Jack Baker

Jack Baker (born John Kessler; 1913/1914 – October 5, 1980), also known by his stage name Dr. Silkini, was an American stage magician, film producer and distributor best known as the host (or "ghostmaster") of the traveling midnight ghost show, Dr. Silkini's Asylum of Horrors.

According to fellow ghostmaster and ghost show historian Jim Ridenour, Baker "worked the spookers for 42 years, [and] made millions of dollars."

Early life Baker was born John Kessler, Baker, who knew several magic tricks, offered to take his place, and the theater's manager allowed him to fill in. The presentation of Asylum of Horrors quickly evolved to incorporate elements of both horror and comedy, intermixing illusions and audience participation with jokes, gimmicks, and skits. The shows would also contain two or three "blackout" sequences, a common feature of ghost shows in which the theater would go completely dark, and typically involved costumed actors terrorizing the audience.

In 1942, Wyman was drafted, while Baker continued to perform Asylum of Horrors. By that time, Baker had recruited Art Dorner—who served as a body double for Boris Karloff in the Universal Pictures-produced Frankenstein films—to play Frankenstein's monster on-stage in Asylum of Horrors. This proved financially successful, increasing Baker's box office receipts to a reported $3,000 to $4,000 per night. In 1943, Universal sued Baker due to the physical appearance of the monster in Asylum of Horrors, a design created by Jack Pierce of Universal's makeup department. After presenting a ghost show at one of Universal's studios, Baker came to an agreement with Universal that allowed him to continue using the character in Asylum of Horrors, from then on advertised as, "Direct from Hollywood by special contractual agreement with Universal Pictures, Frankenstein—in person."

Personal life Baker met his wife when she was aged 17, in Pontiac, Michigan.

Death Baker died on October 5, 1980, after suffering a heart attack.