NIGHTMARE THEATER
SCIENCE FICTION THEATRE
SHOCK THEATER

ROBERT (BOB) CARTER - "SAMMY TERRY"

Robert Bob Carter hosted horror and science fiction movie shows as "Sammy Terry" between 1962 until 1989. The shows: 1) "SHOCK THEATER" - First aired in 1962, the Indiana station WTTV purchased the rights to broadcast the Shock Theater package, which was made up of 52 classic old films. It aired on Friday nights at 11:00pm featuring a horror host who introduced the movies and appeared during commercial breaks - Bob Carter. Bob recorded audio promotions in a spooky voice that was played over still images. The sponsor like what Bob was doing, and so Nightmare Theater was born with Bob Carter as the horror host - Sammy Terry (Cemetery). 2) "NIGHTMARE THEATER" (aka Nightmare Theatre) - The format of Carter's show as Sammy Terry, Nightmare Theater, usually involved the showing of two films. During the commercial breaks, Carter, in character as Sammy Terry (a pun based on the word "cemetery"), would engage in camp banter with the audience and his floating rubber spider, "George". This banter often included some commentary on the films being shown, which included classic films as well as many less-than-stellar productions common to the horror film era of the 1930s through the early 1960's. 3) "SCIENCE FICTION THEATRE" - a hosted science fiction/horror movie show with Robert (Bob) Carter as "Sammy Terry", hosting science fiction/horror movies on Saturday evenings on WTTV, Channel 4 Indianapolis, Indiana, USA probably in the 1970's. It was a companion show to "Nightmare Theater". From "Find A Grave": Robert Rockwell Carter, died June 30, 2013 peacefully in his sleep. He was born December 4th, 1929 in Decatur, Illinois to the late Russell and Ruth Carter. Robert is an alumnus of Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois with his Masters Degree in Television from Syracuse University. After several positions in broadcasting, he found his life's work at WTTV Channel 4 in Indianapolis. There, he produced, directed and performed in many capacities including developing the character for "Nightmare Theater" which has earned him a spot in the Indiana Broadcasters Hall of Fame as well as the title of America's longest running horror movie host, "Sammy Terry". Robert also was the owner of the Family Music Center for 25 years, starting many band programs in the Indianapolis parochial schools. Robert was a Mason, a proud Army veteran and an active member and elder at Southport Presbyterian Church. In 2010, Mark Carter (Bob's son) took over the reigns as the new "Sammy Terry". For further information on Mark Carter's "Nightmare Theater", click on the links below: Portrait of "Sammy Terry" by Dave Dunlap.

Portrait of "Sammy Terry" by Bradley Beard.
"Sammy Terry" - biography (taken from Bradley Beard's Facebook page)" 10 January 2015.

"In the dead of night when the moon is high and the ill winds blow; the banshees cry and the moonlight casts an unearthly glow... arise my love with tales of woe." Tonight I present a host so utterly horrifying that his mere presence must have struck more fear into the hearts of his viewers than the movies that he showed; an icy chill of terror grips my spine when I think of his name... Sammy Terry. On a dark and foreboding night in 1962, the mind of Robert Carter conceived Sammy Terry and a legacy of ghastly horrors were thrust upon the audience of WTTV Channel 4 in Indianapolis, Indiana for nearly three decades. Nightmare Theatre most surely caused many unsuspecting minds to stray from the path of reality only to find they'd been locked inside the gates of Sammy Terry's "cemetery" of fear. Tonight you may be troubled by terrible dreams and your only hope of escape will be tomorrow. In 2011, Robert Carter - "Sammy Terry" for "Nightmare Theater", was inducted into "The Official Horror Host Hall of Fame". The following is the introduction for the series: "Sammy Terry" - Introduction from The Professor's Scary Clips on Vimeo.

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