"Terror!" was a hosted horror show with Ruth Sprayberry as "Evilun" presenting movies on Saturday nights on KSLA-TV Channel 12, Shreveport, Louisiana between 7 September 1963 till 12 February 1965. Evilun was assisted by "Malicea" played by Billie Jardine, a witch whose "broom took a wrong turn in the jet stream." Terror. was a Saturday night event, usually a double feature, with the second film sometimes billed as Terror II in newspaper TV schedules.
Writers of the show included John Renshaw, active in community theater, and Henry Clements who also played Captain Talltower on a children's show complete with a riverboat set.
Evilun's sidekick Malicea (played by Billie Jardine) was the spouse of Air Force officer James Jardine. Billie was from Dover, England.
Three spellings of Malicea's name show up in the newspapers; Malicea, Mallicea and Melissa. Two spellings of Evilun's name show up in the newspapers; Evilun and Evi-lun.
The biggest event during the run of the Terror! certainly was when Lon Chaney, Jr. took part in a Terror! telecast in March 1964. Chaney arrived in Shreveport on Friday evening, March 13, greeted at the airport by the Byrd High School Band, the contestants for Miss Shreveport and Mayor Clyde Fant. The next day Chaney joined Evilun at the Exhibit Museum to pick the winner of the "Design a Monster" art contest. According to differing accounts, there were anywhere from 5,000 to 7,000 entries from four states. Later that night, Chaney and Evilun dazzled their fans during a Terror! double feature of "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" and "The Mummy's Tomb".
"Witching Hour" as a hosted horror show with Ruth Spayberry as "Evilun" presenting movies KSLA-TV Channel 12, Shreveport, Louisiana between 19 February 1965 till 8 October 1965. This new show replaced Evilun's previous show "Terror!".
On 2 October 1965 a new show started on Saturday afternoons "Spooktacular Movie". It is unsure if Evilun hosted this show as well.
For further information on "Spooktacular Movie", use the below link:
Ruth Jones was born in 1921 in Texas to Robert E. Jones and Hazel Jones; later residing in Birmingham, Alabama. She attended public school and graduated from West End High School. In 1944, she married John Paul Sprayberry (having two children), relocating to Shreveport in 1953 where she became well known on local and regional stages. Among her more prominent roles were as Blanche DuBois in "A Streetcar Named Desire", Madame Armfeldt in "A Little Night Music", Amanda Wingfield in "The Glass Menagerie", Linda in "Death of a Salesman", and Vera Charles in "Mamre". Ruth was best known as the late night horror host "Evilun" on the 1960's television shows "Terror!" and "Witching Hour".
Ruth was an active member at St. Joseph's where she was a layreader and member of the the Marquette Reading Circle.
After a long illness, Ruth passed away on 19 July 1995, in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA.