Suzanne Waldron (July 23, 1931 - June 1982), better known by her alias "Tarantula Ghoul", was an American actress, television hostess, and musician. Her studies at the New Mexico Highlands University in the early 1950s first excited her interests in stage acting and radio commentary.
By 1952, Waldron began performing at the Portland Civic Auditorium and earning voice roles in radio commercials; a year later, Waldron joined the Magic Ring Repertory Company, receiving local acclaim for her roles in comedy and drama. Between 1957 and 1959, she hosted the cult favorite program House of Horror on the Portland-based television station KPTV.
By 1952, Waldron began performing at the Portland Civic Auditorium and earning voice roles in radio commercials; a year later, Waldron joined the Magic Ring Repertory Company, receiving local acclaim for her roles in comedy and drama. Between 1957 and 1959, she hosted the cult favorite program House of Horror on the Portland-based television station KPTV.
The concept of the Tarantula Ghoul character -- a slick raven-haired hostess that had a striking resemblance to the fictional matriarch Morticia Addams was based off Vampira, played by actress Maila Nurmi. Nurmi's series The Vampira Show, which briefly aired in 1954 and 1955, was highly successful in Los Angeles before its cancellation, encouraging television stations across the United States to recreate the show's premise as well as its ghoulish hostess. In 1958, Tarantula Ghoul and her backing band the Gravediggers recorded and released the "King Kong" single on Meadows Records with "Graveyard Rock" as its B-side. The latter track's appealing melody made it a popular song to incorporate in Halloween-themed setlists.
Despite its popularity, House of Horror was canceled in 1959. No known footage of the show currently exists. Waldron occasionally revived her Tarantula Ghoul persona in the early 1960s and was offered opportunities to host television again but she decided to focus on stage acting and voiceover work. In June 1982, she died in Omaha, Nebraska of colon cancer; Waldron was 50 years old.
