Louisiana Horror Icon Morgus The Magnificent Has Died

Louisiana is known for a lot of things. Among the many things people think of when they hear Louisiana, they think of things like football, Mardi Gras, and of course...urban legends.

Urban legends involving haunting, ghosts, swamp creatures, and things like Voodoo are all very tied into the culture of Louisiana. But there are some things that fit inside this vein of the state that you might not be familiar with if you're not actually from Louisiana...or you're not "initiated".

For decades, Morgus the Magnificent entertained TV viewers in Louisiana (and in Detroit for a short time) with his horror host antics during late night "scary movie" TV features. Morgus was one of the most well known horror hosts in the country, and was one of the longest-running single market TV horror hosts of all time.

Sadly, this week Sidney Noel Rideau, the man who brought Morgus the Magnificent to life for more than 60 years, died. WWL-TV reports that Rideau died of natural causes at the age of 90.

Much like his Shreveport contemporary Evilun, Morgus pre-dated household horror names like Elvira and Svengoolie. Morgus started his TV horror hosting in the 1950s, and continued into the 2010s.

The show was presented similarly to many TV horror programs, with Morgus and his sidekick Chopsley doing random experiments "above the old city icehouse" in between segments of the weekly horror or sci-fi movie feature. These segments would send the movie to comercial breaks, and bring viewers back to the feature from breaks.

Morgus the Magnificent was an absolute icon in a state known for it's hauntings and horror, and he will be greatly missed.