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Haunted Room Service

Checking into the Haunted Hotel with Gruesome Graves

By Jim Mount

Fort Wayne Reader

2015-10-17

If you happen to be surfing through Public Access channels in Fort Wayne on a given late Friday evening you may happen across a program that opens with a silent, foreboding set. Two skulls perched on pedestals flank the corners, while there’s a coffin propped on the left. Slowly the lid pulls back to reveal a faceless figure dressed in black sporting a fedora.

Gruesome Graves is here to introduce the viewer to another spine tingling evening of terror bringing back classic horror cinema of a bygone era to a new audience that may not be familiar with anything earlier than the Scream or Halloween franchises that is the current fare of horror nostalgia.
So who is the enigmatic Gruesome Graves? It is an identity the host prefers to keep a secret in keeping with the faceless persona of the character. Graves does reveal some of his background, however, a strange background shrouded in mystery,

“He was born in Eerie Indiana. His father, Gus was a Grim Reaper, his mother Gertie ran a Alchemy Shop,” Graves reveals about himself,.“Gruesome was raised in a two level mausoleum in a graveyard on the outskirts of town. During his childhood he amused himself by watching old horror and sci/fi moves on late night TV, collecting monster model kits, and reading Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. He graduated from Hex High and went to Rigor Mortis College where got his Monsters Degree in Scareology. After college he did a few odd jobs — gravedigger, hearse driver, paranormal investigator, and Amway sales man.”

So when did the Haunted Hotel enter the picture? Graves continues: “While out on a sales call one day he found a run down old hotel and knew then and there this was where he belonged. He bought the hotel and moved in his collection of horror movies. He now runs the Haunted Hotel and shares his love of classic horror and sci/fi with the guests staying there.”

Horror movie theater shows are a time honored genre of the late night weekend set. If you've been in Fort Wayne awhile, you'll probably remember Asmodeaus and the Shroud, two distinct and mysterious characters who would serve up a fare of classic horror films late into the night. Here recently, Graves joined that tradition,
“Our doors first opened on October 31st 2012.” Graves says of the Haunted Hotel, “This Halloween will be our three year anniversary.”

In a history more grounded with an identifiable past, Graves shared some of his memories that helped forge his interest and that would eventually pave the way for him landing his own show. “I LOVE the old classics from Universal and Hammer studios.” Graves says. “ I found that being scared was kind of fun. I would seek out the movies on late night tv and at the theater. I collected all the Aurora Monster Models and read monster books and comics plus the bible for any Monster Kid — Famous Monsters of Filmland. Growing up in the 60s and 70s gave us so much about Monsters I guess it just was natural for me.”

“I watched local horror hosts growing up.” Graves continues, “First was Asmodeous on WPTA. He was a vampire on Psycho Cinema. I was able to meet and be on Psycho Cinema one Halloween live on air. I dressed up like Lon Chaney Jr's Wolfman and I still have that mask. I then got to meet and become friends with The Shroud. He even used some of my monster models as props on his show and gave me the credit for it.”

Eventually, things would start rolling for Graves when he attended a convention geared for Monster lovers, “In 2012 I found out about a convention for monster kids like me called Monster Bash,” Graves says, “It was in a small town called Butler in Pennsylvania and over a 3 day weekend people from all over the world come and shared their love of classic monsters.”
Every host has a mentor and for Graves, it was no different , meeting with established professionals at the convention. “I met a few of the local horror hosts and one in particular was called Penny Dreadful,” Graves recalls. “She and her husband, Garou the Werewolf were very friendly and my old dream started to pop up again about doing my own show. So I e-mailed her and asked how she got started and a few days later I got a reply. She remembered who I was and told me how she got started on her local public access station. She gave me advice on how to develop my host persona, and how important it was to develop a theme for the show itself. After a few days of racking my brain I came up with The Haunted Hotel, a place were weary travelers, living or dead, can find a tomb to stay in for the night and be told a bedtime story before resting in peace.”

In the world of social media, doors are opening for Graves and his show that would have been unimaginable in the day of Asmodeous and the Shroud. With Facebook and Youtube, and with Access Fort Wayne, Graves is casting his show out to attract as large of an audience as possible. “This is my first experience in he broadcast/media field and all the people at ACCESS TV have been great to work with,” he says. “I have learned a great deal from them and they have been very supportive of us from the beginning. I have people on Facebook I talk with and I have friends from all over the USA telling me how much they wish they could see the show. There are plans to have ACCESS shows streamed in the future so I am hoping that ours will be one them. I just learned how to put clips on You Tube as well so we are trying to get the word out about us. I have met many people at Monster Bash walking around who come up and ask about myself and the show and if they can see it. I really enjoy meeting people and talking to them about it.”

What it ultimately boils down to for Graves is keeping a tradition and art form alive in a rapidly changing world, keeping alive a love and a passion. “Mostly its a way to pay homage to a genre I love,” Graves says about the Haunted Hotel, “and keep alive something from the past that is slowly disappearing, and a way to introduce new fans to a great monster lifestyle.”

For more on the Haunted Hotel tune in to Access Fort Wayne Comcast channel 57 and Fios channel 27 Friday night at 10. You can also visit the Facebook page at The Haunted Hotel TV show and on Youtube at Haunted Hotel Fort Wayne.