Morgus the Magnificent: A Reflection of his Audience!

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Terror from Beyond the Daves is pleased to welcome guest writer, William Taylor, sharing memories of his childhood horror host.

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He debuted on the New Orleans airwaves in the late 1940s on WWL radio before transitioning to WWL-TV on January 3, 1959 as a scientist “of the higher order” whose weekly experiments (wrapped around the horror movie presentation) in his laboratory would potentially revolutionize the world as we knew it…maybe.  His name is Momus Alexander Morgus and he worked out of the Old City Ice House in the Crescent City and is assisted by Chopsley who always wore a hood because the good doctor once tried to do dental surgery on him but Chopsley inhaled too much laughing gas & his face collapsed, but there’s still hope one day it can be properly reconstructed. He was further assisted by his talking skull computer E.R.I.C. (Eon Research Infinity Computer).

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Conjuring up laughs, tears, and the Final Season of Penny Dreadful’s “Shilling Shockers!”

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It was just over three years ago when the Rondo Award winning Penny Dreadful (Danielle Gelehrter) released her eighth season of Shilling Shockers. Long before she’d share a name with a hit Showtime series, this New England horror hostess was presenting scary movies while treating fans to some rather hex-cellent sketch comedy. Penny Dreadful XIII is also one Salem witch that doesn’t shy away from a challenge either. This was never more apparent than during the aforementioned Season Eight when she shattered conventional wisdom by featuring all silent films; not something today’s viewers generally clamor for. Nevertheless, with an unholy mix of sweat, spells, and skill she’d pull it off with the help of her director, Rebecca Paiva, who worked tirelessly updating the scratchy Public Domain offerings with new “title cards” along with a vibrant storyline that had the host and her feral sidekick, Garou (played by real life husband, Magoo Gelehrter) hilariously venturing into different time periods.

Back to Monster High -Penny & Garou Season 8

Back to Monster High: Penny & Garou relive their teen years in Season 8!

But despite her character’s ability to tread into the future, no one could have predicted the real-life heartbreak that would follow. In late 2012, Magoo was diagnosed with cancer and, despite a courageous battle, would succumb to the disease less than two years later. It was a shattering blow to both Danielle as well as her alter ego and left a legion of shocked fans in mourning while silently pondering the fate of Penny Dreadful’s Shilling Shockers. It was a valid if not morbid question.

If the old adage about the great loves of this world existing between those who “share the love of many things” is true then there could be few better examples than Magoo and Danielle. Their mutual love of classic horror and vintage physical comedy (Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, etc) would inspire them to expand their fandom into the realm of horror hosting. Garou’s comedic skills, though brilliant, never upstaged the host and made him an essential part of the success of Shilling Shockers. He even inspired us Daves to do an Ode to Horror Host Sidekicks  blog and interview with him during our earlier days.

However, abruptly ending the show was not an option as, prior to this tragedy ,a successful kick-starter campaign had been waged to raise money for a ninth season. This meant that Penny Dreadful had no choice but to continue whether Danielle was emotionally ready or not.

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It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Krampus: Elgin Celebrates Krampuslauf!

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It was a chilly December evening when I headed up to Elgin, Illinois to experience their annual “Krampus Krawl.” After seeing it advertised during the city’s Nightmare on Chicago Street, I knew it was something I had to experience first hand, and I’m so glad that I did! I mean, seriously, just because Halloween is over doesn’t mean we still can’t enjoy a few more sinister events before the year is out. This particular one was brought to Elgin by John LaFleur and sponsored by Side Street Studios whom I’ve mentioned before. Their shop served as Svengoolie’s headquarters during the last “Nightmare” and I swear if I lived anywhere near Elgin, I’d be signing up for just about every workshop and art class they have to offer! Though the celebration of Krampuslauf is relatively new to American culture, the recent success of the film, Krampus, along with other events popping up around the country show that it’s quickly gaining its own spot on our busy December calendars. The festival originated in the Alpine regions of Europe and honors the darker version of St. Nicholas; a horned creature named Krampus whose job isn’t to reward the good kids but punish the naughty ones. With our culture’s shift towards more self-entitled and less, shall we say, respectful children, one can’t help but wonder if the sudden rise of Krampus over the past decade is much of a coincidence.  Regardless of whatever possible sociological commentary it may carry (if any) it’s definitely proving to be a lot of fun for us naughty adults!

Here’s how the night unfolded…

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Ace Frehley’s Q&A at the 2015 “Days of the Dead” Chicago!

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Despite his elusive reputation, legendary KISS guitarist, Ace Frehley, has been a guest of Days of the Dead several times. In fact, it was their first event in Indianapolis back in 2011 that I was finally able to add his signature to my KISS Marvel Comic (Story HERE). The fact that this event is able to feature him so consistently is pretty amazing in and of itself. But getting him to do a Q&A panel? Now THAT was really impressive. Regardless of the odds, it took place at Days of the Dead Chicago on Saturday November 21st, 2015; a date I’d later learn was already an important one in KISStory. What follows below are highlights from that experience, courtesy of my trusty digital recorder…

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“Days of the Dead” Chicago Women in Film Panel!

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On the afternoon of Saturday November 21st,  Days of the Dead Chicago treated fans to a special “Women in Film” panel featuring guests PJ Soles, Rae Dawn Chong, and Sandahl Bergman. Below are excerpts taken from that experience which, despite the event tent being freezing cold, was a lot of fun! These ladies were both informative and entertaining; dishing on their film’s leading men and experiences while holding nothing back.   So, without further adieu…

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Jay Langley and those Bloody Amazing Scarebears!

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While checking out the vendors at this year’s Days of the Dead Chicago, I was pleased to see that Jay Langley and his signature Scarebears were among them! I love sinister toys and particularly enjoy gruesome Teddy Bears which a few amazing artists out there have been crafting; and each with their own unique touches. We’ve featured a few of them on this site but, after spotting Jay and his latest batch, I realized (to my great shame) that the Scarebears had yet to be one of them. That’s pretty surprising since I was an instant fan when I first saw them a few years back; enamored with their EC Comics’ style gore and signature skulls with eyeballs! They’re also affordable by convention standards and obviously a big hit with many of my fellow horror buffs who I often see walking around with one at events. I own two of them myself and look forward to adding more of them before my Terror Dave days are over.

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