Zomboo's House of Horror Movies: A Reno Tradition

Since the earliest days of television, horror movies have been featured on late night movie programs. From Vampira to Big Chuck and Hoolihan to Elvira, the programs are more campy than creepy. 10 years ago, Frank Leto decided to create a new horror movie show for the late night TV crowd in Reno,Nevada.

The program, which follows the 11 p.m. news on Saturday nights, was originally called "Frank's House of Horror Movies". It featured a revolving cast of crazies. Frank was a head suspended in a jar that would introduce the show and, like many other similar hosts, would interject himself throughout the movie.

During the first season, one character began to emerge as the leader of the crew. Zomboo, named after a character in a horror movie from the 1930's, is a living skeleton dressed in wizarding robes. The bad puns and jokes flow like the Truckee River from this over-the-top character. Zomboo soon became such a central character that the show's title was changed to "Zomboo's House of Horror Movies".

The format of the show is quite simple. A creepy opening montage asks one basic question..."Do You Like Scaaary Movies?" From there, Zomboo joins us to present "one of the scaaariest movies ever made". Every movie is introduces this way. Zomboo presents the main players in the film, changing the names to current celebrities or other well-known personalities (political figures, criminals, etc...). Much like Big Chuck and Elvira, Zomboo adds comic spots throughout the film. An example: During the film, Night of the Living Dead, two of the characters are killed in a fiery explosion. Zombies attack the burned bodies. Suddenly, the song "Bar-B-Que" by Mumbo Gumbo replaces the original film soundtrack. Yes, the interruptions are often tacky, but always fun.

Zomboo has, over the years, created a supporting cast that help increase the comic splendor that emerges, each week, from KOLO (Channel 8).

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