Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to another Horror Host Icon update. For this one we will be taking a look at a short lived internet Horror Host who made his mark on the genre and was friends to many hosts at the time. This host would use his webcam and would sometimes host his shows live! This host is The Mod Ghoul, and his show was Weird Web Theater that would last for a very short time but is one that his viewers and fans will always remember. And that is the thing I need to once more stress, to me there is no too big or too small Horror Host as they all meant something to their fans and they all made a mark on Hosting no matter how big or small that mark is. This update will be a fast and fun one so I hope you enjoy it. Get ready for Horror Host Icon: Mod Ghoul!

The Mod Ghoul was the host of Weird Web Theater and was a British undead ghoul who had a white face and black circles around his eyes and would wear a black hat as well as leather jacket and was a little sassy when it came to his hosting style. He would sometimes host the shows solo and would also team with other Hosts or even his own kids that were called The Ghoul Kids. The Mod Ghoul during his time being an internet horror host would make a small amount of public appearances with his big one being at HorrorHound Weekend in 2012 where he met his fans as well as many fellow horror hosts. But as soon as this Ghoul showed up, he disappeared leaving a small mark on the world of horror hosting. The Mod Ghoul was played by Gregg Childress who was a musician and was in the band “Vertigo In Children” and as well was a U.S. Army Veteran. He was a father of two and was very proud at the time of being The Mod Ghoul. Gregg would pass away on July 6, 2015 at the age of 49.

Weird Web Theater started airing on YouTube and Facebook starting in 2011 and would be hosted by The Mod Ghoul along with The Ghoul Kids as well as Ohio horror host A. Ghastlee Ghoul and during its run, other popular hosts would fill in on episodes. Most episodes were shot on Mod’s web camera which added a murky creepy feel to some of the episodes, and they all would only have opening and closing segments. The Mod Ghoul also had another show called “Fright Club” that would start the same year. The show quickly gained a solid following and would go on to have shows air on The Monster Channel as well as on Public Access stations that ran the Horror Host Underground block of programing. But as quickly as the show started, it ended as by 2012 new episodes were coming out less frequently and by the end of the year Weird Web Theater vanished, with even its YouTube channel disappearing. And just like that, the show’s run was over. While Weird Web Theater was a very short lived show, it did have its viewers and fans that made sure to tune in for every new episode that was posted.

Weird Web Theater was a show that I would watch a few episodes of as I always enjoy seeing A. Ghastlee Ghoul hosting films, as he is one of Ohio’s classic and funny hosts. The Mod Ghoul was an interesting host who, while I was not a super fan of, I still can respect for what he did for his fans with his show and he did try to make online hosting his own. It was smart to bring in other hosts to help bring more attention to it. I also think that Mod would sometimes take to much time in-between episodes as well as I feel he walked away from the show way too soon, but I do understand his reasons as it was depression, and that is something that can drain your creativity out of you. But with that, let’s move onto the review part of this Horror Host Icon update, and I would like to remind you that I will be covering episodes that I own on DVD and that I will be taking the films plot from our friends at IMDB and I will be writing about the antics of Mod on each episode. So if you are ready Mates, lets’ pull up a seat and grab a drink and spend some time on the web with the one and only Mod Ghoul.

Weird Web Theater: 13 Ghosts
Starring – Charles Herbert & Jo Morrow    Not Rated     1960

Host: It’s the one-year anniversary of Weird Web Theater, and Mod Ghoul is relaxing in his living room along with the Ghoul Kids and they all talk about their love for the night’s movie. They also do some silly bits, impersonations, talk about the actors in the film, the 3-D effects with this being in 2-D before they usher us into the movie. Once the movie is over, we once more join Mod Ghoul and the Ghoul Kids in the living room and they start talking about actor Telly Savalas, who was not in the night’s movie, as well as chat about the TV Show Adam 12. In the end the Ghoul Kids wander around the room, as Mod Ghoul thanks us for tuning in and supporting the show.

Movie: Reclusive Dr. Zorba has died and left his eerie mansion to his penniless nephew Cyrus Zorba and his family. Along with the house, the Zorba family has also inherited the occultist’s collection of 13 ghosts, who can only be seen through Zorba’s special goggles. The family members, their lives at risk upon the discovery that Dr. Zorba’s fortune lies hidden somewhere in the house, receive aid from unexpected quarters as the threat to their lives is revealed.

Note From Matt: This episode is missing most of the end credits for the show.

Weird Web Theater: Spider Baby
Starring – Lon Chaney Jr. & Sid Haig    Not Rated     1967

Host: The Mod Ghoul welcomes the viewers to the show after a hiatus and thanks the viewers and talks a little about the night’s film and the actors. He as well acts all zany and weird for the camera. He also delivers a few jokes as the camera is close on his face the whole time. In the end we join Mod Ghoul again, and he makes some jokes about spiders as well as the film and says someone should make a sequel to the film before ending the episode with the promise of more episodes to come.

Movie: In a dilapidated rural mansion, the last generation of the degenerate, inbred Merrye family lives with the inherited curse of a disease that causes them to mentally regress from the age of 10 or so on as they physically develop. The family chauffeur looks out for them and covers up their indiscretions. Trouble comes when greedy distant relatives and their lawyer arrive to dispossess the family of its home.

The Mod Ghoul and his Weird Web Theater started in the 2010’s during a big boom of the next generation of hosts trying to make their name and mark on the history, and Mod was one of the many that entered the scene for a short time and would fade away without giving their viewers a proper ending. I know that over the years many fellow horror hosts had their differences with him on a personal level, but he still was part of the horror host dysfunctional family and is a part of hosting history. And with that, this update has come to an end, and before we part ways, let me tell you that the next update will be about The Lockhorns, that married couple from the Sunday Funnies! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always support your local horror host. See you next update as who doesn’t like the drama between a married couple every Sunday morning…am I right?