The Count
the late Joe Towey
click here to reach the Joe Towey Page
When I was a kid I used to sit through hours and hours of Vincent Price movies and at the age of six was a devoted fan of a show called Nightmare Theatre which aired on KIRO TV in Seattle Washington from about 1964 through the mid 70’s.
I started watching it in late 1968- when I was four years old.
You read that right.
Nightmare Theatre was hosted by Joe Towey as The Count and they featured the best Horror Films in the world….well, that’s what I thought anyway…
actually that’s what I still think.
At any rate, I could watch movies at the age of six that would give adults nightmares…but nothing and I mean nothing freaked me out like Disney Movies.
So when I came across this I had to post it- it captures exactly how I used to view Disney…
someone has been listening to my
Nightmares.
ANITA'S OWL CREEK BRIDGE 
I have finally made it back in to Owl Creek A.M and am going to spend some time catching up on what you have been doing up there. You are like a real whirly bird and I am sooooo looking forward to settling in for a bollocking good read. 🙂
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Hey this was just a blast A.M. Seeing Mary Poppins as I have never seen her lights my creative fires.
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This would do that, it’s a great writing prompt isn’t it?
amm
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I think saw that the count’s castle is up for sale.
Luckily we skipped Mary Poppins. And my son has neve met her either!
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How sad that I missed out on Nightmare Theatre. That was certainly a different take on The Poppins… 🙂
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I just watched an old Price film called “The Bat.” It was pretty darn good. My favorite though is “House on Haunted Hill.”
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Hi Tony
The House on Haunted Hill was a great one, but I’d have to say that for senitmental reason The Phibes films were my favorites.
He was my hero.
I was that kind of kid.
Hi Jade,
When I was little I planned my Fridays around Nightmare Theatre.
Because I was so little when I started watching it ( almost 5 ) I was the most well behaved child on the planet leading up to Friday took the naps, didn’t rock the boat so my TV time wasn’t pulled and I made sure we were stocked up on Stove Top Jiffy Pop Popcorn ( to you young ones…google it )
But watching those films, plus my outright hero worship of Price and Serling…I was bound to write the stuff I write now.
amm
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In elementary school my friends and I would rush home in time to see “Dark Shadows” every afternoon. Had to have my Barnabas fix.
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Why am I here at this time of night? Please block me…..: )
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I was the girl who wanted to crywhen they said Barnabas too many times.
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I found your blog while doing my monthly search for all things Nightmare Theatre online, and as usual I enjoyed the reminisces of people who remember the show with as much fondness as I do. I was born in 1968, and watched it religiously from when I was three to when it went off the air in the late 1970s. (As cheesy as many of the films seem now, I’ll take them over 98% of the dreck on the market today.) Poe was a favorite of mine as well. (The House on Haunted Hill was the bomb, and his performances in Roger Corman’s Poe adaptations were absolutely unbeatable.) I was also a big fan of the Hammer fare, with Curse of the Werewolf and Brides of Dracula (both regulars on Nightmare Theatre’s sometimes repetitive schedule). One of my favorite memories, though, was the showing of The Mole People followed by Invasion of the Saucer Men, a double-bill which I repeat for nobody’s pleasure but my own about once a year. God bless VHS and DVD technology.
The program was such an influence on me that I am now a professional writer focusing on–you guessed it–all things horror, from award-winning fiction to film history and criticism. Since there has been very little written up about KIRO-TV’s late night show and it’s star, Joe “The Count” Towey, I decided a few years ago to start a fan site devoted to both, which–in light of web host problems over much of 2007–I had to rebuild this last month. (Just in time for Halloween! Forget Christmas; we Nightmare Theatre addicts know what the best holiday of the year is.) Anywho, if you are interested in revisiting a bit more of your childhood, check out my site (Nightmare Theatre NW) at http://www.nightmaretheatrenw.net. I have a page devoted to nothing but reminisces like yours, and you’ll probably get a kick out of reading the television schedules for the Friday nights you found yourself–like me–glued to the tube.
It’s nice to see that others are trying to keep this small piece of Northwest history alive. Keep up the great work!
Scott Aaron Stine
P.S. The Scary Mary clip is absolutely hilarious! It’s amazing what a little bit of creative editing can achieve. (Now if modern filmmakers were at least half as clever, some of the more recent horror fare might by as “scary” as they claim.)
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Hi Scott
Thanks for the great comment…as you can see I went ahead and posted it.
Hey anything to spread the word about this great show…good luck with the site and count me in as a fan!
Anita
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We used to shop at the same fruit and veg shop as Peter Cushing from the Hammer Films. He was very old fashioned and charming. Disney on the other hand is sinister.
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I agree Disney is sinister, and I’ve heard that about Peter Cushing- I am so glad its true. I’m a HUGE fan of his work
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