Prologue (Little Shop of Horrors)

TRACK #81:

Prologue (Little Shop of Horrors) by Michelle Weeks, Tichina Arnold and Tisha Campbell-Martin with Bill Mitchell

It’s a bit crazy to think we’ve made it 80 tracks into a horror themed playlist without including anything from one of the most beloved horror musicals of all time, Little Shop of Horrors.

I’ll be honest, I don’t care for musicals, generally speaking. They’re unnatural, disorienting and show tunes really aren’t my bag. Why is everyone singing all of a sudden? Am I on drugs? What’s going on up there? What world is this where random strangers are all suddenly singing, and well?

It’s never happened to me.

Granted, I’ve never been attacked by a mummy, either. Nor have I ever seen a Ghoulie in my toilet. But it could happen. I can imagine that world.

I can not, for one moment, imagine a world where all of my friends and I are having a conversation at a diner, then suddenly and for no apparent reason, we all burst out into song to detail plot points, describe feelings or externalize inner monologues through music.

So infectious is our glee that all the waiters and line cooks join in on the number, until our mirth can no longer be contained by the diner itself! We spill out into the streets and stop traffic. A crossing guard and truck driver add a verse. The whole of the town gather behind us in harmony, until finally a car careens into a fire hydrant and an urban geyser punctuates our final note! Then we just start talking again like normal people, without even acknowledging whatever the fuck that nonsense was that just happened.

Can’t picture that ever happening.

I can more easily imagine a cult of satanists rushing the door with an ancient amulet demanding the hostess be sacrificed over a plate of moons over my hammy. I’m prepared for that. I think I could handle that, mentally. I think an impromptu and unacknowledged musical number would fuck me up. I don’t know if I could move passed that. Maybe that makes it more horrific.

That being said, there are a few musicals I can enjoy, mostly because of their genre leanings or satiric nature. Rocky Horror, Cannibal: The Musical, and Little Shop of Horrors all have just the right amount of je ne sais quoi that allows me to get passed that unnatural sensation, and enjoy the musical as I believe it should be, without all my logical, earth-bound hang-ups.

So, in that spirit, we return to the Shindig after a long hiatus with the title track from Little Shop of Horrors. Enjoy!

Halloween (She Get So Mean)

TRACK# 80:

Halloween (She Get So Mean) by The Ghastly Ones (feat. Rob Zombie)

If White Zombie was a garage band in the late 60’s, they might have sounded a whole lot like our next divisible by 20 track.

From the Zombie A Go-Go released holiday mix Halloween Hootenanny comes this great Halloween track from perennial spooksters The Ghastly Ones.

Providing some uncharacteristic lyrical accompaniment for the Ghastly’s this time around is the man himself, Mr. Rob Zombie.

Since the song is titled Halloween (She Get So Mean) I’ve led the track in with every Halloweener’s favorite Halloween avenger Rhonda from Trick R Treat, as she schools us all on the sinister origins of our Hallowed holiday.

Enjoy!

The Trioxin Theme (Main Title)

TRACK #79:

The Trioxin Theme (Main Title) by Francis Haines

It seems as though I’ve been ignoring my Horror Themes category. Better sock one in here before the playlist ends up with a giant lyric-less cluster somewhere in the middle.

And if you need a go-to Horror Theme, then Francis Haines’ Return of the Living Dead Main Title Theme will do just fine.

Perfectly creepy, perfectly Halloweeny, The Trioxin Theme is just the break we need from the rock to bring a little ambiance back into the mix.

As soundtracks go (official, purchasable albums that is) The Return of the Living Dead is a great one. Not only is the music awesome, but it chock full of so many great samples from the movie I don’t even need to bust out my DVD to lead them in. Just grab 2 tracks, splice ’em a little and we’re good to go.

From one of the greatest zombie movies ever made, here’s the synthy and spooky Trioxin Theme from The Return of the Living Dead.

It’s Alive

TRACK #78:

It’s Alive by Bobby “Boris” Pickett

Cause you can’t not follow that sample with anything else.

Right on the heels of one Frankenstein song comes this lesser known effort from Bobby “Boris” Pickett.

As stated previously, Bobby tried to recreate his Monster Mash success several times over the course of his career. File this one under the “Heavy Metal” attempt, though there’s little metal going on here.

Finding information on this track is a bit tricky but it seems to have originated off the Dr. Demento show.

Bobby has brought his (actual?) son along for the ride, who takes his own stab dear old dad’s monster making.

He creates a monster that’s the right shade of green and ready for some rocking. And even though he was implanted with a brain labeled, as Fritz claims, “Musician: heavy metal, not blues,” the song is a certainly a far cry from anything resembling metal.

It’s a Shindigger all the same, and how could it not be? Anytime Bobby Pickett decides to sing about monsters rocking out, we gotta represent.

Making A Monster

TRACK #77:

Making A Monster by Blitzkid

Perennial spooksters Blitzkid are back at #77 with their ode to Mary Shelley’s classic cautionary tale of scientific hubris gone wrong.

Sympathetically written from the Monster’s perspective, the song actually has a bit more in common with the source material than the 1931 film used to lead-in the track. But a clip sample that perfect can’t be ignored, not by The Shindig at least.

Here’s Shindig All-Stars Blitzkid with a Franken-Weener of monstrous proportions!

Rockula

TRACK #76:

He’s Rockula by Dean Cameron

I’m gonna wrap up this Vampire block with a Title Track of ridiculous proportions, from one of my favorite sub-genres, 80’s Monster Comedies.

Though technically released in 1990, Rockula was written and filmed in the late 80’s and has all the trappings of an 80’s Monster Comedy, and as such is filed accordingly by the Shindig.

If you’ve never seen Rockula, here’s the jist:

Ralph (played by Dean Cameron, aka Summer School’s Chainsaw) is a typically 80’s “friendly” vampire. Ralph’s got a problem though. See, 400 years ago Ralph failed to save his beloved Mona from a ham bone wielding pirate who murdered her on Halloween. After which, a terrible curse befell Ralph. He must relive this trauma ever 22 years, as Mona is reincarnated and Ralph is given another chance to prevent this tragedy. A chance which he always seems to squander.

However, in the late 80’s, Mona is resurrected as a musician, so Ralph becomes Rockula to win her heart, and maybe to keep a close eye on her to finally prevent that whole Halloween/ham bone/pirate murder thing.

Sound great? No? Well it is, and it features a couple of great tunes performed by Dean Cameron (and one by Toni “Oh Mickey” Basil, who plays Ralph’s Vampire mom.) Tunes that, of course, are featured on the Shindig.

From Rockula, performed by Rockula, it’s the triple threat, Rockula!

Soul Dracula

TRACK #75:

Soul Dracula by Hot Blood

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective) there was more than one disco Dracula tune.

In fact, there was a whole album. It was even called Disco Dracula. It was the only effort from weird German band called Hot Blood and there’s a couple of vampire themed tracks on this sucker. Hell, there’s even a Frankenstein song called “Baby Frankie Stein.”

Mostly a funky instrumental, this lyrically sparse number does repeatedly feature the the titular phrase “Soul Dracula,” which is honestly enough for the Shindig. However, Hot Blood puts a little pepper on the porridge by using a goofy Dracula voice. Bonus.

Leading this track in is a clip from Blacula, cause lets face it, Blacula is the soulest motherfuckin Dracula around. To quote James Brown “Eddie Murphy, eat your heart out.”

And because it is mostly an instrumental, we went ahead and saddled the whole track with some Blacula clips, cause Blacula is awesome, and he deserves it.

Enjoy!

Drac’s Back

TRACK #74:

Drac’s Back by Red Lipstique

Disco was no stranger to novelty tracks. And as all you Shindiggers know, novelty tracks were no stranger to monster songs.

Though originally recorded in 1979 by Andy Forray, The Shindig prefers this slightly more up-tempo version by Red Lipstique.

Never heard of Red Lipstique? Well, that’s because they weren’t really a real band. It was a pseudonym The Bollocks Brother’s used when they released several singles, including this cover of Andy Forray’s disco hit.

Never heard of The Bollocks Brothers? Well, I hadn’t either.

However, I have heard of this song, and it’s definitely Shindig material, no matter what band records it, or what name they use.

So c’mon Weeners, sing along…

“I wanna suck your OOOOOHHHH!”

Dracula, Drac’s back!

(side note: I could think of nothing more fitting to lead this track in than a clip from Hammer’s Dracula A.D. 1972, which finds Christopher Lee’s Drac being resurrected into London of the early 70’s. Not quite the disco era but still appropriate.)

Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)

TRACK #73:

Bloodletting (The Vampire Song) by Concrete Blonde

Impromptu vampire interlude!

I noticed there were a lot of vampire songs in the queue, so coming off the heels of From Dusk Till Dawn, why not just drop a block of blood-suckers right here in the 70’s?

By 1990, Concrete Blonde had already been around for some time and utilized on some pretty awesome genre soundtracks (Texas Chainsaw 2, The Hidden), when they released their best selling album Bloodletting.

The title track is a great Shindig addition about New Orleans and vampires with some serious Anne Rice ambiance about it.

Legend has it (read: the Internet) that the song was indeed inspired by the lady herself, or at least her writings, at any rate.

Though inclusive to many different movies and TV shows, none of them really hit the mark. So, we’re gonna lead this fucker in with an appropriate, Big Easy-style sample from Interview With The Vampire, just for good measure.

Suck it up Weeners!

Dark Knight

TRACK #72:

Dark Night by The Blasters

Before Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez gave the world Grindhouse, they first collaborated on the 1996 mash-up horror flick From Dusk Till Dawn.

Opening the movie most appropriately is this toe-tapper from The Blasters. It not only sets the tone for what is to follow but captures the atmosphere of their western-crime-horror perfectly.

This whole soundtrack is pretty great, for anyone who likes their tunes a little on the tex-mex side, featuring tracks from Tito & Tarantula, ZZ-Top and Stevie Ray Vaughn amongst others.

I won’t assume everyone’s seen this flick, as I don’t catch too much about it on tumblr, it’s almost 20 years old by now and Tarantino and Rodriguez aren’t quite the pop culture icons they were at the time of it’s release.

If you haven’t seen From Dusk Till Dawn, I recommend it to both horror fans and crime fans alike, as the picture starts out as one and becomes the other. Which, while working at several video stores back then, was a complaint I heard a lot from some renters. Renters that apparently didn’t expect the movie to explode into an all out blood-bathed gore-fest in the 3rd act.

Honestly, I think that’s the movie’s greatest strength and I kinda wish more films engaged in this type of genre bending. Characters that finds themselves in horrific situations were leading perfectly non-horrific lives until that point. Why should that lead up always feel like a set-up?

The fact that these characters are allowed to live and breath in a world outside the trappings of a horror film, until they are decidedly in one, is refreshing. It makes them real, believable characters and gives more weight to their reactions to the horrific turn of events.

Add to that a solid script from Tarantino, some first rate action staging from Rodriguez, a great big screen leap from George Clooney, some awesome gore and creature FX from the KNB crew, fun cameos from Tom Savini and Fred Williamson, multiple performances from Cheech Marin, one sexy as all hell Selma Hayek, a bevy of naked vampire strippers and a great soundtrack and you’ve got yourself one hell of a movie. So fun a movie, in fact, that we can forgive Tarantino and Harvey Keitel for their somewhat labored performances.

So grab a bottle of whiskey, some condoms filled with holy water, and maybe a jackhammer tricked out to be the most bad-ass vampire death machine ever, cause its gonna be a dark night.

And remember, psycho’s do not explode when sunlight hits them, I don’t give a fuck how crazy they are.

Trick Or Treat

TRACK #71:

Trick Or Treat by Fastway

Once in blue Moon (or maybe 3 times in roughly 230 tracks) a song comes along so awesomely perfect that it defies my categories. It flagrantly rebels all, encompasses, and becomes more. It demands representation and it’s exclusion from any Halloween playlist is a crime against the holiday, so perfectly suited is it.

It’s a +1 to the trinity; it’s from a horror movie, its about the movie, it’s the movie’s fucking Title Track, and against all odd, it’s about Halloween too.

Are you kidding me? Nope. It’s a Referentially Inclusive Halloween Title Track, or a Great Pumpkin. I’d call it the Holy Grail, but there’s a couple of these fuckers on the Shindig.

While Trick Or Treat isn’t the ultimate example of such a song, it does appear before that track, so it gets the lead-in.

That’s not to say it’s any slouch though. Lets look at the stats:

It’s a Title Track, already 3 shots to it.

In that it’s called Trick Or Treat, is played live by an undead rock star in the movie, at a Halloween party, on Halloween, while he’s killing teenagers with a guitar that shoots lightning, is effort enough to earn it’s keep at the top of the heap.

You have a Halloween playlist and it doesn’t feature this song, you’re doing it wrong.

I love Trick Or Treat and it’s definitely an annual watch somewhere between October 1st and 31st.

Metal head dork Eddie Weinbauer accidentally resurrects his recently deceased rock hero Sammi Curr by unwittingly playing his final and unreleased album backwards.

At first Sammi aids Edward in his game of revenge, but when Sammi’s game becomes too real, Eddie pussies out and Sammi takes matters into his own hands. Awesomeness ensues.

The soundtrack, presented in the form of Sammi Curr’s music, is provided by butt-rockers Fastway, whom I’m not sure achieved much notoriety beyond this Soundtrack.

Either way, it all adds up to a pretty fantastic Heavy Metal Halloween. Enjoy!

The Halloween Dance

TRACK #70:

The Halloween Dance by The Reverend Horton Heat

I love the Rev, so I’ve always appreciated the fact that I could include him on the Shindig, via this made-to-order Halloween song compliments of Rob Zombie’s Halloween Hootenanny album.

Not only is this upbeat spookster a great Halloween song but it also features a pretty referential verse where he shouts out Psycho, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Stepford Wives.

There’s even a brief musical nod to The Munsters, all wrapped up in the Rev’s customized psychobilly sound.

Halloween never sounded so swingin’.

Maniac Cop Rap

TRACK #69:

Maniac Cop Rap by Yeshwua Barnes & B Dub Woods

As longtime followers are probably (painfully) aware, Monster Raps are load bearing supports in the Halloween Shindig rotation.

And when it comes to Monster Raps, few come as tailor-made awesome as Yeshwua Barnes and B Dub Woods’ Maniac Cop Rap.

Check the stats:

Does it take the movie’s score and mix into an awesome beat? Check.
Does it play during the end credits? Check.
Does it feature the title repeated ad nauseum? Check
Does it talk about how badass the main character is? Check
Does it feature the most ridiculous lyrics you can image? Check plus.

Here’s some choice selection from the track…

Set ‘em on fire, I shoot ‘em with a Uzi
But he’ll show up in you’re jacuzzi!”

Gold.

And don’t waste time dialin’ 9-1-1
Forget karate and forget yer gun!

Forgotten.

You won’t get a ticket or pay a fine
You might as well be dealin’ with Frankenstein!

Fair Enough.

Without any further ado, segueing out of our 80’s Oddball Sequel Dance Party, from a sequel that’s arguably better than the original, 1990’s Maniac Cop 2, here’s the Manaic Cop Rap.

Howling

TRACK #68:

Howling by Babel

Round 3 of The 80’s Oddball Sequel Dance Party goes to The Howling, a franchise that seems to have produced nothing but oddball sequels.

I’m not exactly sure what to make of Howling 2, another gem from 1985. For that matter, I’m not sure anyone involved is sure either.

Christopher Lee personally apologized to Joe Dante on Gremlins 2 for appearing in it, if that gives you any idea of what we’re dealing with here.

However, despite all the uncertainty, there are a few things you can be sure of:

It’s definitely not the worst Howling entry. In fact, it may just be the most enjoyable, and that includes its predecessor.
It’s ridiculous. It’s awesome. It’s ridiculously awesome.
You’ll see Sybil Danning in (and out!) of some bizarre outfits that’ll make you believe Lady Gaga jacked her entire steez from Stirba: Werewolf Bitch.
Ditto for the bewildered Christopher Lee (except the nudity and Lady Gaganess)
You’re gonna hear this song, performed by fake band Babel, at least a dozen or so times throughout.

And anytime a song is this permeable, it’s definitely on the Shindig.

I highly recommend it’s viewing to anyone who wants to see:

Werewolves
Werewolves fucking
Awesome werewolf-cult orgy-parties
Sybil Danning’s tits
Christopher Lee lookin like a Jedi
Christopher Lee straight stabbing werewolves
Bizarre werewolf logic and mythos
A weird munchkin thing running around in a scary mask
Crazy 80’s laser FX
Whack-ass shape wipes
Some of the worst werewolf acting around
Some of the worst acting around (save for Christopher Lee)
Seriously some of the worst editing ever

Ridiculous Howling 2 gig blast commencing forthwith. Get your reblog button ready. It’s at the bottom now. Thanks Yahoo!

His Eyes

TRACK #67:

His Eyes by Pseudo Echo

Let’s keep the 80’s dance party/Oddball sequel thing going here.

1985 offered us Freddy’s first foray into sequel-dom, however Jason was already and old man by ‘85, going on his 5th outing.

Perhaps one of the more derided films of the series, and certainly it’s oddball entry, Friday 5 is still Paramount, still hugely 80’s and (I think) rather unfairly maligned.

It’s hard to say which is the “worst”, as some thrive where others lack and vice-versa. Honestly, a lot of it just comes down to personal preference after a point.

5 however has the distinct honor of being the only entirely Jason-less sequel (save for the pre-credit sequence…I guess) as the killer is merely assuming the MO and hockey mask. This, more than any other reason, is why it finds itself on the bottom rung with fans.

What 5 has going for it however is a serious body count. Notably the most of any Friday the 13th film at 22. That’s gotta be worth something.

Sure the effects aren’t on par with other entries and a lot of the murders are cut-aways but this dude ices 22 different people and that’s an achievement, however lessened it may be by the fact that its not actually Jason killing these people (except the first 2 guys…I guess.)

This song, by Australian pop-smiths Pseudo Echo, plays while Violet is dancing and being murdered. The song was actually a suggestion of actress Tiffany Helm, a fan of the new wave and punk music of the day.

Imagine being able to select which song to which you’d be murdered by Jason? Pretty dope.

Interesting side note regarding Violets death. Originally, she was to take a machete to the vag. Now that’s a way to go.

However, the producers thought that was a bit much, and changed it to her stomach, which they don’t even really show anyway, so I guess it doesn’t even matter. Oh well.

This song is pretty awesome though and almost sounds as if it were written specifically about Jason. It was produced a year early however, so no luck there. It does fit in nicely into the movie however, and makes a great addition to The Shindig.

Whisper To A Scream

TRACK #66:

Whisper To A Scream by Bobby Orlando & Claudja Barry

Lets get a Freddy two-fer going, cause your guests are still pissed…

“How the fuck am I supposed to dance to some bullshit like ‘Down In The Boiler Room’…? Are you serious right now?!”

And fair enough. I’m not sure that song’s palatable, much less danceable. So let’s look to Freddy’s soundtrack offerings for a little relief. And what better place to go for a dose of danceable 80’s synth-pop than Freddy’s Revenge.

Certainly the black sheep of the series (and with good cause), A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2 is probably the worst way you could have followed the highly original and groundbreaking hit.

Every franchise has its Oddball Entry. Ya know, that one that doesn’t quite jive for whatever reason; be it overtly non-canon (Halloween 3), lacking its main character (Friday 5) or plays fast and loose with the primary mythos, as is the case with Freddy’s Revenge.

While not so out of place at the time, just a little curve ball for the sequel, the fact that subsequent Elm Streets have totally ignored this entry, its characters and its logic, makes it the strange, stand-out entry it seems today.

Basically, Freddy attempts to possess Jesse, the new teenager living in Nancy’s old room at 1428 Elm., choosing to work through the boy in the material world, as opposed to terrorizing all the children in their sleep. Granted, he does possess Jesse through his dreams, but all the kills are carried out by Jesse in the waking world, as he slowly transforms into a flesh and blood Freddy Krueger.

Needless to say, that pissed off a lot of fans at the time, and still continues to do so today. Coupled with its generalized shortcomings (acting, writing, direction, etc), its bizarre homo-eroticism and its overall weirdness, Freddy’s Revenge is not a fan favorite, and is offend cited as the series’ low-point: a rushed and lazy attempt to cash-in on the success of the original, with Dream Warriors being a much more creative and fitting sequel. True enough, I can concede.

However, I have a soft spot for Elm Street 2, cause well…

I’m a sucker for bad movies, and this one delivers.
Clu Gulager is awesome. I don’t care what movie he’s in, he’s always on point.
Grady is the man (as played by Ron Rusler of The Daggers….fuck yeah Thrashin’)
Freddy is still scary, and he retains his creep-factor before plunging into total buffoonery as per 3, 4 et al.
Jesse is such a little wiener, it’s hard not to love him. Horror’s first male Scream Queen.
You could write a thesis paper on its homosexual subtext. In fact, I kinda found one looking for gifs. Make that 2.
And I appreciate the attempt to do something different. Though its failure does lead to subsequent films treading back (and back again) into more familiar waters, it’s still nice to see people trying something different.

That being said (and long-windedly at that) let’s get to Bobby Orlando’s funky beats, as heard during the pool party sequence of Freddy’s Revenge.

Down In The Boiler Room

TRACK #65:

Down In The Boiler Room by The Elm Street Group

Segueing nicely out of our Horror Host block is this oddity that only the 80’s could have produced, featuring a man whom himself was briefly a Horror Host, Mr. Big Time…Fred Krueger.

Between Dream Warriors and The Dream Master, Freddy-Mania was nearing its peak, and some producer (bless their soul) thought it made perfectly sound financial sense to green-light Freddy’s Greatest Hits.

Dinosaur Dracula puts it best when he writes:

Beyond the costumes and suction-cupped window dolls was this album. This beautiful album, aimed at God knows who. I doubt it sold more than a few thousand copies, but then, maybe no more than a few thousand copies were produced to begin with.
It’s a bizarre thing with no clear audience. Too sophisticated for kids, too stupid for adults. Too much like show tunes for the horror crowd, too much like scary bloody horror for anyone else.
A mix of covers and original songs, Freddy Krueger is all over the album, but only rarely does he actually “sing.” Usually, he just tacks one-liners onto the verses. The actual music-making was done by the “Elm Street Group,” who I’m guessing were regular studio musicians gathered to make two months’ rent with the weirdest work they’d ever do.

Naturally, there’s a couple of these gems on Shindig, starting out with this particularly strange number concerning Freddy’s boiler room.

Led-in with a clip from Freddy’s Nightmares – Mr. Krueger’s own personal horror anthology television show that first aired the following year. The program had Freddy playing Rod Serling to all manner of neutered Elm Street-style tales where Freddy fucked with the protagonists for any number of ridiculous reasons.

Enjoy!

Haunted House

TRACK #64:

Haunted House by Elvira

Well, we couldn’t do a block of Horror Host hits without including the most successful, recognizable and desirable Horror Host of them all, Elvira.

Casandra Peterson was initially picked to become the new Vampira, when KHJ-TV in LA approached Maila Nurmi to reboot The Vampira Show in the early 80’s.

Maila wanted Lola Falana. KHJ did not, and essentially just hired Peterson on their own. This irked Maila so thoroughly that she completely walked away from the entire project.

No matter to KHJ, they went ahead and did it anyway, without Maila, renaming their host Elvira, and proceeding with “Elvira’s Movie Macabre.”

This also irked Ms. Nurmi. So much so that she sued Casandra Peterson for likeness infringement.

She lost the suit however, as the court found a striking similarity was not infringement enough, and ruled in favor of Peterson. Casandra went on to find great success as The Mistress of the Dark, becoming a brand unto herself, with national syndication, spokesperson deals, 2 pinball machines, 2 feature films and scores other Elvira themed products.

A whole new generation of horror nerds had their own wet nightmares at the…hands…of the almost impossibly beautiful Casandra Peterson, who remains so iconic to horror culture, it’s difficult to think of a time without her.

Wrapping up our Horror Host block is the Mistress herself (who else) singing about the dangers of a Haunted House.

Morgus The Magnificent

TRACK #63:

Morgus The Magnificent by Morgus & The 3 Ghouls

Chances are, if you grew up in New Orleans between the years of 1959 and 1989 (and maybe even later) you’re familiar with local legend and House of Shock host Morgus The Magnificent.

Perhaps the most prolific host, Sid Noel’s seminal mad scientist still gets syndicated airplay down in the Big Easy, where the good doctor has one hell of a loyal fan base.

So much so that hometown hero Dr. John, who most famously speculated that he was “in the right place, but it must have been the wrong time,” cut this tune about the doc back in the early 60’s.

Released under the pseudonym band “Morgus and the 3 Ghouls,” Dr. John pays tribute to medical contemporary and self proclaimed 38th degree Mason Dr. Morgus and his late night House of Shock.

Morgus also has the honor of being one of a few hosts to have his on movie. The Wacky World of Dr. Morgus finds our titular physician creating a Batman: The Movie-style machine which turns people into dust and then back into people again.

So sit back with the 2 docs, and enjoy this old piece of Horror Host history.

Vampira

TRACK #61:

Vampira by Misfits

If John Zacherle is the grandaddy of Horror Hosts, then Maila Nurmi is their mother goddess.

Back in 1954, The Vampira Show was the first program to feature a spooky host introducing (and mocking) old B-movies.

Though only on the air for about a year, Vampira’s mark on horror culture can still be felt today, particularly tooling around Tumblr, where her image is ever present.

And why not? As Mr. Danzig so succinctly puts it:

Two inch nails
Micro-waist
with a pale white feline face
inclination eyebrows to there
Vampira
Mistress to the horror kid

Vampira is the embodiment of the classic horror image. Young fangirls still want to be her, and young fanboys still want to be with her. And though nothing but a few old kinescopes exist of the short-lived program, Maila Nurmi’s legacy will forever live on with the genre.

Fittingly led in by Martin Landu’s oscar-bearing Bela Lugosi, exulting Ms. Nurmi’s appealing qualities to Johnny Depp’s irritated Ed Wood.

Go try on a sweater then, Nerd-o. Me and Bela here will just sit back with some morphine and enjoy the show.