Dear Readers,
My childhood spanned the 60s into the early 70s, the height of the local horror host programs on TV. Some you may remember this period of local television. Someone in a costume and spooky makeup would introduce a Universal Pictures creature feature or some obscure, forgotten film, Dr. Blood’s Coffin, or some Z-movie drive-inn fare, Horror on Party Beach, for example. New York had the “Cool Ghoul”. Philadelphia horror host was “Dr. Shock”, and Chicago’s emcee of terror, “Svengoolie”.
Indianapolis had its own horror host when I was a young boy, “Sammy Terry,” a play on cemetery. Sammy Terry’s Nightmare Theater broadcast from Bloomington, Indiana on WRTV 4, Friday nights, starting at 10 pm. The program ran all night until the station ended for the night with the customary playing of the National Anthem. My introduction to the program occurred when I was six or seven. My step sister sneaked me into the living room while my parents slept. I never forgot the first film I ever saw, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man. You remember the synopsis of the film, the resurrected Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man sought out Dr. Frankenstein to end him or the curse, whichever came first.
Our horror host, Sammy Terry’s costume was simple. He wore a black turtleneck, black dress pants and shoes. Sammy had a red cape with a red cap that clung to his head. The make-up was simple white face paint with black to accentuate the features of a skull. He wore yellow rubber gloves, and he had a skull for a pendant. The opening started with a disembodied woman’s voice that narrated the same lines for every episode, “In the dead of night when the moon is high, and the winds blow, and the banshees cry.” A cathedral bell tolled in the background. The voice ended with “Arise my love with tales of woe.” That was Sammy’s cue to rise out of his coffin. He’d laugh and say, “Good evening” in his deep voice. Scary stuff. And his laugh, haunting .
The show was hammy, like many horror host themed shows were at the time. Sammy Terry’s sidekick was a rubber spider named George who dangled from a string. The show was obviously geared to kids. Bob Carter, who played the horror host, became a sensation in Indianapolis. I remember going to the feature, Hounds of the Baskerville, a Hammer production, at the Rivoli. It was hosted by none other than “Sammy Terry”. I wasn’t pulled in by the feature. “Sammy Terry” was why I went to the Rivoli that Saturday afternoon. The price of a ticket was cheap, seventy-five cents and it was just a few blocks from the house where I grew up. I went to another performance where Sammy Terry was the emcee, and I got to participate in a magic trick. That day was heaven to me.
Weekends were special for me, Friday was “Sammy Terry” and Saturday, Science Fiction Theater, both broadcasted by WRTV, out of Bloomington. I remember watching with siblings and friends those shows. It was a magical time in my life.
Bob Carter owned a music store in Indianapolis. He gave back to the community, supporting the local youth music program. I was in grade school band at the time. To my great fortune, I was selected to be in the All City Youth Orchestra, or something to that effect. I don’t remember. I do remember getting an LP album of our performance. However, the highlight for me was Mr. Carter coming out dressed as his alternate persona, “Sammy Terry”.
Eventually, the show ended in 1989 after a long 27-year run on channel 4, WTRV in Bloomington, Indiana. I grew out of watching Nightmare Theater, but Mr. Carter’s show made me a lifelong horror fan. Bob’s son, Mark Carter, has taken over the role his father created and does events in the Indianapolis area as “Sammy Terry”. There is a Sammy Terry Fan Club on Facebook and great content on YouTube.
Cassandra Peterson revived the old horror host creature features as Elvira, Mistress of the Night. The younger crowd may be more familiar with her show as well as the spinoff films of Ms. Peterson as “Elvira”. The show had the campiness and tongue in cheek humor, like the older horror host programs. Later came Mystery Science Theater 3000, and like Elvira poked fun at the cheesy, silly films shown with each episode. I was a big fan of the show. Like many of these programs, both Elvira and Mystery Science Theater eventually petered out.
That brings us to today. We moved to Virginia several years ago. Cut the cable cord many years prior and had bought a digital antenna for the local TV stations. I believe it was during the pandemic, you remember that time when we made homemade bread, did puzzles and played games because we were bored out of our minds, that I happened on MeTV one Saturday night and discovered Svengoolie. If you are not familiar with the program, its an homage to the original show broadcast out of Chicago. Jerry Bishop played the original horror host. Rich Koz later took over the role in the current reiteration of the program. The new Svengoolie has all the elements that made the older horror host programs wonderful for us kids. It’s funny, hammy and corny, with a wonderful cast of characters. Mr. Koz does one thing better than most of the other past shows, he tells us about the film and the actors. If you are a bit nostalgic, want to be a kid again, love horror movies, from the serious to the campy, or just want to spend a fun night with family and friends, then Svengoolie is for you. Check your local listings for MeTV, Saturday at 8 pm. If you want to be part of the community, join Svengoolie on Facebook. They post some fun content. Until my next blog post and in the words of Sammy Terry, “Good night and have a pleasant nightmare.”