American Scary, coming to DVD on February 17th, is a look at the nation’s tradition of horror hosting, from Zacherley to A. Ghastlee Ghoul.
Hosts of all kinds were once a staple of television, and especially local television productions. But as production demands and the availability of cheaper syndicated material changed the local TV business model, local hosts were also one of the first things to go, no matter how popular they were with the viewing public.
With interviews and footage from major hosts from the 1950s to the present day, such as Zacherley, Vampira, Ghoulardi and others, along with memories from celebrities and fans who were influenced by these hosts, you’ll follow this American folk art form from its glamorous beginnings, through repeated waves of popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, to its scrappy resurgence and survival in the current age of cable access and the Internet.
American Scary looks to remind people how much fun local TV could be – and maybe could be again. Here’s a reminder of some of the great horror hosts on local television stations across the country:
