"Ghost and Mr. Chicken" and "Fiend Without a Face" Make a Dastardly Double Feature-Tonight!

Our October “Halloween BOO-nanza” double features continue tonight on MeTV with two very different movies- one concerning a timorous would-be reporter who must endure a night in an allegedly haunted house where a notorious murder took place- and the other a1950s sci chiller in which deadly invisible creatures run amok near military base utilizing nuclear power! It’s the 1966 classic- "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken"- followed by 1958’s creepy “Fiend Without a Face”!

Click here to see the full schedule of Svengoolie's Halloween BOO-Nanaza!

Our first feature begins on a dark and stormy night when small-town newspaper type-setter Luther Heggs thinks he’s seen a murder- and, in his quest to become a full-fledged reporter, 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, and some of the local townsfolk!

Luther envies that star reporter, Ollie, not only for his job - but also for his apparent position of boyfriend to gorgeous Alma, a sweet young woman who has captured the typesetter’s heart. A 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- and, with the 20th anniversary of the murder coming up, when his boss reads the filler piece, he thinks the story could turn into a great promotional stunt- to have someone spend the night in the allegedly haunted mansion, then write an eyewitness account of the chilling experience- and, naturally, that task should fall to the author of the filler-Luther himself! In spite of misgivings Luther 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 arrives, and his terrifying experience begins, 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 saw haunted happenings!

Our second feature begins at the U.S. Air Force’s experimental radar station in Winthrop Manitoba, where work on a new long-range tracking system is underway. It’s powered by their own nuclear plant, but unfortunately, every time they seem to be on the brink of success- the nuclear power seems to be drain off and drop to lower than useful levels for no discernable reason.

That isn’t the only problem-the local farming community is up in arms about mysterious cattle problems and even deaths that have been occurring. The local folks are quick to blame radiation coming from the military base, and choose to ignore the small bit of evidence that each victim has puncture marks at the base of their skull There’s more proof for them to ignore- each victim’s brain and spinal column appear to be- gone!

Major Jeff Cummings is sent out to investigate- and immediately finds himself at odds with the locals, including the pretty sister of one of the victims, who works for a retired British scientist living near the base whose is realm of experience is research on telekinetic power.

Jeff finds that he face those who believe it has to be someone from the military who has become a maniac killer, and then prove that radiation is not to blame for the deaths. Before long, it is revealed that an invisible life form is present, and ready to eliminate the human population! Be prepared for the big reveal-when the faceless enemy is no longer faceless- and both amazing and shocking!

The double feature goes from the comedic and creepy to flat-out terror-with “Mr. Chicken” full of familiar TV faces, headed, of course, by Don Knotts- and “Fiend Without a Face” features Marshall Thompson and Kim Parker ( whose few seconds in a shower scene somehow made the film’s promotional poster) and some truly amazing stop-motion creatures when they become visible (again, for the sake of the viewers who have NOT seen this movie before- please, no spoilers!) We’ll run down the cast of both films, provide songs, and revisit some classic shtick and significant appearances of the past.

Our double feature begins on MeTV tonight at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central- if you’re not sure of time and channel where you live, just check your local listings, or go to www.metv.com ! MeTV invites you to live-Tweet along with the many viewers who do just that during the show on Twitter- just make sure to use the hashtag #svengoolie – and join the Sven-tweeters who have put us among the top popular subjects trending nationally every week! This morning on our main local Chicago station, WCIU-the U- viewers can face the family fears of “Son of Frankenstein” at 11 am.

We were amazed to see that the new Svengoolie inflatable lawn ornament sold out so quickly! If you missed out, you can send an e mail to [email protected] to be added to a waiting list n the event of any extras being available. Some very special 45th anniversary merchandise is due out next week- keep an eye on our website for more!

Big news- our friend 1960s rock icon Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon, who wrote “Svengoolie Stomp”, has written a new song- “Hey Svengoolie”- which has already been played on Sirius XM and other outlets- be listening for it, as we work on a music video of the tune for our show!

Last weekend in Las Vegas, I was honored to be given a lifetime achievement award by none other than horror host and author Joe Bob Briggs at his “Drive-In Jamboree”. It was an amazing event, held at a Las Vegas drive-in theatre- and we stayed up almost until dawn presenting favorite Universal horror films!

This weekend, however, we are back home- and ready to unleash hilarious haunting and invisible intruders in tonight’s double feature- so tune in!

Click here to see the full schedule of Svengoolie's Halloween BOO-Nanaza!