I was born in 1969, in the Chicagoland area. Growing up a Monster Kid, this was a great time. In the early 70’s the Chicago airwaves were filled with monster movies every weekend. WGN-9 had the legendary Creature Features, WFLD-32 had the groovy ghoul, Svengoolie and WSNS-44 treated us to the Monster Rally. Even ABC-7 had a daily afternoon movie in which they would have a Hammer Films week, King Kong week, or a Planet of the Apes week. The genre would change week to week. The first house I grew up in was very small. I was in second grade at the time when parents upgraded to their first color TV setand I got the old black and white one. This was like Christmas day in the summer fo
r me. One late Friday night I was watching WSNS-44 and caught for the first time The Monster Rally, my first horror host experience. The show opened with a cloaked figure with a wide brimmed hat walking out of a thick fog slowly. When the ghoul got closer he stopped and said in a sinister voice “Welcome to the Monster Rally HA HA HA HA!!!” The two movies I remember seeing was Caltiki, the Immortal Monster an Italian classic which Mario Bava worked on and Majin, Monster of Terror from Daiei studios Japan, the guys who brought you the giant atomic turtle Gamera. I was hooked, I became a Monster Kid. I still remember the Saturday afternoon I was mesmerized by a movie I saw that was like no other up until that point in my life. I was checking out WFLD-32’s Monstrous M
ovie. That was the day they unleashed the Son of Godzilla on me. I thought this was the coolest thing I ever saw. A giant radioactive monster and his son fighting enormous praying mantises and a huge spider. I pushed aside the Mego dolls and GI Joe (12 inches tall and he talked!!), to make room for the King of the Monsters. I knew what a Japanese Monster movie was now and nothing else from then on would ever measure up in this Monster Kid’s life again.
r me. One late Friday night I was watching WSNS-44 and caught for the first time The Monster Rally, my first horror host experience. The show opened with a cloaked figure with a wide brimmed hat walking out of a thick fog slowly. When the ghoul got closer he stopped and said in a sinister voice “Welcome to the Monster Rally HA HA HA HA!!!” The two movies I remember seeing was Caltiki, the Immortal Monster an Italian classic which Mario Bava worked on and Majin, Monster of Terror from Daiei studios Japan, the guys who brought you the giant atomic turtle Gamera. I was hooked, I became a Monster Kid. I still remember the Saturday afternoon I was mesmerized by a movie I saw that was like no other up until that point in my life. I was checking out WFLD-32’s Monstrous M
ovie. That was the day they unleashed the Son of Godzilla on me. I thought this was the coolest thing I ever saw. A giant radioactive monster and his son fighting enormous praying mantises and a huge spider. I pushed aside the Mego dolls and GI Joe (12 inches tall and he talked!!), to make room for the King of the Monsters. I knew what a Japanese Monster movie was now and nothing else from then on would ever measure up in this Monster Kid’s life again.
Return of the Giant Monsters(Gamera Vs. Gyaos)did it for me- saw it on tv about 1968...
ReplyDeleteEarth Vs. The Spider did for me I was around 7 years old and remember seeing it on WFLD 32 in a very tiny b/w tv. what great day goulish days they were. Jihn From Tucson, Az
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