Kolchak: The Night Stalker/Horror in the Heights

Horror in the Heights
Season 1, Episode 11
Airdate	December 20, 1974
Written by	Jimmy Sangster, David Chase
Directed by	Michael Caffey
Stream
← 1x10 The Energy Eater	1x12 → Mr. R.I.N.G.
Kolchak: The Night Stalker — Season One

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Horror in the Heights is the eleventh episode of the first season of Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

Starring:

Guest Starring: Phil Silvers (Harry Starman), Murray Matheson (Mr. Lane-Marriot), Abraham Sofaer (Rakshasa Hunter), Benny Rubin (Julius "Buck" Fineman), Shelly Novack (Officer York), Barry Gordon (Waiter), Ned Glass (Joe), Jim Goodwin (Frank Rivas), Eric Server (Officer Boxman), John Bleifer (Charlie), Herb Vigran (Sol Goldstein), Naomi Stevens (Miriam Goldstein), Robert Karnes (Officer Thomas)

Co-Starring:

Plot Overview

Roosevelt Heights, Chicago: A murder in a predominately Jewish neighborhood, draws the interest of Kolchak. The victim was knawed as if hundreds of rats had stripped his flesh away.

At the scene he meets Harry Starman, who tells him that a "Hindu Nazi" is behind all this: the guy has painted swastikas throughout the neighborhood. To prove his point he takes Kolchak to the alley behind the restaurant to show him. Kolchak climbs over a fence to take a closer look. While the two are separated, Starman sees another Kolchak and it kills him. The police haul Kolchak in for questioning.

Kolchak discovers that a Rakshasa, a mythological Hindu beast which feasts on human flesh, is loose. The beast can appear as the person the victim trusts the most. It can only be killed by specially sanctified arrows fired from a crossbow. The one person who can stop it, an Indian holy man (the restaurant owner), is dying.

The old man places the task of killing the beast in Kolchak's hands, crossbow and all.

Trivia

Allusions and References

• The Rakshasa is a Hindu spirit.
• Of course there were references to Nazis
• We get a bit of education about the origins of the swastika. It was not invented by the German Nazis, but rather it is an ancient symbol that was merely adopted by the Nazis.