Halloween is coming up – so it’s a good idea to revisit Dr. Silkini and his traveling horror show.
The good doctor made an appearance at the Lorain Drive-in back on September 16, 1959. Here’s the ad for Dr. Silkini’s Asylum of Horrors that ran in the Lorain Journal on that day.
Looks like the three-hour show had quite an lineup: the Frankenstein Monster, Garganta the Giant Gorilla, the Mummy and – if horror wasn’t your bag – ‘Beautiful Curvaceous Hollywood Starlets.’ It’s not clear what movies were shown, but according to the ad there were ‘2 SCREAM PICTURES.’
I’ve written about Dr. Silkini (and similar horror roadshows) before, including
this 1957 appearance at the
Palace Theater. Although the show might seem more appropriate in an indoor theater, I’ll bet it was spooky out there on the outskirts of Lorain under the stars back then.
****
Judging by newspaper clippings from all over the country, Dr. Silkini’s horror show seemed to make its monstrous mark in the entertainment world by the 1940s.
This article ran in the Jefferson, Indiana Tribune back on February 12, 1943.
The Louisville
Courier-Journal seems unimpressed by Dr. Silkini’s upcoming stage show at the National in this theater column mention that ran on August 12, 1945.
This article from the Evergreen, Alabama
Courant of May 20, 1948 about the upcoming Dr. Silkini show advises bobby-soxers to come with an older escort to the show, rather than a younger boy friend, because “some of the young boys can not stand the chills and faint away.”
The Frankenstein Monster was still the highlight of the show when it appeared in Moline, Illinois according to this article from the Sept. 10, 1949
Dispatch.
Lastly, this photo from the
Chillicothe Gazette of Saturday, November 17, 1962 gives us a glimpse of some of the Hollywood starlets that were promoted in the “Asylum of Horrors” ads. The hairdos (including the one on the disembodied head) make me wonder, though, if the photo dates back to the early days of the show. The caption notes, “This is the same show that has played theaters throughout the world for the last 25 years.”
****
For more fiendish fun with Dr. Silkini, visit the “
Travalanche” blog, which features a nice write-up of the Dr. Silkini shows.
