Pioneered by Maila Nurmi’s gothic elegance as Vampira in the 1950s, the horror host became a staple of the industry.These personalities have long provided a psychological buffer between the late-night TV audiences and the terrors flickering in the blue light of CRT screens. They perform the thankless task of making the unwatchable watchable.
In today’s world of instant gratification through non-stop steaming, one might think that age of the host is relic of the past, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Unfettered from the demands of local affiliate television, new age horror hosts have multiplied. Not limited by the constraints of corporate media, they make sure that today’s indie films and golden relics from the vaults of horror get their due. But not all are created equal, and there is one trait that rules them all: the ability to rise from the dead. That’s the underdog story behind Philadelphia horror host Roxsy Tyler. Roxsy Tyler is the pseudonym for actress and filmmaker Carmela Hayslett.
Roxsy will re-launch her franchise, Roxsy Tyler’s Carnival of Horrors, on July 25th to ravenous anticipation.
A Host With a Razor’s Edge
Foregoing the hyper-sexualized tropes of her forebearers, Roxsy navigates the underworld with a no-nonsense attitude, firing on all cylinders with wicked sharp wit. That doesn’t mean that she’s not fashionable; her murder-chic top hat sees to that. Roxsy has way more in her bag of tricks. Deftly navigating the fine line between comedy and horror, Roxsy’s tough persona is all part of the bit. Roxsy’s recipe is bit a vaudeville, a dash of slapstick and just a pinch Groucho Marx’s high-brow sarcasm.
Roxsy Tyler’s Carnival of Horrors ran consistently from 2010 until about 2018 when life pretty much dropped a tactical nuke into her situation. Personal struggle interfered with business and just when she was clawing the show back to life, a major injury took Roxsy back to the drawing board.
Although as they say, you can’t keep a bad girl down.
In anticipation of Roxsy’s re-launch, MalevolentDark got a chance to talk to Roxsy and ask some big questions.
Roxsy, tell me a little bit about how you got started in the horror host business?
Horror hosts have a long storied history. What is it that makes this such and important facet of the industry?
I see horror hosts as the gate keepers and archivists of horror. They keep the memories of all the great classic horror films alive by playing them on their shows. As for the hosts that screen modern day horror films or independent films, they’re creating memories for future generations and offering a platform for talented productions to showcase their work. Horror hosts are the ambassadors of the horror community and help bring old fans, new fans, curious fans alike into the community.
What makes today’s hosts the same and what makes them different from those of days past?
The traditions are mostly the same. The hosts remain knowledgeable of horror films, the history of horror films, and are basically the walking encyclopedia of horror knowledge. The only differences I truly see is in the platforms. There’s more streaming now. There’s live web shows. There’s interactive channels like The Monster Channel where you can talk to other fans and watch the show at the same time. There’s more opportunities now — which we needed because it’s not exactly easy to find places to run the shows.
Roxsy Tyler’s Carnival of Horrors was already extremely popular, what happened?
How did you dig yourself out of that deep hole?
What do you hope to bring to the horror community through Roxsy Tyler’s Carnival of Horrors?
I’m hoping that through the show we can grow a great awareness of independent filmmaking and build a bigger community. It’s hard for independent filmmakers to gain an audience as well so that’s what we want to give them. Independent filmmakers basically go poor filming their projects especially since most of them do not have backers. They spend 12-14 hour days working on their films. They believe in their work and they deserve to have an audience believe in them. I’m still exploring my roots as well. We have some classic horror films we’ll be showing this season aside from the independent films. We have to keep the classics alive for future generations to enjoy.
Final question for an archivist of everything dark and evil — What is your favorite horror movie?
My favorite horror film is the Reanimator. It’s the perfect blend of humor, action, and cringe-worthy comedy. I’m a long time Jeffrey Combs fan and he really makes that film enjoyable.
Check Out Roxsy Tyler’s Carnival of Horrors
From the looks of it, the horror host will never die. Even when they do, it’s impossible to keep them down. Roxsy Tyler’s newly invigorated Carnival of Horrors will be debuting on YouTube on July 25th. Episode 1 will take a look at the film Death Follows (2013). Roxsy isn’t just doing it for giggles… wait, actually she is. At the same time she’s making sure that horror as an art form endures for generations to come.