Robert Englund Toasts Svengoolie at Flashback Weekend!

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(Continued  from my last post) 

Don Johnston and I greeted the crew as they pulled into the hotel’s private parking lot. Accompanying Svengoolie were his Executive Producer, Jim Roche; Associate Producer, Ella Larschield; camera person, Korey McElligot; and social media specialist, Jennifer Vlad. After being stuck in near-standstill traffic for 90 minutes (due to the Lollapalooza Festival taking place in Chicago’s Grant Park),  they looked as if they were ready to kiss the ground upon exiting their cars.

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Flashback Weekend: Ozzy Rules…and so does Physical Media!

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This past Friday, I arrived in Rosemont, Illinois, at 11:30 am – just in time for a convention apocalypse. Sharing the dates of Flashback Weekend was another event -the National Sports Card Convention. This mammoth affair took place next door to Flashback’s Hyatt Regency at the Donald E. Stephens Center, ensuring all area hotels were booked and visitor parking critical. I ended up down the street in the CTA lot before hoofing it over. No worries, I had plenty of time to kill before the event opened and the arrival of national TV horror host, Svengoolie. As in previous years, I was asked to assist him and his crew, mostly on Saturday during his signing.

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Horror Host Tome, “American Scary,” Gets Even Scarier!

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This month marked the fifteenth anniversary of this site, and although it was never exclusively dedicated to horror hosts, there’s no question that it’s been a prevailing theme. This was due to both its creators meeting on a Svengoolie YAHOO forum (remember those?) with a mutual desire to learn about other classic television hosts. Further motivation came courtesy of a 2010 Vampira tribute at Horrorhound Weekend and the 2006 documentary, American Scary, by Michael Monahan and Sandy Clark. The latter featured commentary on the history of horror hosting, along with interviews from both fans and hosts, including the great Maila Nurmi, Vampira, herself.

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All Monsters Attack 2025: Three Godzillas in Chicago!

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Last weekend, I attended my first Chicago All Monsters Attack convention, an offshoot of Days of the Dead. This made perfect sense because I’ve seen fewer days as dead as this one. The show was at the Crowne Plaza in Rosemont (right across the street from my last adventure, Nightmare Weekend), which coincidentally used to host the similarly themed G-FEST (Godzilla Festival). After attending G-FEST for over twenty years, my eldest son, Alex, and I were curious how they’d compare.

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Nightmare Weekend – Yet Another Chicago Horror Con

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…and yes, another Blog! It appears the “retirement” I mentioned in January didn’t quite stick the landing.  I probably should have said that if I had something to talk about, I’d pop in, but the fact is, I had lots to talk about regarding Flashback Weekend in 2024, but just didn’t feel like it.  I guess after fifteen years, I’ve become something of a “mood blogger.” And today I’m in the mood to discuss Nightmare Weekend Chicago.

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Svengoolie’s Celebrity C2E2 Saturday

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Svengoolie’s Saturday morning at C2E2 matched Friday, though things didn’t go as smoothly with the autographs. A convention crew member erred in capping the line, inadvertently creating two separate ones. Once discovered, it was impossible to distinguish late arrivals from the new ones, leaving us no choice but to alternate between the two. Fortunately, this only angered a couple of people, which I consider a minor miracle. 

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