John Stanley, who hosted Creature Features in the San Francisco-Bay Area for six years (1979-84) introduced old horror and science fiction movies on late-night programming. This title provides 559 photos, Stanley's exclusive interview material to describe such leading players as Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner and Gene Roddenberry of Star Trek.

Updated to include the most movie mega-hits, this sci-fi, fantasy, and horror movie guide has it all--the shockers, schlockers, blockbusters, bombs, cult faves, rare gems, classics, groundbreakers, gorefests, space operas, sorcery, Euro-splatter, and everything in between.

Lock your doors and gather close . . . if you dare! Once a rising TV journalist, Jerri Bartman has returned to her small Midwest hometown station. Demoted to hosting the nightly Creature Feature, Jerri's professional humiliation is eclipsed by the discovery that her new job comes with a secret, supernatural duty. Her missing predecessor, Count Crowley, was one of the last "Appointed" hunters of monsters. Yes. Monsters. They're real and they're hell bent on controlling the news and information consumed by humans. Everything we've ever been taught about monsters is a lie and Jerri's only possible advisor is a senile male chauvinist. It's 1983 and the outlook for humanity is getting . . . gnarly and their only hope is an alcoholic, acerbic horror host from Missouri. David Dastmalchian's authorial comics debut with artist Lukas Ketner--this terrifying trade collects issues #1-#4 of the Dark Horse Comics series Count Crowley: Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter!

In October 1957, Screen Gems made numerous horror movies available to local television stations around the country as part of a package of films called Shock Theater. These movies became a huge sensation with TV viewers, as did the horror hosts who introduced the films and offered insight--often humorous--into the plots, the actors, and the directors. This history of hosted horror walks readers through the best TV horror films, beginning with the 1930s black-and-white classics from Universal Studios and ending with the grislier color films of the early 1970s. It also covers and explores the horror hosts who presented them, some of whom faded into obscurity while others became iconic within the genre.

From December 1957 through October 1959, Chicago TV viewers were held in thrall by "Marvin," the ghoulishly hilarious host of WBKB-TV's late-night horror film series Shock Theatre. Marvin and his lady friend "Dear" (her face ever hidden from the camera) introduced thousands of Chicagoland youngsters to such classic Universal chillers as Frankenstein, Dracula and The Wolf Man. This history of Shock Theatre focuses on the series and its creator, Marvin himself--in real life, the multi-talented Terry Bennett, whose wife Joy played "Dear." Terry's son Kerry Bennett provides an affectionate foreword, while celebrated horror host Count Gore De Vol (Dick Dyszel) supplies the afterword. Included are dozens of photos and vintage advertisement reproductions, as well as two appendices featuring a resume of Terry Bennett's career and a list of films telecast during his two-year Shock Theatre run.

From Vampira to Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, female horror movie hosts have long been a staple of late-night television. Broadcast on local stations and cable access channels, characters such as Moona Lisa, Stella, Crematia Mortem and Tarantula Ghoul brought an entertaining blend of macabre camp and after-prime-time sexuality to American living rooms in the 1950s through 1990s. Despite a near total lack of local programming today, the tradition continues on the Internet and Roku and other modern media. Featuring exclusive interviews and rare photographs, this book covers dozens of "dream ghouls" with alphabetical entries, from Aunt Gertie to Veronique Von Venom.

This biographical dictionary presents a stellar lineup of talented, versatile character actors who regularly appeared in horror and science fiction films during Hollywood's golden age. Many are well known by genre buffs and casual fans--they include Lionel Atwill, John Carradine, Dwight Frye, Rondo Hatton, Dick Miller, J. Carroll Naish, Maria Ouspenskaya, Glenn Strange, Edward Van Sloan, and George Zucco. Some are perhaps not so well known but equally at home in the horror and science fiction films--such as Anthony Carbone, Harry Cording, Rosemary La Planche, Dick Purcell, Elizabeth Russell and Mel Welles. The 96 entries are complete with a biography and in-depth analyses of the actor's best performances--demonstrating how important these personalities were to the success of their genre films.

Collects fantasy, horror, fairy tales, and gothic stories chosen from the past year, including works by Ursula K. LeGuin, Neil Gaiman, and Bill Lewis.

"Between 1995 and 1999, Patton Oswalt lived with an unshakable addiction. It wasn't drugs, alcohol or sex: it was film. After moving to L.A., Oswalt became a huge film buff (or as he calls it, a sprocket fiend), absorbing classics, cult hits, and new releases at the New Beverly Cinema. Silver screen celluloid became Patton's life schoolbook, informing his notion of acting, writing, comedy, and relationships. Set in the nascent days of L.A.'s alternative comedy scene, Oswalt's memoir chronicles his journey from fledgling stand-up comedian to self-assured sitcom actor, with the colorful New Beverly collective and a cast of now-notable young comedians supporting him all along the way"--

In the mid-1950s, to combat declining theater attendance, film distributors began releasing pre-packaged genre double-bills--including many horror and science fiction double features. Though many of these films were low-budget and low-end, others, such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Horror of Dracula and The Fly, became bona fide classics. Beginning with Universal-International's 1955 pairing of Revenge of the Creature and Cult of the Cobra, 147 officially sanctioned horror and sci-fi double-bills were released over a 20-year period. This book presents these double features year-by-year, and includes production details, historical notes, and critical commentary for each film.