EDITOR’S NOTE: This episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker was on the CBS Late Movie on July 6, 1979; July 24, 1981; November 6, 1987 and March 4, 1988.

In a Jewish senior citizens center in Roosevelt Heights — a section of Chicago that could charitably be called lower income — numerous people have died, stripped of their skin by rodents. Harry Starman (Phil Silvers), a resident, believes that the owner of a local Indian Restaurant is a war criminal that has escaped from Germany and is the person painting swastika graffiti all over the Heights.

The restaurant owner shares with Kolchak how to destroy the demon — steel bolts fired from a crossbow. However, he warns Kolchak that the demon can come in the form of someone he knows, a twist that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.

Directed by Michael Caffey (who directed everything from The Dukes of Hazzard and Trapper John M.D. to The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.) and written by Jimmy Sangster (The Curse of Frankenstein, Jack the Ripper; Scream, Pretty Peggy), this is an episode in which Kolchak reminds us that the demon could be anyone, even advice columnist Miss Emily.

If you’ve ever battled a Rakshasa in a game of Dungeons & Dragons, this episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker is the reason why. The episode inspired e. Gary Gygax to add the demon to the Monster Manual, a significant moment in the history of the game that connects fans to a shared cultural experience.

Source

John Kenneth Muir’s Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: 08/2018. https://reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.com/2018/08/