‘Twas the week before the BOO-Nanza- and all through tonight- that darn Carl Kolchak has found a new fright! Yes, for those of you who have been missing Kolchak’s adventures during his hiatus from “Super Sci Fi Saturday Nights” here on MeTV, we’ve got an extra helping of our hapless hero in another creepy classic from TV horror legend, producer/director Dan Curtis –1973’s “The Night Strangler”! Then, our Sven Squad hosts a chilling house party with “Amityville 3-D!” (No special glasses are necessary- it will be presented in regular 2-D!)

We begin with Kolchak and his beleaguered boss Tony Vincenzo- who were run out of Las Vegas after the “Night Stalker” case- settling down- for now- in Seattle. Tony, once again employed, reluctantly hires Carl to work at his current newspaper, run by a crusty old gentleman (John Carradine!) and Tony assigns Kolchak to cover a series of exotic dancer murders-figuring this would be right up his alley ( and a dark alley it is). Each victim has been strangled, with their necks crushed- and have had a small amount of blood drained from them- but not enough to suggest a vampire. Authorities think it could be the work of a twisted serial killer- but Kolchak begins to think differently when he hears that each victim also had traces of rotting flesh on their necks!

While seeking information and questioning dancers at a dive known as “Abdul’s Tent”, Carl happens upon the intelligent- and beautiful- performer Louise Harper- who ends up assisting him in his investigations. Also assisting is newspaper researcher Titus Berry ( Wally Cox) who has discovered a curious and shocking fact- that killings similar to the current ones have been happening every 21 years since the 1800s!

Kolchak, with his background in the unbelievable, begins to think that perhaps the same killer has survived for so long by using those little bits of blood from the victims to keep himself alive. In spite of the past, Tony, the old newspaper publisher, and the local police once again are at odds with Kolchak, refusing to believe his theory.

After finding a shocking clue to the killer’s identity in an old hospital he established years ago, the search brings Kolchak to the old underground city beneath Seattle ( yes, it IS a real place-we’ll explain) and time is running out before the strangler gets enough blood to sustain him so he can go back into hiding for another 21 years!

This follow-up TV movie that continued the adventures of Kolchak has a great cast- not only Darren McGavin and Simon Oakland, but also the aforementioned Cox and Carradine, along with Jo Ann Pflug ( who I will admit I had a crush on!), Richard Anderson, and cameos by the likes of Margaret Hamilton ( Oz’s wicked witch) and Al Lewis ( Grandpa Munster). We’ll talk about the cast, I’ll try my hand at being a newspaper reporter, we’ll provide a new weight loss program inspired by the happenings in this movie, get a visit from that annoying imp Ignatius Malvolio Prankenstein, do a song, take a vintage look at my first 30 years, and more!

Speaking of the Imp, stay tuned for the second half of our double feature- when he joins Nostalgiaferatoo and Gwengoolie for a tale from the “Amityville Horror” series- in which a journalist purchases the infamous house to prove its supernatural horrors are fake- but soon discovers that the evil may be very real! It’s 1983’s “Amityville 3-D”- featuring Tony Roberts- and presented in chilling 2-D! The only 3 (who deserve a grade far higher than a D) are our 3 Sven Squad members, who will fill you in on the cast, and ring on their usual frightening fun.

The double feature begins tonight at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 pm central time. As always, you can make comments live during both shows -Tweeting on Twitter/X or posting on Bluesky- but make sure to use the hashtag #svengoolie on either. Our Chicago area viewers get one for chance to witness the fuzzy fright of “Tarantula” this morning at 11 am on our local flagship station, WCIU the U.

Prepare to enter the Halloween mood when, next week, MeTV begins the third annual “Svengoolie BOO-Nanza”- featuring more double features, with myself and the Sven Squad, every Saturday night- with several movies new to our program! The Squad will also be hosting a creepy cartoon special- and there will, as always, be fright-themed episodes of many of your favorite MeTV programs! We will also have some big news regarding a team-up with Chicago’s Fieldmuseum by yours truly- along with a couple more public appearances coming up. Check back here, and/or under the “appearances” tab on our website here, which we will update as the appearances get nearer.

Tonight- join us for the keen investigative reporting of Kolchak- and the latest menace to try to wind up his career-and life- with “30”! (It’s an old newspaper term…Google it!)