Horror Host Icon: Jeepers

Posted on October 2, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. Have you ever sat and wondered what other Horror Hosts have graced the airwaves of California besides Vampira? Well I am here to tell you that state has had a great amount of hosts who all brought their own style and flare to late night moving hosting, and one of the best and earliest to follow in her footsteps was Jeepers, who was the host of Jeepers Creepers Theatre that haunted the airwaves in the 1960’s. Jeepers also had a slew of hosts that not only followed him in becoming the host of Jeepers Creepers Theatre but also inspired others for generations to come in becoming a horror host themselves. It’s with great honor this Halloween season that I bring to you Horror Host Icon Jeepers! So sit back and get ready to not only get scared but also have a few laughs.

Jeepers is a strange ghoul who has a pale face, wears a top hat and cape and would wander around his dark set and host spooky movies all the while having a good silly sinister sense of humor and would have a very memorable laugh that would fill the air. He claimed that he worked in Hollywood and on horror films and was connected, well that was before he was a Ghoul! Jeepers would also always play up on how famous he was and how people loved his work in film and on the show. He was the original host for Jeepers Creepers Theatre and was the most well loved one as viewers just could not get enough of him! Jeepers would also became a hit on radio when he would team up with musician Frank Zappa in 1963 to release a 45 that had two strange and fun songs called “Dear Jeepers” and “Letter From Jeepers,” and they would be popular on the radio stations around his market in Los Angeles. While his time as the host of Jeepers Creepers Theatre was short lived, his impact and connection with the fans was very strong, and this made him a true icon of the art of Horror Hosting and is one that is still remembered to this day for those who grew up watching him. Jeepers was played by Bob Guy, who was a local actor and personality who sadly passed away on September 10, 1984 at the age of 64.

Jeepers Creepers Theatre started in 1962 and aired on KCOP-TV, Channel 13 out of Los Angeles and was a super popular show that aired at 10pm and showed the Shock Packages of classic Universal Monster films. The show was a hit from the start, and viewers loved seeing the classic monster movies on TV. It became a popular topic at schools for kids who stayed up late to watch the antics of Jeepers as well as the horrors of the film. The show would lose its original Host Jeepers in 1963 and others would take over the show including Ghoulita who started and ended in 1963, Jeepers’ Keeper from 1963-1965 and The Creeper the final host who lasted from 1965-1966. So Jeepers Creepers Theatre would last for a total of around four years and remained a very popular show on TV up to its final episode. Even once off the air the show’s legacy remained as even to this day for people who grew up watching it and the new fans who discovered it thanks to the internet chat about its legacy and impact on the pop culture in the state of California and beyond. Sadly, much like all the other hosts from the 60’s and even 70’s many of the shows were shot live or the master tapes tapped over to save money as the tapes were way to expensive, and this make most of the shows lost to time.

On September 10, 2022 at HorrorHound Weekend, the legendary Jeepers made his way into the Horror Host Hall Of Fame! This classic host was inducted by Halloween Jack and was a Legacy Host to be inducted in that year. It was very cool to see Jeepers get the respect he deserves, and it was also cool to hear people laugh and chuckle at the clip shown of him doing what he did best. Halloween Jack did a great job of inducting him in. Jeepers going in has been long overdue and I was glad to see him get this honor. Jeepers was joined in the Class Of 2022 by names like Scarewolf, Sinister Minister, Spooky Spectre and the cast of Midnight Movies to name a few.

As you can see, Jeepers is a true legend of Horror Hosting and one of the biggest hosts from California and his legacy still lives strong to this day and his impact can still be felt in the state. We are now at the point of this Horror Host Icon update that we take a look at the episodes I have, and lucky for the world some footage of Jeepers has survived and way back when a fan made a reproduction of the show and that is what we will be taking a look at here, just seeing this footage is amazing and is a great way to showcase his talents. There are no star ratings for these Horror Host shows. I will be writing about what the host does in the episode and the film’s plot will be taken from our friends at IMDB. So with that, let’s see what Jeepers is up to and bask in this classic hosts glory.

Jeepers Creepers Theatre: Mummy’s Curse

Host: Jeepers has gotten himself some tanna leaves in order to get himself a Mummy, and he places them into some sort of liquid and says the magic words. After a few moments Jeepers thinks the leaves have failed and takes us to the movie as a Mummy is creeping up behind him. We next join Jeepers who is unaware of The Mummy behind him and he is very down thinking he failed, but when he turns around he sees The Mummy who is coming every closer and Jeepers lets out a very nervous laugh before we are back to the film. We next join Jeepers as he his being choked by The Mummy who lets him go for a moment in order to go to a commercial break, once back from the commercials Jeepers shows The Mummy his weird family members that consist of a boars head, a white rat and a rubber snake before the monster starts choking him again as we go back to the movie. Jeepers next is making The Mummy some tanna leaf tea and then reads the Mummy’s fortune in the tanna leaves before being choked again after making a joke about a museum…and then back to the movie. Next Jeepers wants to call Hollywood to get The Mummy in some movies, and Jeepers strikes out time after time as the Film Producers shoot down the idea of making a movie with The Mummy…but soon The Mummy finds out Jeepers was faking the calls as the phone bill was not paid and the phone was not plugged in and as he goes back to choking we go to the movie. Next Jeepers reads a fan letter that he got from a fan about loving the show before going into the final part of the nights film. In the end Jeepers puts The Mummy into a coffin for some sleep and then tells the viewers you can not get a Mummy using tanna leaves, but The Mummy shows back up with a noose and attacks Jeepers as the end credits roll.

Movie: An irrigation project in the rural bayous of Louisiana unearths living mummy Kharis, who was buried in quicksand twenty-five years earlier.

Note From Matt: This is a fan reproduction and takes the only known footage of the show to make this episode for the fans.

Horror Hosts like Jeepers are very important to local culture and help inspire creative minds in the field of Horror Media, and it’s a shame that so many markets at this time do not have a local made Horror Host on the airwaves and that is why it’s important to support your local Public Access stations as they allow a outlet for many local hosted programs. And of course so do websites and streaming stations like YouTube, The Monster Channel, The Vortexx and Shudder all who deliver Horror Hosts to the masses. While Jeepers’ time on TV was short, his impact on Horror Hosting is long lasting. But I think that it is time to wrap up this Horror Host Icon update as we have more scary updates to come as we countdown to Halloween 2025 and our next update will be a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” that will be about The Conjuring 3 and the DC Comic mini series based around it. So until next tim,e read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Film or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update as we explore the world of The Conjuring 3.

Horror Host Icon: Sivad

Posted on November 15, 2018 by bloodlinematt

GOOD EEEEVENING! The people of Nashville, Tennessee were treated to a show in the 60’s that lasted into the 70’s featuring a vampire undertaker that would treat them to horror, thriller and science fiction films. This show was called Fantastic Features, and its host was named Sivad. He was must watch television for young and old alike. Sivad has been a big part of the culture of Tennessee, and his show has influenced many creative people and helped create many monster kids from the era. Much like Ohio, Tennessee has a very large amount of Horror Hosts that have entertained over the decades like Dr. Lucifur, Sir Cecil Creape, Dr. Gangrene and Dungeon Doug to name a few, and at the top of that list is Sivad, who is a true icon of that state. So it’s with very high honor and respect that I give to you my readers Horror Host Icon: Sivad! So sit back, relax and let’s take a look at a truly amazing Horror Host.

Sivad was a vampire who dressed as an undertaker. He loved the world of cinema and enjoyed presenting the movies to the viewers, many of whom were seeing these classic monster movies for the first time via their televisions! While a bloodsucker, Sivad was a goofy vampire who loved to share jokes and spew cheesy puns! He wore a black top hat, a black suit, cape, white gloves, a bowtie, a red belt and a sash that featured his family crest. Sivad had long fangs, bushy evil looking eyebrows, and spoke with a thick Tennessee ascent that was muffled due to his fangs. While Sivad looked evil and mean, he was very much a lovable vampire who enjoyed hosting his show and sharing these shocking films with his viewers. Besides hosting his show Creature Features on Channel 13, he also loved to make appearances at state fairs and local movie theaters and each time was a main attraction as hundreds, if not thousands, would flock to meet him! It’s also said that he sold over 800 tickets at a movie theater in Jackson, Tennessee while hosting a double feature, and during his introduction and before his song, he was drenched in coke that the kids in the audience threw at him, and he would not return to that town for years to this incident! Sivad was not only an amazing Horror Host but he also was a very good musician and would treat fans to songs. Sivad hosted Creature Features from 1962 to 1972 and walked away from it when he felt they ran out of classic horror films to show. Besides a handful of public appearances in the 70’s, Sivad retired from the Horror Hosting game but still remains as popular as ever even still to this day. I want to also make note that Sivad hosted Creatures Features live and like most live-aired shows there is little to no footage that survived, but that’s how talented this vampire was, he hosted live multiple times a week at times!

Watson Davis was the man who behind Sivad, and he was a man who was made to entertain! Davis was the advertising director for Malco Theaters in Memphis area and would do all types of great things to promote the films like dressing up as Frankenstein’s Monster and even building a giant King Kong to thrill movie goers. He would make these films entertaining for movie goers and would come up with great gimmicks to get them into the theater and would even do prize giveaways that the winners would win spooky trips complete with actors putting on a show for them like he did when winners of a coloring contest got a trip to Goat Island. The thing that set Davis apart from many theater advertisers is that he truly loved the Horror, Thriller and Science Fiction films they showed and would put lots of efforts into making their showings special. He even won an award for his work doing these promotions and got to meet his favorite actor Vincent Price! He developed Sivad while still working for Malco Theaters, and the name Sivad is just is last name Davis backwards as he wanted his Horror Host character to be just one name that stuck out like magician Houdini’s did. While still working for the theater he started work on Fantastic Features as well. After retiring from both Malco Theaters and Creature Features, Watson Davis spent the rest of his days enjoying life and fishing while living in a small mobile home and stayed there until is death in 2005. While retired Davis would still for a short time play Sivad at fairs, paradise and public appearances and even at one time there was talk of having him as Sivad along with fellow Tennessee Horror Hosts Sir Cecil Creape and Count Basil to host some films at a theater, but sadly that never came about. Watson Davis enjoyed playing Sivad and doing these promotions for Malco Theaters as he enjoyed to entertain kids, and he was a truly great person who is missed by all those who knew him in real life and as Sivad.

Like all good Horror Hosts, Sivad had some great merchandise behind him that gave his viewers and fans something a little more special to enjoy and showed just how popular this Horror Host was! His fans were able to get their hands on such cool items as a Sivad Halloween Mask that kids in the 60’s could wear and scare their friends and neighbors. They could also get their hands on an official “Horror Club” fan club card that was endorsed by Channel 13 and Sivad and was a sure way to impress all your friends on the playground! For kids who liked to make art, a very cool Sivad coloring book was made and allowed them to make masterpieces for the family refrigerator. Also in 2010, a cool book called “Sivad Scrapbook” was released and showed old ads from the 60’s and 70’s that featured our classic Vampire host. Not to mention his image has graced many magazines, posters, ads and fan art. And the most amazing collectable for Sivad fans to sink their fangs into is the 45 rpm record of two songs he sang called “Sivad Buries Rock And Roll” and “Dickey Drakeller.” These songs played on Memphis, Tennessee radio and this record is now highly collectable. So as you can see, Sivad was and still is a true icon of Tennessee who is one of the states most beloved TV Personalities.

In 2013, Sivad took his place as an official member of the Horror Host Hall of Fame and secured that he is in fact one of the most beloved and influential host to grace viewers TV Screens. He was among such hosts as Svengoolie, Commander USA and Shock Armstrong who were part of the third class to get this high honor. The Horror Host Hall Of Fame is an honor for hosts who were and are at the top of their game to the respect they deserve, and Sivad, in my opinion, should have been inducted in the first class as he was truly an amazing host who set the bar for many who followed.

So we are at the point of this Horror Host Icon when we will be taking a look at the episodes I own, and the one I do have is clearly a fan reproduction episode because as of this writing, no full episode has been uncovered. So this is what us fans have to watch. I will not be giving this episode a star rating. The movie write up will be taken from our friends at IMDB and the host write up I myself will be writing. So let’s sit back and pretend its 1962 and we are watching Creature Feature, and Sivad is about to take us on a thrill ride!

Fantastic Features: Fortress Of The Dead
Starring – John Hackett & Conrad Parham Not Rated 1965

Host: Sivad rides in on his horse-drawn hearse carriage and removes the coffin from the back and we are set for Creature Freatures! Sivad then in studio welcomes us to the show and interrupted by a voice of a producer who tells him to talk about the TV Shows and other programs from WHBQ-TV Channel 13. We go into the movie as Sivad makes a joke about how pushy the producer is. When we join Sivad next he is wishing us a good evening and ending the show.

Movie: Guilt-ridden sole survivor of a unit wiped out on Corregidor in WW2 returns to the island 20 years later.

Note From Matt: This is a fan made reproduction of a classic episode of Fantastic Features and used footage from when Sivad hosted a promo for his home base station

Sivad was a host that made his viewers feel as if they were close friends, and while a scary looking vampire, he had a warm and inviting feel to him that captured the hearts of his viewers. While the world of Horror Hosts has its fair share of vampires and while many of them are legends and top notch hosts, they all still fall a little short of the magic Sivad had. As we leave the world of Horror Hosting, our next update brings us back to Greece as it’s Thanksgiving and that means we will be joining Hercules once more. This time around, we will be seeing what Radical Comics has to offer when it comes to our favorite demigod! So until next time, watch a Horror Host Show or two, and as always, support your local Horror Host! See you next update for the The Thracian Wars and for another great Turkey Day Holiday.