Twas a “Nightmare on Chicago Street!”

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Hey gang, I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays and are looking forward to another year of horror, science fiction, super heroes, and monsters! I’m gonna kick off 2015  with a series of posts on an event that took place during the last Halloween season. Okay I know that isn’t very “New Year-ish”but I felt this story deserved to be looked at carefully and required some time that my Christmas (or Krampus had I been a local here in Elgin) season just didn’t allow. So let’s enjoy these ‘dead of winter’ days (with Dead being the operative word) and discuss an occasion that, while always amazing, is unique each year. Just curl up and forget those sub-zero temps that are plaguing a good portion of the US right now and go back to a much warmer evening WAY back in 2014.

Ah, it seems like only yesterday…

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The Final Resting Place of Svengoolie’s Old Coffin!

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The Conclusion of the 35th Anniversary of Svengoolie story…

We were directed back upstairs to the third floor of The Museum of Broadcast Communications to witness the unveiling of the new Svengoolie exhibit a.k.a. the final resting place of his old coffin. Having grown up with The Son of Svengoolie, it meant a lot to me as it was one of the few props that remained throughout the years. This, of course, lead to its inevitable wear and tear so, nostalgia aside, it was definitely time for an upgrade. I’ve always wanted to see the original in person and now, thanks to the Museum, everyone can!

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Accolades for Rich Koz & the 35th Anniversary of Svengoolie!

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We’d no sooner taken our seats in a special area located on the second floor of The Museum of Broadcast Communication, when we were back up on our feet cheering the arrival of Svengoolie. The man of the hour, Rich Koz, was celebrating his 35th anniversary as Chicago’s (and now the majority of this country’s) TV horror host and the room was chock full of devout fans and prominent citizens eager to participate in this one of a kind event.  It was a serious affair that might otherwise seem in direct contrast to a career built on never taking himself too seriously though, in this case, well-deserved.

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Ursula Bielski & the Ghosts of Lincoln Park Zoo

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On the evening of  October 16th I changed out of my work clothes and headed up to the city to experience my very first ghost tour. Many of my friends have done these type of things here in Chicago and I know most major cities offer them during the Halloween season. The Windy City’s past is loaded with gangland violence from the days of Al Capone and Prohibition while also boasting one of the country’s first documented serial killers. Mild-mannered Dr. H. H. Holmes would lure visitors of Chicago’s World Columbian Exposition in 1893 to his hotel (later dubbed a “Murder Castle”) for the sole purpose of killing them. In the end he’d confess to twenty-seven slayings, though historians believe that number to be much closer to two hundred.

Such a violent past can not leave any metropolis without its fair share of  myths and legends, and tonight I would learn that one of Chicago’s major attractions, The Lincoln Park Zoo, was resting on secrets of its own.

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Snapshots from Svengoolie Day 2014!

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The official Rich Koz Svengoolie Day  for both the State of Illinois as well as the City of Chicago took place just two days ago; October 31, 2014. Halloween is always a busy day for the horror host on any given year but, in lieu of its unique circumstances, this one was particularly demanding. With a schedule loaded with numerous activities at various different locations, the Svengoolie camp had enough on their plates without having a fanboy like myself tagging along. Therefore we Terror Daves were VERY fortunate to have the whole day archived by Sven’s assistant, and our friend, Jim Roche, who granted us permission to share them with you.

As you’re going through these photos, try and remember that this was all taken on a SINGLE day! Of course this wasn’t just any day…it was Svengoolie Day!

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