The Son of Ghoul is a 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:...

 played by Keven Scarpino, appearing on The Son of Ghoul Show based in Akron, Ohio

Akron, Ohio

Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...

, where a B movie

B movie

A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....

 is presented along with comedy sketches.

History

Scarpino's original inspiration came from Ernie Anderson

Ernie Anderson

Ernie Anderson was an American disc jockey, and television and radio announcer/voiceover artist...

's popular 1960s host character Ghoulardi

Ghoulardi

Ghoulardi was a fictional character invented and portrayed by disc jockey, voice announcer, and actor Ernie Anderson as the horror host of late night Shock Theater at WJW-TV, Channel 8, in Cleveland, Ohio from January 13, 1963 through December 16, 1966....

. At a 1982 look-alike contest sponsored by Anderson's successor, The Ghoul (played by Ron Sweed

Ron Sweed

Ron Sweed, , is an American entertainer best known for his late-night television horror host character The Ghoul.-The Ghoul:...

), Scarpino won first prize and was given the title, "Son of Ghoul" by Sweed himself. Shortly thereafter, he began working at WOAC

WOAC

WRLM is a full-powered television station licensed to Canton, Ohio, serving the Canton area as part of the Cleveland/Akron/Canton market. The station is owned by Tri-State Christian Television.WRLM's tower is located in Brimfield, near Interstate 76....

 in Canton, Ohio

Canton, Ohio

Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, where he became familiar with The Cool Ghoul, another Ghoulardi-inspired television host played by George Cavender. Scarpino was hired as a technician on Cavender's show, "Thriller Theater", and was later given small parts in sketches.

Cavender departed WOAC and Thriller Theater in 1986, and Scarpino auditioned along with others to become the show's next host. He got the job, and later renamed it The Son of Ghoul Show. In 1995, WOAC was sold and switched to a home-shopping format, and Scarpino moved the show to the relatively new WAOH, where the show is currently based.

Lawsuit

In the late 1980s, Ron Sweed sued Scarpino, alleging that Scarpino stole Sweed's character. The lawsuit was dismissed on the grounds that the character similarities (e.g. their ghoulish appearance and hosting style) were too broad to be protected.

Sidekicks

Scarpino's long-time sidekick was Ron "Fidge" Huffman, known for having dwarfism

Dwarfism

Dwarfism is short stature resulting from a medical condition. It is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than 4 feet 10 inches  , although this definition is problematic because short stature in itself is not a disorder....

. Huffman died of alcohol poisoning in 2003, and his place was taken by "Jungle Bob".