Karloff Cuts a Terrifying Figure (and some unsuspecting victims) in “The Haunted Strangler”-Tonight!

Tonight on MeTV- we bring back the great Boris Karloff- out to prove the innocence of a man executed for murder-but not realizing that discovering the knife used for the killings will have a devastating effect on his own self! V stands for victim and Victorian London- when the citizens fear that lurking among them is- “ The Haunted Strangler ” !

This entry from the later half of Karloff’s career opens with the hanging of Edward Styles, the man dubbed the “Haymarket Strangler”, accused of the brutal murder of five women. A coldly indifferent, heartless, and jeering crowd observe his final moments, in which he still claims, to the end, that he is innocent- but to no avail.

Twenty years pass- and a distinguished social reformer and author, James Rankin, has engaged in some research that makes him think Styles was indeed innocent! He begins a quest to prove it, enlisting his assistant, young Dr. McColl. (Rankin is not aware that his young protégé is in love with his daughter, Lily!) As the two men begin their search for clues, they uncover a curious fact- that one Dr. Tennent, who did the autopsies on all the victims, was involved in some kind of scandal and disappeared- as did the knife used to commit the horrible acts. Rankin thinks that knife may be the key to finding out the truth about the murderer, and sets out to find it- as well as, possibly, the whereabouts of the missing Tennent.

Rankin’s obsession with the case begins to worry everyone, including his wife Barbara, and it begins to anger the authorities, mainly police superintendent Burk. Rankin begins to track down witnesses, including one of the showgirls at a seedy nightspot, the Judas Hole, where the strangler trolled for victims. In tracking down the missing knife, he resorts to some illegal activities including bribery- until he does finally find the knife!

When Rankin touches the knife, an odd change comes over him- he seems possessed! He even undergoes a physical transformation, with all the same features that were attributed to the Haymarket Strangler- and, even worse, he is compelled to search out-new victims! More secrets are revealed, as more murders convince the frightened populace that the Strangler has returned from the grave!

In this1958 fright film, Karloff shows that, even later in his career as a senior citizen, his great skills have not diminished, neither as a horror star nor as an actor. It’s amazing that his possessed transformation into the killer was pulled off with NO horror make-up whatsoever! We’ll talk about how that happened, about the actors in this film, and more- plus, provide a new twist on a famous character who talked to the animals, do a song that plays off some of the dancing at the Judas Hole, and present a special interview with an actress who has dealt with more modern killers in movies- but is also a fine comic actress. As a bonus- we bring back a historical footnote- the story of how our current coffin evolved!

We feel it is necessary to caution more sensitive viewers that there are moments of violence in this film that may be upsetting to some. We ask our commenters familiar with this movie to refrain from any spoilers- so as not to ruin anyone else’s enjoyment. This should also extend to showing respect to those who watch the show in the pacific time zone!

“The Haunted Strangler” begins tonight on MeTV at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central time. We continue to be among the higher trending topics on Twitter (or, is it “X”?!) during the show, thanks to the live Tweets ( or, are they “Xs”?) by our viewers, using the hashtag #svengoolie -and MeTV invites you to join in. Our Chicago area audience will get another chance to enjoy the classic ghost story “The Uninvited” at 11 am on our main local station, CW26.

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Join us tonight for one of the horror greats- Boris Karloff- proving that age is only a number- and bringing an increasing number of victims!