"RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT" INTRO

The first thing you saw was an impaled skull. Few television programs on Sunday night prime time have ever come close to such a feat, but that was the beauty of Ripley's Believe It or Not! I was ferociously anticipating this television show from the moment I saw its page in the 1982 Fall Preview issue of TV Guide. By that point I was already a huge fan of the chill-giving illustrated strip. The on-air incarnation arrived during the golden age of reality TV. The viewing week already held must-see productions like That's Incredible and Real People. Ripley's was the third prong in the televised pitchfork that prodded my youthful brain into strange, new places. To this nine-year-old the world was already limitless; these shows just proved my theory.

Anyway, all the Riplymainia on my recent Gatlinburg trip inspired me to look for the opening credits online...



Ah, soooo satisfying. I like how it kicks off with the eerie music and glowing ectoplasmic imagery before settling into the classier groove that plays over original Ripley drawings brought to life. That art on that pulpy backdrop offered a perfect hint of the bewilderment to come. Then Jack Palance kept the wonderment flowing throughout each episode. The show's oddities were discussed during recess the following day and the show's horrors usually waited to resurface in my mind late at night. Oops, I think I just re-invited the guy with the candle stuck in his head back into my nightmares.