American Scary Volume 2 – A Must Read for Fans of Horror Hosts (Including Svengoolie)!

In the summer of 2025, horror host aficionado Michael Monahan released the first volume of his updated/expanded American Scary: Conversations with the Kings, Queens, and Jesters of Late Night Horror, a collection of interviews with numerous local television personalities. Many of these men and women are no longer with us, making these discussions invaluable and a glimpse of a bygone era when many of us, myself included, would anxiously camp in front of our television set, ready to battle its antennae for the best picture our UHF station could offer to see them. Those who didn’t have the honor of growing up with a local, commercial television host can’t grasp the deep devotion these individuals inspired. They were more than mere celebrities; they were our “friends,” who not only understood us monster fans but also presented them to us every week with their own unique brand of humor. For my part, that faithfulness led me to help start this blog in 2010 and to become one of the luckiest horror host fanboys alive, befriending and helping my childhood host well into my ‘50s. So you can imagine my excitement that this host, Rich Koz, the Son of Svengoolie turned Svengoolie, is not only featured in American Scary: Conversations with the Kings, Queens, and Jesters of Late Night Horror Volume 2 but also gracing its cover.

A Celebrity “Get Well” card for Rich Koz Svengoolie!

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Terror from Beyond the Daves would like to extend a very special “Get Well” card to our dear friend, Rich Koz/Svengoolie. Svengoolie is well loved and respected; not just by us Daves and horror fans, but by a WIDE range of broadcasting professionals, TV historians, and a few notable celebrities as well. This has been especially true now that he’s gone national and caught the attention of such genre legends as Mark Hamill and Robert Englund!

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SHOCK IT TO ME! San Francisco Bay Horror Hosts get their due!

Last year, we posted a blog featuring the classic horror hosts of Southern California (which you can revisit HERE). California, however, is a large state and has an equally rich history in its northern region. The new book, “Shock it to Me,” written by Michael Monahan a.k.a. Doktor Goulfinger, is a MUST HAVE for any Horror Host fan’s library – highlighting these very hosts!

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Tribute to Dick Von Hoene…Cincinnati’s Cool Ghoul!

Dave F: Ohio is one of the most prolific states when it comes to churning out horror hosts. Therefore, it was not surprising that  several inductees to The Horror Host Hall of Fame would hail from there. One of these was Dick Von Hoene a.k.a. The Cool Ghoul!

Classic commercial horror hosts were also professional broadcasters and Von Hoene was no exception. In the early 1960’s, he worked on Cincinnati radio and was featured on a show called “Bob Smith’s Monster Mash.” It was there that The Cool Ghoul character was born, though it would not be until the latter part of the decade (after he moved from radio to television) that the character would be given its official “look.”

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Ode to the Horror Host Sidekick: Interview with Penny Dreadful’s Garou!

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Ever since Vampira cooed to her pet spider, “Rolo,” and the great Zacherly whispered “my dear” to an invisible paramour just outside the camera’s reach, sidekicks have been a common feature of horror hosted shows.

These companions are often as colorful and diverse as their host creators. Some are the skeletal variety such as Svengoolie’s Tombstone or Wolfman Mac’s conniving Boney Bob. Others are even more bizarre and imaginative such as Doktor Goulfinger’s Count Zygote (the world’s first horror host fan), Ms Monster’s..”ahem”.. melons “Tit & Tat,” or even a coy houseplant whom Mr. Lobo affectionately refers to as “Miss Mittens.”

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2010 Indy Horrorhound Horror Hosts: Doktor Goulfinger and Count Gore de Vol!

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Saturday promised to be the busiest day of the  Horrorhound convention.  Wanting to get an early start, I immediately went down to the main hall after breakfast. Due to the large number of hosts attending the Vampira Tribute, I had no illusions about meeting them all. In an effort to stay focused, I created a short list of the ones I really wanted to meet.

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