I never had my own local horror host growing up. This isn't exactly a big market, and I'm just out of reach of the areas that did have their own hosts. I knew they existed, and even got to see a few here and there. The closest I ever managed to latching onto someone as "my" host was on my visits to Ohio. That was where I encountered Channel 43's Superhost. But I only saw him a couple of times a year at best, so even that doesn't quite count.
I owe Prattle-master Lewis Smith more debts that I can ever fully recount, and one of the lesser ones was his turning me on to the horror host called Dr. Madblood. Dr. Madblood was born in Virginia, and yet, I've become so taken with what I've seen of his program that I've adopted him as my personal horror host of choice.
Dr. Madblood's outfit isn't especially outrageous, and he doesn't have the...er...attributes that made stars out of Vampira and Elvira. No, what made his hosting segments so memorable was the genuine wit on display. There was a certain level of ambition and creativity in what was realistically a penny ante show. I'm kind of amazed the things they tried to do sometimes with no money at all. Plus, there was an impressive cast of supporting players backing up Doc.
I've seen 5 episodes of DR. MADBLOOD'S MOVIE (theme music is Sugarloaf's "Green-Eyed Lady!) and I liked all of them. Particular standouts were a parody of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and the 1990 15th Anniversary shindig. And heck, you can't beat a show that incorporates a wrestling storyline and satirizes actual working wrestlers in the local regional promotion. I never thought I'd see a parody of Blackjack Mulligan away from the squared circle.
Regular TV gigs for horror hosts are scarce these days, but Dr. Madblood keeps the flame alive at his website http://www.madblood.net/. If I've piqued your interest, one click will introduce you to a treasure trove of knowledge about Pungo's most famous resident.
Happy Halloween!
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