Horror Host Icon: Sir Cecil Creape

Posted on October 21, 2023 by bloodlinematt

“You Callled”…Nashville, Tennessee in the early 1970’s had a late Saturday night Horror Host show called Creature Features that would start at 10:30pm on WSM-TV Channel 4. The show would scare and entertaining its viewers, and the host of this show was the amazing Sir Cecil Creape, who, along with his trusty gas lamp, would entertain viewers with his antics. This legendary host was a major icon in Tennessee and would go on to inspire a ton of creative minds including Dr. Gangrene who is also a great host and an icon of Hosting. For those who live in Tennessee and for those Horror Host followers they know just how awesome Sir Ceciel Creape! So if you are ready, grab a cold drink, light the Jack O Lantern, open up all the widows to let a chill in and be prepared to spend a little time this Halloween with Horror Host Icon Sir Cecil Creape!

Sir Cecil Creape is a hunchbacked, balding man who wears strange 60’s style cloths with a cape, had messed up bucking teeth, a massive scar on his forehead and worked in the catacombs beneath the WSM studio that he would do his experiments in. He later would move to the basement of the Grand Ole Opry House. In this basement lab he would conduct experiments, share creepy yet humoroous stories and of course host the night’s movie. Sir Cecil Creape had a calming aspect to his voice when he spoke, almost giving you that false feeling of nothing scary is about to happen before you witnessed the horrors of that night’s film. He also very much had that gift to bond with the viewers as he spoke directly to them and made them feel part of what he had going on. What made him so special was that bond with his viewers as they would flock to him when he would make public appearances around the city. And I would be so bold as to say that he next to Sivad was the state of Tennessee’s two most popular and iconic hosts in that golden age of local TV. Sir Cecil Creape was played by Russ McCown who would play the role off and on for many years and would sadly pass away on January 3,1994 at the age of 65. While gone, Sir Cecil Creape will never be forgotten as his legacy in the world of Horror Hosting with truly never fade.

In September 1971 on WSM-TV Channel 4 out of Nashville, Tennessee a spooky movie show called “Creature Feature” with host Sir Cecil Creape was unleashed on viewers and their lives were forever changed and a must-see show was born. You see kids and adults were drawn into the strange host as well as the films of the evening. No matter how frightening or cheesy the film was, all they knew was that they had to watch and among friends, what happened in the movie was talked about, and most importantly what Sir Cecil Creape was up to. Sadly Creature Feature would end in 1973, but during his time on air Sir Cecil Creape would have his own fan club via WSM and even would make public appearances at local events and a Boy Scouts Patch was created by The Boy Scouts of America Tennessee Council for a very short time. But as I stated, the show’s end came in late 1973 thanks to WSM moving the show’s time slot from 10:30pm Saturday Nights to Saturday days and this was very unwise. But like all good Horror Hosts Sir Cecil Creape could not be kept down and on March 13, 1983 he would return to TV this time on TNN (The Nashville Network) with a show called The Phantom Of The Opry and would switch his location to the catacombs of the Opry House. The quality of his movies dropped, but his antics did not miss a step! And it was great that now a nationwide audience could see him do what he did best and that’s entertain and bring viewers the Horror Movies. The end of The Phantom Of The Opry came in December 1985 when TNN canceled it. While his Horror Hosting days were over, he still would make appearances from time to time in the start of the 90’s on the show “TNN’s Nashville Now” to the delight of all his fans. While both shows Creature Feature and The Phantom Of The Opry only lasted 2 years respectively, they both made a major mark on the genre as well as on Creape’s viewers and fans. And I want you readers to think about that, Sir Cecil Creape had only a total of 4 years as a Horror Host and in that short time he became a true icon in the state of Tennessee as well as in the history books of Horror Hosting. One thing that also makes Sir Cecil Creape so special is that he has a Connection to Dr. Lucifur who was one of the states original Horror Host who hosted Shock Theatre from 1958-1967! As many do not know this outside the state of Tennessee but Dr. Lucifur is the voice you hear that opens the classic episodes of Sir Cecil and throughout the shows run our host would also get packages from Lucifur as well as reference him during skits, showing that these two iconic hosts were indeed connected. And look for a Horror Host Icon update about Dr. Lucifur at some point here on Rotten Ink.

Sir Cecil Creape was so popular that during his time as a Horror Host he would also find himself being a patch for the Boy Scouts Of America in the Nashville area! It was for his Ghoul Patrol and this just showed how important this Horror Host was to his city as besides being honored gracing magazine covers he got a patch issued out to Scouts…what other Horror Host can say they got that Honor? I mean I would have love to see the Dayton, Ohio area Boy Scouts issue a Dr. Creep or Baron Von Porkchop patch…but sadly, I just don’t think that would ever happen. The patch is very much a collector’s item now and fans of the show would love to be able to get one for themselves, but they fetch high prices on Ebay and Etsy and are very rare to come by. I do want to say that his fellow Tennessee host Dr. Gangrene does have one of the patches that he wears very proudly on his lab coat during his show.

Sir Cecil Creape was inducted into the 2015 Class of the Horror Host Hall Of Fame and was inducted by Dr. Gangrene the legendary Tennessee host in his own right, and this only made sense as he was kept the spirit of Sir Cecil alive for decades. The fans in attendance really were happy when Sir Cecil got this honor as many felt it was long overdue. He took his place along with fellow classmates that included Superhost, Baron Von Wolfstein, Rhonda Shear, Gilbert Gottfried and Misty Brew to name a few. And in my opinion Sir Cecil should have been inducted way before this class as he was a true icon in Hosting and inspired many to follow in his footsteps.

As you readers know, I have been a mega fan of Horror Hosts for almost my whole life as I grew up watching the likes of Dr. Creep, Commander USA, Grampa Munster and The Creeper to name a few and over the decades I have discovered, learned about and watched so many hosts and one that I quickly became a fan of was Sir Cecil Creape as he was such a master of hosting as he had that magic touch of making us the viewers feel like we where along for the ride the whole episode, plus is humor was part cheesy but I always also picked up just a hint of playful sinister to pull you into the safe side of Horror, but also scare you just a little. He is also one of those Horror Hosts who made a big impact in the culture of his city as all the youth at the time of his first run use to stay up late to watch his show so that they could talk about it with friends the next time at school as watching Sir Cecil Creape and the movie he presented was the cool thing to do, and because of his show many of his viewers went on to do some great creative things in the world of Horror, Sci-Fi and Entertainment in general. Plus it was like the Nashville area also just opened their arms to Sir Cecil as he was booked for public appearances all over the city and he would always draw a big crowd showing just how much of a local celebrity he was. I also need to say that it’s crazy that Sir Cecil Creape has not gotten the Comic Book treatment as someone out their in the Nashville area needs to make this happen! As I know that here in Ohio one artist named Scott Scarborough who works for Blood Scream Comics would love to make a comic based around him. If you have never seen Sir Cecil Creape, do yourself a favor and find some of his shows on Horror Host Trade Lists, on the Grey Market or find clips of YouTube and give them a watch as you will see just how great he is.

So we are now at the part of this Horror Host Icon update where we take a look at the episodes I own in my collection and sadly I do not own as many as I would like as his stuff is hard to come by as many of the older shows are lost to time and his second run on TNN was when the station first started so many markets did not have it. I want to thank all those who had Horror Host Trade lists that sent these episodes to me over the decades and would like to remind you readers that I will be taking the films plots from our friends at IMDB and I will be writing about the hosts antics from the episodes. So with that, let’s head to the catacombs and see what Sir Cecil Creape has in store for us.

POTO: Mr. Wong Detective
Starring – Boris Karloff & Evelyn Brent Not Rated 1938

Host: Sir Cecil starts the episode off looking at the Underground Classified Ads as he needs to find some work as rent is due and he has no money to pay it. When he does not find one there, he looks through the normal paper and has the idea of selling some of the spooky stuff he has around his dungeon home. He tries then to have a phone interview for a Body Shop and of course gets hung up one when he thinks the job is for human bodies and not automobiles. He then thinks about working for the Blood Bank or even selling some of his blood collection to them but can not part with any of it. After returning from a break he informs us they did not hire him at the Blood Bank after they saw him in person. He then fails to get a job for a preserves company as well as working for a Newspaper Morgue as he thought it was for writers not the papers themselves. In the end he does not find a job and heads home to get some sleep.

Movie: When a chemical manufacturer is killed after asking detective James Wong to help him, Wong investigates this and two subsequent murders. He uncovers an international spy ring hoping to steal the formula for a poison gas being developed by the first victim’s company.

POTO: Terror By Night
Starring – Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce Not Rated 1946

Host: Sir Cecil has a bunch of mail delivered, and he goes through and opens it with stuff like the insurance on his teeth, a message from his twin brother and even more weird junk mail. When he opens up a box, he finds that inside is a banjo and he is confused to why it was sent to him and what it is for. He later gets a phone call from Bud who works for the Opry and who is coming down to deliver a package of candy bat wings that was delivered above and not below, he also gets another message that a coffin with a body (Aunt Vampira) inside has been delivered as well above. Sir Cecil leaves the banjo outside is dungeon and in the end he gets one last call from Bud who has a jar of creeping unknown upstairs for him!

Movie: When the fabled Star of Rhodesia diamond is stolen on a London to Edinburgh train and the son of its owner is murdered, Sherlock Holmes must discover which of his suspicious fellow passengers is responsible.

POTO: White Zombie
Starring – Bela Lugosi & Madge Bellamy Not Rated 1932

Host: Sir Cecil is reading a magazine and finds out that he is fat and decides to order a muscle-building machine from one of the magazines ads. And as he takes us to the start of the movie he starts doing figure exercises. Later his order of exercise machine comes in and he can not even lift 10 pounds without major strain, he is so embarrassed that he rigs up a pulley system to make it look as if he can lift it over his head after a movie break. He then chooses to try and get exercises by listening to a radio show, but the show mostly has commercial breaks so he never gets to work out as while Sir Cecil goes to get his jump rope the show is interrupted by a dance class show!

Movie: A young man turns to a witch doctor to lure the woman he loves away from her fiancé, but instead turns her into a zombie slave.

Note From Matt: Sadly the last segment of this episode is missing

Sir Cecil Creape is a Horror Host whose legacy will live on forever as he was something very special and was a big part of the culture in Nashville, Tennessee during both of his runs on television. And with Dr. Gangrene around who is a mega fan of Sir Cecil I am sure he will never let his memory fade. I wish that more episodes of his show would be around as they are great watches and his style of hosting just draws you in as a viewer. I for one am a big fan of Sir Cecil Creape and it was a very big honor for me to be able to do this Horror Host Icon update about him. But for our next update we will be meeting back here at this very blog for the big Halloween update and this year it’s going to be a fun one as we will be talking about the 1979 killer bat film Nightwing and the Photo Novel Comic based on it! So until next time, read a Horror Comic of three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you on Halloween as the bats are coming!

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.

Horror Host Icon: Benedictine the Mad Monk

Posted on September 12, 2018 by bloodlinematt

Over the decades, Horror Hosts have aired on TV stations all over the USA, and just like Ohio, the state of Tennessee has had its fair share of iconic hosts that have entertained viewers with their funny or spooky antics all the while delivering a shocking horror picture to chill the blood of their viewers. And while many of the state’s Horror Hosts had long running shows and made major impacts on the culture of the area, the one we are looking at today was a short lived host who might not be a household name. He still had a small following and meant something to his viewers who rushed to their TV sets on Friday nights to catch his show and watch his movies. So it’s with great pleasure that I bring to you my readers Horror Host Icon: Benedictine the Mad Monk! So sit back and enjoy this update and remember your time watching Benedictine or even discover him for the first time…Roll the blog update, Red!

Benedictine the Mad Monk hosted horror films on WZTV Nashville Ch17 on Friday nights for a total of about 3 weeks. He is said to have gone mad and killed all his fellow monks and lived underground for centuries with his friend Red who is a skeleton with a red afro wig. For years he spent his time making wine in his cellar home and watched cheesy horror movies. But Benedictine’s perfect peaceful life comes to an end when the TV station WZTV was built on top of his wine cellar. So he does what he thinks is right and on Friday nights highjacks the airwaves and to show the films that he wanted to and generally be a thorn in the TV station’s side. Benedictine himself was kind of a crazed jokester who seems to enjoy sharing his movies with you and also likes to make and drink his wine. He has a bald head on top with long white hair on the sides. He also wears a brown monk’s robe with a rope belt. While he does not come off mean spirited, he clearly is not stable as he has killed off his fellow monks and also seems prone to fits of madness. So as you can see, Benedictine is a crazed wine making madman whose only friend is a wig wearing skeleton and one of his enjoyments in life is high jacking TV airwaves and sharing horror movies on the air.

Phil Valentine is the actor who played Benedictine the Mad Monk for WZTV for the three short weeks the show ran, and he himself was more than just an actor. Phil was born on September 9, 1959 to U.S. Democratic Representative Tim Valentine and his wife Betsy. In college Phil entered radio at East Carolina University and switched to Connecticut School Of Broadcasting in North Carolina where he majored in radio. This love for radio lead to him working for WWTN as a conservative talk show radio host who is on daily and is even in syndication airing on about 110 other stations! He also is an author as he has released three books this far all about conservative views and government greed. But he also has been in films and TV shows with 1989 being his start as Horror Host Benedictine the Mad Monk. He also starred in the film “A Letter From Death Row,” written and directed by Bret Michaels lead singer of the band Poison. In 2003, he played a radio host on the TV Show “Threat Matrix” for one episode. He wrote, edited, produced and hosted the documentary film “An Inconsistent Truth” in 2012. Two years later he played a character named Eugene Lawson in the film “Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt?”. And his last movie role as of this update was in 2015 in the film “The Secret Handshake” that also starred Kevin Sorbo and Amy Grant. So while Horror Hosting might not have been his calling in life, he found his career in being a talk radio host.

Update: Sadly Phil Valentine the actor who played Benedictine The Mad Monk passed away from Covid complications at the age of 61 on August 21, 2021.

Benedictine the Mad Monk did have a sidekick that lived with him in the wine cellar and helped him make and drink his wine, the skeleton Red! Not much is really known about Red besides the fact he wears a giant red wig and is friends with Benedictine. Oh and his role on the show was that he was the one who ran the films. I am guessing that Red made very little appearances during the show’s short run, but I am sure he still had his fans. I just wanted to mention Red as I am sure he had been sadly forgotten by most for his time as a Horror Host sidekick.

We are at the point of this Horror Host Icon update where we will take a look at the episode I have of Benedictine the Mad Monk. This is the only episode of his known to have survived and was taped off TV, as his short run made it hard for his shows to have made it to the Horror Host trade lists. I want to thank my friend Larry for getting me this episode and making this update possible. So let’s take a look at this episode of Benedictine the Mad Monk! Oh and I want to also say that it looks like the show aired after reruns of Cheers.

Benedictine the Mad Monk: Taste The Blood Of Dracula
Starring – Christopher Lee & Ralph Bates Rated R 1970

Host: Benedictine the Mad Monk starts the show by coming down the stairs and introducing himself and his friend Red Skeleton. He also is very happy to introduce the night’s film Taste The Blood Of Dracula that he says sucks! We next times we see Benedictine, he gives us pointers on Dracula as well as delivers cheesy jokes and puns! At one point he even goes over his checklist of wine that he has in his stock before he has Red roll the movie again.

Movie: Three middle-aged distinguished gentlemen are searching for some excitement in their boring bourgeois lives and get in contact with one of Count Dracula’s servants, Lord Courtley. In a nightly ceremony, they restore the count to life. However, the three men killed Courtley and, in revenge, the count ensures that the gentlemen are killed one by one by their own children.

Note from Matt: The end of the episode is missing so we get no closing segment of Benedictine the Mad Monk!

So while Benedictine the Mad Monk might not have been a long lasting host on TV and had a “if you blink you’ll miss him” career of sharing his love for Horror films with his viewers, he still had his fans and made his mark in the world of Horror Hosting. I for one really enjoyed what I saw on this episode and hope to some day track down the remaining two episodes and see what cheesy jokes he delivered on them. Once more I want to thank my friend Larry “Dr. Gangrene” Underwood for getting me this episode and making this Horror Host Icon update possible. One of my biggest goals for these updates is to showcase the Horror Hosts, and no matter how big or small their following and impact was to the art of Hosting, they have a home here at Rotten Ink as I want to share their stories and bring back memories for their fans and my readers. For my next update we will be leaving the world of Horror Hosts and entering the world of comic strips and paperback comic books based on cartoon TV Specials of the characters…so if you guessed Garfield Halloween, you would be right and should treat yourself to some candy and lasagna! So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next time for a spooky good time with a orange furred cat.