Elgin’s Nightmare on Chicago Street 2023 with Svengoolie!

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It was a brisk, windy Fall day in Elgin, Illinois when I arrived for their annual Nightmare on Chicago Street. Alice Moring from Acme Design graciously invited me to cover their spectacular Halloween spectacle while Jim Roche – Executive Producer of MeTV’s Svengoolie show – asked if I could assist them as well. The zombie “Safe Zone” opened at 6 p.m. with the streets completely cleared for a K-9 bomb sweep from 3:30 – 5. I arrived at 3:15 to get a decent parking space before quickly sequestering myself inside Svengoolie headquarters.

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Flashback Weekend 2023 concludes with Dick Warlock!

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I had an early start that Sunday morning at Flashback Weekend loading up my car before having breakfast with my friends. The day was to be short and sweet as I’d already accomplished my convention goals save for one…meeting Dick Warlock. As mentioned in my first Flashback post, Warlock would prove something of a hidden gem at this event. Although horror fans knew him best for playing Michael Myers in Halloween II (1981), he proved to be something of a hidden gem with a rich Hollywood history as a stunt double. His resume’ had sent gasps through the audience during his Q&A session with Dick Digilio as well as providing great entertainment for his taped Svengoolie interview on Saturday. Today would be my turn to meet him.

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The Frightful Return of “Nightmare on Chicago Street!|

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Who’d of thought zombies terrorizing an Illinois city’s streets would inspire warm, cuddly feelings of life getting back to normal? That’s what happened last Saturday when I visited  “Nightmare on Chicago Street’ – the quintessential Halloween event that many feared would never happen again. Fortunately, a Global Pandemic proved no match for the Undead as I entered the Safe Zone of Elgin, Illinois smiling from ear to ear.  

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Jason’s 31 Days of Horror Movies – 2020 Edition!

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Submitted by Jason Schoolcraft.

It’s 2020 and in mid-March, our world was turned upside down. Wear a mask. Social distancing. School canceled. Many working from home, if they still had a job. It seemed the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

Then it got worse, as horror conventions were canceled all over the country along with movie theaters closing. All big-budget theatrical releases were off the release calendar for the foreseeable future. The new normal was well, anything but normal. Things started to settle in and, if you were patient, you were rewarded with new horror and thriller films (if you were lucky, they were good). I felt what we needed was some of the old “normal” back, as it was last year before COVID-19 sacked the entire world.

Last year I wrote a piece called 31 Horror films in October I’d never seen before – the second in my series. As before, the challenge was to watch 31 films I’d never seen before in 31 nights and write my opinion on each. They could be new or old films, so long as they were new to me. It is always nice to find good “new” horror films, but a little sweeter finding a true gem. I decided to bring some normalcy back to the Terror Dave site, so I give you 31 DAYS OF HORROR PART THREE! After skipping the usual classics I found some new movies and a few I missed (or at the time didn’t care to watch). I hope this list inspires you to watch these horror films, after all, you just might be surprised!

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Svengoolie and the Sea Witch – “Nightmare on Chicago Street!” Part 2

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Continued…

After his signing, Svengoolie took a little break while I headed to the main stage for the costume contest. At this point, things had gotten pretty rowdy outside with a fight erupting in front of the Port-o-Potties; some drunk guy yelling at a girl for taking too long. This eventually led to more people getting involved including the police. I met back up with my daughters who were huddled next to a building. It was a great way too “people watch” while staying dry from the light rain that began moments earlier.

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2019 “Nightmare on Chicago Street!” Part 1

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This year’s Nightmare on Chicago Street had near-perfect weather and another large turnout. My daughters and I arrived at the Safe Zone early to take photos and peruse a few antique stores located inside. The plan was for us to stay together until the arrival of MeTV’s national horror host, Svengoolie. At that point, I’d take off to assist him while the girls covered what was going on in the streets. And believe me, there was a LOT going on.

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