Back in the Fashion Challenged Seventies, before the invasion of cable television, when computers and internet was only one step removed from science fiction, there was such a thing as independent television stations. Oh sure, you had the big three owned stations and PBS, but in the major urban centers of our nation, there lurked independent t.v. For those of us in the back water of the mitten, where we had to attach aluminum foil to the rabbit ears most days to get any channel, occasionally, we were able to get WKBD-Detroit. Most saturday afternoons we could get a movie. But when saturday night came around(before that live show from New York that is still on the air) we got clear reception and we got The Ghoul Show.
At eleven-thirty after the local news, The Ghoul would come on the air and I would not miss it for the world. The Ghoul showed really crappy B Movies of the horror/monster/sci-fi variety. I mean the movies were so bad he would stick in comments and other funny tidbits during the movies. I first saw Godzilla and Plan 9 from Outer Space and the classic movie of all time, The Brain from Planet Arous. Yep, good old fashioned low budget thrill rides for family viewing. But it was cool.
What made the show so awesome was The Ghoul himself. This guy was pure entertainment to a pre-teen like myself. He had his sidekick Froggy and he blew stuff up. I mean he blew up everything he got his hands on with firecrackers. We are talking model cars and ships and planes. Halloween decorations, plastic figures, food, and one time I remember, a pumpkin! Oh the power of the internet, here he is in all his explosive glory.
I have The Ghoul to thank for entertaining me as a kid. I can appreciate bad b-movies because of his show. Once I blew up a model of a '57 Chevy, but that was thirty years ago in the sandbox, so all is good. It was campy and hokey and fun. I am such a dork, but I had fun.
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