Shock Theater was a package of 52 classic horror films

Universal Monsters

Universal Monsters or Universal Horror is the name given to a series of distinctive horror, suspense and science fiction films made by Universal Studios from 1923 to 1960...

 from Universal Studios

Universal Studios

Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....

 released for television showings in October 1957 by Screen Gems

Screen Gems

Screen Gems is an American movie production company and subsidiary company of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group that has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the decades since its incorporation....

, the television subsidiary of Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...

. The Shock Theater package included Dracula

Dracula (1931 film)

Dracula is a 1931 vampire-horror film directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi as the title character. The film was produced by Universal and is based on the stage play of the same name by Hamilton Deane and John L...

, Frankenstein

Frankenstein (1931 film)

Frankenstein is a 1931 Pre-Code Horror Monster film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and adapted from the play by Peggy Webling which in turn is based on the novel of the same name by Mary Shelley. The film stars Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles and Boris Karloff, and features...

, The Mummy

The Mummy (1932 film)

The Mummy is a 1932 horror film from Universal Studios directed by Karl Freund and starring Boris Karloff as a revived ancient Egyptian priest. The movie also features Zita Johann, David Manners and Edward Van Sloan...

, The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man (1933 film)

The Invisible Man is a 1933 science fiction film based on H. G. Wells' science fiction novel The Invisible Man, published in 1897, as adapted by R. C. Sherriff, Philip Wylie and Preston Sturges, whose work was considered unsatisfactory and who was taken off the project...

and the The Wolf Man. A second package, Son of Shock, was released for television by Screen Gems in 1958, with 20 horror films from both Universal and Columbia.

Shock Theater was usually aired on late night television with a costumed horror host

Horror host

Horror hosts are a particular type of television presenter, often tasked with presenting low-grade films to television audiences. This tradition is primarily American, though there have been a few international hosts over the years.-Film Packages:...

; a well-known example was Zacherley (John Zacherle)

John Zacherle

John Zacherle is an American television host, radio personality and voice actor known for his long career as a television horror host broadcasting horror movies in Philadelphia and New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. Best known for his character "Roland/Zacherley," he also did voice work for...

 with Philadelphia WCAU-TV

WCAU

WCAU, channel 10, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. WCAU has its studios on the border between Philadelphia and Bala Cynwyd. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 34 from a transmitter in the...

 (as 'Roland'), 1957–1958, and New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 WABC-TV

WABC-TV

WABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...

, 1958–1959. Shock Theater continued the American tradition of horror film television shows such as Vampira

The Vampira Show

The Vampira Show was an American variety show hosted by Vampira. The series aired on the Los Angeles ABC television affiliate KABC-TV from April 30, 1954, through April 2, 1955...

 (Maila Nurmi

Maila Nurmi

Maila Nurmi was a Finnish-American actress who created the campy 1950s characterVampira. She portrayed Vampira as TV's first horror host and in the Ed Wood cult film Plan 9 from Outer Space...

 with Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 KABC-TV

KABC-TV

KABC-TV, channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, licensed to Los Angeles, California. KABC-TV's studios are located in Glendale, California...

 1954–1955). Showings of the Shock Theater package were often introduced by local hosts in the style of Vampira or Zacherley.

Screen Gems acquired a 10-year lease of the television rights to 550 Universal Pictures features in June 1957, with the intention of packaging them by formats and stars, including horror, crime, and comedy. The first Shock package was an instant success nationwide. Viewership measurements in five key television markets

Media market

A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...

 (New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, San Antonio) showed the program boosting ratings anywhere from 38 percent to 1,125 percent.

Shock Theater stimulated interest in the classic horror films and actors, evidenced by the launching of Forrest J Ackerman

Forrest J Ackerman

Forrest J Ackerman was an American collector of science fiction books and movie memorabilia and a science fiction fan...

's Famous Monsters of Filmland

Famous Monsters of Filmland

Famous Monsters of Filmland is a genre-specific film magazine started in 1958 by publisher James Warren and editor Forrest J Ackerman.-Magazine history :...

magazine in early 1958.

Since 1957, Shock Theater has become a generic term, referencing either late night television showings of horror films in general or the genre of early horror films with their emphasis on spooky mood and implied horror, as opposed to the explicitly graphic horror films that followed.

Films

• The Black Cat
• Calling Dr. Death
• The Cat Creeps
• Chinatown Squad
• Danger Woman
• A Dangerous Game
• Dead Man's Eyes
• Destination Unknown
• Dracula
• Dracula's Daughter
• Enemy Agent
• Frankenstein
• Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
• The Frozen Ghost
• The Great Impersonation
• Horror Island
• House of Horrors
• The Invisible Man
• The Invisible Man Returns
• The Invisible Ray
• The Last Warning
• The Mad Doctor of Market Street
• The Mad Ghoul
• Man Made Monster
• The Man Who Cried Wolf
• The Mummy
• The Mummy's Ghost
• The Mummy's Hand
• The Mummy's Tomb
• Murders in the Rue Morgue
• The Mystery of Edwin Drood
• The Mystery of Marie Roget
• Mystery of the White Room
• Night Key
• Nightmare
• Night Monster
• Pillow of Death
• The Raven
• Reported Missing!
• Sealed Lips
• The Secret of the Blue Room
• Secret of the Chateau
• She-Wolf of London
• Son of Dracula
• Son of Frankenstein
• The Spider Woman Strikes Back
• The Spy Ring
• The Strange Case of Doctor Rx
• Weird Woman
• Werewolf of London
• The Witness Vanishes
• The Wolf Man