Svengoolie & the Costume Contest of Nightmare on Chicago Street!

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Photo courtesy of Jim Roche

Photo courtesy of Jim Roche

Svengoolie was given new headquarters at this year’s Nightmare on Chicago Street, and a classier one at that. Side Street Studio Arts is yet another reason to love the city of Elgin, Illinois; providing residents an opportunity to express their creative side and a venue to display their work. Consequently, the national TV horror host would find himself sitting amid sinister, yet beautiful, works of art; all part of their Something Wicked: A Dark Arts Exhibit. The line outside to see him started forming almost as soon as the event began and for good reason as he’d only be signing for an hour before hosting the annual costume contest

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Elgin Celebrates Five Years of “Nightmare on Chicago Street!”

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I no sooner said goodbye to the ladies of Midnite Mausoleum  before earning myself a speeding ticket trying to zoom back east for Elgin’s Nightmare on Chicago Street. If you’ve ever attended one of these in the past than you’d understand my exuberance as well as all the hyperbole I’ve used to describe it over the years; both on this site as well as in the latest issue of Scary Monsters Magazine.

Picture several city blocks created to look like a zombie apocalypse; complete with militia roaming an undead “Safe Zone” while garnering inspiration from their own macabre Uncle Sam; national TV horror host, Svengoolie.  You can’t blame me for making this my favorite stop during the Halloween season, nor for having a led foot while trying to get there.

In this regard, I’m far from alone. Now celebrating its fifth year, Nightmare on Chicago Street has fast become Chicagoland’s premiere Halloween experience with last year’s attendance reaching over 12,000 people!

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“Boo at the Zoo” with Midnite Mausoleum!

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It was a brisk day this past Saturday when I headed out to the Niabi Zoo in Coal Valley, Illinois to see their local horror hostesses, Midnite Mausoleum! For over the past year the unforgettable Marlena Midnite and her effervescent co-host, Robyn Graves, have been entertaining monster fans in the Quad Cities (Northwest Illinois and Southeaster Iowa) via WQAD TV. I hadn’t seen them since back in their Public Access days and wanted to give a quick Terror Dave “Hello” before zooming back to my neck of the woods for another event which I’ll be covering in my next post.

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Svengoolie Goes Full Tilt for “Pinball Life!”

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So far as fall days go, you couldn’t ask for anything better than Friday October 16th in Illinois. The sun was shining with temps hovering in the ‘60s and it was one of those rare weekdays I was scheduled off. Best of all, it was on a day when national commercial TV horror host, Svengoolie, was making one of his Halloween season appearances! This one was about 90 minutes northwest from my place in the village of Huntley, Illinois.  I was familiar with the rural town as my sister used to teach school there several years back and this had been our favorite time of year to visit her. It meant postcard perfect fall leaves and a visit to one of the numerous apple orchards and pumpkin patches found in that region. Today would be a lot different.

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A Mad Monster Party with Svengoolie!

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This year’s Flashback Weekend offered something different from previous years and specifically geared towards younger horror fans; a screening of the 1967 Rankin/Bass Mad Monster Party hosted by national commercial TV horror host, Svengoolie! Though not as popular as the animation team’s Christmas TV specials (Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, The Year without a Santa Claus, etc.) this full-length film featured the voice work of the legendary Karlos Borloff as well as Phyllis Diller!

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