Dr. Silkini’s “Asylum of Horrors" Returns to Lorain

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.

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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.”

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For more fiendish fun with Dr. Silkini, visit the “Travalanche” blog, which features a nice write-up of the Dr. Silkini shows.

Friday the 13th Jinx Show at the Palace – January 1967

Over the years, the Palace Theater in Lorain used a variety of creative gimmicks to sell tickets.

Some of these gimmicks included a 1957 show featuring a ‘live’ appearance by the late James Dean, a 1957 show by Dr. Silkini & Company and the Frankenstein monster, a 1960 live stage appearance by the Three Stooges, and a 1964 ‘back to school’ cartoon carnival.

Well, here’s another creative effort. Above is the ad for the Friday the 13th Jinx Show, which took place on January 13, 1967 – 50 years ago today. The ad ran in the Journal the day before.

To be honest, though, I’m not sure what the hubbub was about. Despite the great illustration and ominous tone of the ads (“AT THIS SHOW anything can happen… AND PROBABLY WILL!), it seems like it was all just a cute setup to present a 1962 movie called Tales of Terror.

Poster courtesy of cathode13.blogspot.com

Here’s the terrifying trailer.

Apparently, the Jinx tie-in was that one of the Edgar Allan Poe stories that made up the movie was “The Black Cat.” Here’s a jolly frame from the film.

Courtesy of catsonfilm.net

Anyway, all of the ads for the Jinx Show featured the same black cat artwork, so I don’t think there was any advertised stage show to accompany the on-screen mayhem.

James Dean – "Live" – I mean, "Dead" – at the Palace!

Here's another one of those Lorain Palace Theater ads promoting the pairing of a live stage show with some scary movies to create a memorable evening of entertainment for teenagers in the late 1950s.

This ad appeared in the Lorain Journal on Feb. 8, 1957 – fifty-six years ago this month.

It's kind of similar to the Dr. Silkini show that I wrote about in October last year, but this one has an unusual twist: instead of the Frankenstein monster being revived "in person," this show advertised "the materialization of James Dean." The iconic American film actor had died about a year and a half earlier in an automobile accident.

A few other websites and blogs (here and here) mention similar scary shows with the James Dean gimmick. Apparently, the materialization consisted of an illuminated photograph of the actor's face during a blackout!

Note that perennial Lorain favorites The Bowery Boys were also on the bill, featured in the film Ghost Chasers. (Hey! That was playing at the Palace back here too!)

Frankenstein in Person at the Palace – October 1957

Here's an eye-catching ad that appeared in the October 29, 1957 Lorain Journal – for a live (or undead?) appearance by the Frankenstein monster at Lorain's Palace Theater.

It was all part of the campy Dr. Silkini & Company touring stage show, which was headed by the namesake doctor character and featured various monsters, ghosts and horror scenes, along with some interaction with the audience. Sometimes the show featured a name monster like Frankenstein, other editions of the show apparently had different themes. But Dr. Silkini was the guy who held it all together with his various assistants.

It looks like it was a lot of good, clean fun.

Below is a vintage theater promotion for another edition of the Dr. Silkini show, this time featuring Garganta, the giant Gorilla of the Universe. Give it a click – it's hilarious.

Here's a link to a blog that has some promotional stills from the Asylum of Horrors edition of the show.