October 31, 10 p.m. 

Doctor Madblood returns for his 45th anniversary special on October 31, Halloween night at 10:00 p.m., we will be talking virtually with cast members Dusty, Count Lacudra, Velma Von Basketcase, Uncle Felonious, The Widow Paine, and Sybil of the Swamp. Our movie this year is the 1964 version of The Last Man on Earth, starring Vincent Price.

The film is based upon Richard Matheson’s book I Am Legend. It tells the story of the worldwide pandemic that wiped out the human population and left Vincent with a bunch of zombies and werewolves. He has to fend off the undead with garlic and mirrors.

Each cast member we talk to is invited to remember a favorite sequence from episodes from our history, beginning with Dusty who recalls the show from 1978 that begins with him riding his motorcycle through Pungo. We are hoping our nonsense will bring our viewers a smile.

Watch this year's show on WHRO TV 15, through our TV 15 livestream or on whro.org/madblood


About Doctor Madblood

The doctor and all of his nonsense is the brainchild of Jerry Harrell. The original inspiration for the Madblood show occurred when he started working at WAVY TV in 1974. He realized that there was no local TV other than news programs, and he hoped to remedy the situation. On Halloween 1975 Dr. Madblood's Movie debuted as a one-time holiday special.

The show was set in a TV studio so viewers could see what one looked like, and a trivia question was asked. They had only one receptionist to answer the phones. To everyone's surprise, the studio was swamped with calls. After this initial success, the show went weekly, which was convenient since there was a late-night horror movie on Saturday nights anyway.

Over 45 years, the Madblood show has aired on several local television stations and has settled into an annual celebration on WHRO TV. Harrell muses that "television has changed dramatically since the late seventies when our particular brand of foolishness first aired."

And it is true that the advent of the VCR and the availability of cable TV have certainly given the viewer more options. But it has not destroyed the appeal of the horror host. Viewers are invited to visit the rundown old Manor House at the end of Idle Hour Road on Halloween night at 10:00 pm on WHRO TV 15 and online at whro.org, when the doc will once again say “thanks for turning us on!”