Wolfman Mac's Nightmare SINeMa hosted by Wolfman Mac with Bony Bob. / Mac Kelly Productions
Starting Saturday, fans of Wolfman Mac can get their hairy paws on hundreds of costumes, coffins and props used on his “Chiller Drive-In.” The Wolfman and his friends are giving up on the show, which showcased old horror and sci-fi movies.
“It’s not really any different than when somebody you know is dying or when you know you’re moving away for good,” says Mac Kelly, 47, of Waterford, the man underneath all that fur. “This was my childhood dream.”
His everything-must-go sale of props and sets will take place 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Erebus haunted house, 18 S. Perry St. in Pontiac. “Chiller Drive-In” was produced at the location.
Kelly, who grew up watching local B-movie hosts like Sir Graves Ghastly and the Ghoul, said his show started coming to life in 2007 when he and a crew of about 40 people began to produce “Nightmare SINema” for local public-access TV.
The show, about a late night B-movie host who dressed up as werewolf, evolved into “Wolfman Mac’s Chiller Drive-In” and began airing locally on WMYD-TV (Channel 20) in 2008.
It later began syndication via Retro Television Network (RTV), a cable station that reaches about 80 million U.S. households, but the show’s production costs rose sharply. The last new episode of “Drive-In” was produced around Halloween 2009, but RTV continued to run reruns of the show.
“We’ve had budget issues the entire time,” Kelly says. “There wasn’t the proper amount of funding this past fall to keep our production going.”
He says he’s hoping to liquidate everything at this weekend’s sale and might move out of the state and make a fresh start.
“There are hundreds and hundreds of things. People that are interested should come by and make me an offer. It’s got to go.”
