31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: BEFORE BOB WILKINS How Terrence's "Shock!" Became a "Nightmare"

Meet the San Francisco Bay Area's First Horror Host... Terrence!


Terrence (Russ Coughlin) and "friend" on the set of "Nightmare"!

Scores of those from Monster Kid Generation in the San Francisco Bay Area still exalt (and rightly so) our beloved horror host, Bob Wilkins, who haunted the airwaves emanating out of Oakland's Jack London Square at KTVU-2 on "Creature Features" during the 1970s (and even longer out of Stockton-Sacramento area). Fewer still have only but dim memories - if at all - of Castle Noir's "Asmodeus" on KEMO-20's "Shock It To Me! Theater." But, they had a predecessor who conjured up nightmares over at KRON-4 now 60 years ago: "Terrence."

In October 1957, Screen Gems (the television subsidiary of Columbia Pictures) released a package of 52 classic Universal Pictures horror titles for syndication to stations nationwide, promoted as "Shock!". These local broadcasts on stations across America created monster ratings in markets with 38% and far more, conjuring new legions of monster kids, as well as creating creatures that would become the fabric of local television for decades to come... The "Horror Host," led by Philadelphia's legendary "cool ghoul," Zacherley.

Meanwhile, in the San Francisco Bay Area, the "Shock" package was picked up by the then-NBC affiliate, KRON-4, marketed to viewers as "Nightmare," hosted by seasoned native broadcaster Russ Coughlin (whom later became the general manager of our local ABC affiliate KGO-7). As Terrence, Coughlin bowed "Nightmare" with James Whale's FRANKENSTEIN on October 3, 1957. The tall, slender Coughlin wore a regular suit, cracked wry monster jokes, broke ratings records, and incited lycanthropic student riots on the campus at UC Berkeley...

It's true - and there's much, much more to the story, so read all about it - beautifully and painstakingly documented in the pages of Michael Monahan (American Scary) and the late Lon Huber (UHF Nocturne)'s exhaustive - and currently out-of-print - history of San Francisco Bay Area Horror Hosts, "Shock It To Me! Golden Ghouls of the Golden Gate" (2011, UHF Nocturne). I harbor an unnatural love for Micheal and Lon's book and I still demand a reprint!

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: BOB WILKINS LIVES! "Yes, Even You... Can Commit Murder!"

TV Guide ad for the Halloween broadcast on October 30, 1971.

Northern California's beloved host of KTVU Channel 2's "Creature Features" (not to mention his stints at Sacramento's KRCA-3 and KTXL-40) is being celebrated in my dreadful creepy countdown to Halloween, each and every eerie day this monstrous month, in a sinister series vampiric vintage ads and blood rare photographs...

Bob Wilkins lives!

Read more about Bob Wilkins and "Creature Features", here — and don't forget to visit the official Bob Wilkins website!

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 27! Harvey Hart's Dark Intruder (1965)

Halloween 2014 is dedicated to beloved Horror Host, Bob Wilkins!


KTVU's "Creature Features" presentation on March 3, 1973!

"On the twenty-seventh day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, twenty-seven ancient demons, twenty-six vampire maidens, twenty-five monkey brains, twenty-four missing corpses, twenty-three bubbling caverns, twenty-two immortal curses, twenty-one bloody vamps, twenty cobwebbed corridors, nineteen bats flying, eighteen butcher chops, seventeen premonitions, sixteen bullets silver, fifteen limbs severed, fourteen Igors fluting, thirteen nightmares tormenting, twelve hunchbacks helping, eleven brains transplanting, ten ghouls feeding, nine yetis chilling, eight mummies crumbling, seven monsters growling, six feathered freaks, five undead things, four maniacs, three evil kisses, two fiendish hands, and an atomic voodoo zombie!"

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 25! Robert Florey's Murders in the Rue Morgue '32

Halloween 2014 is dedicated to beloved Horror Host, Bob Wilkins!


KTVU's "Creature Features" presentation on January 27, 1973!

"On the twenty-fifth day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, twenty-five monkey brains, twenty-four missing corpses, twenty-three bubbling caverns, twenty-two immortal curses, twenty-one bloody vamps, twenty cobwebbed corridors, nineteen bats flying, eighteen butcher chops, seventeen premonitions, sixteen bullets silver, fifteen limbs severed, fourteen Igors fluting, thirteen nightmares tormenting, twelve hunchbacks helping, eleven brains transplanting, ten ghouls feeding, nine yetis chilling, eight mummies crumbling, seven monsters growling, six feathered freaks, five undead things, four maniacs, three evil kisses, two fiendish hands, and an atomic voodoo zombie!"

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 21! Lambert Hillyer's Dracula's Daughter (1936)

Halloween 2014 is dedicated to beloved Horror Host, Bob Wilkins!


KTVU's "Creature Features" presentation on September 2, 1972!

"On the twenty-first day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, twenty-one bloody vamps, twenty cobwebbed corridors, nineteen bats flying, eighteen butcher chops, seventeen premonitions, sixteen bullets silver, fifteen limbs severed, fourteen Igors fluting, thirteen nightmares tormenting, twelve hunchbacks helping, eleven brains transplanting, ten ghouls feeding, nine yetis chilling, eight mummies crumbling, seven monsters growling, six feathered freaks, five undead things, four maniacs, three evil kisses, two fiendish hands, and an atomic voodoo zombie!"

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 20! Tod Browning's Dracula (1931)

Halloween 2014 is dedicated to beloved Horror Host, Bob Wilkins!


KTVU'S "Creature Features" presentation on August 5, 1972!

"On the twentieth day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, twenty cobwebbed corridors, nineteen bats flying, eighteen butcher chops, seventeen premonitions, sixteen bullets silver, fifteen limbs severed, fourteen Igors fluting, thirteen nightmares tormenting, twelve hunchbacks helping, eleven brains transplanting, ten ghouls feeding, nine yetis chilling, eight mummies crumbling, seven monsters growling, six feathered freaks, five undead things, four maniacs, three evil kisses, two fiendish hands, and an atomic voodoo zombie!"

Happy Birthday, Bela Lugosi (born October 20, 1882).

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 17! Harold Young's The Frozen Ghost (1945)

Halloween 2014 is dedicated to beloved Horror Host, Bob Wilkins!


KTVU's "Creature Features" presentation on June 17, 1972!

"On the seventeenth day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, seventeen premonitions, sixteen bullets silver, fifteen limbs severed, fourteen Igors fluting, thirteen nightmares tormenting, twelve hunchbacks helping, eleven brains transplanting, ten ghouls feeding, nine yetis chilling, eight mummies crumbling, seven monsters growling, six feathered freaks, five undead things, four maniacs, three evil kisses, two fiendish hands, and an atomic voodoo zombie!"

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 14! Erle Kenton's The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)

Halloween 2014 is dedicated to beloved Horror Host, Bob Wilkins!


KTVU's "Creature Features" presentation on March 4, 1972!

"On the fourteenth day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, fourteen Igors fluting, thirteen nightmares tormenting, twelve hunchbacks helping, eleven brains transplanting, ten ghouls feeding, nine yetis chilling, eight mummies crumbling, seven monsters growling, six feathered freaks, five undead things, four maniacs, three evil kisses, two fiendish hands, and an atomic voodoo zombie!"

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 13! William Castle's The Night Walker (1964)

Halloween 2014 is dedicated to beloved Horror Host, Bob Wilkins!


KTVU's "Creature Features Presentation on February 27, 1972!

"On the thirteenth day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, thirteen nightmares tormenting, twelve hunchbacks helping, eleven brains transplanting, ten ghouls feeding, nine yetis chilling, eight mummies crumbling, seven monsters growling, six feathered freaks, five undead things, four maniacs, three evil kisses, two fiendish hands, and an atomic voodoo zombie!"

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 12! Henry Cass' Blood of the Vampire (1958)

Halloween 2014 is dedicated to beloved Horror Host, Bob Wilkins!


KTVU's "Creature Features" presentation on February 12, 1972!

"On the twelfth day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, twelve hunchbacks helping, eleven brains transplanting, ten ghouls feeding, nine yetis chilling, eight mummies crumbling, seven monsters growling, six feathered freaks, five undead things, four maniacs, three evil kisses, two fiendish hands, and an atomic voodoo zombie!"

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 11! Arthur Lubin's Black Friday (1940)

Halloween 2014 is dedicated to beloved Horror Host, Bob Wilkins!


KTVU's "Creature Features" presentation on January 15, 1972!

"On the eleventh day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, eleven brains transplanting, ten ghouls feeding, nine yetis chilling, eight mummies crumbling, seven monsters growling, six feathered freaks, five undead things, four maniacs, three evil kisses, two fiendish hands, and an atomic voodoo zombie!"

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 30 The Black Cat (1934)

A perverse pre-code masterpiece and a box-office hit for Universal!

On the thirtieth day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, thirty Black Cats, twenty-nine Colossal Beasts, twenty-eight Haunted Houses, twenty-seven Poison Potions, twenty-six Pinewood Coffins, twenty-five Rattling Bones, twenty-four Creepy Crawlers, twenty-three Gypsy Curses, twenty-two Hissing Reptiles, twenty-one Tana Leaves, twenty Trembling Tendrils, nineteen Creepy Uncles, eighteen Eerie Cousins, seventeen Famous Monsters, sixteen Spiders Spinning, fifteen Witches Brewing, fourteen Voodoo Dollies, thirteen Ghosts a-Haunting, twelve Ghouls a-Grumbling, eleven Skulls a-Screaming, ten Zombies Feasting, nine Werewolves Howling, eight Mummies Crumbling, seven Vampires Preying, six Creatures S'laying, five Ghoulish Things, four Severed Limbs, three Shrunken Heads, two Devil Bats, and a Senior Lon Chaney!

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 26 Curse of the Undead (1959)

This effective Horror Western was originally conceived as a satire.

On the twenty-six day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, twenty-six Pinewood Coffins, twenty-five Rattling Bones, twenty-four Creepy Crawlers, twenty-three Gypsy Curses, twenty-two Hissing Reptiles, twenty-one Tana Leaves, twenty Trembling Tendrils, nineteen Creepy Uncles, eighteen Eerie Cousins, seventeen Famous Monsters, sixteen Spiders Spinning, fifteen Witches Brewing, fourteen Voodoo Dollies, thirteen Ghosts a-Haunting, twelve Ghouls a-Grumbling, eleven Skulls a-Screaming, ten Zombies Feasting, nine Werewolves Howling, eight Mummies Crumbling, seven Vampires Preying, six Creatures S'laying, five Ghoulish Things, four Severed Limbs, three Shrunken Heads, two Devil Bats, and a Senior Lon Chaney!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BELA LUGOSI! October 20, 1882 - August 16, 1956

An autographed 1930s portrait of the unforgettable Hungarian actor.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BORIS KARLOFF! November 23, 1887 - February 2, 1969

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 29 Werewolf of London (1935)

Henry Hull as the lycanthropic Dr. Wilfred Glendon!

"On the twenty-ninth day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, twenty-nine Mariphasa Flowers, twenty-eight Haunted Houses, twenty-seven Poison Potions, twenty-six Pinewood Coffins, twenty-five Rattling Bones, two dozen Crimson Ghosts, twenty-three Gypsy Curses, twenty-two Hissing Reptiles, twenty-one Tana Leaves, twenty Trembling Tabongas, nineteen Creepy Uncles, eighteen Eerie Cousins, seventeen Famous Monsters, sixteen Spiders Spinning, fifteen Witches Brewing, fourteen Voodoo Dollies, thirteen Ghosts a-Haunting, twelve Ghouls a-Grumbling, eleven Skulls a-Screaming, ten Zombies Feasting, nine Werewolves Howling, eight Mummies Crumbling, seven Vampires Preying, six Creatures S'laying, five Ghoulish Things, four Severed Limbs, three Shrunken Heads, two Devil Bats, and a Senior Lon Chaney!"

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 23 Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolfman (1941)

Limited Edition poster for the Alamo Drafthouse ©Martin Ansin

"On the twenty-third day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, twenty-three Gypsy Curses, twenty-two Hissing Reptiles, twenty-one Tana Leaves, twenty Trembling Tabongas, nineteen Creepy Uncles, eighteen Eerie Cousins, seventeen Famous Monsters, sixteen Spiders Spinning, fifteen Witches Brewing, fourteen Voodoo Dollies, thirteen Ghosts a-Haunting, twelve Ghouls a-Grumbling, eleven Skulls a-Screaming, ten Zombies Feasting, nine Werewolves Howling, eight Mummies Crumbling, seven Vampires Preying, six Creatures S'laying, five Ghoulish Things, four Severed Limbs, three Shrunken Heads, two Devil Bats, and a Senior Lon Chaney!"

Please visit Martin Ansin's site at martinansin.com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BELA LUGOSI! October 20, 1882 - August 16, 1956

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 1 The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

The immortal Lon Chaney Sr. as Erik, The Phantom!

"On the first day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, a Senior Lon Chaney!"

THE GHOULTIDE SEASON IS HERE! Harpy Halloween & Beast Witches!

Guys and Ghouls, it's finally that bewitching month of the year again: October! And that means Halloween! It's my favorite time of the year — so, much so, that I celebrate the Ghoultide Season all month long! Each and every day, I will be posting some creepy classic images, monstrous movie posters, and some fang-tastic art by illustrators including Rob Kelly. For those unaware, Rob Kelly is a freelance illustrator from New Jersey, with many psychotronic interests, who has created some amazing tributes to the classic monsters of cinema in the form of wry PSA and re-imagined movie posters — reason enough for us to bow our shrunken heads to him!

This year, I'm also throwing a sinister Samhain Shindig on All Hallow's Eve, SHOCK IT TO ME! HALLOWEEN SPOOKENANNY at the Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco, featuring maniacal music performances by The Undertaker & His Pals, Beachkrieg, and Johnny Legend & His Naked Apes (featuring members of The Mummies and The Chuckleberries), DJ Omar (Shutter, Popscene), Contests, Prizes, Horror Hosts and a more terror than you can shake a bloody stake at! Stay tuned for more details, or visit our official SHOCK IT TO ME! website!

HARPY HALLOWEEN & BEAST WITCHES,WHATEVER YOU ARE!