Horror Incorporated
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Horror Incorporated was a television series that featured horror movies and first ran on KSTP-TV in the Twin Cities, generally airing at or after midnight Saturday nights, from 1969 - 1979. It was revived by KSTP owner Hubbard Broadcasting when it spawned the launch of KSTC-TV, a new sister station to KSTP, in the fall of 2000.
While on KSTC, Horror Incorporated aired generally at midnight Saturday nights, following in the tradition of its original KSTP run.
KSTC's Horror Incorporated ran from September 11, 2000 - February 21, 2004, initially with Jake Esau as "TV's Count Dracula". Mr. Esau was both the principal host and its sole writer during his run.
Mr. Esau previously appeared as the same "TV's Count Dracula" character hosting horror movies on WFTC-TV (then as KITN) from 1986 - 1988. The footage and features were repackaged and broadcast on Twin Cities cable channel CCO2 (forerunner of FSN_North and owned at that time by WCCO-TV) from 1988 - 1992 as "Count Dracula Presents". "Count Dracula Presents" was jointly acquired by Mr. Esau and a business partner (owner of countdracula.com) and was further repackaged and updated and aired on several small market television stations in the United States during the 1990s. In celebration of Halloween, four episodes ran during October, 1998, one each week, on KSTP competitor KTMA-TV. The program was met with enough enthusiasm that when Hubbard acquired what would become KSTC they sought his character for a locally produced program to air on the new station.
All of the Horror Incorporated episodes featuring "TV's Count Dracula" were videotaped and edited by the production team of KSTP/KSTC.
After Mr. Esau's contract with Hubbard expired, KSTC hired Thom Lange to continue as host. He performed as "Uncle Ghoulie" from September 13, 2002 - February 21, 2004. He self-produced his incarnation of the program using his own production resources. Though many of the feature films were licensed from the original library that were part of the "TV's Count Dracula" run.
The original Horror Incorporated masters and elements were acquired by Electric Eye in 2003.
