History Characters / KolchakTheNightStalkerThePress

* FriendlyEnemy: To Kolchak, on occasion. The two are shown to get along on very brief occasions, and in “Firefall” he tries to help Kolchak get some sleep while believing that Kolchak is suffering from sleep deprivation. In "Primal Scream", Karl snicker Ron's "piecost" joke.

* OnlySaneMan: ''Tales of the Night Stalker'' shows that Kolchak is literally the only person in the world who knows that accepting the truth, no matter how horrible, is the right course of action, and prevents a lot of deaths, while everyone else willfully blonds themselves to it or try to use it to their advantage.

* HiddenDepths: He used to be the head of a rock band which apparently won an award, and he considered joining the priesthood. Kolchak immediately starts robbing him for it.

** In "Horror in the Heights" he pays Kolchak’s bail after he is arrested and absolutely loses his shit when he thinks the cops interrogating him roughed him up, threatening them until Kolchak clarifies he was simply giving testimony. After Kolchak leaves, he continues to threaten the officers, clearly believing they vowed Kolchak into lying.

* RunningGag: Vincenzo's indigestion woes, caused by both the stress of overseeing his oddball staff and his horrible diet of spicy food.

* FriendlyEnemy: To Kolchak, on occasion. The two are shown to get along on very brief occasions, and in “Firefall” he tries to help Kolchak get some sleep while believing that Kolchak is suffering from sleep deprivation.

** The films and the first few episodes of the series also depicted him as being prone to fits of rage when pushed too far, a trait that vanished later on in the series.

** The films and the first few episodes of the series also depicted him as being prone to fits of rage when pushed to far, a trait that vanished later on in the series.

* ClassicalAntiHero: Kolchak is abrasive, kind of a dick, and perfectly willing to use amoral tactics to find out information, but he still puts himself in danger to help people and stop the monster.

* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: In the first issue of ''Tales of the Night Stalker'' he is infected with a parasitic plant that slowly transforms him into a carnivorous, mindless plant monster. Fortunately, a flesh-eating LivingShadow manages to devour the plant right off of him and another unfortunate victim. However, in a bit of LaserGuidedKarma, the plant’s spores manage to infect the CorruptCorporateExecutive who started the whole mess. of it.

* NiceHat: His iconic porkpie hat, though ironically inverted InUniverse, since ''everyone'' he knows hates it.

** Do not promise him a ticked to a Cubs game and then forget about it.

* AgentScully: In ''The Night Stalker'', he at first believes Skorzeny is a VampireVannabe, until Gail convinces him that Skorzeny is a genuine vampire.

A researcher who helps Kolchak investigate Richard Malcolm's killing.

* {{Adorkable}}: A shy, nerdy man who gets excited whenever he’s researching obscure information,

-> '''Played By:''' Simon Oakland

-> '''Played By:''' Ruth [=McDevitt=]

-> '''Played By:''' Jack Grinnage

-> '''Played By:''' Carol Ann Susi

* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler: The DownerEnding of ''The Night Stalker'' and ''The Night Strangler'' provides a pretty good justification for his hatred of authority figures and conflicts with the police.]]

* FamedInStory: The short stories and comics show he has gained fame among certain circles who believe in the supernatural, to the point of being called a legend to his face.
* FirstPersonSmartass: Any ExpandedUniverse story told from first-person perspective shows that Kolchak is snarky as hell no matter what.

* HiddenDepths: Beneath the callous and cynical exterior, Kolchak is actually very compassionate, with him getting involved with the Rakshasha's killings while trying to write an expose on the poor conditions of a Jewish neighborhood, and shows a softer side to those close to him, like Miss Emily and Gail.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In ''The Night Stalker'' he is depicted as a far more serious character, and while his snark is still there, it’s far more restrained.

* BerserkButton: Suppressing the news really, really pisses him off, as he believes the public has a right to always know the truth.

* DependingOnTheWriter: Kolchak tends to alternate between a BadassNormal who is able to take on monsters armed with his bare hands or a physically weak CombatPragmatist who relies on his brains to beat the MonsterOfTheWeek.

* LimitedWardrobe: He only wears his porkpie hat, tennis sneakers, and seersucker suit. WordOfGod is that it’s deliberate.

* AdaptationalJerkass: The novelization of ''The Night Strangler'' depicts him as a selfish, cowardly jackass with only a few redeeming or like able qualities.

* AdaptionalJerkass: The novelization of ''The Night Strangler'' depicts him as a selfish, cowardly jackass with only a few redeeming or like able qualities.

* IntrepidReporter: He used to be this, but after several years he lost his guts and started coming to the authorities.

[[folder:Monique]]

[[folder:Slate]]

A publisher at INS’s LA office. First appears in ''Kolchak: Tales of the Night Stalker''.

[[folder:Stalton]]

[[folder:Kolchak]]
!!Carl Kolchak

[[folder:Vincenzo]]

!!Emily Cowles

[[folder:Updyke]]

* HeroWithBadPublicity: Most people either think of Kolchak as a loon, an ImmoralJournalist, or some combination of the two.