The Television Ghost

The Television Ghost was an American dramatic horror anthology television series featuring ghost stories presented by George Kelting as the ghost of various murder victims. It originally aired in New York City on W2XAB (now WCBS-TV), an experimental television station of Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), from August 17, 1931 to February 15, 1933.[1] Due to a lack of any preservation the entire series is widely accepted as being completely lost.

This article is about the 1930s television series. For the image echo on a television screen, see Ghosting (television).
The Television Ghost
A newspaper promotion for the series
GenreDramatic
Horror
Anthology
Presented byGeorge Kelting
Narrated byBill Schudt
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Production locationsNew York, New York
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time15 minutes
Release
Original networkW2XAB
Original releaseAugust 17, 1931 (1931-08-17) –
February 15, 1933 (1933-02-15)[1]

Premise

The ghosts of murder victims would tell the story of their respective murders. George Kelting was the storyteller and acted as the ghost, wearing white make-up and having a towel draped over his head. Due to the technical limitations of the time the visual effects were not impressive—the camera showed only Kelting's head.

Cast
  • George Kelting as the ghost-storyteller
  • Bill Schudt as announcer

Crew

Harry Spears – engineer

Broadcast

The series was also broadcast on radio by W2XE New York City and AM 970 WABC (forerunner to modern AM 880 WCBS, not related to the current WABC or AM 970). The Television Ghost ran for the entirety of W2XAB's two-year run as a mechanical television station. Each episode featured a run time of 15 minutes.

No audio recordings of the program were ever made, nor were any portions of the program filmed; the only known remaining documents are a few publicity photos of Kelting in costume and some newspaper mentions, making it a lost television broadcast.

It is believed to be one of the first dramatic television series in the world.[1] For part of its run it was followed on the schedule by Piano Lessons.[2]

References
  1. Google Books excerpt of the Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010, 2d ed.
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). www.fultonhistory.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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