adaptation of Fulci’s “Zombie” graphic novel, released an amazing graphic novel called “The Dead: Omnibus” that collected all issues of the Arrow Comic series and more! It’s a must-have comic for fans of horror comics and for those looking for something more brutal than Walking Dead.  It’s my honor to present to you this 5 Questions with Derek Rook, the man behind Rough House Publishing and the rebirth of The Dead.

rough house publishing logoDerek RookThe Dead Omnibus

Matt: Welcome to Rotten Ink, Derek, and thanks for taking time away from your busy schedule to chat with me. Growing up were you a comic reader, and if so, what comic characters did you like?

Derek: Thank YOU, Matt! I appreciate the opportunity to hang with you. I WAS a giant comic book reader as a child. When I was young, I’d go grocery shopping with my mother and I would always hope that she had a couple bucks to spare so I could grab some comics off the news stand. I wasn’t aware of comic book shops at that time, so I’d get mine at grocery and convenience stores and sometimes at a Mom & Pop book corner store. I always loved The Incredible Hulk (especially the adult-oriented Marvel Magazine The Hulk), Rom – The Space Knight, Moon Knight, Conan, Godzilla…I always enjoyed characters that were misunderstood loners as I too was one of those as a child.

Matt: What was the first comic book you ever made of your own, and what was it about?

Derek: The first comic book I ever formally published was called NIGHTFALL. I published it in high school and with the help of my art teacher, Joseph Degnain, The book was standard slasher fare, but was heavily critical of religion, government and of many world views that we are dealing with today. We printed off 50 copies using all of the schools resources and equipment. In some ways, he believed in my dreams more than I did as he was responsible for the entire output process. All he wanted in return was one singular copy. I sold them to students for $1 and sold out in four days.

Matt: You have done some great comics based on such films as Gates of Hell, Zombie, Halloween and the upcoming Nightmare City remake – what has been your favorite one to work on?

Derek: It’s popular to answer that question by saying, “it’s like picking the favorite of your children”…and that’s true, But that’s not hard for me. If my books are “children”, then some of them were some real fucking bastards (laughs). Thus far my personal favorite as far as just my art would have to be THE GATES OF HELL. That book was a decades long journey through one of the most formative and tumultuous years of my life. I think the determination to complete that project shows in the finished product. It’s a great body of work. My favorite publication as a whole would hands down be THE DEAD – OMNIBUS. We all were just an unstoppable freight train during that project. There’s so much love and pride there, it’s staggering.

Matt: What three horror films would you like to turn into a comic book series or adaptations for Rough House Publishing, and why?

Derek: As we go forward with ROUGH HOUSE, I think you’ll be seeing us move away slightly from licensed projects, in lieu of more creator-owned stuff. Licensing is sometimes hard to get with the type of stuff we are interested in making books out of…BUT, if I could magically do three more, I personally would want to do THE BRONX WARRIORS (as a trilogy), the un-filmed original script for George Romero’s DAY OF THE DEAD and probably CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST. If you ask some of the other Rough House crew, you’d probably have an even bigger list.

Matt: With The Dead: Omnibus being one of your first releases from Rough House Publishing, I would guess you grew up a zombie comic fan. What is some of your favorite zombie or even horror comics going now?

Derek: Sadly, I’m not a fan of most modern comics in general anymore. Most of them lack the spirit and savvy and genius of some of the comics I grew up with. Maybe I’m just bias. The entire institution has become very corporate and are usually a means of advertisement for a much bigger and more profitable franchise. I think Image is publishing some interesting stuff like AIRBOY and BIG MANS PLANS. The original Garth Ennis’ CROSSED by Avatar Press was ground-breaking at the time, I loved SATELLITE SAM by Howard Chaykin and Matt Fraction…as you can see, most are not horror. HAUNTED HORROR is the closest ting publishing to my favorite comic book being published today, but those are are all reprinted stories from over 60 years ago…so I guess you can see where my roots are truly planted.

Matts: Thanks, my friend, for taking your time to chat with me!

Derek Rook At Work

As always Derek is a class act and a true artist in the world of horror comics and one of my favorite artists going today alongside Javier Trujillo as both capture the true nature of horror. So for about a year now I have been itching to check out The Dead as Rough House Publishing put it on my radar with their release of The Dead: Omnibus.  This started my quest to find the single issues that were released just so I could finally read them and cover them for this Undead File update! Thanks to Ebay and Lone Star Comics, I was able to track them down and enjoy them for the first time in all their gore-tastic glory! But before we walk among The Dead, I should remind you that I grade these issues on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So with that out of the way, let’s see what all this brain eating and gut munching horror is all about!

The Dead 1

The Dead # 1  ***
Released in 1993    Cover Price $2.25    Arrow Comics    # 1 of 2

Davey is a young man who is going to be a military man someday soon and is on a camping trip with his family and friends.  They are having a good time, and it seems like a perfect trip complete with campfires, fishing and walks in the woods making it seem like nothing could go wrong. As the wives are alone, a knock on the door leads to death as a farmer zombie in overalls and a shotgun blows one of the mom’s heads off and then proceeds to eat the breasts off the other! The Zombie Farmer is not alone and as the other zombies start to eat the flesh of the woman, the husbands show up and they as well become lunch as once more the Zombie Farmer uses his shotgun to blow the head off of one of them! Davey is smart enough and gets all the kids into the RV and saves their lives as they head to the nearby town for help they soon find out it has been set on fire.

This is a perfect example of an underground horror comic as it’s packed with lots of gore, boobs and monsters and is done in glorious black and white. The story is about two families on a vacation in the woods that are attacked by zombies who seem to not only want to eat them but also get enjoyment from killing humans. The story follows Davey as he tries all he can to save his siblings and young friends from a brutal death, all the while having to come to grips with the fact that his parents are dead. Davey is a interesting character who’s young but yet acts mature as his goal in life is to be a military man just like his father.  Despite the shock of seeing his parents slaughtered, he is still smart enough to use his brain and get in the RV and get the heck out of dodge as he sees the zombies coming for them. The rest of the kids are your normal generic kids who sneak and smoke pot and act silly and tough when you know without Davey’s guidance they would all be zombie lunch. The Zombie Farmer is one twisted sick undead psycho who not only kills his victims but also psychologically tortures them by allowing them to beg for their lives only to kill them with a brutal glee. The things we know about Zombie Farmer: he can use a shotgun and is good with it, he loves female boobs and he cannot die with damage to his body. The rest of the zombies seem to listen to what the Farmer says and are into eating the victims and causing chaos and mayhem. The comic is filled with lots of blood, brains and head exploding, all things that horror comic fans love and crave. The issue’s story and plot was done by Ralph Griffith and Stuart Kerr with art done by Jason Moore that is a very fitting style for a independent horror comic from the 90’s. The cover for some reason reminds me of Raiden from Mortal Kombat and is eye catching but in no way warns the reader of just how brutal the comic is! So far I’m very much enjoying this comic and am looking forward to issue two as well as the second volume of The Dead so let’s get to issue # 2!

The Dead 2

The Dead # 2  **1/2
Released in 1993    Cover Price $2.25    Arrow Comics    # 2 of 2

Davey and the gang watch as the town is burning and come up with a plan to try and get food, medical supplies and weapons from a trading post deep in the woods run by an old man named Zeke.  As they start their journey, Zombie Farmer in a pick up truck packed with zombies tries to stop them using firebombs and bricks to slow the kids down, but Davey has a plan that has motor oil being flung onto the windshield of the truck causing the Zombies to crash off a tiny bridge and explode! But before they get to the post, a zombie is able to get into the RV and bite one of the girls on the neck before it can be bashed leaving its brains all over the floor. The group tend to the wounded girl as Davey and the guys go into the post that has been clearly attacked by the undead.  They scavenge for food and get 10 boxes worth before Zeke shows up, now a zombie, throwing knives that injure one of the boys’ legs before they escape and head back to the road and the unknown! It ends with a naked woman who’s a prisoner of zombies who must rat out a location of other humans, and for her help a zombie eats her private parts!

More twisted and gruesome moments are packed into this growing story of Davey and the kids trying to get help and get away from the living dead who are out for blood and guts and a murderous good time. This issue’s plot has Davey and the kids trying to get to a safe place to gather supplies all the while dodging zombies who want to stop them and kill them. Throw in a strange zombie at the end who is forcing a living female for information and you have this strange issue summed up. Davey becomes more in charge as it’s clear they are being targeted by the zombies.  He comes up with the idea to get the Zombie Farmer off his back as well as comes up with where to get the supplies they will need to survive. The rest of the kids are becoming more useful and understand now that they are all in danger and when one of their own is bitten on the neck by a zombie, they know that death could await them at any turn. The zombies are very mean spirited and use bricks, cocktail bombs and knives to attack and they will not stop until the kids can escape them or kill them. Zombie Farmer returns for a short time and is driving a pickup truck and is trying to run the RV off the road, and is only stopped when his truck drives off a bridge and explodes, is he dead or not I cannot say for sure. The issue is packed with more gore that includes a neck bite, knife to the leg and a woman’s private parts being eaten by a zombie showing that they were all about the blood. The cover I have to this issue is X-Rated and depicts the poor woman being eaten by the Zombie, and this I am sure was never on the shelf at Mavericks Cards and Comics or The Bookie Parlor. The story and plot was once more done by Ralph Griffith and Stuart Kerr with Moore doing the art again that is super fitting for a comic of this nature as he understands the style of making a good zombie attack come alive. The downside is that the story is not finished as only two issues were made for Volume 1 so I am hoping that Volume 2 finishes this story or at least tells us the readers what happened to Davey and his siblings and friends. This comic series seems like fans of The Walking Dead could enjoy it if they don’t mind crude gore mixed in with their Horror Drama. And yes, the green zombie heads added to the cover was because I had to censor it, sad to say.

the dead vol 1 art 1

So that was volume one of this series so up next lets take a look at the second time around they tried to deliver The Dead to Horror Comic Readers with this 1998 released zombie romp issues! Does this series follow what happened to Davey….I don’t know but I hope if not they at least make a small attempt to tell what his the teens fate was, but lets not waste no more time the living dead is starting to crowd around and I don’t know about you but I sure don’t want to be bitten.

The Dead 2.1

The Dead # 1  **
Released in 1998    Cover Price $2.95    Arrow Comics    # 1 of 3

Jerry, Marcus and Megan are paramedics who are responding to a terrible multiple car wreck in Chicago that has many injured as well as many dead. They rush to the hospital with two survivors but quickly find out that the hospital is a warzone as the dead are coming back to life and eating the living! Just then one of the wreck victims dies and comes back to life and attacks Marcus and this causes Jerry to wreck the ambulance, this leads to Megan being thrown from the wreck and attacked and killed by Marcus who is now a zombie who turns Megan into a zombie who bites Jerry who escapes but is now on the run from his two former partners as well as the two wreck victims who are also flesh eaters! Jerry runs to a nearby gas station and meets a young woman who thinks he’s crazy as he rambles on about zombies, but she soon finds out he is no crazy as the zombies come for them and they both must run for their lives. The second story takes place in Michigan and has an old man fishing and drinking beer watching as a young couple is attacked and zombies come from the lake, he rushes to get his guns and warn the couples friends but it might be to late as they think he’s crazy and open the door to the living dead.

Right off the top I must say this second series lacks the gore, nudity and characters of the first series and while good felt a little lack luster. Plus this far we get zero follow up on Davey and his crew and instead we are following new characters as they are dealing with the zombie outbreak. The plot is broke into two parts with one following Jerry a paramedic and the other following an old drunk man and his dog as they deal with zombies and the people around them. Jerry is kind of a moron who does not help Megan who is begging for help after her injuries that was caused by his crappy driving, once he let her day I found myself shaking my head and wondering when he would die and hoping it was gruesome. The Old Man who has yet to be named seems ok this far and was just wanting to drink some beer, hang with his old dog and fish, but when the zombies come he at least tries to save others. The zombies are your Italian Zombie movie style who go for neck bites and are slow and only driven by the hunger of flesh. Over all not feeling this first issue as much as I did the 1993 The Dead issue 1 as this one kind of sadly feels generic in some ways, again not terrible just average. The cover is bland and shows the old man with his gun, and the art inside is pretty cool and classic 90’s horror comic stuff and is done by Matt Mason. I am hoping that issue two packs a little more blood and gore punch as series one set the bar very high and this issue felt like a light Marvel Zombies issue.

The Dead 2.2

The Dead # 2  **1/2
Released in 1998    Cover Price $2.95    Arrow Comics    # 2 of 3

The Old Man who’s name is Rick fights off the zombies and pushes them out of the cabin, but not before one boy is bitten by one that snuck into the house via the back window! The Old Man’s plan is for them all to load into the van out front and drive into town to get help, but the zombies have other plans as they block the path to the van. Rick sends some of the kids including Jennifer out after they find the keys to a four-wheeler, the injured boy goes with her and they travel to the neighbors house who own a truck. While there the boy turns into a zombies and the neighbors are all ready zombies and Jennifer must blast her way through them to get the truck to pick up the others just in time as the zombies were about to over take them. Now back to Chicago where Jerry and the female gas worker are running the streets for their lives away from the zombies that are all around, the bite on Jerry’s arm is getting worse as the pain is becoming unbearable. Meanwhile the Zombies are attacking and killing anyone they come in contact with and a brutish biker saves Jerry and the Clerk from a zombie attack and warns them to leave town and to get away as far as they can! The clerk and Jerry steal a car as his pain is getting worse they soon find themselves in a zombie traffic jam.

This second issue brings back blood and gore and adds enough survival horror drama that you find yourself as the reader being drawn into the plot and wanting to see how any of the survivors will make it out alive. The plot for both stories has our heroes and fellow survivors trying to escape the grips of the living dead and coming up with plans to do so. Jerry this time around while as useless as ever at least saves the clerk from becoming zombie lunch, but does just yell at the zombies instead of fighting them like a man. The Female Gas Station Clerk is by far the bravery of the two and wants to not only find help for Jerry but also get out of town and save her own butt. The Old Man Rick is one bad mofo as he blasts his way through zombies as well as comes up with a plan that works and gets the survivors away from the lake and cabins that are being over run by the undead. Jennifer who is one of the young ladies at the cabin also seems like she could be a player in the survival game as she is very strong willed and understands that she needs to fight to stay alive. The Zombies are as always brutal and craving flesh and will not stop no matter how many gun shots you pump into them, unless you aim for the head. The gore and blood are back and while not as brutal as it was in series one, it still great to see in this series. The cover is better and has zombies eating a man and the art inside is good and done by Matt Mason again. Solid brutal issue with lots of zombie horror fun, looking forward to the third and final issue in this second series and see if it has an ending or if Arrow leaves us hanging again.

The Dead 2.3

The Dead # 3  **1/2
Released in 1998    Cover Price $2.95    Arrow Comics    # 3 of 3

The Store Clerk gets Jerry through the zombie roadblock, but Jerry has died and is becoming a zombie! Jerry is not just some ordinary zombie as he can talk and think and wants nothing more than to rape and eat the clerk! He tricks her into stopping at a drug store by saying he needs medication and bandages for his bite wound and then has her follow him into the back storage room as the zombies start to break in.  He attacks her and leads her into the zombies who all listen to him.  He tells them to eat her and claims he is the King of The Zombies! The second story follows a group of teens at a house babysitting, eating pizza and watching some flicks when a police officer who’s the brother of one of the girls shows up and warns them all to stay inside as murders are happing all over. In the end the parents of the young kids show up and are infected, and the teens lock themselves in the house and prepare for a horrific night of terror.

The story of Jerry has an ending as he becomes the first smart and talking zombie of this series, he is so slimy and only wants to feed his urges of human flesh both in a hungry way and a horny way! I 100% hate Jerry and so wanted the Female Store Clerk to survive and blow his brains out….sadly this did not happen as she became zombie dinner. I however must say I did like the journey of Jerry from being an every day guy doing his job to being bite by a zombie to being in pain and dying from said bite to finally becoming a zombie and learning he has powers the others don’t like speech and a mind that still works for plotting. The second story is pretty cool and reminds me of my friends and I getting together back in High School and having Horror Movie Marathons in my parent’s basement. But while the story on that one was just getting started from all I could gather the 4th issue never came out and left readers hanging once more. The story of Rick and the lake survivors as well did not get a closing as in this issue they are not shown at all. The issue showcases some blood and gore as well as nudity as the Female Gas Station Worker has her top ripped off by the sleazy zombie Jerry. This second series while good failed to capture the raw magic of the first series, and with that said I still enjoyed these three issues and they were well worth tracking down for this update. The cover on issue three is pretty cool and just showcases a zombie and reminds me of pure independent punk rock horror comics, the art inside is Matt again and is good stuff and very fitting for the nature of this series. One thing I should point out about this series that was really cool was that you could pay to put yourself in the comic! You could pay a fee from $250 to $25 and select to be a zombie, a victim or a Zombie Hunter and even pick just how gross your death would be! That’s a fantastic gimmick and one that should be in use today, oh wait “We Kill The Dead” the new upcoming Horror Series did do something like this for their Kickstarter…Good Work Guys, as I find this to be an outstanding idea. Over all The Dead’s third issue is much like the first two in this series good stuff and worth a read for zombie comic fans like myself. Below is some artwork form this second series.

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The Dead is clearly one of the horror comics alongside the George Romero Dead films that inspired The Walking Dead as lots of elements seem to be borrowed from each in the comic as well as the show. If you enjoy your zombies dripping in blood, guts and gore and enjoy a little nudity thrown in for extra sleazy, I would say The Dead is for you, as I found myself loving every black and white page of the undead on a rampage for flesh and glory. Make sure to check out The Dead: Omnibus by Rough House Publishing as they collect all the issues as well as unprinted stories in one glorious book! And keep an eye out for more of their releases as they are the true horror comic fan’s outlet for amazing titles. For the next update I am going to try and have a showdown with an NES game that has foiled my attempts to beat it for years, but now I am ready to beat Werewolf: The Last Warrior as well as review the mini comic that came with the game on release! So until next time, avoid the dead, read a comic or three and as always support your local Horror Host!

NES Werewolf Logo

Horror Host Icon: Dr. Creep

Saturday January 1st 1972 might have been New Years Day, but in the Dayton, Ohio area that night belonged to a horror host with vampire fangs (that were dropped from the character pretty quickly thereafter) and white grease paint on his face.  That host was Dr. Creep, and his show Shock Theatre was taking over late Saturday nights on Channel 22. Kids and adults at the time could not get enough of Dr. Creep’s antics and silly skits.  While at first he played the part scary, he quickly changed into a bumbling lovable ghoul. With his popularity high, Dr. Creep also became a co-host of the after school kids show Club House 22 that would feature all types of cartoons and live action kid shows as well as the hosts doing silly skits. In the 1980’s, the show had a name change, and Shock Theatre became Saturday Night Dead.  Sadly by March 1985, the show was cancelled for good on Channel 22. During his long run on TV, Dr. Creep was joined by all types of friends and co-hosts like Uncle Dow Thomas, a comedian good at playing off the wall characters and making up fun songs, and Obieyoyo, a pinheaded puppet and all around goofy guy.  His most popular sidekick was Duffy The Dog, a giant white shaggy dog who would go along with Creep’s ideas, and there were so many more memorable characters that shared the TV Screen with the good Dr.  At one point Spider-Man even appeared on an episode! At the peek of Dr. Creep’s popularity, he made many public appearances while driving around with his hearse and had a heart of gold, as he would do anything for charity and sick children. Creep even opened up his own charity called Project Christmas Smiles that would help get toys for less fortunate kids. Dr. Creep was the biggest celebrity in Dayton and was a household name.  When I was a youngster, I knew the name and even meet him with my parents before I started kindergarten.  While I don’t remember the meeting, my mom does and told me all about it. My first memory of Dr. Creep, as you readers know, came from a story and picture that my brother Bryan told/showed me after meeting him at a movie theater that his school took him to, and this also lead to the first episode I got to watch with my dad and brother. I know that my dad was a Shock Theatre viewer as was my mom from time to time, and this might explain why watching and making my own horror host show is in my blood. So welcome to Horror Host Icon: Dr. Creep, an update I am very proud to bring you!

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Sadly when Shock Theatre started I was not even born yet (as I was born in 1979) so by the time I was old enough to watch it, I only got the tail end of the show before it went off the air. So what I would like to do is have a few of my friends who grew up watching Creep during this time share some of their memories of watching him during his first run. I think that by having them talk about watching him you’ll get a better idea of how much he impacted young lives here in Dayton. I wish my friend Andy Copp was alive to tell you about how Creep brought his family together, how he had homemade Dr. Creep pjs and how he almost drowned at a local pool when he was a kid running to meet Dr. Creep, all great stories and only his own words could do them justice. Up first to share his story of watching Shock Theatre on Channel 22 is a horror host from Dayton, Ohio, a man who I call my second dad and a person I call a close friend, the one and only A. GHASTLEE GHOUL!!

A Ghastlee Ghoul (Bob Hinton)

I was nine years old when the very first episode of Shock Theatre with Dr. Creep aired. It was January 1st, 1972, New Year’s Day evening. That is, the end if the day following New Years Eve. My parents had gone to bed, likely still shaking off hangovers from the night before, while I stayed up flipping through the three local channels we had at that time in search of something to watch. Little did I know what I was about to find, and how it would change my life. On the screen appeared a scary, fanged visage of horror that beckoned to a fledgling monster kid: Dr. Creep, and yes, in the beginning he was SCARY! Far from the loveable character he would eventually evolve into, the one who would later host Clubhouse 22 in the afternoons and have children clamoring after him like a Halloween version of Santa Clause, this Creeper wasn’t here to provide gentle comic relief from the movies he hosted, he was here to usher you into a dungeon of horrors and slam the door tight behind you. He had me at the first “Hoo-Ha-Haaah!”

In all honesty, I only saw about half of that first episode. The Doctor was hosting the classic Italian film Black Sabbath. I made it as far as the scene where the woman’s corpse came back in search of her stolen ring, took one look at the stretched rictus of vengeance on her face, switched off the TV, ran to my room and lay there in terror with the covers pulled tightly over my head. After that I would tune in every week.

As I said, I’d always been kind of a monster kid. I loved the old Universal films, Godzilla, and TV shows like Night Gallery and The Outer Limits. I also had it in my mind that it would be very cool to host your own TV show, but before I saw Shock Theater I really wanted to be Captain Kangaroo or Soupy Sales. That would quickly change once I saw Dr. Creep. I knew I wanted to be THAT guy!

Years would pass before I got to meet the man in person. I was co-chairing the haunted house in Huber Heights and we went on Shock Theater to promote the place and invite him out for a personal appearance. It was so surreal being on the set with him that first time, standing in the “dungeon” with my hero, looking past the cameras at the news set across the studio. He was so kind and funny. I don’t think I said two words. I was in awe and the time flew by like a whirlwind dream. When he made his appearance at the haunt I finally got over being star-struck enough to have real conversations with Barry, and he even gave us an idea for a scene for the house that we built and surprised him with the following year.

Skip ahead another few years, and making a long story a little shorter, I was hosting the first full season of my cable access program The Ghastlee Movie Show. There was an article in the Dayton Daily News about Barry and the sort of sad course his life had been taking since Shock Theater’s cancellation. The article mentioned that a Best of Shock Theater tape was being made available, and had a contact number that turned out to be Rick Martin’s. I called, we talked, and the next thing I knew there he was, Dr. Creep on the set of my silly little cable show! It was very nearly as surreal as that first time I was on his set. We joked and laughed together like old friends, the way Barry made everyone feel, and after that day we truly were close friends for years to come. I called him my “Illegitimate Step-Daddy.” He called me his son. In a way I was, and am, his offspring.

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Great memories from Ghastlee Ghoul and a perfect way to show the impact Creep had on the lives of people in the Dayton area. Creep impacted Ghastlee so much that he went on to make his own show that in turn has sparked another generation to be creative. The next person on the list is a good friend who since 1999 acted as Dr. Creep’s manager and business partner, the one and only Rick Martin.

Rick Martin (Manager)

My first time seeing Dr Creep was, I believe, when I was six or seven and my brother, sister and I were watching Clubhouse 22 in the afternoon. Here, amongst, Malcolme and his puppets, was a bumbling ghoul of a man doing magic tricks. Then I saw him on Shock Theatre. I believe he was showing Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman. The Frankenstein monster scared me to death but I loved the Wolf Man. Dr. Creep helped keep it together for me even when the monster was freaken’ me out. When I was 10 or or so, we had a Back Yard Carnival for MD and I got sick that day with the flu. Dr Creep and his assistant gave me autographed 8 1/2 x 11 pictures and wrote for me to get well soon. A few months later I was on Clubhouse 22 and had a chance to meet Dr Creep. After 1985,when his show was cancelled, I met him again working as a guard at the Living Room, a local strip club. We talked and became friends. He came to the first official playtest of a game I wrote with my friend Anthoney Hensely called “Robots and Rockets”. A few years after that, I started a company with Dr Creep aka Barry Hobart and we managed to get the rights back for Barry to once again don the cape of Dr. Creep. He was my friend until his passing. I miss him every day over these many years since he let slip his mortal coil. I love you Doctor Creep…”

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In 1985, when Shock Theatre went off the air, Dr. Creep’s alter ego Barry Hobart stayed on at the station as a master controller for a few years until, with bad blood between them, he left the station for good. For years Hobart was not allowed to wear the Dr. Creep make-up or use the name because Channel 22 “owned” the copyright to his image and name or so they claimed. Barry took assorted jobs like being a bouncer at a strip club and even was a security guard for a while. For 14 long years, Dayton was without Shock Theatre, and A. Ghastlee Ghoul popped up and filled the void, carrying the torch with his show “A. Ghastlee Movie Show” and helped hold the interest of the fans who were looking for the next Dr. Creep to fill their late nights with horrors and laughs. This is a prime example of how much your hometown horror host can mean to your town.  His show was popular, and Dr. Creep was a major celebrity in the area.  I can remember him sharing memories of being booked for store appearances and how much money they would pay him and the lines of people that would come to see him. While the money was nice, Dr. Creep really did it because he loved his fans.  He loved the entertainment he brought to them and the late night chills he gave them. I would be so bold to say that if you lived in Dayton in the 1970’s and 80’s, you probably met Dr. Creep at some department store, school, movie theater or restaurant and you walked away from that meeting filled with joy and the feeling you had just made a new friend. While in this modern time when people are more glued to Netfix and iPhones and not watching local TV as much as they should, the horror host still holds special places in the hearts of those fans who watch them.  Just ask the likes of Baron Von Porkchop and A. Ghastlee Ghoul about the support and love from their fans. Because of this love and respect, the late 80’s and most of the 90’s were really rough on those who loved Dr. Creep and Shock Theatre due to the lack of his presence of on the local airwaves.

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In 1998, thanks to Rick Martin and RMM Agency, fans got a fix of Dr. Creep and Shock Theatre as a “Best of” VHS tape was released, and Barry returned as Dr. Creep for public appearances. Word of the tape and Creep’s return spread quickly throughout the Dayton area, and rumors swirled about a possible return to TV.  The VHS tape was a great seller and would spark a volume 2, and t-shirts were also made to mark the return of Dr. Creep. Many local video rental and media stores booked Dr. Creep to make appearances and to push the sales of his tapes, and the fans came out in full force to meet their horror host idol and gobble up his Best of tapes. I can remember Dr. Creep telling me how he was taken aback at the number of people who during his first return back to the grease paint came out to see him and it touched his heart to see how many people remembered him. I was just out of high school when this happened, and I can remember how much of a buzz was going around about Creep’s return.  I will be honest, I did get a little nostalgic as that old picture of he and my brother popped into my head and the memories of talks about the man echoed in my brain. My brother was also feeling a little nostalgic as he bought the VHS of Volume 1 and the Dr. Creep Lives T-Shirt from local record shop Renaissance Music and wore the shirt proudly.  He would later give me the shirt, and I would also wear it around town with pride. Later, as VHS made way for DVD, both Volume 1 and 2 of the Best Of Shock Theatre made their way to a single DVD release that is still being sold to this day. A major thanks has to go out to Rick Martin for the return of Creep and the wonderful thing that was to happen next!

Best of Shock Theatre VHSDr Creep Promo 4The Best of Shock Theatre DVD

Andy Copp was a local film maker here in Dayton, Ohio who had made a film called Mutilation Man and also grew up watching Shock Theatre as a kid.  He pitched the idea of bringing Dr. Creep back to TV for a whole new generation to watch and enjoy to Rick Martin and so spawned the relaunch of Shock Theatre that was now dubbed Shock Theater or better known as New Shock Theater. At first I think the idea was to try and get the show back on Channel 22, but things did not work out so the show found its home on local public access stations MVCC and DATV. I can remember the hype about the first show, and I and my Brother watched it on MVCC while munching on a huge bowl of popcorn.  As the show started, we knew that Dr. Creep really was back! We would try and catch every new episode, and I even found myself watching the reruns and enjoying all the zany new fun. The show was different from the original show and had a storyline that would run throughout the episode at the series start.  Later it would become horror convention interviews and even sit down topic discussions on events. Also missing were classic side characters of the past as it had no Duffy The Dog or Uncle Dow, but there were some great new ones added like Reverand Zealot, a religious cult like leader who loved zany cult films, and Geraldo, a hunchback worm faced mongoloid who loved to have fun. Gone were the lip synch dancing numbers to old tunes but in came Cult Corner hosted by Zealot, a place to showcase films that many viewers may not have known about. One of the biggest changes to the show was the age of Dr. Creep, who, at the time of filming, was in the early stages of very poor health and was having a hell of a time just moving around.  With his limited movement also came a limit in what they were able to pull off for episodes. But even with all these changes, the show was great and showed that Dr. Creep did not miss a step in hosting and once more he was embraced by the viewers. The show was a staple of late night viewing for me, and this marked the true golden age of Dayton area public access as Dr. Creep and other horror hosts like A. Ghastlee Ghoul and Dr. Freak filled the airwaves and entertained. The New Shock Theater had a VHS run of select episodes that was sold at Dr. Creep’s public appearances at Foy’s Halloween Store and charity horror movie event Horrorama as well as conventions like Cinema Wasteland and Fright Vision. When DVDs took over for VHS, Rick and Andy released one DVD-R of the first episode of New Shock Theater. The impact of New Shock Theater is still felt to this day in the Dayton area, and thanks to this show, Dr. Creep was introduced to a whole new group of kids and monster movie fans.

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Dr. Creep even ran for President twice and while he never won his Slumber Party Campaign was classic Horror Host stuff! He first ran in 1980 with his Vice President being Dow Thomas and they spent many episodes campaigning as well as talking to local Dayton residents about voting for Creep. In 2000 Dr. Creep once more put his top hat in the ring and tried once more to become President under the Slumber Party ticket with this time Vice President A. Ghastlee Ghoul! On many episodes of the New Shock Theater the two would have Q&A’s with members of the audience and had such ideas as ban all Disco Music and every American must watch a horror film a week. Both runs for the office Creep also made bumper stickers that had the slogan “Put A Creep In The White House”, and I can remember seeing many Creep and Ghastlee bumper stickers on cars that included one of my very own vehicles! I should also note that many people I knew in 2000 wrote in Dr. Creep’s name but sadly he did not even come close to winning, as George Bush stole the election…as in really stole it…like his brother helped rig it…like yeah. But if Creep would have really ran and won makes you wonder what our country would be like today don’t it?

Put A Creep In The White House Bumper Sticker

In 2001 local Dayton band The Lawn Jockeys released a CD called “Amazing Sounds Of Shock Theatre: Starring Dr. Creep” that was a mix of jam band, horror & cult film clips and of course Dr. Creep! The CD was a pretty big deal when it was released and I can remember my brother going to Renaissance Music to pick up a copy, and us both listening to it and playing name that movie when clips would pop on.It was great to see a local band pay tribute to the king of late night Dayton Horror Hosting and many tracks on the CD are simply fantastic like Creep 303 and The U.F.O.’s Have Landed. From time to time we will also play some tracks off this CD on Alpha Rhythms on WYSO. If your a weird experamental jam band fan or are into Dr. Creep I would say make sure to check this CD out as it can still be bought on Amazon.

Amazing Sounds of Shock Theatre CD

Around the time of New Shock Theater is when I got to know Dr. Creep and got to travel the convention roads with him as the no budget film company me and friends created called Independent B Movie was taking off and selling VHS copies of our movies. You see my brother had became close friends to Andy Copp and from that I got to become good friends with Andy and through him is how I got to become friends with Dr. Creep. I can remember the first convention we ever did was one called Fright Vision and Dr. Creep was nice enough to share part of his table with us and even tried to help sell our films like Werewolf Of Ohio and Suicide 2 as he would shout at people walking by. And that was just the start of our convention journeys as we attended several Cinema Wastelands together as well as other conventions like Scary Camp and Horrorhound Weekend. During this time I was also lucky enough to run camera on some episodes of New Shock Theater and helped set up interviews with celebrities, and was able to pick Creep’s brain about horror hosting and his career as one. Listening to his stories of on set and off set adventures are things I will cherish and always remember from his biker bar fun with a young woman to his chat with Vincent Price all fascinating and enjoyable. Cinema Wasteland use to be the go to convention for Horror Host fans as they had a section of tables that was called “Horror Host Ally” that had the likes of not only Dr. Creep but many others including Son Of Ghoul, The Bone Jangler and Baron Von Wolfstein and they all would sell copies of their shows, t-shirts and mingle with the fans. But being at this convention for years and watching him shine among his people was heart warming and welcoming for a creative person like me who would later go onto film and direct Baron Von Porkchop. While Wasteland no longer does a host gathering fans of this art can go to Horrorhound Weekend every March and find a large amount of Horror Hosts in attendance as well as the Horror Host Hall Of Fame Ceremony. Below is some pictures of Dr. Creep at Cinema Wasteland over the years.

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Speaking of the Horror Host Hall Of Fame Dr. Creep was inducted into the first class in 2011 by A. Ghastlee Ghoul and Andy Copp, Rick Martin and myself accepted the award on behalf of Dr. Creep. That moment I was filled with pride for my friend as I seen all his hard work in hosting paying off and a room full of his peers who all respected what he did and loved him as a part of their family clapping in his honor. I just wish Creep was around to have seen his induction, you see Dr. Creep who’s real name was Barry Hobart passed away early in 2011 from complications from strokes at the age of 69. It was a sad day when I got the phone call from Rick who told me the terrible news, everyone at my work was sadden by the news and in his honor we played episodes of New Shock Theater for two days on the stores TVs. But while Creep was not with us on that day in body he was in spirit and his legacy will live on forever in the Horror Host Hall of Fame! Bellow is some pics of Creep and Reverend Zealot when they attended Horror Hound Weekends at two different times.

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In 2014 I heard a very interesting rumor about Channel 22 wanting to relaunching Shock Theatre with a new host they would have called Professor Creep who would have had the classic Dr. Creep make-up but would have worn a graduation cap and gown as his outfit. The set was to be green screened and the show would have shown classic horror and science fiction films but would also have been used to promote upcoming events and products for sponsors of the station. I am not sure who they would have casted in the part of Professor Creep but one things for sure and thats Channel 22 must have gotten cold feet as the show never made it past the planning stages. It would have been interesting to see how classic Shock Theatre and Dr. Creep fans would have responded to this suddo “reboot” to the beloved show many of us Dayton folks grew up with, I for one would have welcomed the show as I would love to see another local made Horror Host on Dayton television and it would have been cool to see maybe a cross over with Baron Von Porkchop Dayton’s current Horror Host. Below is a mock up of what the character Professor Creep would have looked like if the show would have been made.

Professor Creep idea

Before we get into the New Shock Theater episodes I really want to take a moment at talk about my friendship with Dr. Creep and the man behind the grease paint Barry Hobart. In my youth as you can see I had meet Dr. Creep and seen his picture when he meet my brother at a movie theater function for his school but I didn’t fully get to meet the man and become his friend till I meet Andy Copp and Rick Martin (thanks to my brother Bryan) who were doing The New Shock Theater for Public Access Television. I want to not get to mushy and talk about how much Barry/Creep meant to me cause if you really know me you know how much I cared for him so in this spot I just want to share some funny stories about my time hanging out and being around him. One of the first times I really got to be around Dr. Creep as he worked and showed why he was an icon of Horror Hosting in Dayton was when I helped on a LIVE episode of New Shock Theater that was airing on MVCC, I played a Mexican Wrestler who ran onto the set and took away Reverand Zealot for “stealing” Mexican Cinema as one of the films they showed that night was The Brainiac. Watching him live answer viewer calls and talk to guests like they were on a talk show was amazing and in between segments Creep would go out of his way to chat with me and all the other people on set, as everyone on set that day was his friend and he knew it as it was a cluster of cool people on set for that show the band The Lawn Jockeys, Horror Host A. Ghastlee Ghoul, Henrique Couto, Andy Copp, Josh Weinberg, Rick Martin, Bryan Brassfield as well as so many others. It was a magical day of TV show making and one I will not ever forget! Another great memory I have of my friendship with Dr. Creep is when he shouted at people to buy my old shot on video film Werewolf of Ohio 2 at Fright Vision as well as many Cinema Wastelands while we both were vending at those events, he use to tell me that it didn’t matter the budget of the films I was making as long as my heart was in the films I made the viewers would see that and be entertained, very wise words and something I always remembered as I made no budget films for Independent B Movie and Bloodline Video. Speaking of Cinema Wasteland I can also remember many of times Dr. Creep would want to go and shoot interviews for his convention specials and Andy Copp would be tied up working his Nightcrew Video table and would ask me to follow Creep around and film and set up the interviews I use to enjoy watching him chat with the likes of Sid Haig and Bill Hinzman, one of the best was watching him deal with adult film actress Marilyn Chambers who he was a big fan of…the icon of Horror Hostsing was so star struck around her it made me chuckle inside. I also was able to film some of his interviews at Dayton’s Scary Camp as well as some others at random conventions, I can remember sitting with him at his table as we talked about the past and his days on Channel 22 as well as funny stories of some of his public appearances, the one story he would tell me a million times was the time he got to meet and interview Vincent Price and how he wished I could find that lost footage of his show Shock Theatre that aired in the 80’s of this meeting. I use to love to sit with him during breaks between movies at Horrorama the charity event that he created with Andy Copp and Rick Martin that they allowed me to help out at and hearing him try and get fans to get him Hot Dogs and Mountain Dews both things he was not allowed to eat! Plus being at the event and hearing him boom out with a silly one liner during the film and the audience laughing always put a smile on my face. Some of my favorite times with Creep was when we would check out ladies together at conventions, yes I would check out women with Dr. Creep who would say lines like “Ohhhhh Would You Look At Her” among other creepy and silly things! Creep loved the ladies and I must say the ladies loved him as well as he had a charm to him that drew them in like humming birds to a flower. One thing that I have always regretted is not filming new episodes of Shock Theater with Dr. Creep in 2009 as we had many ideas planned and this would have given his fans as well as Creep himself new and scripted out adventures to air on DATV and beyond. I find myself like many of his friends thinking about Barry Hobart and his Dr. Creep character all the time as he was a one of a kind person who made everyone feel special and helped teach this strange monster/metal head/comic geek/gammer kid that it was ok to be who you are and to always not let others hold you back. I love ya Barry and this update is for you and to honor what you did for not just me but the millions of others your kindness touched.

Dr. Creep and Me at Foys

Those are just some of the memories I have of my friendship with Dr. Creep and I am sure if you were lucky to be his friend or even ever truly meet the man you have some amazing and fun stories that you could share, and I hope you do so in the comments as I am sure others and myself would love to read them! So it’s at the point in the update were we will take a look at the episodes of Dr. Creep I own and given sadly at this point no known full original aired broadcasts of Shock Theatre or Saturday Night Dead have been unearthed we will take a look at all the episodes of New Shock Theater! The Host Write ups are done by me and the movie write ups are done by IMDB. So lets take a trip down memory lane and take a hosted trip with The Creepster!

New Shock Theater 1 dvd

New Shock Theater: Assignment Terror
Starring – Paul Naschy & Michael Rennie     Not Rated    1970

Host: Two brain dead grave robbers are sent to bring Dr. Creep back to life and by doing so they have also brought back SHOCK THEATER! Dr. Creep once more steps into Horror hosting with out even missing a beat and shows Paul Naschey’s classic Monster romp called Assignment Terror, and along this re-birth journey we are treated to Reverand Zealot’s “Cult Corner” were he looks at the Peter Jackson classic “Meet The Feebles”, Get a video postcard from Duffy The Dog and show a “Home Made Shock” that has a killer vacuum cleaner directed by a young Andy Copp all this and fake trailers and PSA’s show the true Icon of Dayton hosting is back! And yes he makes those Grave Robbers pay for waking him from his 14-year sleep.

Movie: Aliens from a dying world plot to conquer earth by praying on man’s superstitions. Bringing two dead scientists back to life, they use their knowledge to re-animate various earth monsters, including the werewolf Waldemar Daninsky, Frankenstein’s monster, the mummy Tao-Tet, and the vampire Count de Meirhoff.

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New Shock Theater: Daughter of Horror
Starring – Adrienne Barrett & Ed McMahon    Not Rated    1955

Host: In this second episode Dr. Creep gets a strange package that seems to be crying from the inside! When he reads the note attached it’s from a lady he went on a romantic trip to the Bermuda Triangle with and this opens more questions to what is in that box? Along the way he talks to a drunk Ed McMahon, we see some great movie trailers and get another “Home Made Shock” film called “JUNGLEBORG: Man of Mystery” directed by Joe Mackanzie, we visit Reverand Zealot’s Cult Corner has the master of cult looking at the film “Cannibal Ferox”, and more important we do find out what’s in the box!

Movie: As the narrator invites us to explore the horrors of an insane mind, a young woman wakes from a nightmare in a cheap hotel room. We follow her through the skid-row night and encounters with an abusive husband; a wino; a pimp and the rich man he panders for; a flashback to her traumatic childhood; violence; pursuit through dark streets; dementia. Filmed in film-noir style throughout; only the narrator speaks.

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New Shock Theater: The Killing Of Satan
Starring – Ramon Revilla & Elizabeth Oropesa    Not Rated    1983

Host: Dr. Creep has a visitor it’s a little boy who idolizes Satan and wants nothing more then to be Satan! But the MPA shows up and threatens to take The New Shock Theater off the air! All the while a magic voice is given wrong voiceovers about the events. The strange little Boy will not give up on being evil and wanting to be Satan so its up to Dr. Creep to cure the youth of his sinister ways…and does so but you must watch to see how. Also Reverand Zealot treats us to another “Cult Corner” this time it’s the shot on video horror film called “Original Sin” and we get trailers form other public access shows and horror and cult flicks.

Movie: A man who is chosen by his dead uncle to battle the forces of evil. He fights a being called “The Prince of Magic,” who shoots rays from his hands, makes heads spin around and hypnotizes people. He finally faces Satan himself and engages him in a battle of magic.

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New Shock Theater: Mill Of The Stone Women
Starring – Pierre Brice & Scilia Gabel    Not Rated    1960

Host: A stranger breaks into Creep’s crypt and hides a cursed nose, the Nose just knocks over and over causing Creep and his female fan Guest wonder what is its cause, and worse now Creep has a nasty cold and so does his guest. Reverand Zealot joins in on the search and they find the cursed nose! Can Dr. Creep and Zealot defeat the nose? Who Placed this cursed nose in the crypt? And why is there a “Ghost” child walking around the crypt all those questions and more will be answered in this episode! And also Reverand Zealot’s “Cult Corner” this time showcases Dario Argento’s classic “Suspira”, we get more trailers and vintage commercials.

Movie: Hans arrives in a town near Amsterdam to write a story on the reclusive sculptor, Professor Val, who lives on an island in the old mill house the locals call the Mill of the Stone Women. Hans meets the professor’s beautiful and seductive daughter, and begins feeling passion for her despite his true love for Lisa Lotta. Slowly he becomes aware of the nefarious experiments being conducted by Val and his furtive assistant Dr. Boles, and local women continue to disappear.

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New Shock Theater: Strange Behavior
Starring – Michael Murphy & Fiona Lewis    Rated R    1981

Host: In this episode Dr. Creep is worried about the youth of today with their rap music, and pop culture and remembers back to his time of youth! And when that Strange Satan kid is back, Creep along side is hunchback friend Geraldo decide to turn the strange Kid into a normal kid! And the Geraldo is hit by a car after playing in traffic! The “Cult Corner” returns with Reverand Zealot has the splatter masterpiece “Cat in the Brain” directed by Lucio Fulci as his selected film. But by turning this creepy kid into a normal kid does Creep release something worse on he world..like a young republican!!

Movie: A scientist is experimenting with teenagers and turning them into murderers.

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New Shock Theater: Rat Man
Starring – David Warbeck & Janet Agren    Not Rated    1988

Host: This episode of “The New Shock Theater” is filled with bloopers and outtakes, due to the Good Dr. taken some time off for Easter. And we get a “Homemade Shock” called “No Fun” directed by Andy Valeri just for a little more fun.

Movie: A maniac butchers a fashion model on a Caribbean island and leaves the body to be eaten by rats. The model’s sister suspects something isn’t quite right with the police investigation and decides to go snooping on her own. With her friend, Fred, their investigation lead them to an unknown part of the island where they discover a monstrosity of a rat like man. The creature is killed by Fred, but the true horror of it’s nature is just beginning…

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New Shock Theater: When Women Had Tails
Starring – Senta Berger & Frank Wolff     Rated R     1970

Host: This is a special episode were Dr. Creep sits down with director Andy Copp and producer Rick Martin to talk about the tragic killings at Columbine High School that took place April 20th 1999. This episode is very serious one and really breaks down their thoughts on the massacre and the way the media handled it.

Movie: A bunch of 7 orphan cavemen grow up on a little island all by themselves. After a fire burns all vegetation they set out to find a new place to live. Here, one day they trap a strange animal, looking very similar to them, only softer and with longer hair. She (Filli) feels attracted to one of the brothers (Ulli) and convinces him, that a certain kind of playing with each other is far more satisfying than just eating her. He hides her and serves the other cavemen a goat. Soon Ulli and Filli are playing the Johnson-Game quite frequently. But the others find out about this and want to see what’s so great with “johnsonning”. After they all force Filli to show them the game too, she manages to flee with Ulli. Being pursued by the 6 men of Ulli’s clan, they meet the rest of Filli’s clan: A tribe of about 150 unsatisfied women, who just love to have new men around for playing.

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New Shock Theater: Thing With Two Heads
Starring – Rosey Grier & Ray Milland    Rated PG    1972

Host: Dr. Creep is back and shares his vacation photos with the viewers and his special guest – a real two-headed transplant! Dr. Creep shares a book he’s been reading and everything comes to a head when the two-headed transplant announces it’s desire to marry itself and live in magical Yellow Springs! All this plus trailers and homemade commercials.

Movie: A rich but racist man is dying and hatches an elaborate scheme for transplanting his head onto another man’s body. His health deteriorates rapidly, and doctors are forced to transplant his head onto the only available candidate: a black man from death row.

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New Shock Theater: House Of Exorcism
Starring – Telly Savalas & Elke Sommer     Rated R     1975

Host: Dr. Creep waxes nostalgic for the days of the drive-in theater and shares his memories of the now closed drive-ins around Dayton, Ohio. He shares a Halloween drive-in story about a friend named Trapper John and the pranks they pulled. So come and re-live the great days of the drive-in with Dr. Creep and be treated to trailers and classic drive-in spots!

Movie: A total re-edit of Mario Bava’s gothic classic Lisa and the Devil (1973) for US release in 1975. Cheesy exorcism scenes were shot to try to capitalize on the success of The Exorcist (1973).

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New Shock Theater: Touch Of Satan
Starring – Michael Berry & Emby Mellay     Rated PG     1971

Host: Dr. Creep has invited a group of psychotics from the local insane asylum and wants to know how Satan has touched their lives. He meets the spawn of Satan and his mother, a man who has turned into a monkey, a goofy man-child – all whose lives have been affected by the lord of darkness. Home-made Shock returns with the film “Requiem” directed by Andy Valeri.

Movie: On his way to California, Jodie decides on a whim to make a brief side trip to a farm, where he meets and falls in love with Melissa, the proverbial farmer’s daughter. Or so it seems. In between the overlong dramatic pauses, we learn that Melissa is in fact a 120-year-old witch, and her remarkably spry “great-grandmother,” Lucinda, is actually her sister, who has been pitchforking people to death in her spare time. When Lucinda murders a local policeman, things start to get real complicated for Jodie.

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New Shock Theater: Last Man On Earth
Starring – Vincent Price & Emma Danieli     Not Rated     1964

Host: In this episode Dr. Creep and Geraldo The Hostess Monster have the crypt invaded by a group of monsters that include a mummy, a witch, a werewolf and a monkey man, all running away from normal people. This gives Creep the idea to open his crypt as a Monster Sanctuary and to keep the “Normals” away! Dr. Creep also speaks of his time interviewing Vincent Price on Channel 22, and we are treated to more trailers from classic horror films from years past.

Movie: When a plague devastated life on Earth, the population died or became a sort of zombie living in the dark. Dr. Robert Morgan is the unique healthy survivor on the planet, having a routine life for his own survival: he kills the night creatures along the day and maintains the safety of his house, to be protected along the night. He misses his beloved wife and daughter, consumed by the outbreak, and he fights against his loneliness to maintain mentally sane. When Dr. Morgan finds the contaminated Ruth Collins, he uses his blood to heal her and he becomes the last hope on Earth to help the other contaminated survivors. But the order of this new society is scary.

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New Shock Theater: The Skull
Starring – Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee     Not Rated     1965

Host: Dr. Creep has a guest in the crypt and its The Jewish Stud and they are attacked by The Skull of Drexel! This leads to Dr. Creep sharing true ghost stories and odd going on’s in the state of Ohio, from a headless ghost in Cincinnati to Hamilton Ohio’s Lover Lane skull ghost! And just spends time having fun in his crypt. Cult Corner returns with Reverand Zealot and he speaks to us about Letterboxing compared to Full Frame movies.

Movie: A collector of esoterica, Dr. Maitland, buys an unusual skull from his ordinary source of artifacts. The skull is what remains of marquis De Sade. Much too soon he discovers how the skull affects him: by turning him into a frenzied killer.

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New Shock Theater: Samson In The Wax Museum
Starring – El Santo & Norma Mora     Not Rated     1963

Host: In this episode Dr. Creep visits Cinema Wasteland 2001 in Strongsville Ohio and shows you the fun and good times that was had by all, he also interviews Son of Ghoul, Col. Klink and Cult film Director Andy Copp interviews Kevin Van Hentenryck of Basketcase fame.

Movie: El Santo, the masked Mexican wrestler, investigates a series of kidnappings. He discovers that the mysterious Doctor Caroll is using the victims as part of his experiments to develop an army of monsters. Naturally, El Santo is able to overcome them all – with wrestling!

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New Shock Theater: The Headless Eyes
Starring – Bo Brundin & Kelley Swartz    Rated X    1971

Host: Dr. Creep is back after a battle with sickness and welcomes Reverand Zealot to the crypt and they discuss the film at hand “The Headless Eyes”. Then they talk about films that are so bad that they wish they could remove there own eyes to get out of watching! A tell jokes about what you don’t wanna hear the doctors say during a surgery as written by Shock Theater Icon Dow Thomas, and just some idol chatter among Creep and his guest. On Reverand Zealot’s Cult Corner he showcases the David Cronenberg film “eXistenZ” and along with this we get trailers for other cult films and Public Accuses Shows.

Movie: Poor artist gets eye gouged out while committing a robbery. When his eye heals, he goes on a killing spree and cuts out women’s eyes with a spoon.

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New Shock Theater: Giant Spider Invasion
Starring – Alan Hale Jr. & Steve Brodie     Rated PG     1975

Host: Dr. Creep this time around is being attacked by a giant fly as he tries to host the show, so in order to put a stop to this annoying fly he calls 1470’s and gets a Exterminator that drops off an even bigger spider to capture the fly. Will Creep get ride of the fly or will his own fear of spiders get to him first? And what will happen when Reverand Zealot tries to come to Dr. Creep’s rescue.The Cult Corner with Reverend Zealot he shares an underground film called “Ice From The Sun” directed by Eric Stanze, and as always we are treated to trailers for films and public accuses shows.

Movie: A black hole hits North Wisconsin and opens a door to other dimensions. Giant 15 meter spiders emerge from it, who have an appetite for human flesh! Dr. Jenny Langer and Dr. Vance from the NASA try to save the world.

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New Shock Theater: Goke Body Snatcher From Hell
Starring – Hideo Ko & Tomomi Sato     Rated PG     1968

Host: Put a Creep in the White House! This showcases Dr. Creep’s thoughts on the issues that drive the good old USA. He runs on the Slumber Party ticket with his running mate, A Ghastlee Ghoul. Their platform includes banning nothing (except disco), and requiring that all Americans watch at least one horror film a week. Will this cracker jack candidate team win the White House? Only time and your vote will tell. This episode also includes a variety of trailers.

Movie: The survivors of a plane crash in a remote area are attacked by blob-like alien creatures that turn their victims into blood-thirsty vampires.

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New Shock Theater: I Eat Your Skin
Starring – William Joyce & Matt King    Rated PG   1971

Host: The quest to Put a Creep in the White House continues. Running mates Dr. Creep and A. Ghastlee Ghoul appear on a candidates forum hosted by Reverend Zealot. They’re joined by Andy Valeri of Big Beef records and discuss Dr. Creep’s recent collaboration with the Lawn Jockey’s. They take questions from concerned voters and discuss strategies for moral decency in America. Also included in this episode: trailers and the first appearance of the Hell-O Satan Dancer.

Movie: A cancer researcher on a remote Caribbean island discovers that by treating the natives with snake venom he can turn them into bug-eyed zombies. Uninterested in this information, the unfortunate man is forced by his evil employer to create an army of the creatures in order to conquer the world.

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New Shock Theater: Macumba Love
Starring – Walter Reed & Ziva Rodann     Not Rated     1960

Host: Dr. Creep is once again at Cinema Wasteland 2001 and goes around the convention interviewing the stars such as Ken Kish owner of Cinema Wasteland, Chris Seaver, Teen Ape, Kurvs Girl, Bill Blair from Babylon 5 and Maniac Cop himself Robert Z’Dar! Also filled to the brim with great trailers for other bad cheesy films.

Movie: J. Peter Wells, an expose writer, arrives on an island off the coast of South America (no country identified), to complete a book on voodoo, ju-ju,macumba, mojo and other cult beliefs, which he believes is responsible for unsolved murders on this island. Wealthy land-owner Venis de Vias warns him against stirring up the natives, especially any efforts to lessen the prestige of the reigning VooDoo Queen Mama Rata-loi. The arrival of Wells’ daughter, Sara, and her husband, Warren, on a honeymoon trip, starts the pot to boiling and making the natives restless. Most restless of all is Mama Rata-loi, who asserts her powers and puts a spell on Venus de Viasa. The next thing honeymooner Warren knows is that he is trussed up and about to become the one chosen to die in a voodoo ceremony.

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New Shock Theater: Devils Wedding Night
Starring – Sara Bay & Xiro Papas     Rated R     1973

Host: In this episode of “The New Shock Theater” Dr. Creep is in the studio with Dayton band The Lawn Jockyes as they record the album “The Amazing Sounds of Shock Theater” and shows you all the behind the scenes stuff that lead to one of Ohio’s most popular CD’s! We also get treated to come classic 1993 footage of Dr. Creep at the Neon Movies for the premiere of Peter Jacksons “Dead-Alive”, along for the fun is Independent film icon Jim Van Bebber and Geoff Burkman as zombies wondering the streets of Dayton! Also shown is some classic old trailers.

Movie: The 1800s: scholarly Karl Schiller believes he’s found the ring of the Nibelungen, which holds great power. It’s at Castle Dracula. His twin, Franz, a gambler, asks if vampires frighten Karl; Karl shows him an Egyptian amulet, which may protect him. Franz takes the amulet and sets out ahead of his brother, arriving at the castle first. There he finds a countess who invites him to dine. Later that night, Karl arrives. Coincidently, it’s the Night of the Virgin Moon, a night that falls every fifty years and draws five virgins from the surrounding village to the castle not be heard from again. Can Karl protect his brother, find the ring, and rescue any of the women?

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New Shock Theater: Devil Doll
Starring – Bryant Haliday & Alan Gifford     Not Rated     1964

Host: Dr. Creep goes to “Renaissance Music” to promote the CD “Amazing Sounds of Shock Theater” and chats with the owner Geoff Burkman who played a zombie in “DAY OF THE DEAD” and has been a local legend of film and stage star for many years. The two chat it up over all types of subjects that include Frisbee Golf and even George A Romero! Also includes trailers and a music video for The Lawn Jockyes song “Creep 303”.

Movie: Vorelli is a ventriloquist & hypnotist, with an amazing dummy, Hugo. Vorelli meets and pursues a beautiful heiress (Marianne); he mesmerizes her, and induces a baffling coma. His buxom mistress (Magda) fears he’ll dump her for the younger woman, and threatens to expose him. Vorelli tricks Hugo into killing Magda while he’s safely elsewhere. Marianne’s boyfriend Mark investigates. He discovers another killing in Vorelli’s past, of a man called Hugo. The girl wakes from her coma, and announces she will marry the hypnotist. When the triumphant Vorelli tells Hugo his plans for Marianne and a new, female dummy, a final confrontation yields surprising results.

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New Shock Theater: Attack Of The Beast Creatures
Starring – Robert Nolfi & Julia Rust     Not Rated     1985

Host: Dr. Creep with time invades the horror convention “Fright Vision” in 2002! Dr. Creep once more along with his camera man goes around and gets interviews with guests that include Hayden from Witching Hour Video also known as Horror Host “I, Zombi”, Actress Lilith Stabbs, Horror Host Dr. Shock and the guys of Brains on Film. Also we get trailers and some footage of The Lawn Jockyes playing while Belly Dancers dance taken from a classic “Live” New Shock Theater.

Movie: Survivors of a shipwreck wash up on an island, and run into small vicious creatures.

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New Shock Theater: Ghastlee Wedding Special
Starring – A. Ghastlee Ghoul & Dr. Freak     Not Rated     2003

Host: At Cinema Wasteland October 4th 2003 horror host A. Ghastlee Ghoul married Horror Hostess Suspira in the worlds first and only Horror Host Wedding! Dr. Creep (who’s also the best man) brings The New Shock Theater crew to the event and this you have “Ghastlee’s Wedding Special” so sit back and join in the fun and watch history unfold before your very eyes! Along the way Dr. Creep and film maker Andy Copp talk to people at the convention about the wedding and the event.

Movie: Clips from Cinema Wasteland 2003.

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New Shock Theater: Scary Camp Special
Starring – Tommy Gunn & Conrad Brooks     Not Rated     2004

Host: May 28th -30th 2004 was Ghastlee’s Scary Camp, Dayton, Ohio’s first Horror film convention and Dr. Creep shot a very special edition of New Shock Theater! The show is hosted in the Crypt by Dr. Creep and the Reverand Zealot who show clips from the amazing event. Dr. Creep interviews A. Ghastlee Ghoul, Conrad Brooks (Plan 9 from Outer Space), Joe Estevez, Sid Haig, Make-Up artist Jeff Krodel and Ken Kish of Cinema Wasteland. Also shown is a full “Freakshow Deluxe” performance from Tommy Gunn, a look at the Evil Dead Museum and some weird and wild clips. 

Movie: Clips from Scary Camp 2004.

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New Shock Theater: Eegah
Starring – Arch Hall Jr. & Richard Kiel     Unrated     1962

Host: Dr. Creep and Reverend Zealot have a relaxing time on the set and chat about the nights film as well as the actors who made it come alive.

Movie: While driving through the desert, a teenage girl is frightened by a seven-foot giant which appears in her path. After escaping, she returns to the site with her boyfriend and her father in an attempt to find the giant. They do, and it proceeds to terrorize them and the rest of Palm Springs, California.

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New Shock Theater: Flesh Feast
Starring – Veronica Lake & Doug Foster     Rated R     1970

Host: Dr. Creep and Reverend Zealot are back relaxing on the set of New Shock Theater and chat about the nights film Flesh Feast as well as the actress Veronica Lake. They also chat about Dr. Creep’s uncle Doug Hobart who was a star in many films shot in Florida.

Movie: Dr. Elaine Frederick has just perfected a way of using maggots to make her test subjects not only look younger, but actually become younger. When they hear of the results of her experiments, her first clients, a team of hispanic neo-nazis, are delighted with the news. It seems they have a very elderly VIP in their group who needs to be rejuvenated before he can begin rebuilding his thousand-year reich. As their plan moves toward its completion, Dr. Frederick’s habit of experimenting on stolen corpses begins to attract the attention of an investigative reporter.

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Live New Shock Theater: Impulse & The Flesh Eaters
Starring – William Shatner & Ira Lewis    Rated PG/Not Rated    1974/1964

Host: It’s April Fools Day! Dr. Creep and crew have decided to show a double feature of cheesy films…and they do it all LIVE! It’s The Groovie Shock-A-Thon! This was the first live Shock Theater is nearly 20 years and it’s filled with live calls. Cameos and a live in-house band! Guests featured include The Lawn Jockeys, Reverend Tommy Gunn, Henrique Couto and Andy Copp.

Movies: Impulse – A paranoid, leisure-suit-wearing conman/gigolo named Matt Stone seduces lonely women, bilks them of their savings via an investment scam, then kills them. When he begins seeing an attractive widow, her daughter Tina becomes suspicious of his motives. The Flesh Eaters – An alcoholic actress, her personal assistant, and their pilot are downed on a secluded isle by bad weather, where a renegade Nazi scientist is using ocean life to develop a solvent for human flesh. The tiny flesh-eating sea critters that result certainly give our heroes a run for their money – and lives.

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Live New Shock Theater: Brainiac & Blood Freak
Starring – Steve Hawkes & Abel Salazar     Rated  X/Not Rated     1972/1962

Host: The second live episode of New Shock Theater took place in 2001. Dr. Creep chats with fellow Horror Hosts A. Ghastlee Ghoul and Dr. Freak as well showcases his in house band The Lawn Jockeys.

Movies: Blood FreakA biker comes upon a girl with a flat tire and offers her a ride home. He winds up at a drug party with the girl’s sister, then follows her to a turkey farm owned by her father, a mad scientist. The father turns the biker into a giant turkey monster who goes after drug dealers. The Brainiac – In 1661 Mexico, the Baron Vitelius of Astara is sentenced to be burned alive by the Holy Inquisition of Mexico for witchcraft, necromancy, and other crimes. As he dies, the Baron swears vengeance against the descendants of the Inquisitors. 300 years later, a comet that was passing overhead on the night of the Baron’s execution returns to earth, bringing with it the Baron in the form of a horrible, brain-eating monster that terrorizes the Inquisitor’s descendants.

The One And Only Dr Creep

There is also a lost episode that only aired once; it was a Christmas episode and had Dr. Creep hosting The Deathmaster.  After the original airing, someone at the station stole the tape, or that’s what director Andy Copp told me some years back. It’s also really sad because in the final episode of New Shock Theater (Flesh Feast) Dr. Creep is so happy and gives a list of films that he will be hosting soon.  Sadly he never did get to host them as his health and Andy Copp getting busy with other projects kept the episodes from being shot. On a good note and something that might make fans happy I have come across most the raw footage for this episode and at sometime in the future I might try and recut the episode as the best I can and release it on DVD as well as show it on the Kreepy Kastle online Horror Host station. Dr. Creep impacted the lives of those who watched his show in the 70’s all the way to the 2000’s and still does even to this day and it shows in the shows of the hosts that followed as almost all of them credit him for their interspersion hosts like A. Ghastlee Ghoul, Baron Von Porkchop, Dr. Freak and Iris & Retina all from Dayton who cared on the tradition he started here and all do it with pride and to honor Creep who paved the way for them. This update was a fun one to write and so many great memories came back and flooded my mind about Barry.  Next to Commander USA, this has been my favorite Horror Host Icon update I have written to date! If you have a fun story about Dr. Creep, please share in the comments, and if you have any original broadcast episodes of his Channel 22 days, please contact me as I would love to get a copy from you. To continue the countdown to the Halloween update that will be a surprise custom comic made by my good friend Eric Shonborn, our next update will be about The Fly and IDW’s sequel to the series started by David Cronenberg in 1986. So make sure to come back for that one and bring some Raid and a flyswatter just in case of a infestation..and as always read a comic or three and support your local horror host.

The Fly Outbreak logo

The Short-Lived Story of AniMax

Hello all and welcome back. The next series of comics we are looking at is called Animax, based off a failed toy line and released by Star Comics, the kids’ branch of Marvel. This book is different from The A-Team and Smurfs as I had never heard of it in any shape or form when I was a kid. The first time I found this book was 2011 when I found issue one at Mavericks Cards and Comics for a whooping 25 cents! That’s the one good thing about living in Dayton, there are many great places to get comics. Besides Mavericks, we also have Bell, Book and Comic, Bookery Fantasy, Half Price Books, Superfly Comics, Dark Star, Fearless Reader, Game Swap Kettering and a few other places you can find issues.

Every store is different and each carries something that sets it apart from the others making them all worth checking out if you ever find yourself in the area and looking for comics, toys, books, movies, video games, card games, sports cards and everything else that will send your nerdom into overdrive. In fact this review is possible thanks to both Mavericks and Bell, Book and Comic where I found all four issues in this mini series. So thanks, guys!

Star Comics has always fascinated me and to this day I still find myself always looking for issues that escaped me when I was younger. Marvel Comics started Star back in 1984 and closed it in 1988. The four year run was enough time for them to gobble up properties like Thundercats, Masters of the Universe, Silver Hawks, Muppet Babies, Care Bears, Star Wars and many more popular toy and cartoon lines. Star gave the properties short comic runs to satisfy kids who craved all they could get of their favorite characters. But Star also gave us some great original characters like Planet Terry, Wally The Wizard, Top Dog, Spider-Ham and Royal Roy. While fans didn’t know these characters at first, we eventually learned to love and respect them. The best and most loved from the originals was Peter Porker (Spider-Ham), a pig man who turned into a Spider-Man like hero – great silly stuff. He was followed by Wally The Wizard. It’s a shame that Marvel didn’t give Star enough time to fully grow and become the next big thing in kids’ comics since Archie. I am sure that Star’s fall came with poor sales and high payouts to get licensed properties. But years after shutting them down, Marvel continued to put out books based on cartoons from Captain Planet to the Toxic Crusaders. I missed Star Comics when it was gone and would have loved to see the company put out some issues based on other toy lines of the day. Look for a followup blog soon about the toy and cartoon lines I wished they would have done.

AniMax made its first appearance at the 1986 Toy Fair and was the brain child of Mel Birnkrants and Schaper Toys (the folks who brought you Ants in the Pants, Cootie and Don’t Break the Ice). The toy line featured Max Action and his vehicle Jungle Max as they led the AniMax as the evil X-Tinctor and his vehicle Obliterator led the mutant Car-nivores in a future world where both sides clashed in order to see who would rule their world. The AniMax vehicles were alive, half animals and half automobile, controlled by helmets that the riders wear. The toy line was a hit at the Toy Fair, with its live actors and cool figures. The hype was in place for this to be the next big thing in action figures. Later in 1986, Schaper sold to Tyco toys, and this started the beginning of the end for AniMax.

The toy line was a second thought to Tyco who wanted other properties within Schaper, and so the toys were half assed with poor cheap paint jobs and no commercial push, making them flood the shelves at toy stores and quickly go straight to the markdown bin. A funny note: both main characters Max Action and X-Tinctor never actually made it out to stores. AniMax was also supposed to get a cartoon to fuel the fire. Much like the commercial support, the cartoon never happened making the name and toys fade away without so much as a whisper. But out of the grim future of the toyline came one glimmer of hope to help make kids care about the cheap looking toys: Star Comics issue # 1 of AniMax!

Star Comics decided to take a chance on AniMax and made some issues to try to draw some buzz. But sadly without a cartoon or a solid toy line, the comic lasted only four issues before it landed in the cancel bin. It’s odd that these pretty cool characters with a really great storyline never got the fair shot they deserved. My knowledge of this subject and amazing pictures are thanks to Mel Birnkrants and his website who had all the history of this failed toy/cartoon line.

Now it’s time to take a look at this short Star Comics Mini series and see just how well the idea of this series translated to comics. Remember, I grade these on a standard 1-4 star rating and am looking at how well the comic keeps to the source material, its entertainment value, and its art and story.

AniMax # 1 ***

Released in 1986    Cover Price .75    Star Comics   #1 of 4

This issue is “Days of Wrath” and has Max Action and his AniMax Jungle Max (Lion Machine) battered and dying at the feet of X-Tinctor and his evil band of mutants, who have set up the hero. Tiger Trakker and the rest of the AniMax swoop in and run off the mutants to find their weak leader who dies in Tiger’s arms. They take Max’s body and send Jungle to the junkyard. All hope looks lost for the people of Peoplopolis. Heater and her Mother own the Museum, and unbeknownst to Tiger and his men, they have a clone machine that they use to bring Max back to life! When some mutants sneak into the compound Tiger comes face to face with the clone who moves and acts like his fallen friend and leader. In the battle Mother is killed, and Max must prove that he is who he says by saving Jungle Max from death’s door. As more mutants come in for the attack, Tiger and Max flee the city to save Jungle Max and to get the proof that the savior is alive.

What a fun action packed first issue that pulls no punches and starts with the main hero dying, one of many deaths. When the mutants sneak into the compound, they shoot and kill two humans, and the panel shows the bullets passing through the bodies, making this the first Star Comic I can think of that features that much violence. This issue’s plot is the start of a war between the humans and the mutants and is the restart of the warrior known as Max Action. The death of Max Action is shocking to start the issue off with and his rebirth is true classic sci-fi/Frankenstein inspired stuff. On the downside, the issue don’t explain much of who, why and what the AniMax universe is all about and for the most part flings you in as if their history is common knowledge, or as if it was coming off a cartoon series. But even after being flung in, the storyline is pretty cool and for some reason drew me into wanting to see what was going to happen next. The issue is also packed with lots of action, making it very exciting. The art is well done and is very much that Marvel style of the late 80s. The cover is also great and very much eye catching, showing action and Max and X-Tinctor. Over all it’s a nice start to the series and made me want to see what is going to happen in issue 2. 

AniMax # 2  ***

Released in 1986    Cover Price .75    Star Comics   #2 of 4

“The Siege of Peoplopolis” is the second issue’s plot and has X-Tinctor and his mutants launching a full on attack to the walls of Peoplopolis, pushing the rest of the AniMax to fight harder to save the innocent people. Tiger Trakker takes Max to the living jungle and has mini-Animax help him track down Jungle Max who is on the highway of death, as he holds off the mutants that were tracking them. Max finds Jungle, and the two reconnect. While still injured Jungle and Max help Tiger out and head back to town. The walls of Peoplopolis have fallen, and X-Tinctor has entered the city and the remaining AniMax know they can not win, until Max and Tiger show back up and open a can of woop ass on the Mutants who flee…for now. The town and his fellow warriors are shocked to see Max as Heater shares her feeling for the hero. Tiger tells Max his secret of being a clone is safe with him as they take Jungle to get repaired. X-Tinctor meanwhile has a evil plan the he will execute in the next issue.

Issue two is good but not nearly as well done as the first though it’s still fun and action and drama packed. The plot has X-Tinctor trying to bring down the humans and kill or make the remaining AniMax join his side while Max is trying to come to grips with being a clone and trying to save his lion friend Jungle Max from the graveyard. This issue brings up lots of great emotions as Max must come to grips with the fact he is not the original but is the face of hope to many people and also touches up on his love for Heater. It then builds up the true friendship of Max and Tiger and gives it an almost Prince Adam and Man-At-Arms (Masters of the Universe) bond that has one keeping a major secret for the other. Plus the road of death sure does look a hell of a lot like the yellow brick road of Wizard of Oz fame. While drama-filled, this issues still packs in action as the mutants attack the city’s walls and Tiger Trakker fights a bunch of blood thirsty ones as well. This is a nice follow up issue, and let’s you a little more into the world of AniMax, fleshing out characters a little better. The art once more is well done as is the cover that again pops with action. Over all it’s a nice follow up to issue one.

AniMax # 3  **1/2

Released in 1986    Cover Price .75    Star Comics   #3 of 4

“The Retread Plot” is the third issue’s name and has the cloned Max Action wondering if he is as good as the original because of his lackluster shooting. Tiger is also concerned now and thinks the clone might not be able to handle being a leader. Max goes to visit Heater in Peoplopolis as X-Tinctor unleashes a giant rubber air man named Retread to find the hideout of the AniMax, following Max to the secret location. Retread, who can float when releasing air from his massive frame, sets off the hideout’s alarm, and the AniMax go after him. But X-Tinctor and the Mutants show up to save their man and to get the info he has tucked away before he deflates and forgets all his knowledge. All looks dim as the Mutants take Retread over the bridge of doom and into the dark side of Earth. But one well timed shot from Max hits the rubber man deflating him and saving the location of their secret hideout.

This issue is very cheesy and does not pack the drama of the action of the first two issues. The story has a few moments of drama as Max and Tiger both question his ability to lead the world’s only hope team, but the quickly follows Retread as he tries to get away with the knowledge of the AniMax base. I was not a fan of the cheesy comedy and wished they would have stayed closer to the style of the first two issues’ plots. However even with the terrible shift from action-drama to action-comedy, the reader is treated to more of what and who the AniMax are showing that they are the humans’ last hope in a world that was left in terrible shape after doomsday. Plus I like how they showed the Bridge of Doom, a gateway the separates the Light Side from the Dark Side. X-Tinctor also himself to be another bad guy who just can’t seem to get that win putting him alongside Skeletor, Moonstar and many other 80’s cartoon bad guys. Over all issue three is not as good as previous issues but was still a solid read. The art in this one is pretty good but a few panels seem rushed, not to mention the cover on this one smells of pure cheese. 

AniMax # 4  **

Released in 1986    Cover Price $1.00    Star Comics   #4 of 4

This is the fourth and final issue and starts off with Max and crew fighting X-Tinctor and crew on the Bridge of Doom over a human slave girl. In the fight Max is hit with a large dose of radiation and fellow AniMax Tarmac who controls the horse is kidnapped. X-Tinctor has a plan to learn about the bond that allows the humans to talk to their machine animals. If he can learn this power and take control over his machine animal to unleash its full power that would be able to bring the end of mankind. Meanwhile as Max lies dying once more in the hospital, the AniMax machines learn a way to take some of their riders’ pain unto themselves but if they take too much the bond between the two will be lost. In the end X-Tinctor and his mutants attack, and all looks grim as the riders and the machine animals are loosing their bond, but with the help of Tarmac and Max getting better from his illness, they are able to use the pain energy to rid the world of X-Tinctor once and for all…or so they think.

This last issue seems rushed and the storyline is a little over done. The plot has the riders and machine animals having such a tight bond that they would take each others pain in order to save their friend, and X-Tinctor wants to exploit this and gain that ability himself to use his machine to destroy the human population. Max Action is hardly in this issue and spends most the time in a hospital bed, making you wonder why they hardly used the main hero of the book in the final issue. The action also seems rushed and was a quick way to kill most of the mutants off to end the saga. X-Tinctor’s death is also very lame and is one weak way to get rid of a bad guy that issues back seemed to strike fear in the hearts of humans. This was not a fitting way to end the series and once more makes me wonder why AniMax had a curse that allowed it to be treated so poorly. The art in this one is well done, but as for the cover, it just seems very generic and not thought out. Also the price on final issue, as you can see, was raised by a quarter making it a dollar. Shame on you, Marvel, for not given this series a proper send off.

Going into this I did not know anything about the AniMax universe and after reading Star Comics’ four issue run and reading Birnkrant’s webpage, I found myself enjoying my journey into their world. I did notice that this series is very heavily influenced by Masters of the Universe and M.A.S.K – more so Masters. Let’s break it down real quick: look at Max Action and compare him to He-Man (Prince Adam). First, they both have a secret that only a few know; Max’s is that he is a clone, Adam’s is he is He-Man. Both have a main villain that has a skeleton face; Max with X-Tinctors and He-Man with Skeletor. They both have a giant cat they ride and are best friends with; Max with Jungle Max and Adam with Battlecat. Both in some ways are leaders to people who need their protection. Both had a limited comic run at Star Comics, and both have blonde hair. It’s very clear that this was inspired by Masters of the Universe and was just changed to fit in a more apocalyptic world. But I am ok with that. I am sorry I didn’t have any fun stories of me blowing up AniMax figures or having my Godzilla toy crush them, but like me, I hope you found this entry entertaining and insightful on a basically forgotten toy line and the mini series that it spawned. Next up: the giant monsters that live under us, The Inhumanoids!