Horror Host Graveyard

De. Gangrene presents his list the top five horror movie hosts. Watch the it here:

The book Creatures of the Night That We Loved So Well is an in depth examination of the horror hosts that aired in the Southern California area. The author, James M. Fetters, has created the definitive volume on those hosts. The book includes interviews with some of the hosts, the people involved in the show, and people who grew up watching the shows. Their behind the scenes information provides insight into what went into producing a show in the various eras covered. All of that is put into perspective by the author's background information on the period they were shown in and how the ways viewers went about watching the programs. Highlights of what makes this is an indispensable book to host fans are the large amount of rare photos and ads for the shows, as well as the complete as possible movie and date listings from each show, and the script excerpts. Many of the hosts' shows shooting scripts are reprinted in full, giving us a taste of what these lost shows were like and a...

In an episode of the 1990's cable access show Professor Kinema , the host, Jim Knusch, presented a look at the history of horror hosting called Nightmare - TV's Horror Hosts and Hostesses . Watch the show here:

American Scary , the horror host documentary that came out on DVD in 2009 can now be viewed online. The film is a great primer for the history of hosting and where it was headed at the time of filming. Watch the full movie here: See behind the scenes footage, not included on the DVD, here: For more information about the documentrary, visit: americanscary.com

The Vampira Tribute was held on March 28, 2010 during the HorrorHound Weekend in Indianapolis, Indiana. All the hosts in attendance paid their respects to Vampira and to other hosts who have passed away. Dr. Shocker hosted the event which included remembrances by Penny Dreadful, Garou, Count Gore De Vol, Dr. Shocker, Ms. Monster, Doktor Goulfinger, Joe Bob Briggs, and The Bone Jangler. The entire tribute, along with interviews with the hosts, was filmed for a DVD that will come out in the fall of 2010. Watch footage of the tribute taken by 13 Hosts artist Brian Maze here: Part 1: Part 2: Part 3: Part 4: Part 5:

The list of hosts that are attending the Vampira tribute at the Indianapolis HorrorHound Weekend keeps growing. Many of the hosts are working up the interest for the March 26-28, 2010 weekend by producing promotional spots for the event. To see a list of all the hosts that will be at the convention, visit the website: vampiratribute.com . Watch some of the promos here: Uncle Roy Hoggins: Freakshow and Vivacious Vivian: Elvira: Marlena Midnight and Robin Graves: Ms. Monster: Count Gore De Vol: Gunther Dedmund: Dr. Sigmund Zoid: The Cool Ghoul: Count Gregula:

As part of the HorrorHound Weekend and HMA MaskFest on March 26-28, 2010 in Indianapolis, Indiana, many horror host will take part in A Horror Hosts’ Tribute to Vampira . More than 30 hosts have signed up so far for the event, which includes a live spookshow, a Vampira Spook-A-Like contest, and a Vampira tribute ceremony. More hosts get added to the guest list every day. You can keep up to date by visiting their website at: vampiratribute.com . Watch host promos for the event below: The Late Dr. Lady Show : FridayNight FrightNight : Alternative Realities : Miss Misery:

The Halloween Haunt blog recently had a podcast called Horrifying and Hilarious Horror Hosts which gives a great history of horror hosting and some background information on some of the hosts. It can be considered a primer guide for anyone who needs to know what horror hosting is about and also provides capsule information on hosts all over the world for those already familiar with the genre. Click play below to listen or click here to download: Horrifying and Hilarious Horror Hosts

In 2001 the Bowen Designs company released a Vampira statue. The 14 inch statue was sculpted by Thomas Kuntz. Share a glass of poison with Vampira at: http://www.unpleasantdreams.com/vampira

Robert A. Scott is a Rondo Award nominated horror and monster artist who specialises in black and white portraits of classic horror icons. Among the excellent reproductions of classic monsters and madmen, he also includes some horror hosts. So far he has featured Sir Graves Ghastly, Zacherley, Vampira, and The Ghoul in the selection of prints of varying sizes that are available on his website. To purchase prints, visit his website at: http://www.scottra.com/ From now until July 14, 2009 he is having a buy one get one free sale.

The now defunct High Definition horror channel Monsters HD showed a series of short documentaries in between their movies. Each one was hosted by Elvira and included segments on toys, masks, and the men who created some of the famous movie monsters, among many other subjects. Monsterama: A Tribute to Horror Hosts was one of these that focused on horror hosts. It was written by Daniel Roebuck, who also directed many of the Monsterama segments, and began airing in 2004. Dan also appears in this one as his Dr. Shock tribute character, Doctor Shocker. Among the hosts interviewed in the piece are John Zacherle, Maila Nurmi, and Cassandra Peterson and focuses on the history of their characters Zacherley, Vampira, and Elvira, as well as an overview of hosting in general. Watch the full edition of Monsterama here: Visit Doctor Shocker's site at: http://www.docshocker.com/

The horror host documentary American Scary comes to DVD on February 17, 2009. The documentary is a great overview of the horror host genre and provides profiles of many of the original hosts like Zacherley, Svengoolie, Ghoulardi, and Vampira. Memories of the hosts are provided by fans which include some celebrities and modern hosts as well as the hosts themselves. Highlighting the documentary are many clips from different hosts shows and some footage of a convention where many of the hosts appeared. The information they provide enlightens the viewer in the origins of horror hosting in general and the hosts' place in television and cultural history. What comes across strongest is the impact hosts had on peoples lives and the influence on them that continues today. There are many bonus features on the DVD. They include an audio commentary with the filmmakers, the original pitch reel, two trailers for the film, a cut segment about Nashville horror hosts, A Ghastlee Ghoul's weddin...

Another classic horror host who gets a featured profile in the upcoming American Scary DVD is Vampira. Her alter ego Maila Nurmi get interviewed and reminisces are shared by Forrest J Ackerman and Bob Burns, among others. Watch the Vampira segment here: From the bonus features of the DVD, here is an extended interview with Miila Nurmi: For more about American Scary , visit: http://www.americanscary.com/

Liberace met Vampira in his 1956 Vegas show Come As You Are . Watch the clip here:

Sandra Bernhard interviewed Maila Nurmi, who played Vampira, in a 1995 episode of the USA cable horror host show Reel Wild Cinema . Watch a clip of it here:

The article The Best and the Frightest was published in the October 28, 2000 issue of TV Guide. It gives a history of horror hosts and spotlights Zacherley, Svengoolie, Stella, The Ghoul, and Count Floyd. Click on the pictures below to enlarge them to read:

Vampira is the queen of horror hosts. Predating Zacherley , she hosted horror movies with a sensuality and dark humor that was shocking for the time. Know for her incredibly small waist and sense of the macabre, she had a big following during the show's run. Although her show didn't last that long, she is well remembered. Her fame was brought about by many modeling assignments in the Vampira guise. Although having similar careers on opposite coasts of the United States, Vampira and Zacherley never met in person, though they are linked in many people's minds . Another important reason for her fame and infamy was her appearance as a ghoul in Edward D. Wood's notoriously bad movie Plan 9 from Outer Space. She was cast as a silent zombie and did not utter a single line, a major contrast to her sharp tongued puns she was known for on TV. Although it was thought that Plan 9 was all the world could see of Vampira , in the 1990s a promotional reel was found at Vampri...