DtH Episode 121 – Made-for-TV Horror: Dan Curtis

April 29, 2026 by Jon Kitley in Discover the Horror Podcast and tagged Bob Colbert, Burnt Offerings, Dan Curtis, Dark Shadows, Darren McGavin, Dracula, Jack Palance, Karen Black, Kolchak The Night Stalker, The Night Stalker, The Norliss Tapes, Trilogy of Terror | Leave a comment

As a horror fan growing up watching TV in the early ’70s, you may not know or remember the name Dan Curtis, but you know his work. From his early gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, where one of the main characters just happened to be a vampire, to the countless adaptations of classic novels, such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and Jekyll and Hyde, to even more throughout the ’70s. Curtis continued to give TV viewing audiences plenty of nightmares during that time, always using a blend of classic monsters, as well as bringing new and unique ones to the small screen, all with the same results.

While some of his work might be lost on modern day audiences, his influence has never gone away, and his body of work is still one that is more than worth revisiting to, or if you’ve never experienced it yet, then now is the perfect time to start down that journey.

Films mentioned in this episode:

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Monsterama in Atlanta

February 3, 2026 by Jon Kitley in Conventions and tagged Alie Marie Matheson, Anthony Taylor, Clayton Landey, Dan Curtis, Dark Shadows, Jeff Thompson, Jim Storm, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Lloyd Kaufman, Monsterama, Richard Christian Matheson, Richard Matheson, The Twilight Zone, Tim Bradstreet, Troma Enterainment | 2 Comments

Ever since I heard about this show, we wanted to attend. But being in Atlanta, which is about a 12-hour drive, is a bit too long for us. Sure, might be easier to fly, but if we were going, we’d want to be vendors there, which means we’d have to drive. So, I would just sit and look at the events, the guests, and all the fun it looked like everyone was having. But not this year!

Because I wanted to try some other shows that were a little different than the huge convention with massive guests lists, to those where fans were coming to have fun and maybe learn something about the genre. Monsterama, which has been running since 2014, is the brainchild of Anthony Taylor, who I’ve known for a few years since we both attend Monster Bash every year. Just hearing about the way the show is put on, with all the different panels they have, plus the steady stream of films being screened from actual film prints, I knew at some point, I was going to have to make it someday. And this is the year.

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Dan Curtis Lives!

August 13, 2025 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Amanda Reyes, Claude Akins, Come Die with Me, Dan Curtis, Dick Smith, Dracula, Frankenstein, Heidi Honeycutt, Jack Palance, John Karlen, Mark Dawidziak, Meredith Baxter, Nightmare at 43 Hillcrest, Robert Foxworth, Robert Kelly, Scott Skelton, Shadow of Fear, Steve Bissette, The Invasion of Carol Enders, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Tom Selleck | Leave a comment

I would like to hope that Dan Curtis was very aware of the impact he had on young fans of the horror genre. From when he took a chance on a failing daytime soap opera, adding a vampire to see what happened, he never looked back. As a kid growing up in the late ’60s & early ’70s, I was flooded by countless characters, monsters, and other ghastly sites, all thanks to Mr. Curtis. While there as not been a constant stream of his work being released on varying formats over the decades, from VHS, to DVD, and now Blu-Ray, there still have been some that we have yet to see. But thanks to Kino Lober, now only do we get two of the three of his retelling of three classic monsters on Blu-Ray the first time, we also get four films he made for the Late-Night Mysteries series, which all aired in 1974. And if you order them now, they are damn near half price! Both are priced at $39.95 (which is a great deal already with what you’re getting), but now you can get each of them for $26.57! Just head over to Kino Lober by clicking HERE.

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Music Box of Horrors Final Lineup

October 5, 2023 by Jon Kitley in Movie Events and tagged Amando de Ossorio, Austin Jennings, Bernard Rose, Bill Paxton, Burnt Offerings, Candyman, Carol Frank, Casper, Child's Play 3, Dan Curtis, Demon Witch Child, Eight Eyes, Frailty, Haze, J.R. Bookwalter, James Cameron, Jaume Balaguero, Mike Mendez, Music Box of Horrors, Music Box Theatre, Ozone, Paco Plaza, Piranha II: The Spawning, REC, Shinya Tsukamoto, Sorority House Massacre, The Convent, The Fall of the House of Usher, Vinegar Syndrome | Leave a comment

The full lineup for this year’s Music Box of Horrors has been announced on their website, and it looks like one hell of a 24 hours to spend with other like-minded horror fans! Although, the ones crazy enough to come out for a 24-hour marathon aren’t just fans, but dedicated deviants that want to revel and dwell in these amazing horror titles. And I love them for that!

To make the marathon even better, the Music Box has once again filled up their lobby and lounge with a wide variety of vendors to help you pick up some great stuff! I know we are so excited to make our return to vending at this event, but there are plenty of other great vendors like Pretty Spooky Handmades, House of Monsters, Vinegar Syndrome, Severin Films, Graveface Records, and more! Make sure you stop by and check all the vendors out! And of course, stop by and see us at the Kitley’s Krypt booth!

For all the latest information, head over to the Music Box’s page for this event HERE, and also check out their main site (HERE) to see all the other great stuff they are screening!

Below is the full lineup with the start times:

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Friday Favorites – Kolchak: The Night Stalker

January 22, 2021 by Jon Kitley in Friday Favorites and tagged Carl Kolchak, Dan Curtis, Darren McGavin, Jeffrey Rice, Kolchak The Night Stalker, Simon Oakland, The Night Stalker | 6 Comments

One of my favorite memories growing up was watching the seemingly bumbling reporter Carl Kolchak meet a different mystery or monster (or both) each week on Kolchak: The Night Stalker, which ran from September 1974 to March of 1975. Of course, the series was a spin-off from two successful TV movies, The Night Stalker (1972) and The Night Stranger (1973), produced by Dan Curtis. Curtis was done with the character but the studio and star Darren McGavin wanted to continue so the series started without Curtis. It only lasted one season but for us young monster kids, it made quite the impact. The charm about Kolchak was that he was just as scared about what was going on as anybody else, but knew he had to do what was right. Also, nobody ever believed him! As a kid, that really hit home because parents would never believe what their kids told them. Here was this guy that was trying to tell people there really was a monster out there, only to be laughed at. Continue reading →

Bob Cobert – Rest in Peace

February 25, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Rest in Peace and tagged Bob Cobert, Dan Curtis, Dark Shadows, Night Stalker | Leave a comment

bobcobert You couldn’t have been a horror fan that grew up in the late ’60s and early ’70s and not know the music of Bob Cobert. With the amount of work that writer/director/producer Dan Curtis was kicking out during that time, Cobert was right there through almost all of it, creating some incredible and memorable scores. Sadly, we heard the news that Mr. Cobert passed away back on Feb. 19th from pneumonia. He was 95.

My personal favorite has always been the theme he did for The Night Stalker (1972), but there are also so many other great ones, such as Dark Shadows, both the series and the two films. He pretty much worked on almost all of Curtis’ productions, which earned him a Grammy nomination for his composition Quentin’s Theme from Dark Shadows series and a Emmy nomination for his work on Curtis’ epic miniseries War and Remembrance (1988-89).

For a composer to create a theme that is remembered as much a the movie or series itself is a high compliment for any musician. Cobert seemed to do it over and over again. He may have left his planet, but he has left us hours and hours of fantastic music that we can listen to over and over, bringing those images back in our brains again and again.

Our thoughts go out to his friends and family in this difficult time. Rest in Peace, Maestro.

Master of Dark Shadows

March 7, 2019 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Dan Curtis, Dark Shadows, David Gregory, Dracula, Master of Dark Shadows, Night Stalker, Norliss Tapes, Trilogy of Terror | Leave a comment

Master of Dark Shadows You couldn’t grow up watching TV in the ’70s and not know of the work of Dan Curtis. His work had a huge impact on my life, from The Night Stalker (1972), The Norliss Tapes (1973), Trilogy of Terror (1975), and so many other made-for-TV movies. Oh yeah, and there was that series Dark Shadow that you might have heard of. Needless to say, if it was from Curtis, you know it was going to be worth your time. And now, thanks to director David Gregory, we’re going to have a chance to learn a little bit more about this amazing man.

Set to be released next month, this feature length documentary covers Curtis and his work, hearing from a ton of people that worked with him and were fans of his work, such as Ben Cross, Roger Davis, Jonathan Frid, Whoopi Goldberg, John Karlen, William F. Nolan, David Selby, Barbara Steele, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Bob Cobert, and many more.

While he definitely worked outside the horror genre a few times, like writing, producing, and directing the Emmy Award Winning mini-series War and Remembrance (1988-89), he made such an impact with horror fans with his films. And they are still as entertaining now, decades later, as they were then. Kudos to Gregory for helping bring light to this talented man that was use to working in the shadows.

Horror History: Bob Cobert

November 14, 2018 by Jon Kitley in Horror History and tagged Bob Cobert, Dan Curtis, Dark Shadows, Dracula, Night Stalker, Norliss Tapes | 2 Comments

bobcobert Bob Cobert
Born Oct. 26th, 1924

If you were a fan of Dan Curtis and his early TV work, then you are well aware of the work of Bob Cobert, even if you don’t recognize the name. He is probably best known for working on the famous Curtis TV series Dark Shadows, that ran from 1967 to 1971. He also worked on the two feature films based on the series, House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows (1971), as well as the 1991 revival. But he also did a ton of different made-for-TV shows in the early ’70s with Curtis. Titles like The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968), The Night Stalker (1972), The Night Strangler (1973), The Norliss Tapes (1973), Scream of the Wolf (1974), Dracula (1974), Trilogy of Terror (1975), Burnt Offerings (1976), and so many more.

Working outside of the horror genre, he also composed the music for Curtis’ war epics The Winds of War (1983) and War and Remembrance (1988), as well creating his fair share of game show themes!

Cobert’s music had its own unique style that was recognizable, memorable, and always added to what we were watching on screen. Those films and shows would definitely had lost something without had it not been for his music.