Hail Thee and Farwell HAUNTCAST

...and so the curtain falls...

...and, with that, just a few parting thoughts to everyone out there regarding the show....

Just what did HAUNTACST mean to me?

I am quite sentimental about it, and here is why:

A lot of it stems back to December of 2010 and my becoming seriously ill and hospitalized...I'm not going to go into the gory details, but, suffice it to say, when you are handed a premature death sentence - even if it does turn out to be a false alarm - it will change your perspective drastically.

Flash forward about six or so months later, and I begin immersing myself in the online haunt community - websites, message boards, and podcasts....and what was the first one I ran across was, hmmmm? Three guess, first two don't count.

Flash forward once more to March of 2012, and, one phone call  and quick pitch to Mr. Baker later - and Viola! I'm part of the Scream Team.

To answer a few questions...

My all time favorite Haunts? That's easy.

It's a three way tie between the Akron, Ohio Haunted School and Lab, The Devils Attic in Louisville, Kentucky and Bloodview in Broadview Heights, Ohio - these are MUST SEE attractions - if your disregard everything else I've said here - and I am certain plenty will! - these are to die for and turn in your haunter's card if you don't visit them at least once in your life....or death, take your pick.  

Will I do another podcast?

Hauntcast was the perfect storm in a teacup for me, and, quite frankly, I don't think I'll find another talented - not to mention consistently inebriated - bunch like this again - in other words, no promises of  "yes, I'll be back, I'll be back!" - just a fond farewell and a wave goodbye. For me, this was one of those "blue moon" opportunities and I took to it with all the vigor I could muster. 

Now, if there is some HAUNTCAST post-mortem or one-offs reunions now and again, yes, I'm all up for that...but on a regular basis? Nah...not really.

Like everyone else, my segment had it's fair share of difficulties - how do you keep reviewing commercial haunts and make it interesting?

My biggest fear was becoming boring and turning everyone off in droves - face it, it's a pretty limited (and limiting) topic and you've only got so much wiggle room, but I'm thankful to Chris for giving me enough maneuverability to relate my own experiences in between the obvious pot holes.

Transworld 2013 was the biggie...meeting all the Scream Team minus one was terrific, and, despite Lisa and my abbreviated involvement, it was one of the highlights of that year and my time with Hauntcast. The last couple of Midwest Haunter's Conventions were pretty cool, too...hanging with Dick Terhune, Ed Gannon and Rev was great....

This Blogspot page *will* continue - and I want to thank both Daniel Craig Hoffman and Chris Tillman for their encouragement to do so...

Now granted, I probably won't be updating as frequently, yet, if something interesting comes to mind, I'm sure I'll put some extra posts up there - I'll also be adding articles from time to time regarding products and services that I find cool and noteworthy - and of course, there will the odd annoying autobiographical pauses as well....

By way of "thank yous" -

First and foremost, to Mr. Chris Baker - a man with whom I've had some lively discussions and equally lively disagreements with as well - thanks again for the opportunity and the creative freedom - I'll miss you chewing off my ear from time to time - best wishes to you and yours, and may all your business ventures bring you much success.

To the rest of the Scream Team - J.T. (thanks for all the leads on books and whatnot - we're going to make it out to the Bates Motel one year or another!) Rev (we'll catch you at any and all future Transworld conventions....and our cats miss you), Denny (we still crack up when we see you on Tanked!), and, in particular, Dick Terhune and Ed Gannon - thanks for the conversations, encouragement and input.

I have to give special thanks to these wonderful people for different reasons they all themselves know - Terra, Victor Beatreau, Chris Ainsworth, Jason Besseman, Marc Meader, Robert Santos, Stacy Fitz, Mike Jones and Jon Farmer - thanks again, keep in touch!

To all the minions who ever asked a question or started a conversation - and there are way too many to mention by name - thanks for making this all worthwhile....

Last, but not least, to my one and only Lisa for her encouragement, indulgence and gentle critiques - my love and thanks - and expect many, many more road trips to come!

Am I sad about the show ending? Yeah, I'd be lying if I said otherwise, but I suspected this would happen eventually...As the saying goes "All good things..." and that time has come.

Incidentally, Mr. Daniel Craig Hoffman made an interesting request of the Scream Team...paraphrasing a bit, he asked that we list our biggest influences in haunting in regards to books, TV, magazines, albums and a few other notables...

So, without further ado...

...here are mine:

MOVIES 

1. ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN
2. UNIVERSAL MONSTER SERIES
(...can't name just one - the whole kitten kaboodle! Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, and on and on...)
3. HORROR OF DRACULA (1958) 

 AUTHORS

1. Stephen King
Kind of a case of "durh!" - but when I was but a young whippersnapper, he was the Big Locust in the Stone lagoon - say for the classics like Shelley, Stoker and Bradburry...his best two (for my money) are 'Salem's Lot and The Stand...

2. Bram Stoker
Another obvious choice, but Dracula has a big effect on me as a young haunter - all vampires and castles and drama and swirling mists....can't beat it!

3. Richard Matheson
Matheson had a style I appreciated later in life, but I Am Legend, his vampire apocalypse masterpiece - the forerunner of George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead and all that followed - held me rapt from page one...

4. H.P. Lovecraft
His Cthulhu Mythos left me cold overall - never went in for that "Elder Gods" schtick - but The Color Out of Space was this wonderful blending of science fiction and horror, and this was long before I ever saw Boris Karloff in Die, Monster Die! Riveting. 

5. Peter Straub
Another author whose body of work I did not appreciate until older - just start Shadowland as I write this - but Floating Dragon is filled with some really nightmarish imagery and plenty of surprising plot twists that were novel for their day.

Just missed:

Edgar Allen Poe

He' a marvelous short story-teller - personal faves are The Cask of Amontillado and The Masque of the Red Death - a wonderful poet and almost single-handedly launched the entire Gothic movement...but his style really never affected me like the others....not my taste 100%...

Anne Rice

The Vampire Chronicles are marvelous, but her style gets too heavy handed and slow paced....aside from that, though, The Vampire Lestat was a terrific read.


TELEVISION


1. THE MUNSTERS
First exposure I ever had to this sort of thing at a very young age - Herman scared the crap out of me a kid, but I learnt to adopt very quickly. The launcher of a thousand ships.....

 2. CREATURE FEATURES (WGN-TV Chicago)
Ahhhhh.....the Monster Movie of the Week, Saturday nights at 8....Dracula, The Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, Godzilla, The Mummy, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein...and obscure gems like Kronos, Night Monster and The Mole People...life was good to me in the early to mid '70s...

3.  SON OF SVENGOOLIE
It's no secret of my love and enjoyment of  Rich Koz's horror host spoofs - the show that relaunched my love of monster movies in the late '70s and launched a  thousand ships....

4. KOLCHAK, THE NIGHT STALKER (1975)
Sometimes referred to as "Kolchak's Monster of the Week" by critics, but to me? Sheer Heaven. Darren McGavin's seedy reporter stalking every form of ghost, ghoul and monster on the streets of Chicago.  utter bliss. 

5. IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN
Hey, don't laugh - lots of Haunters still watch this devotedly every year - it has a few creepy moments with Snoopy trying to get through the enemy lines - and it has a moral to it as well: Never Deprive a Young Woman of Her Tricks or Treats!


COMIC BOOKS


1. THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY/SECRETS - DC  Comics
DC's take on the EC Comics of the '50s -  short stories that always got you thinking....

2. THE TOMB OF DRACULA/WEREWOLF BY NIGHT

What can ya' say, really? Essential reading the in '70s....

 

3.  SPIDER-MAN
What does the Web Head have to do with Halloween?

Plenty actually - characters like the Man-Wolf, Morbius the Living Vampire had a nifty supernatural  touch to them, and even regualr baddies like the Lizard and - in particular for me - the Green Goblin all had a tinge of  the Spooky Season attached to them.....

 

 

 

Then there were the multitude of books that flooded the market in the late '70s....can't comment on them all, so, I'll just let the pictures do the talking...

MAGAZINES 


1. FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND

Uncle Forry's brilliant gift to the youth of Monster Land....'nuff said! 

2. THE MONSTER TIMES

A bit of a rarity in Chicago...was tough to find...but these things were like gold if you could get your hands on them....

3. CREEPY

I wasn't allowed to have this in the house much...grrr...but I *did* manage to sneak in a few copies...great short story stuff...

 

4. MONSTER WORLD

VERY tough to find, but an absolute treasure if you could!

ALBUMS


1. SOUNDS TO MAKE YOU SHIVER
THE definitive "spooky" record  - bar none! It didn't get any better than this back in the '70s, and, having caught up with a lot of what was available back then, seems I was right! Definitive haunting effects record.  

2. THE HAUNTING
Never found out who  produced this, but this  little quickie packed a punch - cost me $1, and was worth every penny...side one was a tale of being trapped in haunted house with a blood banshee as the cast are picked off one by one, while the second side was a series of sound effects like banshee howls, werewolf cries and evil creatures prowling about....

3. ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S GHOST STORIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
What can I say that hasn't been said so many times before about this one...?
The Hitch hits all the right notes with this album, stories sppoky but not completely terrifying, designed to whet the appetites of the listnener for more...my favorites were always "The Haunted and The Haunters", "The Open Window"  and  "The Hitchhiker" ...

4, BLACK SABBATH "Mob Rules"

There are TONS of Metal albums out there that has all kind of horror and Halloween imagery to them, but this one definitely hit a chord with me lyrically and in terms of the imagery...added to that it was released close to Halloween that year, too (1981)...

_________________________________________________________

I'll just close this reminiscence as I always have on the show, with Svengolie's exit tag telling you to brush your fangs, comb your face, drink your milk before it clots - I hope Lisa and I will see some of you again out on the Terror Turnpike, wherever that may lead...and always remember to stay scary.
_________________________________________________________ 

HAUNTCAST may now be just a fond memory, but be watching, lots more to  come, including looks at  the 2014 Midwest Haunters Convention and an extra special visit to the Akron, Ohio, Haunted School and Lab...

Stay Tuned! 

Chicago's ASYLUM XEPERIMANET - The Sinister Secret of Villa Park....and SVENGOOLIE RULES!!!

HAUNT CLOSED 2014

We're on the second-to-the-last HAUNTCAST and my final appearance there as well....bearing that in mind, I wanted to take us to Chicago one last time and look in on an attraction that was our biggest surprise for the 2013 season - and that's The Asylum Xperiment in Villa Park...

Their site address is asylumxperiment.com - drop the first "e" from experiment and you'll do fine! - and, of course, they're on Facebook as well....they don't have an official YouTube page, but there are A LOT of videos running around on there to whet the appetite, and, in particular, search for user mwedow53

There is just one word for this place, and it is AMAZING - I forgot who had recommended this to me - I think it was Mr. Gannon! - but I owe that person several beers - we would NEVER have thought to look for this place....it is ENORMOUSLY popular already, and highly regarded in the Chicagoland area.

The Asylum Xperiment was voted the #1 haunted house in the state of Illinois for 2012 and 2013 by Haunted Illinois, the top haunt review site in the state, who hailed the attraction as “ambitious”, “impressive” and “epic”. and who also stated in their 2012 review:

“…as I walked out at the end of my adventure, I just couldn’t get over the fact that it was like nothing I have ever seen this side of Disney World!"

The Xperiment was also voted as the #1 favorite on Haunted Illinois by their visitors as well....and they receive accolades left and right from numerous Illinois and Windy City write-ups, including Haunted Chicago, Chicago Stage review, plus both local newspapers, the Chicago Tribune and Sun Times

This also marks a milestone as this is my final review while writing for HAUNTCAST ...nonetheless, stay tuned, one and all - the blog will be continuing for many (full) moons to come! 

 

My Lisa makes a new fiend...errr....FRIEND!!!

My friends Jack and Kathy gets sociable with Lisa's new fiend...

The co-owner of the Xperiment, one "Spike" Mike Skodacek and I

http://www.asylumxperiment.com/

 

Speaking of Windy City haunts, the Statesville Haunted Prison and City of the Dead combo haunt in Joliet, Illinois are AWESOME - they've been at it since 1996, they're huge and intimidating and one of the best out there and they even sponsor a zombie shooting range....check 'em out at statesvillehauntedprison.com

Speaking of zombies, they sponsor an ongoing online zombie melodrama a la THE WALKING DEAD based on their City of the Dead attraction on YouTube called Days of the Living Dead - type the title in to find them, they're on season four themselves as well!

Another spot worth looking into is Raven's Grinn Inn out in Mount Carroll, Illinois - it's fully automated, year round and quite legendary - check 'em out at hauntedravensgrin.com - they do book private engagements as well.

The Asylum Xperiment was voted the #1 haunted house in the state of Illinois for 2012 and 2013 by Haunted Illinois, the top haunt review site in the state...

For further paranormal investigation, I recommend looking in on Haunted Chicago.com, probably the most comprehensive online list available for the Windy City

While on the subject of Chicago Haunts and all things related, I wanted to give due credit to the guy who has always been a hero of mine - Rich Koz, a.k.a. the Son of Svengoolie, nowadays, simply Svengoolie - a man without whom his shtick I could not have....ummm... borrowed from at times...yeah, that’s it....

Without wanting to regurgitate too much - now how’s THAT for descriptive prose? -  I spoke about the love the Windy City has for Halloween and Horror movies also in HAUNTCAST #41, Chicago being the launching pad for legendary programs like WGN’s Creature Features and Screaming Yellow Theatre, which of course, featured the late Jerry G. Bishop as the original Svengoolie from ‘70 to ‘73.

For those who have not heard it, here’s what I ruminated on:

 

“Chicago haunts have a certain atmosphere to them - it’s hard to explain, it’s like a Chicago Dog or Chicago Pizza, there’s a flavor that you can’t duplicate except for there... I lived in the Windy City until I was in my early twenties, and, while the haunt industry was rapidly changing at that time, the lion’s share of spots were pretty dismal - most of the attractions were run by Jaycees - a charitable organization, whom, while they do remarkable work in and of themselves, in terms of their haunts in those days, file them “Quite Lame” -  cardboard sets, uninspired actors, and a generally rushed atmosphere. None too convincing.

Yard haunts were all over the place! I even remember a brief article on the local news in ‘76 about a man who had turned his front yard into a haunted attraction, with early versions of crank ghosts and the works!

You could always find the independents here and there if you looked for them - and they were always something to see - imagination ran wild and was usually peppered with the Creature Features of the day...

The ‘70s and early 80s were a hotbed for horror and sci-fi in the Windy City - there were literally tons of monster movies running every weekend - Creature Features, the original Svengoolie (Jerry G. Bishop), Chiller Theatre and The Monstrous Movie, Thing Theatre, The Monster Rally Movie and Monster Movie One and Two, and, of course, 1979 brought the Son of Svengoolie (Rich Koz) who’s still going strong even today...add in to that ceaseless afternoon reruns of The Munsters, The Addams Family and Godzilla related stuff like Ultraman, Johnny Sokko, and The Space Giants....ahhhh...life was good...

Chicago has always had a distinct love for Halloween, haunted houses and  the Universal Monsters - heck, monster movies in general! - for example,  in 1981, the Son of Svengoolie ran The Bride of Frankenstein one Saturday night against The Love Boat and Fantasy Island and won the local time slot! Eat your heart out Tatttoo! (Trust me, this was no small feat - both shows were immensely popular at the time and for a small upstart UHF channel to win out over both shows said plenty...)

Dare I say it, I wouldn’t be the man I am now if it weren’t for Chicago TV....I’m not sure that’s such a good thing...”

As for the Son Svengoolie, his show launched on June 16^th, 1979 - the day after my 12^th birthday - the best present I got that year

Even from that first show, there was something special about Koz - he didn’t take himself seriously - something a lot of horror hosts miss the boat on...and was very quick witted...incidentally, that very first segment is all over YouTube- and although a bit dated - note the film references Koz makes - it’s indicative of his talents....

Rich poked fun at everyone and everything, including himself, not to mention the city of Berwyn - and his song parodies with his long-time friend/keyboardist Doug Sharf a.aka. Doug Graves (get it?) were always a highlight.

Koz also ran a weekly mail segment, highlighting viewer letters, artwork and birthdays....and, yes, I managed to get myself and my pictures on more than a few times...

I never forgot one letter in particular - this was in October of 1982 or so, and I was 15 or 16 - I’d written what I thought was going to be a clever little piece of wittiness and all that, and next thing I know, Sven is raking me over the coals with it!

I was about to get my driver’s license  - I had said something about “if you don’t like the way I drive, get off the sidewalk!” and he roasted me with car crash sound FX and warning telling the everyone to “Run for it, people!” and then telling me to stop sending him requests for the original Godzilla and send ‘em to the channel between 8 and 10...a few of my friends caught this and I didn’t hear the end of it for weeks...

In late July of ‘82, WFLD tried an experiment and joint promotion with 7-11, running Revenge of the Creature in 3-D, with 7-11 being the place to get your glasses. In the end, it didn’t come off that hot - 3d works great on the big screen, not so well on the TV....still it was a bold move, got Sven a LOT of recognition, and something like this wouldn’t even get off the ground nowadays!

Svengoolie had a terrific run from ‘79 ‘til January of ‘86 when the Fox network purchased WFLD and promptly booted Rich to the curve after seven years...and, after moving to Dayton in 1988, I was out of the loop for a long time in regards to what Rich was up to, but when I heard of his return in January of 2005, I was floored - YouTube wasn’t as prevalent as it is now - but friends would send me the show on VCR tapes - remember those? -  and I was pleased to see that Rich was as funny as ever!

Speaking of YouTube, it has a lot of his 70s/80s material floating around, and if you want to see Koz at his funniest, look up skits like the Vampire Carpets man - who looks surprisingly like Revenant! Or does he? YOU DECIDE! - Svenard’s (a take of on Menard’s for those unfamiliar), Sh-Bombs, Svenford and Son, and, in particular, Mr. Robber’s Neighborhood, a skit that earned him his first local Emmy Award for Outstanding Entertainment program. 

Without Sven, I would’ve missed out on a LOT of terrific horror flicks  - things like Dementia 13, Blacula, Die, Monster, Die! and The Haunted Strangler, I also saw Universal classics like Dracula’s Daughter, The Bride of Frankenstein and The Invisible Man for the first time here as well, plus a lot of the Roger Coreman/Vincent Price Edgar Allen Poe flicks, including Masque of the Red Death and The Tomb of Ligeia (which, incidentally was the first time he mentioned me on his mail segment, so yeah, that one has a special place in my heart!)

Oddly enough, with all the correspondence we’ve had over the years, I’ve only met the man once! This was in October of 2009 at a local haunted house - we had a great time, and his reaction was hilarious when he finally put a face to my name - and very gracious as well. 

I still keep up with Sven’s antics on Me-TV...maybe not with as much consistency as I did at the start, but I have to say, it’s gratifying to see him still going strong after all this time.

Thanks for all the laughs, Rich - and may you rumble for many more years to come!

A few of the original TV Guide ads for Sven's first programs....

These postcards were sent out to all those who wrote in during the first few years of Sven's show  - still have mine!

GODZILLA 1985 certainly made an impact on Sven in....ummmm...1985...

Sven with the late Jon Pertwee - the third DOCTOR WHO - made an appearance on Svengoolie's show promoting the 1984 Chicago TARDIS convention...

The evolution of Sven's coffin - from 1979 to his newly unveiled crypt, circa 2013...

...and while on this subject, for those who remember it, go check out the WGN Creature Features Tribute site...for the last few years, they've ran a very successful online Halloween night show, complete with throwback commercials, show bumpers and all kinds of memorabilia peppered throughout the online broadcast...expect another come this Halloween as well!

And for more Svengoolie goodness, I offer up there links...