Much as we hate to admit it, D.C. isn’t known for being a particularly great Halloween town. When a list of the area’s best Halloween events prominently features a concert at the Kennedy Center, it’s pretty obvious that the true potential of the holiday is being wasted. Sure, there are good parties to be found, but as a city we don’t even get any haunted public transportation. It’s outrageous!

But there are a few wonderfully spooky Washington area events available, and right now none look more promising to us than the 2006 Spooky Movie Festival in Fairfax. Running from October 27-29, the festival will screen 30 films. Running times vary, but the ghoulishness should be consistent.

The movies aren’t what’s gotten us most excited about the event, though. The real highlight promises to be an appearance by Count Gore De Vol, the D.C. area’s premiere horror host. The Count, who also did time as Captain 20 and helmed the local Bozo franchise for a while, hosted a regular program on channel 20 during the 70s and 80s, bringing schlocky thrills and low-rent charm to the area airwaves. He keeps up the tradition with a regularly updated website. And check out this tour of the Count’s dungeon:

You can find lots more Count Gore clips over at Google Video, including a number of full-length shows.

I have to admit that the Count was a little before my time, but watching these charming clips still makes me sad for the passing of the era of local broadcasting that he represents. These days the only homegrown broadcasts we’ve got are the local news affiliates. And while their shows may be just as terrifying as anything Count Gore ever aired, we’d still prefer a return to the days when local TV was more blood-sucking than soul-sucking.

Image of Count Gore De Vol taken from his video sales pages. Go there and buy stuff!