NY MONSTER MEMORIES: FRIGHT NIGHT

[@leagueleader47]

This is the most SCARY opening in television history.When my godmother used to fall asleep this opening SCARED the shit out of me when I was 9. To this day it still works, and is one of the inspirations behind me becoming a HORROR film Director.

[@Kepley100]

Ever since I got the book FRIGHT NIGHT ON CHANNEL 9 by James Arena, I have been collecting several movies that have been aired on this program, like the Universal Horror movies, the BLOOD ISLAND movies, and NAKED EVIL/EXORCISM AT MIDNIGHT just to name a few! Plus, I love this simple opening with the dissolves of familiar horror faces leading to a skull, zooming into the left eye socket, and the title appearing with the great music playing in the background! Happy times!

[@Tarantulisimo]

Awesome Awesome Times...Mom Allowed Us To Stay Up & Watch SNL, Pittsburgh Chiller Theatre, Then Championship Wrestling, But The Second This Intro Started It Was The Signal For Bedtime...

[@madahad9]

Thanks for responding. That clip brought back some wonderful little memories. I've trying to recall the host of Creature Features for a long time, but all I could accurately recall was an older man. After watching Survival of the Dead---or least an hour of it before I walked out--I actually miss stuff like The Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman, Kronos, and lother stuff I watched during that period of the 70s. Thanks.

[@jimqk]

Also, WOR sometimes showed old monster movies on weekdays at 4 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. I remember seeing "Frankenstein" week a couple of times during these instances. Now Tarantulisimo here believes the Saturday morning package on WOR was called "Spaced Out Films." I don't remember what the title of it was, but I remember watching these double features every week. "Tarantula," "Frankenstein," "Creature from the Black Lagoon," "The Crawling Eye," "The Colossus of New York," ... (Continued above)

[@Brody-cx5vl]

Man does this bring back memories. Wrestling at midnight to 1 am. Then fright night 1 am Saturdays or Sunday morning in NYC. Good times.

[@Tarantulisimo]

Does any1 else remember "Spaced Out Films" on WOR Saturday mornings? This was when we 1st moved 2 Pittsburgh, so that must have been the new name of "Chiller Thriller" after '77...

[@albaniahenry-franklin2829]

I used to stay awake late on Saturday nights waiting for this with a TV dinner! Watching "The Benny Hill Show" and then immediately afterward, whatever horror movie was scheduled. Mario Bava's "Baron Blood" scared the sh*te out of me one of those nights and indelibly tattooed itself in my young mind😳

[@jimqk]

I do remember watching "Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things" at 6 p.m. on WOR on Saturday night back in the 1970s. I was scared for quite a while after seeing that. (I was too young at the time to see the humor of it. LOL)

[@s7s7Joy]

Excellent film. Gave me the creeps too when I was a little boy. Kind of along the lines of the original “Night Of The Living Dead”. And this was about 6 years BEFORE….George A. Romero’s “DAWN OF THE DEAD” and Tom Savini’s awesome gore effects. Great memories.

[@zl1vette427]

You said it Joni !! But much better when mom & dad were in the house, 'cause watching these movies alone in the dark with a house at the end of the block next to a very dark woods was very scary for a 10-12 year old !!! lol

[@Leadsinger47]

I remember this after "Championship Wrestling" on Channel 9 in NYC. I had to go to bed after wrestling was over, but good memories!

[@Tarantulisimo]

Awesome!!!! Anything from WOR circa 78-82 is what I really love....That was when we were 1st exposed 2 WOR, TBS, & WUAB via that magical new thing called CABLE TV!!!!

[@Saturday8pm]

Yup, I remember that too ... LOTS of reverb. That was the only thing truly "Creep"y! The studio made it seem he was broadcasting from a bare-bones upper-westside apartment. This is the period where the quizzes were used extensively, although you guys did post here they were in use much earlier. It seemed by this time The Creep was taking a cue from Bob Wilkins, though without the interviews. One thing Steele had over Wilkins: a commanding voice, one of the most memorable on NY TV.

[@jimqk]

The funny thing is everybody seems to remember "Fright Night" and "Chiller Theater" much better than the Saturday morning features. It's funny because I always thought the Saturday morning movies on WOR were the best of the lot. They showed ALL the classic Universal films from the 30s, 40s and 50s, a lot of the Columbia science fictions of the 50s, and a mixture from lesser known studios. I remember stuff like "Day of the Triffids," "Colossus of New York," "The Slime People," etc.

[@Tarantulisimo]

Yep Pittsburgh had local Chiller Theatre(WPXI), SCience Fiction Theatre(KDKA), & Ghost Host(WPTT), & thru the magic of that new thing called cable, we got Spaced Out Films & Fright Night(WOR) & SuperHost Mad Theater(WUAB)...

[@AC62-m5w]

Also, The World Beyond Adventure on WTAE Chanel 4 on Saturdays.

[@Tarantulisimo]

Does any1 remember "Spaced Out Films"? Was on WOR on Saturday mornings circa 79-81

[@Tarantulisimo]

HaHa as soon as this intro came on at 1am Saturday nite, mom knew Championship Wrestling was over & we had 2 go 2 bed 4 church Sunday morning

[@Eric-sn4qz]

Had ball bat and my dog close by when I was a kid. This scared the shit outta me. Great movies.

[@Tarantulisimo]

I vividly remember watching it on Saturdays, then watching SuperHost at noon on WUAB Cleveland, which we also received via cable...I went 2 University Of Pittsburgh...The campus library has back issues of TV Guide going back 2 the early 70s...It's really cool 2 look back at those old TV schedules & listings...It brings back memories...WOR would show Doctor Who on Saturday morning, then "Spaced Out Films" immediately after that

[@jimqk]

The opening you're talking about is for "Chiller Theatre," which aired on WPIX. There are two "Chiller Theatre" openings; one is in black and white and shows clips from a handful of old horror movies, most notably from "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman," and then there is the one with the six-fingered hand. "Chiller Thriller," meanwhile, was a program that aired on WOR on Saturday mornings in the mid-1970s. Somebody has yet to post that intro and/or bumpers on youtube.

[@sweetladystarlight]

Excellent ! 5 STARS *****

[@channel82randomtv16]

GREATNESS as always, Tapthatt, i'm a subscriber for a while, and really appreciate your providing everyone with these fond memories, for many years now, thank you,😃 i am starting out as a youtuber, and would like to pay tribute to the greatest late night horror movie showcase of all time, 'Fright night', i would like to use this opening, if i can, i'd like to ask your permission to use this content, if you would be so kind to grant it, thank you for your time, and your hours upon hours of hard work, and quality videos.-William

[@madahad9]

This brings back memories of sitting in front of the tv sometime in the early 70s watching some of the worst horror movies, but now have a soft fondness for them. I am looking for any footage of Lou Steele whom I believe hosted Creature Features, but my memory is fuzzy. I call an older man who spoke with a low, echoing voice, but did not look like a horror host. Fond memories. Friday nights it was Creature Feature and Saturday morning it wis Chiller Theater.

[@wmbrown6]

May well have been. The dissolve between tinted stills was reminiscent of that on WOR's "Movie 9"; from what I understand, the whole opening was done in-house.

[@zl1vette427]

Damn, how many times did this come on around 12 AM or 1 AM right after wrestling and SCARE THE CRAP out of me ??? Shawnster, do you recall when Ch.9 used to show horror movies right after the test pattern ended at about 5:20 AM in the morning? I remember they did it alot in the summer but also sometimes when school was in session and I couldn't watch the movies then. But I remember very easily getting up at 5 AM to watch them and my parents coming down not believing I could get up so early.

[@johnkun77]

Ooh, "The Monster of Piedras Blancas"!! About what time did this show air, was it after Championship Wrestling?? "Championship Wrestling", there's an intro i'd love to see.

[@beefoneeto]

Supernatural Theater preceded Fright Night on Ch 9 by about ten years.It ran against Ch 11 Chiller Theater.

[@rjplamf61]

does anyone remember the, 'Drive in Movie', that showed the Kung Fu movies on Saturday afternoons back in he '80's? They were hilarious. Dubbed in English with Chinese guys talking like they came from Brooklyn.

[@seka1986]

rjplamf61 black belt theatre

[@moboutmen]

Kung Fu Mama! Whipped a ponytail like no other!

[@wmbrown6]

This appears to have aired either on Nov. 20, 1982 or Oct. 29, 1983. And Ted Mallie, as usual, is the announcer. (Does anyone know if his booth colleague Phil Tonken ever did any "Fright Nights"?)

[@beefoneeto]

Best was the guy on Ch 5 that showed Superargo vs Diabolicus and said at the commercial break "I'd like to unmask that actor for the fraud he really is" LOL

[@zl1vette427]

I am getting that book, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED if you grew up in the NY area in the 1970's and watched these programs.

[@jimqk]

OK, the WOR mystery is solved. I found some information on the net, particularly at Wikipedia, that indicates the Saturday morning double feature on WOR was called "Chiller Thriller." That rings a bell. The program ran from 1974 through 1977. Now, if somebody out there was able to dig up the "Chiller Thriller" intro that would be great and much appreciated.

[@Tarantulisimo]

It started with eerie musis & the title card showed outer space & a planet, then I think "Spaced Out Films" appeared in front of the image...They originally showed 2 movies til noon, then it was cut 2 1 movie.

[@kingporter67]

Fright Night had almost all the horror movies ever and it had a scary opening and ending as well!!

[@tapthatt2012]

not sure----but this is the one we all remember.

[@jimqk]

OK, fellas, I got it! The Saturday morining double feature on WOR ran from 1974 through 1977 and was called "Chiller Thriller." There's some infor about it at wikipedia.

[@Tarantulisimo]

WOR TV Saturday Dec. 12, 1981: 5:05am - News 5:30am - "Die, Monster, Die" w/ Boris Karloff 7am - news 7:30 - Growing Years 8am - Christopher Closeup 8:30am - Newark and Reality 9am - Apple Polishers w/ Tom Dunn 9:30am - Computerworld 10-10:30am - Doctor Who 11am - SPACED OUT FILMS "This Island Earth" w/ Rex Reason 1pm - Greatest Sports Legends 1:30pm - NHL Hockey Rangers vs. Flyers

[@Saturday8pm]

"Now all we need to do is find out who the guy who looks like John Barrymore is at 0:15." LOL! it DOES look like Barrymore!

[@kainnosgoth7336]

rjplamf61 1 year ago "I miss my 13 inch black and white tv with the coat hanger plugged into my broken antenna, watching shitty horror movies on Saturday night." Yeah, man! And I miss the old UHF stations and watching Lost In Space and other stuff late at night on WKBS 48, and having to turn the UHF knob halfway between one channel and the next one in order to get the best reception, LOL

[@Tarantulisimo]

I'm still researching, but apparently WOR TV's Saturday morning movies were originally shown under the name "Chiller Theater" until about 1977, which every1 seems 2 remember vividly....By the time we got cable & picked up WOR in '78-'79, it was called "Spaced Out Films". I definitely remember the opening theme & animation!!! It is listed on wikipedia, so I know I wasn't dreaming LoL. I just wish I could find a post of the intro!!!

[@LannieLord]

The Fright Night opening was shown in the EARLIER 1970s in the afternoon - but it was not called Fright Night.

[@jimqk]

Was WOR's Saturday show called "Creature Double Feature?" Somebody else once said that was the title of a program featured on WNEW, but I don't recall that. "Creature Double Feature" sounds familiar and it may have been the title of WOR's Saturday morning double feature.

[@rjplamf61]

I miss my 13 inch black and white tv with the coat hanger plugged into my broken antenna, watching shitty horror movies on Saturday night.

[@copndonuts]

My fav was Night of the Living Dead

[@copndonuts]

oh yeah ....... when I was younger :(

[@Saturday8pm]

Get out! I didn't know the old intro returned in The Late '70s ... I did catch it a few times in that time slot, but I remember The Creep only ... that's great news Shawn, 'cuz it greatly ups the chances SOMEBODY out there still has a recording.

[@jimqk]

In the mid to late 1970s, the double feature on WOR on Saturday mornings was not called "Spaced Out Films." I'm almost positive of that. They might have changed it to that name in the early 1980s, but I'm not sure. Whatever the intro in the 70s, it must have been pretty brief or I would have a better recollection of it. I can say one thing for sure: That double feature on Saturday mornings was something I looked forward to every week. And I know they featured it for at least several years.

[@jimqk]

... "It Came from Beneath the Sea," "Die, Monster, Die," "Let's Kill Uncle," "The Fly," "The Wolf Man," "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man," and "The Deadly Mantis." A lot of times, the two movies shown would follow a particular theme, e.g., "The Slime People" would be followed by "The Mole People," or "The Mole People" would be followed by "The Gamma People." All I know is WOR showed much more horror and science fiction films in the 70s than WPIX or WNEW.

[@jimqk]

Shawnster, you're wrong about WOR not showing as many classic horror movies as WNEW or PIX. From at least the mid 1970s on WOR used to show a double feature every Saturday morning. I think it started at 10:30 a.m., and the movies included everything from the Universal horror and science fiction package, as well as from other studios such as Columbia. In addition to the double feature, WOR also ran Fright Night at around 6 p.m. Saturdays and then a late night version, as well. (Continued above)

[@MMAfighter38113]

i remember back in the late 80's on WGN a show called FRIGHT NIGHT as well. I don't remember if it was the same show as this

[@retroguy1976]

i doubt it

[@Tarantulisimo]

@jimqk I wish some1 would dig up that "Spaced Out FIlms" intro...We had just moved 2 Pittsburgh PA & had just gotten this new thing called cable...On Saturdays we would watch "Spaced Out Films" @ 10am on WOR, "SuperHost Saturday Mad Theater" at 1pm on WUAB Cleveland, "Science Fiction Theater" on local KDKA, "Ghost Host" (aka Captain Chesapeake aka Capt. Pitt) at 11pm, then we would try 2 watch SNL, Wrestling, & "Chiller Theater" & "Fright Night" at the same time!!!

[@Tarantulisimo]

@ladyarewynn When we 1st moved 2 Pittsburgh from DC, we got 2 visit the WIIC studios & tour the Chiller Theater set thru a friend of my dads...Those were the days: We would try 2 watch Ghost Host, SNL, Wrestling, Fright Night, & Chiller Theater all at the same time, but of course as soon as mom realized it was after 1am & wrestling was over, we had 2 go 2 bed!!

[@Tarantulisimo]

Y did they remeove all the Fright Night commercial bumpers that were on here a few months ago??? Bummer....

[@Tarantulisimo]

Not sure whose channels they were but there was a 2-part commercial block from '86, a WOR editorial block from 80-81, Godzilla/King Kong holiday movie commercials, Fright Night commercial break bumpers.....ALL DELETED!!!

[@tapthatt2012]

@jimqk i think back then they all had openings. not like today. wpix shows a movie now at 8pm on saturdays without an opening graphic. a few years ago they still had something lile the cw11 movie, now nothing. i miss those more than the movies! it seems all the NY stations are playing more movies on the weekends in the afternoon like the old days, a little less informercilas--which i'm happy about. once in a while they'll show something from the 80s that you would not expect.

[@chuckygrief]

@Tarantulisimo i remember it was called "supernatural theater"

[@Tarantulisimo]

I wish someone would find the "Space Out Films" intro & post it

[@chuckygrief]

in the 60's saturday or sunday morning it was called "supernatural theater". where is the intro to that?

[@xDTHECHEMISTx]

some of the craziest and most weird horror flicks came on this show....i remember this one flick where at the end the chicks brother er somethin took her kicking and screaming back down to the grave with him er somethin like that. i forgot the name of it. it was the late 70s

[@tapthatt2012]

@jimqk any idea on what the opening might've been?

[@tapthatt2012]

too bad we don't have these on tape from wor-tv or any of the other channels

[@2167PhillipM]

Fondly remembered! Benny hill use to be on at 11:00 then this. Sometime three movies until 5:00 i was in my teens back then prisoner of my parents i loved those old movies WOR-tv 9 had on its airwaves. Before talk shows and infomercials ruined the damn channel

[@Tarantulisimo]

Does Anyone Else Besides Me Remember "Spaced Out Films" On WOR Saturday Mornings? It Was On From Like 930am Til Noon....

[@rjplamf61]

No, but I do remember the, "Drive in Movie." on channel 5 that played karate movies at three in the afternoon. Used to watch those babies nursing my hangovers.

[@GenerationX1967]

I do. The opening credits had the words and some type of object coming slowly into focus...

[@freespirit5466]

+Tarantulisimo do! I just couldn't remember the name of the show until now...I wish I knew the name of the theme music they used for it - I can hear it very clearly in my mind but would love to hear it again "for real"

[@GenerationX1967]

rjplamf61 Drive-In Movie was fun too..

[@Tarantulisimo]

YES!!!!

[@Tarantulisimo]

Damn all the WOR TV stuff is getting deleted little by little...They just deleted the WOR TV block from '81 which featured the guy from Newark & they deleted the Fright Night bumpers & the commercial blocks!!! That sux!!! Can some1 please repost?

[@Tarantulisimo]

Can some1 please post/repost the Fright Night commercial bumpers, the WOR commercial blocks from 78-82, the WOR editorial blocks? And if any1 can find the intro 2 WORs "Spaced Out Films" that used 2 B on Saturday mornings after Doctor Who, please post that 2!!!

[@4thtroika]

They actually showed Peeping Tom on tv? Wow!

[@sweetladystarlight]

I was curious so I looked it up. Type in original Chiller Opening right here on KZbin.

[@raymondsteen5316]

👍🤟👍

[@tapthatt2012]

EVEN AUDIO OF THIS WOULD BE GREAT

[@seka1986]

Fright Night at 1 a.m. after WWF wrestling at midnight on channel 9, WOR-TV

[@Jzeaser]

Did anyone catch "Children shouldn't play with dead things" in this show

[@channel82randomtv16]

Sure did,😀

[@LannieLord]

@@channel82randomtv16 YES! BUY the DVD - there are extras on it !!

[@tapthatt2012]

they were on my old channel. been trying to post newer stuff. will re-post more stuff soon.

[@tapthatt2012]

whose channel?

[@jimqk]

I just don't know. It may have been something that was real quick ... or there may not have been any opening at all. I remember the commercials better. There were Carvel ice cream commercials, and there was a real long commercial with John Williams, the actor not movie music composer, for an LP record collection of classic masterpieces. The movies may have simply just popped on with no WOR opening whatsoever.

[@tapthatt2012]

@madahad9 havent found any clips of lou steel yet from creature features. stay tubed

[@tapthatt2012]

could be my old one. been slow with re-posting stuff.

[@sbhoselover]

@johnkun77 Used to come on Channel 9 at 1 am, after WWWF/WWF Championship Wrestling

[@tapthatt2012]

@johnkun77 I MIGHT JUST POST IT. : )

[@abcbatman1966]

@spartacus217 that's from The Mad Ghoul, starring David Bruce(1943)....John carradine in dr Denton. Pajamas is not gay...drunk, yes, gay, no

[@Syntox]

So scary

[@tapthatt2012]

:17---mutant form invaders from mars