The show features B movies, particularly those in the horror and science fiction genres, and is hosted by Elvira, a character with a black dress and heaven bump hairstyle, played by Cassandra Peterson.

She and her close friend, makeup artist Robert Redding, decided to style Peterson in a sensual goth/vampire look after producers rejected her original idea to dress like Sharon Tate's character in The Fearless Vampire Killers.

[3] Elvira's look drew inspiration from a Kabuki makeup book in Redding's possession and the bouffant hairstyles of The Ronettes.

The court ruled in favor of Peterson, holding that "'likeness' means actual representation of another person's appearance, and not simply close resemblance."

[6] Peterson's Elvira character rapidly gained notice with her tight-fitting, low-cut, cleavage-displaying black gown.

Adopting the flippant tone of a California "Valley girl", she brought a satirical, sarcastic edge to her commentary.

[8] In 1982, with the success of Movie Macabre, Knott's Theme Parks hired Elvira to replace Seymour as the host of its annual Halloween Haunt during October.

Elvira appeared nightly at the park, live on stage with a Halloween-themed musical comedy revue similar to her Mamma's Boys act from the 1970s.

Her popularity reached its zenith with the release of the feature film Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, on whose script, written directly for the screen, Peterson collaborated with John Paragon and Sam Egan.

[11] In the 1990s, Rhino Home Video released Midnight Madness, a collection of films hosted by Elvira, on VHS.

[12] In September 2010, Elvira's Movie Macabre returned to television syndication in the United States, airing on This TV.

To celebrate the original show's 40th anniversary, Cassandra Peterson revived her role for a special one-night movie marathon, which premiered live on Shudder, the horror streaming service.

Factory has released a small number of Movie Macabre episodes to DVD, in both single and double feature format.