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A HORROR LEGEND IS GONE

November 1, 2016 at 9:54 pm Leave a comment

I should have posted this piece on Halloween night, but better late than never.  I feel this small piece of horror history needs to be shared.

As a writer of horror, I look to the roots of my addition.  The source which first opened the world of horror to me has just died at the age of 98.  At least they think he died.

He was one of the elements which first opened the world of horror to me.  He was Zacherly, the host of a late-night Saturday show centered on classic horror movies.  If you didn’t live in the Philadelphia, New Jersey, the New York area, you probably have never heard of him.

Born John Zacherle in 1918, he provided all the original classic horror movies.  Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy and the Invisible Man among others.  If the movie he was showing was not a classic, but a cheesy effort, he would interrupt the film to make comments or insert his image into the film.

During breaks he would camp it up standing in the coffin of his wife, stake pierced.  Also, he would talk to Gasport, a potato sack containing who knows what hanging on the wall.  Only Zacherly could understand what this sack said, which I found out from Zacherle’s obituary was his son.  Go figure.

Another activity, often perused by this ghoulish host, was brain surgery.  The brains looking very much like cauliflower.  I hesitate to speculate who these brains belonged to, but it is tempting.

I was a teenager when this was all happening.  Offered by Zacherly was a passport to Transylvania.  Of course I sent away for one.  With a bright red cover, it was a cherished possession.  It was lost before I had a chance to use it.

A legend is gone.  I hope he lives on in reruns, or that murky world where horror meets reality.

Entry filed under: OBSERVATIONS & OPINIONS, THOUGHTS, Uncategorized, Walt Trizna, WALT'S OPINIONS. Tags: horror, horror movies, John Zaherle, late night horror shows, Zacherly.