Carl Kolchak was a reporter for Chicago's Independent News Service, and like a killer moth to the flames of hell, he seemed to be a magnet for the worse in the supernatural world that leered right around the corner! Kolchak turned his investigative skills to vampires, werewolves, zombies and all manner of legendary creatures, (can we ever forget Peremalfait, the swamp monster!)…  but in the end Kolchak always failed to convince his skeptical editor, Tony Vincenzo, that the stories weren't products of Kolchak's own imagination which seemed to permanently be stuck in over-drive! Before X-Files, and all its clones, this 1970's classic original from ABC and Universal Studios definitely stands alone and is one of a kind, thanks mostly to its amazing star, the late, great Darren McGavin!

Baron Hats has had many custom requests for the other star of this sci-fi cult classic: Kolchak’s famous hat! Like Kolchak himself, his ever present hat had a style all its own. But in order to create the hat exactly as the original, Master Hatmaker, Mark Mejia, had to find the unusual straw, known as “Crushable Raffia” so that he could block the modified “porkpie” to give it that unmistakable maverick heretical recusant look! These specially woven straws interlace a tight punnet cross-hatch pattern in the brim and body with the instantly identifiable ventilated louvered crown. That was not an easy task, and Mark had to travel all the way to the Kaimur Hills in India, to find the right craftsmen who make the special weave to his liking! But he has it now, and is ready to take your order, so that you too can round up strange doings that go “fang” in the night (headless motorcyclist, anyone!?)