Vampira and Her Daughters: Women Horror Movie Hosts from the 1950s into the Internet Era

From Vampira to Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, female horror movie hosts have long been a staple of late-night television. Broadcast on local stations and cable access channels, characters such as Moona Lisa, Stella, Crematia Mortem and Tarantula Ghoul brought an entertaining blend of macabre camp and after-prime-time sexuality to American living rooms in the 1950s through 1990s.

Despite a near total lack of local programming today, the tradition continues on the Internet and Roku and other...