Let the creepy celebration of Halloween month begin- as we kick off the third annual “Svengoolie’s BOO-nanza” with the first of the weekly double features featuring the Sven Squad and yours truly! Yes, every Saturday this month- we’ll have two terrifying films, including some MeTV premieres- starting off tonight with the ever-popular “Ghost and Mr. Chicken”- followed by the Sven Squad baby-sitting “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane”?

We kick off the evening with small-town newspaper type-setter Luther Heggs thinking he’s seen a murder- and, in his quest to become a full-fledged reporter, he follows it up with the authorities-only to find out things are hardly what they appear to be! Luther’s mistake leaves him embarrassed in front of his boss, his paper’s star reporter Ollie, and some of the local townsfolk!

Luther has the desire to be a reporter and to get closer to gorgeous Alma, a sweet young woman who has captured the typesetter’s heart. Things take a sudden -possibly positive -turn when friendly co-worker encourages him to write a filler article about the town's most infamous murder/suicide-that took place in a local mansion where it is rumored the ghost of the killer still makes midnight appearances playing the pipe organ. With the 20th anniversary of the murder coming up, his boss thinks the story could turn into a great promotional stunt- and who does he decide should spend the night in the allegedly haunted mansion, then write an eyewitness account of the chilling experience? Naturally Luther himself who reluctantly accepts the assignment, hoping to get his big break as a reporter- and very likely make some romantic progress with Alma.

The night of the sinister sleepover yields a terrifying experience complete with secret passages and unexplained phenomena- as he witnesses the actual ghostly late-night playing of the blood-stained keys of the organ (stains that seem to be impossible to remove- “and they used Bon Ami!”)

Once his story hits the street, he’s hailed as a hero- until the last descendant and owner of the mansion takes Luther and the paper to court for libel- and it’s up to Luther to prove he haunted happenings he saw are real!

Our Sven Squad- Gwengoolie, Nostalgiaferatoo, and the Imp- get our second feature rolling- the chilling tale of two sisters, both former film stars, stuck in their miserable lives in a gothic Hollywood mansion. As children, Jane was a Shirley Temple-like star, which sister Blanche was denigrated and treated cruelly. However, as they grew up- things reversed- Jane’s childhood stardom was a thing of the past, and adult Blanche became the star- until a strange auto accident paralyzed her.

Now, the two live in the dilapidated house, living off Blanche’s film earnings- with Jane making the wheelchair-bound Blanche’s life miserable with unspeakable cruelty and terrorizing shocks-leading to horrible revelations as Blanche tries to escape the insanity of her sister!

The double feature goes from the comedically creepy to flat-out terror-with “Mr. Chicken” starring Don Knotts and full of familiar TV faces with chilling ghost story ambiance, and “Baby Jane” a somewhat campy but dead serious psychological horror story. I’ll add some Sven fun to “Mr. Chicken”- which, as I often remind you, is one of the most requested films that we show- including Kerwyn taking part of the film’s title too seriously- an encore of our interview with the wonderful Adrienne Barbeau- and interaction with our Sven Squad, who then add their delightful distractions to “Baby Jane”!

The double feature begins at 8 pm eastern/pacific time, 7 central on MeTV. Post along live on social media during the movies, either on Twitter/X or Bluesky- and use the hashtag #svengoolie on both. Our Chicago area viewers get an extra edition of Kolchak’s “Night Strangler” this morning on WCIU the U at 11 am.

We have posted information about our Halloween season appearances, including my participation in a seasonal exhibit at Chicago’s Field Museum, as well as a one-night meet-and-greet there- get the lowdown under the “appearances” tab on our site here.

…And get set for us putting in double-time tonight on MeTV!