Horror host

The first (proto) television horror host was Vampira (Maila Nurmi).[1] The Vampira Show featured mostly low budget suspense films, as few horror films had yet been released for television broadcast. It ran from 1954-1955 only in the Los Angeles market, but Nurmi's persona (based on cartoonist Charles Addams's "Morticia" character) would gain fame in magazines, TV, and film. In 1957, John Zacherle of Philadelphia's WCAU (and later in other markets) set the standard format for horror hosts with his "Roland" character for the station's Shock Theater. This was made possible due to RKO Pictures' new ownership licensing out the rights to its vast B-movie horror film library. Zacherle's set, style, film commentary, and special effects (such as interjecting his image into the film) were quickly emulated at local stations around the world, and as an homage today by hosts such as the nationally syndicated Svengoolie (Rich Koz).

Each station had its own host and style. Some hosts did regular commercials, while others presented fictional ads for bottled witches' blood.[2] Hosts were often plucked from the ranks of the station staff. In the days of live television, it was not uncommon for the weather man or booth announcer to finish a nightly news broadcast and race hastily to another part of the sound stage for a quick costume change to present the evening's monster tale.

While a few early hosts like and Vampira became the icons of this nationwide movement,[3] most hosts were locals. The impact of these friendly revenants on their young fans cannot be overestimated. The earliest hosts are often remembered with great affection today.[4]

The tradition was continued throughout the 1960s and 1970s and gained national attention in the early 1980s, after the death of L.A.'s Host, Sinister Seymour. Cassandra Peterson auditioned to become a replacement host and won the role. She became Elvira, Mistress of the Dark who is arguably the most widely recognized horror host in history. Today, two horror hosts who also started in the early 1980's dominate the genre: Rick Koz as "Svengoolie", who serves up a traditional but light-hearted weekly broadcast on MeTV; and John Bloom as "Joe Bob Briggs" on AMC Shudder's 'The Last Drive-In'. A journalist and B-movie film critic, Bloom's unique take on the Horror Host genre is to juxtapose deep-dive film analysis to a stereotyped redneck persona.