#wttv4

[bruceshideout]

Sammy Terry haunted hoosier homes for nearly 30 years as Indianapolis’s very own horror host. The green faced ghoul had a wicked sense of humor but he would never poke fun at the films in his time slot. Instead Sammy’s approach was more macabre. Creating a sense of peril for the kiddies tuning in. Although Sammy has departed this earth his trademark laugh still reverberates through the minds of faithful fans from Indy to Terre Haute. 

To make sure you have “many pleasant nightmares” here are some clips from Sammy’s Nightmare Theater. 

In this clip from the 10th Anniversary Special Sammy Terry is wished a miserable birthday by none other than horror legend Mr. Vincent Price. 

A personal favorite of yours cruelly is “Sammy Terry’s Scary Tales” a late 90′s Halloween special that made Indiana seem so much more interesting as a little creeper. In this video Sammy Terry digs up Indiana folklore... ghosts, demons, and witches abound! 

[millionmovieproject]

Central Indy Loses Local Legend, Horror Host Sammy Terry at Age 83

Anyone who has grown up in Central Indiana in the past forty years knows Bob Carter, even if they may not realize it.  Better recognized by his stage name Sammy Terry, Carter developed the goulesque persona hosting programs, events, and especially the Saturday night horror feature Nightmare Theater and Shock Theater on local channel WTTV-4.  From 1962 to 1990, kids of all ages grew up watching Carter, in his hokey papal-esque red robe and cap and green makeup, wave around a plastic spider on a string, introduce the scary movie with a creepy little rap, and top it off with that fantastic rolling laugh, driving children under couches for decades.

  Although Carter’s son has adopted the character his father delighted audiences with, it’s not the same.  The sense of instant nostalgia Carter was creating will be missed, especially his enthusiasm for playing Sammy Terry.  After the end of the run of his series’ he continued to make local appearances at events until his death Sunday.  A treasure to Central Indianaians, and all those who have moved off into other parts of the world, but who never forgot that makeup or that laugh.

  Although his shows were never put into national syndication, and the country as a whole never had a chance to both laugh and panic when they would air, it’s made him into a local folk hero, and now with his passing, a local legend.  There will never be another Sammy Terry, or local programing to allow for kitschy characters to enter so many lives, and entertain them so devotedly.

  A chapter has closed for many, in so, I take the opportunity to speak for those of us whose lives he touched, and say it’s a bummer you had to go, but thanks the memories, and I raise a skull with a candle in it to you sir.

♥ ♥ ♥