Again Merry Meet, Dark Greetings, Welcome!
I thought I would take a moment to properly introduce myself to you. I am known as Dr. Amon Dradorius, but my name that I was born with is Bobby Gammonster I call my witch tradition Halloween Witchcraft.
Being a solitary witch/wizard in the mountains of Virginia way back in the late sixties/early seventies with access to very few books on witchcraft, most of which were either written as fairy tales or else very negatively(being polite)I had to rely on my instincts for most of what I know .
Halloween was the one time when I could feel "comfortable", not having to "hide" my thoughts on witches or the occult at this time. Halloween was the one time when discussions of witches with others seemed somewhat accepted in my area. I had always felt that I was a witch as early as when I was six years old, I did not dedicate myself as a witch until I was 13 years old in 1974, on Halloween Night. My father worked in a texttile mill and had brought home some old brooms. I took the brooms, made a circle out of them, erected a crude altar and under the light of the moon I dedicated myself and life to being a witch, which to me somehow meant finding knowledge about true witches and all that pertained to it. I also had/have a fascination with the old classic monsters of the movies, which were also played at Halloween time, so at that time I also vowed to learn, preserve and protect the artifacts that I had already begun to collect.
Today I have been good to my vow and dedication, I have been collecting monsters and Halloween since I was six years old back in 1967, our home is a mix of Munsters, Addams Family and a Witches Cottage.
In my quest for knowledge I have discovered or come to the conclusion that Halloween, like America, is a mix or melting cauldron for many and diverse cultures and traditions. Witchcraft also is a melting cauldron for many magickal cultures throughout the ages. So it only seemed quite "nautural" or should I say "supernatural" that the two be as one.
IN 1988 two momentous things happened in my life, one was the birth of my daughter, Kathleen, the other was the opening of our home Gargoyle Manor to the public as a Museum and Gift Shoppe. Later down the road and many personal and business changes My new wife Melissa and I handfasted on Halloween night 2003. Our new store now called Gothic Charms-the Magick Store was transferred from the house and into a new building just outside the house/museum showcasing our fine brands of magickal candles , books, and other spell supplies as well as unique and new Halloween products that can be bought either from the store or online. We do tours of our home by appointments as well as host birthday parties and special events. Our Home/Museum is exactly that , we live a very Halloween lifestyle all year long. We are not a fun house, or spook show as well we are not the type of museum where things are put behind glass in just one part of the building. Our museum is a working, integral part of my families lives in each and every room . That is the big difference between our museum and others , it "is" our "home" and we are "The Gammonster Family" After my family and I
went to our very first convention for monster collectors and lovers in 2009 called "Monster Bash" in Pennsylvania ,having met others of like mind as well as celebrities of Horror /Monster films such as Tom Savini, Butch Patrick, Ricou Browning one of the original "Creature from the black lagoon" actors and stuntman , plus Horror Host celebrities such as Penny Dreadful and Garou Wolfman of Shilling Shockers , Mr. Lobo of Insane Cinema , and Count Gore De Vol
and so many others . I also met a man named David "The rock " Nelson a self styled movie maker of monsters. He would sell his DVD's to anyone who would buy them and also ask if you wanted to be in his movie , which he had a camera, a plastic spider and Dinosaur
which he used as props to throw at people while he filmed them and then alter edit the footage into his monster movie. The thing was he was having the time of his life and everyone around him was enjoying him and themselves with no more than a camera and some toy props, so I started thinking, if he can do this , why cant I ?
I had just gotten into learning a little about the Internet with the help of my wife Melissa , who makes websites and knows so much about computers that I never will, we began making small segments to film links that I found on the Internet at places like Youtube and Hulu. I had no idea at this time that others were doing this and more , in fact I later found out that Count Gore DeVol (Dick Dysiel) was the very first "Interne Horror Host" as he had been doing Horror Hosting for years on TV , which I found out after research.
I really thought that I actually had come up with this idea until later when I started looking for a place to show my shows. To my surprise and delight I found a whole community of Horror Hosts both from TV and Internet , that I am proud to say I am now a part of. In the beginning I only thought of Horror Hosts as being on TV and to me that was the next step or same as being a movie star, because growing up I did not have a
local Horror Host to watch and the only ones knew of were Vampira and Zacherley the Cool Ghoul that I saw in Famous Monster Magazine or in the movie "PLan NIne from Outter Space" and then later in my adulthood I saw Elvira on TV and in the movies,so while I knew there were Horror Hosts I really thought that the genre was nearly extinct except for the few I had read about or were still working. That is why I put the title at the end of my name "Internet Horror Host"
because i didn't know of all the internet Horror hosts at first , so i didnt want such hosts as Elvira , Penny Dreadful (whom I didnt know at first was and is on the internet) etc . to think I "ranked" myself as high as these wonderful people. However I now know that the word of Horror Hosting is alive and thriving on the internet I still use the title mostly because it is a part of my screen name that I began with.
So I had my real name , plus my real way of life and home/museum. The clothes that some call my costume are just the clothes that I normally get dressed up in for special occasions or when I have tours by appointment here at Gargoyle Manor
which is also perfect for filming my show . It is always ready for filming since we live here even though some think it is a set made up for the show like so many other hosts on Tv or even the Internet which is a difference in our show and so many others, basically we are filming our normal everyday life in connection to a monster/Horror movie from the Public Domain. I learned how to splice and edit my video clips in with the films just like the professional's of yesteryear and now
plus I am still learning more from other Horror Hosts and fans , movie-makers etc in making my shows to be as professional looking and sounding as possible. I have found a world that accepts me and my way of life and I can live a dream of long ago, that of being
connected to show biz and my love and lifestyle of monsters. The world of computers and the Internet has given me a way to express myself and dreams of being a real Horror Host but in my own real home and my real lifestyle where as i may never would have been able to have fulfilled
in any other way. I dont make any money or even look to do so from any of this other than my museum and store, Gothic Charms which is my only source of income to live as well as my wife's job , this is a labor of love and pride to be able to do all this and bring it relatively free to my audience online, all they have to have to watch is a computer and a internet connection . The future of monster movie watching , making, and hosting is here and now , I am so proud and pleased to be granted a chance to be a part of it all along with so many talented and wonderful others who share my
interests ,Loves and passions for as long as I am able to continue . What more does the future have in store for me and monsters? Check back often and find out here and many other places on the internet such as at www.monstermovienight.com or google search me, Bobby Gammonster- Internet Horror Host to find out more , and as always "Keep Screaming"
