Jack Baker[nb 1] (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.
[1] Baker was selling a trade periodical in Minnesota when a magician known as "The Great Melroy" failed to appear for a show at a local theater.
[5] A staple of the blackout sequences in Asylum of Horrors involved Baker or one of his other performers threatening to throw live snakes at the audience, before cutting the lights in the theater and casting a damp rope into the crowd.
[3] During his hiatus from ghost shows, he produced and distributed films as president of International Artists Pictures.