Francisco Midnite Spook Frolic Zubroff Phantom Wolfman Spook Show Poster 1957 ?

Description

An original circa 1950s maybe 1957 spook show poster for Francisco's and His New Midnite Spook Frolic including Zubroff The Phantom Wolfman at the Colfax Theatre on Saturday, June 2nd
Smiling, friendly "Casper-esque' ghost graphic -- Laffs !    Chills !    Fun !
On rather thick white cardstock approx 13x17 and in
very good - excellent condition for its age with with some edge/corner war and some very light back ink? smudging and some other light general wear/handling -- any light round shadow middle/lower right on back/front is just camera lens shadow not on poster---  please see pictures for condition and ask questions in advance if helpful. Will be mailed well packed with insurance.
Magicpedia: "
Francisco
was one of the first of the ghost show craze to have success. He also was one of the few to keep it relatively free of the gore and sexuality others started using later. He performed the floating table, mind-reading tricks and the
spirit cabinet
."
An excellent history article from the web:
GHOSTS ON THE LOOSE- A brief history of Spooky Stage Shows and an Personal Encounter
by Gary Meyer
One of the most popular and professional shows that probably toured longer than anyone was created by magician Arthur Bull using the stage name Francisco, named after The City across the Bay from his home in Oakland, CA. He was always in demand from the 1930s into the early 1960s. Bull asked theaters for higher quality movies to be booked instead of the usual flat rental Bela Lugosi cheapies like THE HUMAN MONSTER.
......
An astonishing floating table, a complex Spirit Cabinet routine and a running gag with a floating skull followed. The curtains closed and Francisco brought about a dozen people on stage to sit in chairs where he put them under a hypnotic spell resulting in the audience members doing wacky things, not remembering any of it when they were released from his spell.
And then it was time for the grand finale. Often Francisco had included various frightening creatures as part of his act such as Strogoff the living corpse, Rollo the two-headed zombie or the phantom wolfman Zubroff. But late in his career –which is when I saw him– Zemora was the featured creature and reportedly the most effective.
The curtains opened to reveal a coffin. Francisco tipped over the empty casket while explaining that the unhappy restless ghost Zemora must be somewhere in the theater. He warned the audience, “Don’t turn around if you feel cold, clammy hands clutching you or something crawling up your leg.”
He had his lovely assistant step into the coffin, then he thrust a dozen swords through it from every direction, each one accompanied by a more blood-curdling scream. The swords were quickly withdrawn and the cabinet started to violently shake. We could hear a loud and angry growling sound and suddenly the lid burst open.
A boney hand emerged and with a blinding light Zemora appeared for a moment.
All the lights went out and it was total darkness (exit lights were not yet required). Zemora tossed his head out towards the audience where it floated above us disappearing as lightning appeared on the screen, its strobe effect allowing the audience to see monsters roaming the auditorium while bats, skeletons and ghosts flew above our heads. (I later learned the ghosts were cheesecloth painted with luminous paint and suspended from fishing poles.) A voice yelled to watch out for the spiders and insects as the audience was pelted with raw beans and rice. We saw glowing swamp insects above us and then spider webs brushed across our faces.
“Beware the deadly slimy worms crawling everywhere,” was heard loud and clear as cold, moist creatures (wet mop strands) rained on us.
People were screaming their heads off. Couples were hugging each other and wishing it would be over … or not. After what might have been ten minutes it went dark for a moment and then the lights came up. The show was over and it was nearly 2:00am."
full article with pictures/photos:
https://eatdrinkfilms.com/2019/09/30/ghosts-on-the-loose-a-brief-history-of-spooky-stage-shows-and-an-personal-encounter/