Chiller Theater

[janradder]

When I was a kid, this opening used to scare the crap out of me. It was the beginning to the movie show Chiller Theater that used to be on Channel 11 out of New York and played every Saturday night. Lots of times, the opening was scarier than the movie that followed. It seems like I always watched it when my parents visited their friends in Litchfield, CT. The house where they lived was an old one and kind of creeped me out. I have no idea if it actually was haunted but if it wasn't, it should have been. That place haunted my dreams for years. When we'd visit, the grown-ups would sit in the kitchen socializing and while they played cards, drank beer and smoked pot, I'd be sit in the spooky old living room watching that hand emerge from it's bloody swamp, too terrified to move or speak. God, how I loved it.

Comments

[vee-ecks.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've seen that a few times over the years, from friends who grew up watching that. Mine was Creature Features, out of Oakland.

[janradder.livejournal.com]

I saw this one when I was looking for the Chiller Theater intro. I love the music. And the host was so deliciously nerdy and normal -- I saw he died just a couple weeks ago.

[vee-ecks.livejournal.com]

Yeah. He did a show in the afternoons, too, called Captain Cosmic, where he showed Japanese giant robot shows and old serials. That's where I first found out Star Wars was coming, and saw clips.

[janradder.livejournal.com]

I was wondering what that was. I'd seen a clip of it mixed in with the other Bob Wilkins videos.

[vee-ecks.livejournal.com]

My best friend at the time, his mom taught the deaf kids at my school, and they got out way early and she had to hang around late every day, and they HAD A COLOR TV IN THE CLASSROOM.

So we'd watch cartoons and Captain Cosmic every afternoon in the deaf kids' classroom. One of the best memories of my childhood. Creature Features, I had to sneak and watch, or go over to my friends house for an overnight and watch it.

[janradder.livejournal.com]

Growing up in CT, most of our local shows were fairly staid. They showed good movies (lots of 50's sci-fi and horror, Japanese monster movies and Hammer films) but didn't have the between commercial bits that I've seen clips of and heard other people talk about. Sometimes we could get the independent New York stations in, though rarely at night, so Chiller Theater was always a big treat for me because I almost always only got to see it when my parents went over to their friends' house and stayed late. I can't remember if there was a host for it but it almost always had movies that didn't get shown during the day and that I'd never heard of.

One thing I miss about all the independent stations was how they'd put on tons of crap just to fill in time -- the stuff that didn't cost too much to put on their air. A lot of it really was crap, even though I'd sit through it anyway, but there were plenty of times I'd see something really great that I wouldn't have seen or even known about, otherwise.

[smeehrrr.livejournal.com]

Love the extra finger.

[janradder.livejournal.com]

It's pretty awesome.

[pierogi-queen.livejournal.com]

We drank wine not beer!!!!!!

I always got creeped out by the third floor in that house - the one above the living room.

[janradder.livejournal.com]

Yeah -- that one was definitely the creepiest floor. I almost never went up there unless I had to. I was sure there was some horrible monster or ghost just lurking and waiting for me on the stairs.