“Terror from Beyond the Daves” owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to our friend, Richard Braden, from Pennsylvania! Not only is Richard responsible for this site’s great logo, he has been a continuing source of assistance to us regarding technical issues.
Richard Braden 2009 Photo
Back in July of 2008, the Crown Plaza Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois saw the meeting of two legendary horror hosts. Chicago icon, Svengoolie, was joined on stage by national sensation – Elvira the Mistress of the Dark. This was part of the annual Flashback Weekend Convention, an event that Svengoolie had attended faithfully for years, often acting as MC of their popular costume contest. I was unable to attend this convention and, upon discovering that the two hosts had not only met but actually performed together, became literally sick for missing it.
I have been a collector of Halloween masks and collector’s busts since the early 80’s. When I used to read FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine one of my favorite parts of the magazine were the Captain Company ads in the back, in particular the ads for Don Post Studios and their amazing masks. I was always partial to the Grey Timberwolf but back then my parents wouldn’t buy me a Halloween mask for $42.75.
Since delving into the world of horror hosting, I have come across many diverse points of view. Debates regarding who is worthy of the title of “horror host,” who’s the better and most original host, or whether or not true hosts even exist in a post local TV world often come up. This is not surprising since hosts and their fans are, above all else, human beings. Despite all these varying opinions, I was surprised to discover that there was one thing just about everyone agreed on –
Horror hostess, Penny Dreadful is the one to watch!
Attending Wizard Con last week prompted me to dig through my old comic collection where I stumbled upon a little known title called “ROM Spaceknight.” When people mention Marvel Comics they will, no doubt, immediately be reminded of “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “The Uncanny X-Men,” or “The Mighty Avengers” – to name but a few. All of these classic titles have (or soon will see) big screen adaptations and have generated lots of merchandise. Sadly, one of their best characters never will. ROM has the distinction of starting out as a Parker Brothers toy before making his way into the Marvel universe.
I remember, months back, seeing the trailer for this movie and rolling my eyes in disgust. To me it represented the marriage between two highly annoying Hollywood trends; 1) remaking older movies and 2) presenting them in 3D whether the added effects were warranted or not. After picking up the latest issue of Rue Morgue, however, I changed my mind. They did a retrospective piece on the original PIRANHA as well as an article featuring the new one. Needless to say, I was hooked (no pun intended).
Terror from Beyond the Dave 