My Favorite Scary TV Shows – ‘Kolchak: The Night Stalker’ [VIDEO]

With Halloween almost here, I thought it would be fun to recall my favorite scary TV shows. I would put the 1970s show, "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" right up there at the top of the list. And, I have a family connection to the show.

"Kolchak: The Night Stalker" starred Darren McGavin at Carl Kolchak, a quirky newspaper reporter who ignored his assignments and went chasing down stories about vampires, werewolves, ghosts and even Jack-The-Ripper.

Here's my family's connection to the show. The co-star of the series was Simon Oakland, who played Kolchak's boss, editor Tony Vincenzo. My father-in-law became good friends with Simon Oakland when they served together in the Army during World War II. My father-in-law later told me that they remained friends and stayed in touch after leaving the service.

In case you need a refresher, here's a scene from "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" showing Darren McGavin coming back to his office after a case. Simon Oakland can be seen and heard in the background.

A few years ago, they did a remake of the show with an entirely different cast, but it just didn't have that interplay as the original characters.