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Friday September 23, 2005
"King of Horror to host scary film festival in his own backyard"
"Depending on who you talk to, he's known as the King, the President, or one half of the First Couple. That is, as long as who you're talking to is a fan of Horror movies and in particular of The Bone Jangler and his ever-present co-hostess Nocturna, the Aurora, IL based hosts of Horror movies as seen on some 43 stations in 21 states.
In this business, The Bone Jangler is considered by many to be the King of the Horror Hosts. 'And, Nocturna and I are referred to as the First Couple of Horror Hosts.' said The Jangler himself, who also co-owns an Aurora bookstore.
The President moniker is one The Bone Jangler gets from his work on the Internet in conjunction with The Horror Host Underground, a loose-knit affiliation of the nation's currently active Horror Hosts.
Whatever the peerage, The Bone Jangler is definitely the man when it comes to hosting Horror movies - and it all started from humble beginnings at Aurora Community Television in 2001. That's when he and Nocturna started hosting Horror movies as members of the underworld, inserting their own commentary, and interacting with an ever-expanding group of sexy playthings known to TV viewers across the country as The Coven.
'We're like the bad guys that you root for,' said The Jangler. 'The show is funny, but, there's no script at all; it's all improvised. It's pretty much the audacity of the thing. People are not used to seeing it done this way.'
It's that same audacity that prompted The Bone Jangler to start calling TV stations around the country and see if they'd be interested in carrying his show. As the number of stations grew, so did The Bone Jangler's reputation. He became more and more recognized as he appeared with Nocturna at Horror conventions around the country, and, soon, the TV stations began calling him. Nowadays, he is as recognized wlaking the streets of NE Ohio as he he is shopping for groceries with Nocturna in Aurora, IL. He will bring his trademark long sideburns to his own backyard this weekend at the Hi-Lite 30 Drive-In in Montgomery, IL. to emcee the Flashback Weekend, a day-into-night event of Horror celebrity appearances, a Horror-themed flea market, concert, and movie marathon.
The day starts at 2pm on Saturday with the flea market, a concert by Ari Lehman who played Jason in the original 'Friday The 13th,' and a magic performance by Ron Fitzgerald. At 7pm, the all-night movie fest begins with 'The Last House On The Left.' David Hess, the star of 'Last House On The Left' will appear and perform the musical numbers he wrote for the movie, and conduct a Q and A session. Several other Horror celebrities will also be appearing.
And, of course, The Bone Jangler and the beautiful Enchantress Nocturna will be present, perhaps meting out some of those hilarious signature insults from superior underworldlings to the mere mortals they regularly see through the TV screens. The Flashback Weekend event will also be of historical significance because the property is up for sale, and this will likely be the last event at the Hi-Lite 30 Drive-In, as well as the last films shown at the drive-in which first opened in 1947.
'I've been billing it as The Last Picture Show,' The Bone Jangler said.
Tickets for the event are $20. Children 3 - 10 years of age get in for $10, and children 2 and under are admitted free."
On Friday, when I left The Dungeon to go about my business, it wasn't long before thoughts of our dear friend Curt Morley began flitting in, and out of, my head. This continued throughout the afternoon, and into the evening.
Friday night, after everyone had fallen asleep, I stayed up, reading the new issue of Scary Monsters Magazine. If you don't have it - get it! Anyway, I stayed up quite late, reading, and watching the double feature of "The Bone Jangler" and "Penny Dreadful's Shilling Shockers" on the local Horror Host Underground TV station. Eventually, I allowed myself to fall asleep on the couch.
At about 6am, I woke up to the sound of someone walking near me, where my head was on the couch. I was startled and groggy, as I'd just really gotten into the sleep zone. I looked up, and no one was there. I realized that whomever it was was walking past the coffee table in front of the couch where I'd been sleeping. I looked over in the direction of the fireplace across from my head when I spotted what appeared to be a transparent, yet grainy, figure of a body. It was now near my feet. I looked there, expecting to see Master Gregory, and was just about to ask, "What are you doing up, walking around?" That's when I saw the shoulder of a man at about 6 feet from the ground. I thought to myself, "Oh. It's just a ghost," and went back to sleep.
About 45 minutes later, I woke myself up, poured myself a glass of milk before going to bed proper. As I drank my milk, I decided to check my Facebook messages, seeing as my phone was sitting there, and I'm so Type A, and I need to be busy all of the time. There was an e-mail from a mutual friend of Curt Morley's. I clicked on the message, and received the terrible news that our dear friend had died suddenly of a heart attack on Friday afternoon, right around the time I began thinking of him so much. That's when it hit me - BOOM! "That was YOU (that I'd seen in the living room), Curt!"
Curt Morley was a dear friend of ours. We'd met him online through mutual friends on Facebook. He led ghost tours of the Fox Valley region of Illinois. We'd accompanied him on one such tour, and were only a few weeks away from attending another. We'd soon be having him on the nighttime show, discussing the paranormal, and our many experiences with the great Unknown. Curt and I talked with one another often, especially in times of trouble. We were no strangers to that topic. Curt had been through many hardships, and things were just starting to turn around for him. We were all so happy for our friend. I personally couldn't wait to embark on the many adventures that lie before us. And, so, embark on them I shall, and Curt will be there at my side.
Curt, know that Nocturna & I, and all of your many friends love you.
"The way you walked was thorny, though no fault of your own, but as the
rain enters the soil, the river enters the sea, so tears run to a
predestined end. Now you will have peace for eternity."
Yes, peace, and more supernatural adventures with your spooky friends. Until we meet again... which, knowing you, Curt, could be any minute now.
