American Scary: Conversations with the Kings, Queens and Jesters of Late-Night Horror TV

By Michael Monahan.

American Scary is dedicated to all those Monster Kids who remember eagerly anticipating the weekend monster movie – hosted by their local cool ghoul television personality.

These horror hosts played a pivotal role in that their insults and humor often added to the enjoyment of watching scare flicks ranging from the good to the bad to the . . . just plain terrible. 

Through extensive and revealing interviews you will discover the real person behind the macabre and occasionally silly masquerade. This book is a celebration of those local TV personalities who donned the makeup and their intimate connection to the community. Their televised presence didn’t just host creature feature movies, they had a personal almost neighborly contact with their youthful audience, someone who said your name on the air, read your letter, showed your artwork, announced your birthday, made you laugh and just plain entertained you. Some of their names have even become as well-known at the monster movies themselves: Vampira, Zacherley, Svengoolie, Count Gore De Vol. These interviews are among the many presented in American Scary sure to bring back a few happy memories of those golden days of late night shock – or even schlock television.