Spaghetti with Svengoolie!

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Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s we didn’t have a local horror host here in Rhode Island, until our Creature Double Feature decided to syndicate the Son Of Svengoolie out of Chicago. I had always been a fan of the Creature Double Feature but to be honest, the show had started to run its course as it started to show less of a variety of films, and those that they were showing had been shown dozens of time before. When they introduced the Son Of Svengoolie for me it was a breath of fresh air and a fan for life was created, despite the fact that the Creature Double Feature was soon to be cancelled for something called Kung Fu Theater.

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I BELIEVE in Sventa!

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The second and final stop of Svengoolie’s 2013 “Sventa Claus” appearances…

The next weekend, Svengoolie would return, this time appearing at Alternative Reality Comics in Mt Greenwood: a shop owned by a man named Tim Davis. Davis is pals with my fellow Goolie, Brian Bernardoni, and it’s his store window that hosts Brian’s amazing Svengoolie coffin & props when not being utilized for Brian’s Halloween yard haunt (and you can check out that fantastic set-up by clicking HERE). At last our mutual idol would get to see Brian’s great work in person which I know had always been a dream of Brians. It also gave the world another opportunity to meet Sventa Claus…the first ever outside of Comic Collector.

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Yes America, there IS a Sventa Claus!

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Well my friends, it’s that time of year when we celebrate family traditions, gathering with friends, gift giving…and Svengoolie! Yes, leave it to our national TV horror host to throw conventional holiday wisdom down the chimney and make the yuletide season friendly for us horror fans (who, contrary to Andy Williams,  consider October to be the “most wonderful time of year”) as well! A few years back, Sven adopted the persona of “Sventa Claus” which, in Chicago, has become something of a holiday tradition in and of itself.

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Svengoolie Hosts “The Nightmare on Chicago Street” Costume Contest!

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Conclusion to the 2013 Nightmare on Chicago Street…

Feeling a bit awkward, I made my way up the stage and starting snapping photos of Svengoolie addressing The Nightmare on Chicago Street crowd. I later learned there were nearly 7,000 people out there which, had I known at the time, would have me a nervous wreck! Elizabeth Haney was determined to capture a Sven’s eye view of things and the last thing I wanted to do was let her down. Seeing the immense crowd really brought home the full power Svengoolie had on my fellow fans. Sven cracked a joke about it being so cold he was glad he had his iphone because he’s “freezing his apps off” and the conest began…

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Svengoolie Awakens the Nightmare on Chicago Street!

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Nightmare on Chicago Street continues…

Shortly after Svengoolie had finished being interviewed by some local students of Elgin, I headed to the back room to say hello. There wasn’t enough time to corral Nightmare on Chicago Street’s most influential women, Elizabeth Haney and Alice Moring. for a picture but I did make sure it happened afterwards…lest they regret issuing me my press pass.

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Svengoolie at “Santa’s Village” was like a “Nightmare before Christmas!”

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The last time I’d been to the Santa’s Village theme park (located over an hour north of me in Dundee, Illinois) I was about five years old. To be honest, I don’t remember much about that visit and didn’t even know the place still existed. That was until my recent visit to the Volo Auto Museum where Svengoolie’s assistant, Jim Roche, mentioned it as a stop during the host’s numerous Halloween season of appearances. Needless to say, I immediately gave it a high Terror Dave priority…if for no other reason the novelty of it.

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