Many American cities have been the backdrop for great horror movies. The skyscrapers of New York have cast shadows for some of the best independent scary movies of the '70s. Chicago, too, with its unique, world-renowned architecture, has been featured in numerous fright flicks. Even New Orleans, steeped in so much occultism and home to so many beliefs, is a horror hotbed.

But you might be surprised to learn why Seattle, in particular, was such an inspiration for the Kolchak movie The Night Strangler. While newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak was a Las Vegas resident in the earlier Night Stalker movie, by the sequel, he was a Seattle resident. So, what's the deal? Why, of all the cities in the world, did Kolchak land in The Emerald City?

Luckily for fans, screenwriter and genre fiction legend Richard Matheson spoke with Cinefantastique in 1974 about how the city was a surprising inspiration.

Watch Svengoolie on MeTV!

Saturdays at 8 PM

*available in most MeTV markets

"Incidentally," said Matheson, "if my family and I hadn't gone to Seattle several times on camping trips, I probably would never have gotten the idea for The Night Strangler."

While the city's rainy, cloudy atmosphere and ever-expanding coffee corporations might already be the stuff of nightmares, it was a specific experience that pushed Matheson to set his scenes in Seattle.

"They have what is called 'The City Underneath Seattle.' It's a tour. It's not as far-reaching and as deep as in the movie, of course, but it does exist and there are old store fronts and run down buildings underneath the streets of Seattle. One never knows where the next idea will come from. My title for it was 'The Time Killer,' but they changed it to give more indication of it being a sequel."

So, the next time you visit Pike Place Fish Market, know you're not too far away from the foundational steps Matheson took before turning out one of TV's great horror sequels!