Wilkins was the creator and horror host of a popular television show named Creature Features that ran on KTVU in the San Francisco Bay Area from 1971 to 1984, and which began with Del Tenney's infamous The Horror of Party Beach (1964). The show is also famous for featuring the television première of George A. Romero's 1968 zombie classic  Night of the Living Dead.

Creature Features showed both horror and sci-fi, from classics to cheesy schlock, all under the banner of "Watch Horror Films... Keep America Strong." Bespectacled and suited Wilkins famously presented from a bright yellow painted rocking chair, and would smoke his trademark cigar, while delivering his dry humoured patter in a kindly older brother smooth soothing manner. A style that went down well with fans, and made Bob a household name.

"Don't stay up late, it's not worth it," Bob Wilkins warned as he leaned back in his yellow rocking chair, smoke wafting from his big cigar. As he introduced one bad b-movie after another. As the popularity of the show, saw it expanded into a double feature, Bob also attracted some top name guests from the world of sci-fi and horror. Ray Harryhausen, Christopher Lee, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, John Landis, William Marshall, and Forest J Ackerman, among others. Bob did it all, wrote, produced, presented, booked the aforementioned guests and even answered the fan mail personally.

In 1977, Wilkins launched an afternoon children's program on KTVU. Called Captain Cosmic it featured and mainly focused on imported Japanese sc-fi serials, like Ultraman and Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot, as well as showing British TV show Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, by Thuderbirds creator Gerry Anderson. Wearing a helmet that his his face, Wilkins was uncredited. His sidekick was a robot named 2T2, parodying R2D2 from Star Wars.

Ghoulardi was the alter-ego of  disc jockey, announcer, and actor Ernie Anderson. Ghoulardi was the horror host of late night Shock Theater at WJW-TV, Channel 8, in Cleveland, Ohio from January 13, 1963 through December 16, 1966. Unlike many horror hosts, who played ghoulish / horror themed characters, Ghoulardi was a parody of a hipster. Replete with fake goatee beard and moustache. 

Shock Theater was aired in a Friday late-night time slot, but at the peak of Ghoulardi's popularity, Anderson also hosted the Saturday afternoon Masterpiece Theater, and the weekday children's program Laurel, Ghoulardi and Hardy. For his weekly Shock Theater improvised live segments, Anderson was paid an extra $65 a week.

Chilly Billy (Bill Cardille) was the horror host on Chiller Theatre, on Channel 11 (WPXI), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The show every Saturday night from September 14th, 1963 to January 1st, 1984, and had a strong cult following in the area. Bill had been a regular on Channel 11 (formerly call letters WIIC), he was the first voice heard when the channel went on the air on September 1st, 1957.

After years of hosting many other local shows on WIIC, Bill eventually hosted the horror/sci-fi movie show Chiller Theatre, thus becoming "Chilly Billy" and taking his place in the history of horror hosts in the USA.

The show took the usual horror host format, or skits between breaks in the movies. With Chilly Billy playing a variety of characters, and reporting from places such as the Pittsburgh Subway System (which didn't exist). He often roped in Channel 11 staff to play parts on the show, but over the years the show gained a regular supporting cast, including Terminal Stare and Georgette the Fudgemaker (shown in the video clip). 

In addition, Chiller Theatre featured some celebrity guests that included, Phyllis Diller, Barbara Feldon (Agent 99, from Get Smart), Vincent Price, and Lorne Greene. 

The above video features the opening bumper to Chiller Theatre, but also includes a promo for the Richard Simmons show, and a bizarre PSA on the dangers of smoking featuring R2D2 and C3PO.

From the 1950s through to the 1980s, Morgus the Magnificent was the horror host for the New Orleans region. Ex-radio DJ Sidney Noel (Rideau) starting playing the mad scientist Morgus on WWL-TV's House of Shock, which lasted from 1959 to 1962.

Morgus (full name Momus Alexander Morgus) was wonderfully camped up by Noel, as a bumbling yet super intelligent (IQ of 300) scientist, along with his side-kick Chopsley who always had his face covered with an executioners mask. Apparently he'd had a face transplant that had gone badly wrong. Along with E.R.I.C. (Eon Research Infinity Computer) the talking skull, who would open the show Morgus Presents. ERIC didn't actually become integrated into the computer until the 1980s, but hey I that's progress for you.

There was also a one-off featured film made as a vehicle for the Morgus character, called The Wacky World of Dr. Morgus (1962). In the movie, Morgus invents a machine that can change people into sand and then back again. The theme song for the movie was a record entitled "Morgus the Magnificent" (1959) by Morgus and the Ghouls (a.k.a. Frankie Ford and John "Mac" Rebennack, better known around the world as Dr. John). It was the bright-lights of possible movie stardom that sent Morgus to New York, to seek his fortune. But via Detroit he ended up back in New Orleans, where he still delights old school schlock horror fans to this day.

Ray Sparenberg known as Selwin was a horror host on Indianapolis's WISH-TV between 1958 to 1963. The new channel (only 4 years old) bought the Shock Theatre package, and inspired by the horror host character Zacherley decided to create their own. Dave Smith who was the Program Manager at the time enlisted Ray Sparenberg, who himself was one of the station's directors to play the role. He was picked because he had a particularly maniacal laugh.

Unlike many other horror hosts who ad-libbed much of their on-screen banter, every word of Selwin's was scripted by Smith. Which he wrote just before the show aired, and was typed into the teleprompter by Sparenberg himself. The show ran every Friday night at 11:15pm, and was called Friday Night Fright Night. Possibly one of the influences of the horror film Fight Night (1985).

Marvin (the Near-Sighted Madman) was a TV horror host, played by Terry Bennett, who originally appeared on Chicago's WBKB between 1957 and 1959. The first Shock Theater host out of Chicago, Bennett was a well known face to TV viewers in the city because of his week-day morning children show the Jobblewocky Place.

However on December the 7th 1957, at 10pm Bennett appeared on TV screens as his character Marvin, a deranged beatnik type, with turtle-neck sweater, jacket and thick rimmed jam-jar classes. The very epitome of what became the accepted parody of the jazz bar loving beatniks. An image thateven to this day is recognised in pop culture. Marvin spoke with a slow purposeful voice, in some ways an imitation of the infamously oddball Peter Lorre and the character of Renfield from the original 1931 Dracula movie. 

Zacherley (John Zacherle) "The Cool Ghoul"  is one of America's most well known and television horror hosts, also a radio personality, DJ, voice-over artist and recording artist with a long and varied career in broadcasting. At the height of his fame, he mostly worked and appeared in the Philadelphia and New York areas during the 1950s and 1960s as horror host Zacherley. Considered by many to be one of the all time greats.

Born John Zacherle on September the 27th 1918 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents wouldn't allow him to watch horror movies, which were popular at the time. When he grew-up he went into television, taking small bit-part roles in a variety of TV series. In 1957, when the famous SHOCK film package, he asked to be the host. And so he donned his now infamous costume.

The nickname "The Cool Ghoul" is said to have come from Dick Clark, of American Bandstand fame. He and Zacherley worked together, Zacherley sometimes filling in for Clark during the 1960s on Bandstand tours. It was with Clark's help that Zacherley recorded his 1959 top ten hit "Dinner With Drac". However Clark thought the song was lyrically to dark and gory for the wholesome Bandstand, so had Zacherley record a toned-down version for the show.