Ghostmasters

by Mark Walker

An history of the spook shows of the 1930's and 40's. "This is a book that makes me want to don a gorilla suit and rip apart a blonde with my bare claws. It's a true history of my artistic the mad doctors and maniacal magicians who toured with live midnight fright shows, and scared the bejeezus out of hormone-pumped teenagers on dates. In my opinion, an absolute must-read for horror and magic fans." -- Teller of Penn & Teller

Genres: Magic

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Bill Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not much has been written about American spook shows, so this book is a valuable resource to anyone who wants to learn about this lost entertainment form. Profusely illustrated with rare photographs of the shows and the performers, it's a free-ranging account of a phenomenon that began in the 1930s and lasted until the early 70s, evolving from traditional magic and mentalism into something closer to a traveling Grand Guignol circus. The very best thing about the book though is the oral history it captured at a time when the former ghostmasters were approaching their own portals to the other side, stories of a lost America of small towns and entertainment that didn't come out of a box. Ghosts and monsters. Wonders.

[Brett Feinstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book, but I can only give it a tepid endorsement.

The book is about the history of spook shows, a subset of magic shows, which could be found all over the country from the '30s to the '60s but are gone today.

Walker presents this history earnestly, but the book is terribly flawed in a number of ways. It makes far too many assumptions about what the audience knows about magic effects. The narrative is choppy as he jumps from one performer of the next. And you will walk away with no real sense of the shows and how they really work. You will have a general sense, but no real idea of how this was really done.

Maybe this is an issue of exposure--sharing secrets with non-magicians. But these acts are no longer being done. Methodology should have been recorded for historical reasons if for no others.

All in all it is not terribly engaging--most short write-ups of various performers but no real historical narrative. This one is for the the enthusiast perhaps, but not for the curious who will simply be left bewildered and empty.

[Nick Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lost history of this very niche type of magic and variety shows. Great anecdotes and descriptions of the show elements, the performers, and the audiences that once flocked to midnight shows. Like so many trends, there were originators, innovators, and imitators who came along for a quick profit and ruined everything.
Hopefully this book gets another printing so the secondary market loses its oppressive grip on this work. A work like this deserves an audience of people who appreciate it, and shouldn’t be hoarded by profiteers.

[John Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, if a little overlong, history of a time period and an entertainment form that I never knew existed.

[Jinjer]

Daaaaang! This book is going for $300+ Guess I won't be reading it anytime soon. :-(