Netflix holds off on Dayton ‘Vampires’ documentary, report says

Credit: Jenny Kane

Credit: Jenny Kane

Netflix’s buzzworthy documentary “Vampires of Gem City” is not going to be on the streaming service.

“Vampires of Gem City” explores the notion that Dayton has been home “to the largest coven of vampires outside of New Orleans,” according to What’s on Netflix, which reported on the show in February. The story was centered on the disappearance of 26-year-old George Phillip Gall, best known as Phil or Phillip, who went missing October 1994 in Dayton. In 2008, a police officer told the Dayton Daily News he believed Gall had been involved in a “ritual.” He also claimed the bar Gall was seen near, Asylum, which was on South Main Street, was a secret meeting place for vampires. The state declared Gall dead in 2002.

The Columbus Dispatch reports “Gall’s wife, Helen Gall, and maternal uncle, Dan Phelan, have said that producers told them through emails that Netflix has decided not to air the show without explanation.”

Phelan told the Dispatch producers have been in contact with the family for three years on the documentary, which also examines George’s mother Kathy Gall’s pursuit for answers.

“I was hoping they would air it so people know what has happened to my husband so we could get the word out there,” Helen Gall told the Dispatch. “I need answers as to why they did this.”

“Vampires of Gem City” was directed by Joshua Rofé, who helmed the 2021 Netflix documentary “Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed.” Phelan told the Dispatch the documentary switched its focus to “a community of vampires” when director David Holthouse was replaced 10 months ago by Rofé.

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