I met the publisher and editor when I went to the 2019 GhoulardiFest in Berea - which is also home to my undergrad college alma mater, Baldwin-Wallace University. I'd been dying to attend a GhoulardiFest for years, and I finally got the chance in October. GhoulardiFest, for those who don't know, is an annual con dedicated to Cleveland's classic horror hosts - Ernie 'Ghoulardi' Anderson, 'Big Chuck' Schodowski, Bob 'Houlihan' Wells, and 'Lil' John' Rinaldi. These were the horror hosts I grew up watching, and it was a blast to finally meet these guys who were such an indelible part of my growing up. I've written about them before.
As an update - and more background - Ghoulardi was THE original horror host. He started the whole horror host thing and was a genuine super star local celebrity. Unfortunately, Ghoulardi was a little bit before my time, and left Cleveland for Hollywood before I was born. He found fame as an announcer. You might know his voice from numerous 70s and 80s television shows, including The Love Boat and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Interestingly, his son, Paul Thomas Anderson - is the director of films like There Will Be Blood, Boogie Nights, The Master - and has been nominated for seven Academy Awards. He's also married to Maya Rudolph - who I have a weird celebrity crush on.
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| Ernie 'Ghoulardi' Anderson - "Turn blue, ya purple knif!" |
So that's kind of cool.
After Ghoulardi left, Big Chuck and Houlihan took over the late night show. They eschewed the usual horror host schtick of being creepy - with tons of spiderwebs, coffins, and dry ice fog. Instead, they did funny skits between the horror movies. This established the tenor of the show. At some point, Hoolie left CLE for Florida and radio work, and Lil' John took his place.
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| Houlihan and Big Chuck |
I remember the Hoolie and Big Chuck era, but not as well as The Big Chuck and Lil' John era. They were my horror hosts, and I watched them every Friday night growing up. It's been said, you never forget your first Doctor - in reference to Doctor Who. I feel it's likely the same with horror hosts.
While Tom Baker will always be my first doctor, Big Chuck and Lil' John will always be my favorite horror hosts.
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| My personally autographed photo of Big Chuck and Lil' John! |
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| Cleveland horror host royalty - and Doctor Zombie! |
So, anyway, I've digressed a little bit.
While there, I met and talked to a bunch of people - or as many people as my social anxiety and introversion allowed. I met several new horror hosts, and was a little jealous because - truthfully - my Doctor Zombie alter ego was always intended to be a horror host in his own right. I also met Don Smeraldi - editor for Scary Monsters Magazine. I was immediately struck by how cool his magazine was. It was a throwback to the awesomeness of Forrest Ackerman's Famous Monsters of Filmland. I can't begin to tell you how much I loved that and Fangoria when I was younger. I mentioned to him I was a writer, and he encouraged me to send something along. I repurposed an older piece I'd written and not done much with, and sent it to him. He quickly wrote back, said he loved it, and published it.
It felt like the easiest and most stress-free effort I've ever made to get something published. Seriously. And, it's also admittedly a bit nostalgic and smarmy. You see, I wrote about my late Uncle James. He's who introduced me to my first really bad horror movies, and the wonder of Cleveland's storied horror host history.
So, anyway, I've attached a copy of the cover below, as well as the article. Feel free to check it out.
And, feel free to check out Scary Monsters Magazine on your own. You can get digital copies and physical copies at their website... www.MyMonsterMovies.com.
Don and his crew are holding up a classic horror tradition with their magazine. If - like me - you're a horror freak like me, you should definitely check it out. See below for images.
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| The cover of Scary Monsters 116 |
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| My article and tribute to my late Uncle James |
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