I just wanted to take a second to thank all the other blogs who were keeping the spirit alive this season (as well as giving me the inspiration to keep my month long post-a-thin going). I'd also like to thank everyone who stopped by and read some of the articles or posted comments, as this also helped. I think I'm going to have to take a break from posting for a few days, but I'll be back next week with my one year anniversary Peel Here as well as some new installments of Cartoon Commentary! For now I'll leave you all with some left over pictures, stuff that I just didn't get around to talking about…

So, I wanted to announce the winner of the season's Audio Ghost Story. There was some deliberation between the dog and cat, but in the end it we all agreed that Douglas Gonnelly and friends deserved to take home the prize.

Here, for everyone's listening pleasure is the story, The Witch of Saratoga…

…and I urge everyone to also check out Doug's site Preying Mantis Productions for some other great stories.

Also, before I forget, there are still four or so more hours to get in any entries into this year's Halloween create your own audio ghost story contest.

You can find the rules and sound files here, and the fun prize pack here.

One of the things that I haven't really written all that much about this Halloween season are all the movies I've been watching.   I guess there are only so many hours in a day.  To make up for that a bit I thought I'd mention this awesome box set of Vincent Price flicks that MGM put out recently (which is made up of a good portion of their previously released Midnite Madness double feature discs.)   I've been slowly getting into the Price's work over the past year or so after watching his awesome turn as Dr. Robert Morgan in The Last Man on Earth.   I've been stumbling through his body of work hitting a House on Haunted Hill here and an Abominable Dr. Phibes there.  Well my local Hollywood video went out of business and was selling off all their DVD stock, so on a whim I picked up The Fall of the House of Usher and The Pit and the Pendulum.  I really liked both and wanted to see some more of the Roger Corman Poe adaptations, so after doing a search on Amazon I found the very reasonably priced Vincent Price: Scream Legends Collection…



Over the last few days the wife and I found some time to sit down and watch a couple of the flicks which I think managed to show the range (quality-wise) of flicks Price has worked on, as well as what's offered in this set.  The first flick we took in was Madhouse, released in 1974.



Madhouse is basically a horror infused send up of Price's own film career.  He plays an actor named Paul Tombs who is best know for staring in a series of gruesome horror flicks all surrounding the character Dr. Death.  At the height of his career as the gruesome doctor, Tombs finally decided to settle down and marry one of his leading ladies, the announcement of which he made at a gala New Years party with all of his friends and colleagues.  Unfortunately not everyone is so happy with his impending nuptials and ends up killing his bride to be (beheading her in fact), though the question is raised, did Tombs kill her himself.  After a lengthy hiatus from film making (not to mention a stay in an asylum) Tombs decides to re-embark on his film career at the behest of his best friend and co-creator of Dr. Death Herbert Flay (played by the ever awesome Peter Cushing.)  Of course, straight away the bodies start piling up again, as do the questions as to who is killing all of these people.

At then end of the day I really enjoyed the first two thirds of the film, but it really suffered from an almost incomprehensible climax and resolution.  It didn't help that the film was filled with plot holes and some questionable directing (way too many red herrings, a fact that is actually celebrated in the final act with an actual dish of red herring.)  Price and Cushing do their best with what they have, even though their effort barely rescues this film from complete disaster.  At a time when the modern horror landscape was drastically changing, and surrounded by the likes of Black Christmas, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Night of the Living Dead, and Last House on the left, flicks like Madhouse with their questionable effects work (many obviously rubber spiders abound) and poorly written scripts just a little past their day.

The second film we caught was the much better and down right disturbing Witchfinder General (though American audiences might know it as The Conqueror Worm), released in 1968.



In this flick Price plays Mathew Hopkins, a lawyer and professional witch finder/executor, a character that's based on an actual witch inquisitor.  While making his way through England torturing and executing "confessed" witches (whether they are guilty or not), Hopkins is summoned to a small town at the behest of the populace to look into a local priest.  It just so happens that the priest is the uncle of Sarah Lowes, whose fiancé (Richard Marshall, played by Ian Ogilvy) is a Roundhead fighting against the Royalists.   After Hopkins tortures and executes Sarah's uncle Richard comes back to find his soon to be wife in quite a state (she had offered herself to Hopkins in exchange for her uncle's safety and was inadvertently raped by Hopkins' assistant in the process.)  Richard vows revenge on Hopkins, stopping at nothing to see him pay for what he's done.

The film was very well made with a startlingly non-camp performance from Price (a feat which young auteur director Michael Reeves accomplished by constantly questioning Price's acting choices unexplained to a point where Price ended up reeling in his typical black humor.)  The film was pretty brutal for the time, and much more so than Price seems to typically make.  I think it's because the material was handle very realistically and straight forward with no actual witchcraft or crazy plot devices.  I was also surprised by the very downbeat ending, also a rarity in Price's oeuvre.

I can't wait to make my way through the rest of the set which include five more films, Theater of Blood, Tales of Terror, Twice Told Tales, The Abominable Dr. Phibes (which I have seen and love), and Dr. Phibes Rises Again.   This set also includes four biographical featurettes (including on that focuses on the Witchfinder General in particular) that though aren't quite as in depth as one might like, do offer a nice staring point into the work of an amazing man.  All in all, it's well worth the $30 price tag (though currently you can find it on amazon.com for around $22.)

I managed to snag one of those newer Wal-Mart Halloween mascot tags. I'm really in love with this design. I especially love the Son of Frankenstein-esque purple fury vest deal. For some reason though, the rest of the Wal-Mart mascots (non of which ended up on tags, but are featured on some of the products) like the vampire, witch and pumpkin man really don't work for me.



Anyway, here's part two of my dollar store coloring book post. Again, I'm not very fond of the cover or most of the interior artwork…



…but there are some choice drawings from the same mystery artist as before. In fact, there is a little bit of continuity going on here as we get to see the same skeleton punk (who dug his way out of a grave in the previous book) rocking out on his awesome coffin shaped guitar!



I love the skull musical notes hanging in the air, they're a really nice touch.

In the "what the heck were they thinking" department we also have this odd Shark popping out of a toilet to trick-or-treat page…



I'm all for land-shark gags (my favorite being the Scora skit in the first or second season of the Kids in the Hall), but this is pretty weird. I mean, what exactly is the shark hoping to score here?

Finally, and in keeping in theme with the first coloring book, we also have a little bit more of the Halloween in space celebration with Major Jack here.



Ground control to Major Jack, take your candy corn and put it in your sack!

Last year during Halloween I found a bunch of fun stuff at my local dollar stores, a lot of which I blogged about at the time, but there were a couple of items that I never got around to scanning and sharing. Well, this weekend I aim to right that wrong. I was kind of skeptical when I picked up a thin bundle of Halloween coloring books at Dollar Tree, figuring that the art inside would be utterly terrible, but I happened to be going through a Creature from the Black Lagoon kick and he just happened to be gracing the cover of one of the books so I couldn't pass it up (besides, it was a dollar.)



I'm not a huge an of the cover art, though I do really like the wraith that was included in this weird trio (in particular the fact that she has one good leg, and if you look at the bottom left you can see the other poking out of the dirt.) When I got home and cracked the books open I pretty found exactly what I was expecting, which was some pretty bad cutesy (think Precious Moments cute) artwork. There were a handful of really cool pictures here and there though, including the following three. I'm not sure who the artists are (they never seem to credit artists in coloring books do they?), but this guy or gal did an awesome job with some really fun designs. I really liked this muck monster, complete with plastic pumpkin pail (and jack-o-lantern face), and "…all drippings with goo…" (as Peter McNicol would have said in Ghostbusters 2.)



I also really dug (conceptually) this below graveyard scene, complete with re-animated punker skeleton and his rat (with a real skull for a mask no less.) I'm not quite sure what's going on with the snake and the skull in the background though…



This was just a very rockabilly addition to the coloring book (which was printed in 1996 by Landoll's), which seems kind of weird, yet very cool.

Last but not least is the addition of a more intergalactic celebration of Halloween in space…



I'm pretty sure the same artist is responsible for all three, and as we'll see tomorrow in the second coloring book from the same company, this artist did some more interesting pictures. For now though, might I suggest printing these out, breaking out the Crayolas, sticking your tongue out of the side of your mouth, and bringing these drawings to life.

I figured, since we're getting down to the wire with only a handful of days between now and the big day that I'd sort of round up the rest of my Halloween food haul for this year. First off though, I'd like to point to I-Mockery's great rundown of 2007 candy offerings, it's a great list and way more exhaustive than I had the energy to do, so if you get a chance take a second to look at his write up and make his impending sugar coma a little more worthwhile.

I thought I'd start off with a fun new version of pretty much the only cereal I ate on a regular basis growing up, Cap'n Crunch. I'm not sure if this is new for this year, or if it's popped up in the past, but it's the first time I've ever spotted a box of Halloween Crunch on my local store shelves…



Basically, this is a variation on the Crunch Berries variety except instead of berries you get berry flavored ghosts. To add a little more zing, the ghosts (which are sort of an orange-ish red) turn a green-ish orange in milk (or I suppose any other liquid, but what else are we really eating our cereal with), and in turn they sort of turn the milk green. The whole color change wasn't nearly as astounding as I'd hoped, but I guess concessions have to be made to keep the stuff edible.

Even though I love the idea of it, I'm not a big cereal eater as I'm really not into sweet stuff. I do however love all of the pageantry surrounding the sugary breakfast food, in particular the mascots and artwork. In this respect Halloween Crunch is pretty darn awesome in my book as I've never seen the Cap'n so weirdly animated. I love the whole mummy gag, and the idea that he all of a sudden has the mystical power to summon forth color-changing ghost berries is pretty wild.



Cereal without milk (click to see an up-close picture of the bowl)



Adding Milk (click to see less than astounding color-changing effect…)



I know some other brands have gone hog wild during Halloween in the past, but this year there weren't that many other cereals getting into the spirit so to speak. Besides the trio of monster cereals hitting shelves again (Franken-Berry, Boo Berry, and Count Chocula), the only other season box I saw were these Lucky Charms. There was nothing special about the cereal, but there was a fun bat mask that you could cut out of the back of the box. (Click picture below to see the Lucky Charms box close-up.)



There were also a few other bags of candy I picked up this year, though I tried to stick to stuff that was doing something a little more interesting than your normal Halloween candy offerings. First up we have one of my favorite finds this year, Ghost Dots.



Basically, these are just like the normal dots, except they come in an awesome translucent green (that looks a lot like your basic glow in the dark coloring) and they're all mystery flavors. I love the concept on these, I mean the whole idea that candy would have spirits is pretty crazy, and now kids all over the world get to send them to the after life again like so many scared Pac Man ghosts.



Another confection that I found in my local Dollar Tree which ended up doing something a little different were these Mr. Yummy Skeleton Pops.



I love the idea of replacing your basic boring paper stick with a plastic skeleton. It's just genius. Unfortunately the candy skulls are pretty much tasteless and even at a dollar a bag (you get five) it's a sort of a waste. I do have to give them points on creativity though. I've also seen another variation on this concept that had skeleton parts (arms and legs mostly) in a much larger bag (that was also around $6 so I decided to skip it), not to mention the build-a-skeleton pops that are reviewed on the I-Mockery site.



The last candies up today are the Jolly Rancher Creepy Pops…



At the end of the day there isn't anything ground breaking about these except that they taste awesome and just happen to be molded in the shapes of ghosts, vampires, skulls and jack-o-lanterns. You usually can't go wrong with Jolly Rancher.

I've been meaning to post this ad for the Vincent Price Shrunken Head Apple Sculpture kit for awhile, but I kept putting it off.



I guess I wanted to try and make a shrunken head of my own, but I've been lazy on the crafts front this month. Last night I decided to run out to the store before it was too late (and it might already be) and start my own little shrunken apple head. Though I don't have one of the awesome looking Vincent Price certified sets (which you can still find on eBay), I found a set of instructions on the interweb (via Make Magazine.)

All you need is one decent sized apple…



…some lemon juice (1/2 cup), some salt (2 teaspoons)…



…a knife (or potato peeler), and a small bowl.



Start by mixing half a cup of lemon juice with two teaspoons of salt to make one heck of a noxious anti-browning mixture. I broke down and bought the lemon juice from concentrate, though I'm sure fresh squeezed is probably better. Then peel the apple. I've always been envious of the folks who can peel their apple in one go, resulting in one long springy piece of apple skin. I guess as long as the job gets done though…



Next, place the apple in the salty lemon juice, making sure to coat all of the peeled areas.



Now using a potato peeler or knife, carve out your shrunken head's face. Concentrate on the larger features (eyes, nose, and mouth) as smaller details will probably wilt in the drying process. The site where I found the instructions suggested some possible accoutrements, like sticking a couple whole cloves in the eye sockets, and using large whole grains of rice for teeth, but I think I'm going to go strictly natural for my first go round.



Now that you have your apple peeled, semi-preserved, and carved, it's time to find a nice dry and warm place to let your shrunken head develop. I chose my cupboard as it's the only free place where my pets won't be able to get at it. I propped mine up on an up turned plastic storage container, though the site suggest a wire rack. This morning I found my head in a small pool of lemony apple juice, so I suggest trying the rack method as well (making sure to place some paper towels or something underneath to catch any liquids.) Let the apple head dry for two weeks, checking it every once in awhile and making any adjustments to the face that seem necessary.



As an alternative to the two week drying process, the site also suggests placing the apple head in the oven on the lowest setting for two days.  I'll check back on it with more pictures as it progresses...

Earlier on in the season when I first stumbled into the Wal-Mart Halloween section as it was being put up, I noticed what has quickly become my favorite find of the season (their packaging mascot for this year.)



What's kind of funny is that all I wanted that day was to buy one of these little Frankie tags, but everything that he was attached to was either too much to justify buying the product just for the tag, or something that would have been a total waste to justify buying it for the tag alone. I hate wasting money, but I hate throwing out perfectly good stuff just because I wanted to own the box it came in (yeah, I know I have some issues.) So the question became what I could buy that was branded with this awesome Frankie design, while spending the least amount of money while also getting the most mileage out of the product. I had it narrowed down to a tiny felt bag that was $2 and a cheap $1 rubber mask (the entire set of which I already bought last year.)

While I was driving myself nuts trying to figure out this monumental problem, I was walking up and down the few aisles Wal-Mart had set aside for season stuff and my flitted across a package of paper cut-outs that I think I've seen on shelves for as long as I can remember. It's a set that I've purchased a few times in my life, mostly in a last minute effort to decorate my mail room at work. What caught my eye though was that like practically everything else in Walls-Mart this year it was branded with the Frankie illustration. Though it was a little more expensive, coming in at a whopping $2.84, I figured that if nothing else I could throw up the cut-outs at work again this year.

When I got back to work I opened up the package and for the first time I took a real good look at the set and was surprised at just how long some of these paper cut-outs had been around, and I figured why not hit the interwebnet and try and find out a little bit more about these. Though I'm sure everyone and their mom already knows this, these paper cut-outs are made by the Beistle Company who have been in the market of novelty decorations since 1900. In fact, I think they’re responsible for most of the paper cut-out designs (across all holidays) that most people have fond memories for since they license out their designs to practically everyone making these types of decorations.

Unfortunately, only a few of the designs in the package I bought would fit on the scanner, but they are some of the really cool ones…

Jointed Black Cat (circa 1968)


Jointed Skeleton (there wasn't a date on him, but I'd be willing to be he was conceived in the 60s…)


…and last but not least, the amazing Flaming Skull (circa 1973.)


For cheaply produced quick holiday fare, there really is a lot of artistry to these drawings and designs. I love all of the multicolored detail on the flaming skull, which has some really great line work to it.

Beistle has a website where you can order direct from them, and recently (as seen over at the Secret Fun Blog) they've been reproducing more of their more vintage fare (I tried to get direct links to the various products but their website always re-directs back to the home page so if you do a search for the following product numbers you should find what they have available, 01008, 01015, 01063, 01193, 01315, 01318.) Spookshows.com also has a nice write up about the company here.

My only problem now is that Wal-Mart has an alternate version of their Frankie Halloween mascot tag on some of their seasonal clothing that is twice as cool as the tag above, but what am I going to do with a child's size t-shirt, which I'd have to buy in order to get it.  I think I need a shrink.

In the post on the Crestwood Monster series of books I mentioned how I sort of felt like I missed out on the whole monster craze because of growing up in the 80s. One thing I really feel like I missed out on was the fun cheap schwag you could order from a million ads that appeared in comics in the 60s and 70s. In particular the alluring idea of a giant monster for only $2!



I'm pretty sure these are all posters or some variation on a 7' piece of polyethylene, but they’re all pretty cool. Above there are two variations on Frankenstein's monster (or a skeleton) posters at various prices (not to mention one being drawn by the supremely awesome Jack Davis.) There are also a couple of monster-ghost/wraiths that might have been die-cut to make them all the creepier.

I wonder how much these go for on eBay these days. I'd be willing to bet the mark up is astounding…

Today is going to be a busy one, so to make sure that I don't miss the deadline, I'm going to make this a little more of a visual post. Here are some of the drawings I've done over the last few years that more or less seem to fit the season for me.

















Also, I received the 1st entry into the audio ghost story contest, which is exciting. There are still 11 days to get any entries in, and if you missed it, the prize package was announced here.

It's day 19 of the 31 days of Halloween insane-o blog-a-thon, and it seems like a good day to sit back, break out the candy corn, and dare myself to eat more than five pieces. Instead of concentrating on the history of the confection (John Rozum did a great job of that already this month) I thought I'd look more to the variety available in today's crazy bustling candy world.



There was a time (I suppose) where there was really only one variety of candy corn, your basic yellow, orange and white kernel shaped bit. At some point there were a couple variations introduced including the brown, orange and white chocolate kernel (or Indian corn), as well as the larger, richer, pumpkin mold (complete with little green stem stump.) This would come to be known as your basic autumn mix, with all three varieties present.

Also, at some point before the 80s there was also a mixed bag of what basically amounts to candy corn, but instead of being multicolored and shaped like kernels of corn, the candy was molded into some iconic Halloween shapes (jack-o-lanterns, black cats, bats, and crescent moons) as well as some not so iconic shapes (corn cobs, bundles of wheat, and jugs.) The bats and cats are chocolate, the pumpkins, corn and moons are normal candy corn flavored, while the wheat and jugs are either caramel or maple (I can't quite tell.)



I’m sure that there must have been other shapes and variations before the 80s, but these were the ones that I was most used to seeing around the holiday. You can still find all of these pretty darn easily, though the Halloween mix was a little bit harder to find (which I eventually did in a Walgreens.)





Last year while browsing the aisles in Target I noticed some crazy colored candy corn that was marketed as being gourmet (a useless world if there every was one.) There were a couple varieties, green apple and cherry. I worked up the courage to pick up a package of the cherry (I'm not a big fan of fake green apple) and was horrified by the taste when I broke open the package later that night. Typically I can stand my fare share of candy corn in small doses (so I'd say that one normal sized bag will last me well into Thanksgiving), but after a while the stuff just gets to rich for my blood. The cherry variation was insanely sweet, and so rich that I couldn't continue after two pieces, rendering the package more of an oddity that I felt the need to force on all my friends and co-workers. I can only imagine how bad the green apple ones were.

This year there were four varieties at Target, a returning green apple, and three new candidates for worst candy ever including strawberries and cream, tangerine, and popcorn.



I just couldn't bring myself to try them after last year's fiasco.

Joining the fray into flavored candy corn this year is Brach's, who are introducing two new flavors of their candy mainstay, Caramel Candy Corn…



…and Caramel Apple Candy Corn.



Honestly, though I wasn’t excited about the idea of candy corn in new flavors, I do have to admit that Brach's at least tried to use more seasonal flavors. Though I expected it to be too sweet, the caramel candy corn was actually nice and mellow, enough so that it cut the richness of the regular candy corn flavor. The caramel apple on the other hand, though not bad per-se, was sort of weirdly tangy. Their heart was in the right place, but artificial apple flavor tends to lean towards the tart and tangy side, at least in my opinion.

Also new this year though not really candy corn, is Hershey's Candy Corn Kisses…



These are basically white chocolate kisses colored like candy corn with a kick of flavor added in. If you’re one of those people who can't take more than two or three pieces of candy corn in a season I would suggest avoiding these like the plague. There is so much concentrated candy corn flavor in these that I'd be willing to bet that most people, even those who enjoy a handful now and then, would be hard pressed to make it through one kiss. It doesn't help that they're made from white chocolate either, which tends to be both rich and not really a favorite among candy fans. I do have to admit that they're pretty, but on the other hand I have no idea what I'm going to do with an entire bag of these. I've already contributed all of the candy corn above to the work candy bowl. I'm thinking that the one kid who will eventually knock on our door this Halloween is going to get the whole lot of it.

A discussion on candy corn wouldn't be complete without mentioning the mutant kernels you always find hiding in bags.



I managed to find a decent number of examples here including the extra long pieces (with a double or triple sized white tip), the two-color pieces (which tend to be missing the white tip, but can also be a little smaller and be missing the head of the kernel), and the pretty rare single color kernel (which is usually made up of either the middle or top color, and sometimes, but very rarely, you'll find an all white piece.)

In talking about that Universal Monster figures yesterday I thought it would be fun to follow up on the other UM licensed product I found this year, a set of votives shaped in the busts of the monsters…



I found these at a Walgreen's on sale (3 for $2.) Like the action figures, these don't really reflect the appearance of the original actors and actresses that portrayed them, but they're still pretty cool nonetheless. Heck, the fact that the company who produced these gave a nod to the creature is pretty darn cool all by itself.



One of the things that always nagged me a little come pumpkin-carving-and-displaying time is when I carve the jack-o-lantern's mouth too large or low and then I can end up seeing the candle inside. Well this year I won't have to worry, because even if I slip up, the candle will be all Halloween-y anyway…

This weekend while I was out looking for some Frankenstein goodness for the prize pack in my Halloween contest, I decided to hit a few stores that had surprised me last year with their Halloween schwag, in particular Toys R Us. Now I seem to remember there being a seasonal section back when I was a little kid, if only because I remember the rows and rows of Ben Cooper style costume packs, but I don't tend to associate Halloween with toy stores all that much. Last year I was surprised by the size of their section, and was really happy to finally find some licensed Universal monster merchandise (namely the jiggly Creature and Frankenstein's monster toys.)



When my wife and I walked though the doors and saw the Halloween section I thought it was going to be even better this year because there were actual displays and signs, which were a lot nicer than the previous year's…



…but as we took a closer look we realized that this was probably the worst Halloween section we'd seen all year, anywhere. In fact, out local grocery store had a better set up and schwag. Most of the section was filled with your basic year round fare like Star Wars figures and Pokemon plush dolls. There was only a very small end cap of some run of the mill candy, and there were practically no real holiday themed items, and the stuff that they did have (like plastic candy pails and the like) was from last year or the year before. There was a small section of costumes, mostly for infants and very small children.



There was a pretty fun flashlight. It was one of those new fangled ones that looks like a little character with a handle on the back, and when you squeeze the trigger the mouth opens and the light shines. The one Toys R Us had was sort of a cross between a skeleton and a zombie, and was pretty darn cute…



There was also an odd little felt bag with a picture of Frankenstein stitched into it that looked strangely like Eddie Munster.



I was pretty disappointed, if only because the signage in the store was pretty fun (though not quite as awesome as the Frankenstein logo at Wal-Mart this year which is quickly becoming my favorite Halloween find this year.) There were signs everywhere (at least in this one corner of the store), hanging from the ceiling and plastering the walls…



I really liked the effort, design-wise, which reminded me a lot of the current independent art/vinyl toy culture (for a crash course, go to Kid Robot and check out some of the toys.) In particular I liked the look of some of the more detailed mascots like this mummy…



It has some very bold clean lines, which I like, as well as a touch of detail that puts the figure off symmetry (which I also then to find attractive.)

My favorites by far had to be this trio of figures…



As you can see in the signage though, Toys R Us is claming to be "your ultimate Halloween scene", which is just sad considering the lack of Halloween in the store.

I had all but given up on finding anything super cool at the store when I decided to look in the action figure section to try and find the elusive 25th anniversary G.I. Joe figures when my wife spotted some toys that completely made my weekend…



…a set of five licensed Universal monster action figures. These took my breath away for a second, as I had no idea that these were even in the works, let alone out on store shelves. If the little dollar store monster figures made me happy last year, you can get an idea of how awesome I'm finding these. Unfortunately, this being Toys R Us and all, the price tag was too much to swallow as $13 a figure. Even with the included pieces to construct a giant 14" Frankenstein, it's still a little too steep for me, but boy I sure will be pining after these. Hopefully they'll hit the discount bins eventually, though I doubt it.

There are five figures in this set (which is marked Series 1, so there might be even more on the way), all of which come with a piece of a giant Frankenstein's monster as well as a mini poster, and are packaged in a nice looking coffin shape. The figures are kind of weird in that they both do and don't resemble their original movie counterparts. The costumes are pretty close for the most part, but the features aren't those of Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, or Lon Chaney Jr.



At the end of the day though, they are still pretty cool, I just wish they were more in the $7 range, which is pretty much my ceiling for action figure purchases. I could easily see myself dropping $40 on this set, but not $65-$70.



Oh well. At least I'll have these pictures if I never find them any cheaper…

In talking about the odd cover choices publishers sometimes make with some novels (like not featuring the title character, or any character for that matter, on say the cover of Dracula), it reminded me of the various covers I've seen on Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. Granted, I tend to associate the monster with the classic Universal interpretation, which I realize isn't probably the best, but I never seem to see anything as striking. I've had three copies of Frankenstein over the years, two of which featured a desolate landscape at dawn with a gnarled tree branch in the foreground, and a third which featured a graveyard.

Recently I stumbled across what I think is my favorite cover (and I realize that this probably not the best one either), which features a portrait of Boris Karloff as the monster. You can always tell the Karloff images by the sunken right cheek where the actor had some bridge work (or something) that he'd remove and suck his cheek in to give the monster's visage a little more of a corpse like appearance.



This version was published by Dell in 1975 soon after the release of Young Frankenstein (I know this because there is a blurb on the back of the book taking a jab at the film's comedic portrayal of the monster.)

This brings me back to the contest I'm currently running this holiday season. I was trying to think of a fun gift pack and I decided that since Frankenstein is my favorite monster, that it would make a might fine prize pack. So the lucky winner of the "create your own audio ghost story" contest shall receive the following:



Included are one licensed stretch monster and molded bust votive, one Wal-Mart Franky mask (with the awesomely designed tag to boot), the above mentioned copy of Mary Shelly's masterpiece, as well as a brand new copy of the 75th anniversary Legacy collection Frankenstein DVD (which has 2 discs and a ton of features including what I hear is an awesome documentary on the Universal era of monster movies.) So you can sit back and look like the monster in the mask, while you simultaneously read the book, watch the film, play with the monster, and even do it all by mood lighting from a monster candle. What more could a person ask for?

All the details on the contest can be found here, and now, thanks to Tom Foolery, you can also download a zip file of all of the sound effects (right click and save as) if you don't feel like clicking through and grabbing them.

So last year was sort of fun for me because it was the first year where I really took the time to seek out Halloween past the odd grocery store where I'd be doing my weekly shopping. I hit everything from Wal-Mart and Target to Dollar Tree and the many gas stations near my abode. I hit drug stores, discount chains, toy stores, department stores, specialty stores, convenience stores, party stores, you name it, in search of the best (or at least the most fun) schwag I could find. There were some awesome moments (like all of the Universal/Hammer monster stuff at Dollar Tree and finding all of the Friday the 13th flicks at Wal-Mart for $4.88), as well as a lot of misses (you'd think art and craft stores would be overloaded with awesome stuff, but not really, at least not in my area.)

This year I was hoping for the same experience, if not better. Though there's been some great stuff around, I haven't really had that jaw dropping moment yet (well unless you count the Frog Dissection kit.) Most of the stuff I'm finding on the shelves this year is more or less the same stuff that was out last year. There have been some interesting finds (particularly in the candy department), but overall it has been kind of "eh." That's all right though, I'm really not complaining (and hopefully I don't sound too whiney), I guess I'm just lamenting. Actually, I think the problem I'm having is that I really hoped there would be a second set of the Universal/Hammer monster figures. I love my disconcerted little Frankenstein's monster, my Dracula that looks like a little kid, my spot on mummy, my unfortunate if not poster-accurate King Kong, my fearsome Hammer-influenced werewolf, and my not-quite Godzilla. I so could have done with a goofy creature from the Black Lagoon, a snide un-masked Phantom, a lackadaisical mad scientist, a swanky Invisible Man, a bulbous little hunchback, and maybe even a crazed little London After Midnight vampire in a top hat. A guy can hope right? Maybe next year (you hear me X One Archive Inc.?)

Anyway, continuing my look at the various places pimping Halloween this year (see my Wal-Mart entry), I'm going to take a look at what you can expect to find at your local Target (Tar-jay if you're so inclined.) Now I don't typically cover costumes all that much, especially at places like Target, because honestly they're hard to photograph. Suffice it to say there is a whole new movement in children and adult's costumes that is both very similar to the whole Ben Cooper thing, and amazingly different. You can pretty much find a pre-made, and pretty darn accurate looking costume of any big pop culture character these days, from full on Spiderman suits (with muscles included) to Ghostbusters jumpsuits (including inflatable proton pack.) What really gets me jazzed though, are the awesome selection of inexpensive props that are turning up in stores these past few years, offering kids and adults a chance to have some really nice accessories…



The selection of plastic weapons available at your local Target is crazy. I remember when you’d be lucky to find anything other than a meat cleaver and a scythe, and now you can have anything you could dream of up to and including a pretty realistic chainsaw with working chain and sounds. I don't know, I just find this fascinating.

One of the things I enjoyed last year was Target's dollar bins as they were full of all kinds of cheap fun. This year's selection was sort of dull (though there is a pretty fun three pack of little gargoyles that would darken up any cubical for the season.) In stead there was a display of blister packs that where a little more expensive but not too much. It was mostly little party gifts pens, pencils, plastic spider rings and the like…



…but there was also a couple of fun packs of gore balls, as well as a nice little eyeballs in a plate of worms deal. You can also see that Target is indeed going for the whole Edgar and Ellen Halloween theme this year, ditching their cute and more original spider/ghost/witch/vampire characters from years past.

There was a nice selection of Styrofoam tombstones and gargoyles, though noting really new.



Another trend I've been noticing is the influx of cheap statuary for the front yard. I'm a pretty big fan of this type of thing, especially considering the price, and the stuff is decent quality and should last a number of years (unlike the almost totally Styrofoam/balsa wood fare at WalMart.)



There were a few new items in the little knick-knack section including some really nice (and quite hefty) metallic skulls. For some reason or another I've managed to amass a pretty large collection of skulls and these were a nice addition.



There was another larger (and I assume outdoor) item that caught my eye and seemed to be new for 2007, these oversized metal spiders…



…but I wasn't what in the heck I'd do with one. We live in an apartment and I know they'd get stolen if we left them outside. They are pretty cool though.



There was also a nice selection of party items, including a very awesome skull candy dish (2nd from the right on the second shelf) that I also have no idea what I'd do with (I actually have two other skull candy dishes already.) I really do like the designs on some of this stuff. It's a little cute, but still interesting and pretty easy on the eye…



Coming back for a second year are the seriously awesome mariachi skeletons. I bought one last year and it’s worked its loveable way into our year-round decoration scheme. For $10, it really is a steal. When I was down in Florida this past summer we went to Epcot and there were some amazing wooden hand carved Mexican skeletons, but all of them, even the small 3 inch ones started at $50.



Though I'm not all that fond of the Edgar and Ellen theme, I was impressed by the huge mechanical cardboard house in the in the center of Target's Halloween section…



Now when exactly did pirate and Halloween themes start converging? Sure, I realize that pirates are all the rage right now, but there was a ton of if pervading the merchandise I was seeing. I mean, I guess I get it, skeletons and Halloween go hand in hand, but really, enough already.



Another thing I like about Target over say Wal-Mart as far as discount places go, is their attention to detail in design. Wal-Mart hit a nice note this year with their awesome Frankenstein packaging, but Target has been pretty steadily producing nice eye catching design work for years. There are a whole series of pumpkins that are gracing the candy shelves this year that have some really fun artwork to them…



In the candy section was where the real new and fun stuff was. Take these molded white chocolate confections for instance…



That is probably hands down the coolest looking skull and jack-o-lantern candy I've ever seen. Unfortunately I really don't like white chocolate, but still…

There was also an expanded section of 'gourmet' candy including Halloween themed gummi candy as well as wacky flavors of candy corn. I tried the candy corn last year and hated it, and though the gummi candy looked fun, it was nothing more than interesting than you'd find in a candy shop any other time of year, just in spiffier packaging.



There is also a nice section of drink mixers. I particularly liked the ones in the beakers…



My favorite candy of the year has to be the Edgar and Ellen themed stuff. There's an end cap dedicated to it with stuff ranging from the Gummi frog dissection kit, to test tubes and beakers full of candy powder, and even a 13 day Halloween advent calendar.





There was also a nice selection of more Target specific candy including various gummi and hard candy…





My favorite of which had to be the gummi vampire tongue…



I thought it was an ingenious way to repackage and sell your tried and true plastic vampire teeth, both as a novelty and as part of the packaging design.  (You can actually find these elsewhere, so apparently there was a 'how to repackage vampire teeth' conference that I wasn't invited to...

I also liked these hard candy snakes (which I mistook for gummi snakes when I bought them.)



They're nothing more than glorified granny candy, but they were still fun.

Next week I'll make sure to talk about the Spirit store as well as the secret (if it really is one) to the store's origins…

Also, if you liked the Halloween Horrors album below and you are in the mood for some awesome ghoulish tunes and fun, head over to Dave's Mostly Ghostly Music Sharing Blaaahhhggg!!! for a bunch of great stuff. He does this year round, but he's also cranking out the music every day this month as well.

I thought I'd share some more monster strips from the DC Plop comic. Enjoy…





























By the way, you can find more Plop fun as well as a load of other great Halloween posts at Harris Smith's blog Negative Pleasure. Harris is also doing a great blog-a-thon this month with a lot of horror film reviews and more.

The most exciting aspect to nostalgia for me is that moment where you experience something mundane that for some reason sparks a memory of days gone by. Now, I am a reveler when it comes to nostalgia, this site is a testament to that, and I'm also a collector by nature, so finding a cherished childhood item that I can add to my collection in one form or another is great. Still, the one thing that really gets to me is stumbling onto a long forgotten memory out of the blue. This is when I sort of stop whatever it is that I’m doing and get that glazed over look to my face (you know the one, think of the boy from The Man Without a Face, but taken down a notch or two.) At the same time I sort of get chills down my spine, as cliché as that sounds. It's pretty rare and fleeting though, which is probably what makes the sensation so appealing to me.

The last time I had one of these discoveries was about a year and a half ago when something or other put me onto the memory of a spooky record that I listened to about a gazillion times as a kid, the 1977 A&M Records release Halloween Horrors…



I'm not positive, but I'd be willing to bet that my parents picked it up the year I was born (back in '77) as they had just moved into their first house together and I'm sure they were preparing for their first real onslaught of neighborhood kids trolling for candy and treats. When I turned four I received an old hand me down record player from my sister after she upgraded her set-up, and I immediately usurped all of the 'fun' records in the house (basically the Halloween Horrors album, a couple Christmas records, and the soundtrack to American Graffiti, which I loved for the picture of the carhop on the gatefold cover) to add to my growing collection of read-along book and record sets. It stayed in a more or less regular rotation all year round, though when I'd put it on the turntable I always made sure to drag the player into my closet where I could listen to it in the almost dark.

Side A of the record was reserved for The Story of Halloween, a short story (14 minutes) about a young man who has inherited an old antebellum mansion called Elm Hall from his Grandmother. He drives out on a rainy night to take a look at it and ends up with an experience he'll never forget. Now that I think about it, the story has nothing to do with Halloween besides taking place on All Hallows Eve; it's really just a ghost story. The flipside of the album is dedicated to a series of Sounds of Halloween, a good portion of which were employed in producing the story on side A. I remember laying on the floor of my darkened closet with a flashlight listening intently to the ghost story, an as soon as it would finish, I'd flick the light on, turn the album over, and make my way through all of the sound effects as well. There's also a creepy little introduction that implores the listener to utilize the library of sounds to create a new story. I'm not sure if this is common on these sound effect albums, but it certainly makes sense for this one because as you make your way through the collection it really does end up feeling pretty darn random (which was totally lost on me as a kid, in fact I think I had a subconscious story running through my head as I listened to the tracks, something about a man walking through a maze of craziness, encountering various theme rooms as the tracks on the album are sort of grouped by theme.)

In addition to the album itself, the artwork on the covers was just as mesmerizing to me. The above painting of the abandoned mansion, with the single shaft of light bursting through the one window, the multiple lightning strikes, the Spanish moss fluttering on the gnarled tree branches, the stone gargoyle post with the green eyed black cat lounging on top, and the oddly skeleton shaped puddle at the foot of the muddy driveway totally set the mood for the story on side A, while the trio of insanely evil looking witches with their bubbling cauldron, and fiendish cat companions on the back was a perfect illustration for the sound effects…



The painting was done by Gary Meyer (who I believe might be teaching illustration at the Art Center College of Design in California), and Joe Spencer created the album font. The back cover artwork above is a cleaned up version of the original (with the track listing and credits removed by Keith Milford over at Old Haunts.)

Though my young mind never made the connection, two thirds of the cast of the side A story was actually very familiar to me. Michael Bell provided the voice talents of the 'Young Man' and Peter Cullen voiced the grizzled old gas station attendant. As I'm sure most of you already know, Bell voiced Duke on G.I. Joe (as well as a plethora of other characters in many 80s cartoons), and Cullen is probably best known for voicing Optimus Prime in the Transformers cartoon (as well as Venger in the D&D cartoon among other voices in 80s shows.) Rounding out the cast is Nadine Arlyn as the lonely ghost, who according to IMDB hasn't done much else to speak of except for an episode of Combat! and a B-movie or two. Rounding out the credits are J. Robert Elliot (who wrote and produced the album), Dave Iveland (who engineered it), and Stuart Kusher (who handled the art direction.)

For anyone interested in giving the story portion of the album a listen, it can be found here…

**Now for the contest**
I thought it would be fun to resurrect the Branded in the 80s DVD contest from last year (which I never really followed through on in the manner I intended before.) Here's the basic gist, using only the sound effects provided below (try and stick to what was on the Halloween Horror album) and your own (and family and friends) voice(s), write and record a short audio ghost story/skit. I'm thinking somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 minutes or less in MP3 format. I'll accept entries up until say October 30th at midnight; please e-mail the entries with Ghoulish Ghost Story in the subject line and include your name and address where I can send the prize if you win, and I'll listen to any entries and hopefully post them and announce a winner (based on the esteemed panel of judges consisting of myself, my wife, my depressed beagle, and my annoying cat) in time for Halloween proper the next day (if we GET any entries that is…) The winner will receive a Halloween themed gift pack (which will be finalized in a day or two when I'm sure I have everything) including a DVD, and various other Halloween schwag. For anyone interested in making their own ghoulish story creation, here is the sound library to utilize…

Screams, Falling Scream, Cackle/Witches Laughter, Howling, Ghost, Groans, Mob Scene, Creaking Door, Shutters Banging, Creaking Iron Gate, Breaking Window, Chains, Bubbling, Earthquake, Pipe Organ, Violin, Church bells, Chimes, Gong, Foghorn, Ship Creaking, Storm at Sea, Thunder and Lightning, Rain, Wind, Fire, Dripping Water, Bats, Cats, Owls, Crickets, Baying Dogs, Snarling Dogs, Snake Hiss, Panther Howl, Lion Roar, Monsters Breathing, Monsters Roar, Horse and Wagon, Train, Automobile, Auto Crash, Police Siren, Helicopter, Explosion, Gunshots, Machine Gun, Swords Clashing, Flying Saucer, Giant Space Ship, Laser Ray Gun, Galaxy Sounds, Space Station Computer, and an Interstellar Communication.

If you'd like to grab all of the above files in one handy .zip file, right click here and save as...

Also, if you don't have any audio recording or editing software, you can download a free copy of Audacity, which pretty much can provide everything you'd need, except a mic…

Since Kirk from the Secret Fun Spot put up an awesome recollection about his esteemed membership in good standing in the Freddy Fan Club, I thought it would be fun to share this comic ad from around 1987 which features a bevy of Nightmare on Elm Street schwag. The quality of the printing and the slight deterioration of the paper don't do the ad any justice, but I think it comes off well enough. For only $98 (4 easy payments of $26.50) you too could have your own rubber Freddy mask, soft Styrofoam fedora, thin canvas and plastic glove, framed mini poster, VHS cassette of the first flick, companion book to the series, and last but not least the official board game…



The ad is kind of ominous as it threatens that if you don't buy the package, Freddy will "…get you all…", which I assume means he'll kill everyone everywhere.

Though I wasn't allowed to see the first two movies when they came out, I was still a huge Freddy fan and I did in fact have my very own costume set featured in this ad.  I didn't even wear it for Halloween, I think I just wanted it for everyday use. I remember that the hat I had looked more like a sombrero because there was a split up the back of it and it never really retained it's fedora-like shape. I also remember having many elaborate daydreams about constructing my own glove out of kitchen knives and stuff, but I wasn't that industrious and I'm glad to read that Kirk was, and then some.

I'm not sure how many licensed games were made off of the Nightmare series, but there's a good chance that this is the same board game that Matt over at X-Entertainment reviewed a while ago (just with a different cover perhaps.)

I found this book a few months ago in a used book store and I found myself immediately drawn to it. First of all, I don't tend to find any of Stoker's non-Dracula works in used shops all that often, and second, they never have covers this cool. For some odd reason I think I own at least four separate copies of Dracula and all of them have very boring covers (with like blurry impressionist paintings or some generic graveyard.)

What's funny is that book (published in 1968 by Tower Publications) is obviously being marketed by the Dracula's Curse story which is only twelve pages long, while the bulk of the book is actually The Jewel of Seven Stars novel. Heck, Dracula's Curse isn't even really about the titular character for that matter. Either way, it's an awesome piece of work, so I felt it was well worth sharing here for the Halloween countdown. Unfortunately the artist isn't given credit so I have no idea who painted this or if it was even originally for this book or some other bit of merchandising.

Even though I'm not a big fan of cereal in general, I love monster themed cereals, and the crème de la crème of which has to be the General Mills collection including Franken berry, Count Chocula, Boo Berry, and Fruit Brute. In 1988 or so a new monster was added to the breakfast table…



In this MAD magazine-esque comic book ad, you had to fold over the page to see the new monster (though most kids probably didn't fold their comics and honestly it was pretty darn obvious if I do say so myself)…



…Yummy Mummy!

Though I've had my (more recent) fare share of Franken Berry, Count Chocula and Boo Berry, I never had the chance to try either Fruit Brute or Yummy Mummy (which I believe was a replacement for the Wolfman themed cereal, the main difference being the flavor of the marshmallows, a change from lime to vanilla.) My parents never bought me cereal with marshmallows, though they'd let me eat Capt'n Crunch till I burst. Maybe one day General Mills will re-issue these lost fruity monster treasures, and I’ll finally get my chance to taste them.

I came across a weird comic called Plop! while looking up Sergio Aragones this past year. When I was actively collecting comics I pretty much stuck to the stuff that was coming out at the time (late 80s through the 90s), so I completely missed out on these types of books (except for the odd issue of MAD or Cracked I'd pick up.) I think marvel had a similar book around the same time, and I'm glad that I stumbled across these because I really like the silly humor, especially the monster themed strips (which there were a ton of.) Here's a short two-page gag called The Message from Plop! #1 (the DC magazine of weird humor) published September/October 1973 and featuring a concept by Sheldon Mayer and art by Alfredo P. Alcala…





There's a large part of me that hopes my after life will be similar (though I'm sure I'd be stalking into houses to watch cartoons and repeats of old monster movies. Hey, a guy can hope can't he…

Halloween blogging has been a blast, and it's only the 3rd! Something that's certainly keeping me going is all of the other fine folks taking the ghastly plunge into 31 straight days of blogging this month, which is making for some great daily reading. I figured I'd take a second to give some shout outs…













There's also the awesome yearly delight over at X-Entertainment, as well as Final Girl, Senses Working Overtime, Geektarded, and I think Jay at the Sexy Armpit will also be throwing in a post here and there, but these are only the ones making blog-a-thon announcements. I'm sure there are a ton I've missed…

**Update**  Just like to take a second and also mention that Erik at the Wonderful Wonderblog will also be traipsing through the mire of Halloween blogging this season, so you can check his stuff out as well.

When thinking about the Halloween season, I can't help but connect it with monsters; Werewolves, vampires, various creatures (some slimy, so dry and shedding), bigfeet, patchwork Frankensteins, witches, demons, and mummies rising from their crypts. Of course I think about monsters all year round (and heck, I think about Halloween all year as well), but at Halloween it's a little more special. In thinking about monsters this season, what's one of the first things that come to my mind you might ask? Well, processed meat sticks containing beef, mechanically separated chicken, water, salt, corn syrup, dextrose, flavorings, spice, paprika, hydrolyzed corn gluten, soy and wheat gluten, proteins, sodium nitrite, lactic acid starter culture of course. That's right, Slim Jims. Slim Jims and some great Jack Davis illustrations from a couple of 1978 comic book ads…



You know, I was completely unaware that Slim Jims used to come in pizza, bacon, and salami flavor varieties. I mean, it's not that much of a stretch, and looking at today's Slim Jim offerings including nacho cheese and Tabasco, I could certainly see it. I'm intrigued by the idea of a bacon flavored Slim Jim (well I'm intrigued by bacon flavored anything for that matter), though it seems like it would be too salty. Maybe it was just smokier.

Today I thought I'd share a fun little monster themed Muppet's comic that I found in the 1980 Random House published Muppet Madness book. Unfortunately there aren't any writers, artists, or contributors listed, not even a signature on the title page of the comic. The entire book was sort of a mish mash of random Muppet themed fare that reminds me of the sort of stuff that was found in the Muppet Magazines. I'm not sure, but this might be a collection of those, though I don't know when Muppet magazine was being printed. Either way, it's chock full of monsters, both the usual suspects (Sweetums for example) and a bevy of muppetized versions of more classic fare.

Muppets Book Cover Random House 1980


So lets take a trip with the Muppets on their Holiday Haunt…



The Muppets are kind of a weird animal for me. Whenever I see them in any other medium other than as puppets, they tend to come off kind of stiff. I think one of the genius aspects to the whole thing is how well the puppeteers at Henson productions could convey emotion through all the felt. So when I see them drawn in comic form a lot of this emotion is lacking, if only because the artists are trying to stay on-model across mediums. For instance, in the 2nd panel above, I think Piggy is supposed to look annoyed as is her want, but she seems sort of, I don't know, mildly interested. I think the artist nailed Fozzy though…

On the other hand you get to see stuff that you might not ordinarily see, like little artistic touches. Kermit's captain's hat for instance. Makes me want a driving hat…



I really like the watercolors in this. It give the characters a nice texture, maybe not fuzz and felt, but it's something…

















As a bonus, I'm also including a scan of the ghoulish Haunted Theatre board game that was also in this book. With one six sided die and some friends, you too can try and escape from the haunted theatre. Lookout for Miss Piggy on that last turn as she chases a ghost, she'd be libel to karate chop you a good one!

One of the things I wanted to do this year for Halloween countdown was to document the various store displays and schwag that I've seen, so I figured I start with one of my least favorite places and work my up the list. Now it's not that I hate Wal-Mart for its principals and all that rut per-se, it's more that I really don’t enjoy the shopping experience all that much. Since all the locations in my area have switched to the Super Wal-Mart format I've noticed two things: One, checking out of the store in a timely manner is impossible, even with self-checkout lanes (there seems to be a 30 minute minimum no matter what time of day you shop, and this grows exponentially at night), so even though you've found that great cheap piece of Halloween joy, you're really paying for it in time; Two, the stores are a disaster area with stuff lying around everywhere. It's not uncommon to find a package of hamburger meat in with the toys or DVDs in the freezer section (I've seen both numerous times.) As far as their Halloween selection goes, it's about 80/20 in terms of a boring to cool ratio.

I do have to admit though, that this year they've managed to score some points with me in their package design department. In the past it's been very innocuous and sort of bland, but this year something awesome slipped through in the form of a little spot illustration which adorns practically everything they're shilling, from age old paper cut-outs, to the more modern cheapo rubber masks. When I saw this drawing my heart skipped a beat for a second (I know I'm building this up a bit too much, but I love it, so you'll have to bear with me.) Without further to-do I present the 2007 Wal-Mart Halloween mascot, Little Frankie Forehead (actually I have no idea what his name is, but that's what I'm calling him…)



It's a pretty simple drawing, something that an ad guy probably whipped up in Illustrator in a jiffy, but it's really iconic and has all the qualities I like in a good cartoon-esque Frankenstein's monster mascot (cel shading color, exaggeration, and a touch of sadness.) It's nowhere near as cool as the Target Halloween ad campaign from back in 2003, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

As far as what Wal-Mart has to offer in terms of products this year, well it's not all that different from last year. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if they just had all of the same stuff stored in a corner of the warehouse and just hastily repackaged for the next year.  There was the same selection of electronic lack-o-lanterns, even the seriously odd sports themed ones, as well as the same discount candle holders and figuries…



...though thrown into the mix of the same old wooden yard signs was the nice addition of a Frankie Forehead sign.





There was also a really cool oversized skull wall plaque, which on the one hand was pretty darn large and seemed worth the $10 they were asking, yet on the other it was made of very cheap Styrofoam, so light in fact that think it would break very easily, and therefore very over priced at $10…



They did offer a pretty neat string of skeletons which makes a very fitting bit of Halloween garland…



They had all sorts of trick-or-treating pails, though none of which looked to be in the spirit of the holiday. I'm not really against this idea (of having matching costume accessories), but then again I have a ton of nostalgia for the old orange plastic standbys (not to mention the handy pillowcase which has a much better candy gathering capacity.) I was surprised that there were no Optimus Prime heads in honor of this summer's blockbuster. For that matter, where are the plastic Venom and Silver Surfer heads?  I would have bought a hollow Norrin Radd head in a second...



They also had their usual selection of Halloween themed party favors, though only about 95% of them are actually Halloween themed as Matt over at X-Entertainment talked about last month…





Apparently Frankie Forehead isn't the only new character created for this Wal-Mart Halloween season as I spied a vampire and a pumpkin in the holiday house wares section…



The vampire is pretty cool but I still prefer the Frank design…

Rounding out my Wal-Mart shopping experience was this awesome Frankie Forehead placemat, which I was (and still am) tempted to buy, not for the table, but to put up on the wall or something. I'm not sure. Maybe I could it get it framed and have a nice piece of felt Halloween art, but then I'd have to track down a nice picture of Frankenstein painted on black velvet to offset it, and I’m not sure if a trip to Mexico is in the cards anytime soon. I can dream though…

Hey, there are some nice plastic pumpkins up on the shelf there, thank goodness. 

I would have taken pictures of their Halloween candy, but honestly it was pretty darn boring. Pretty much, besides the two million bags of candy corn, they really only seemed to have the mega bags of mixed candy, nothing all that special. I guess that's more of Target's gig these days…

Of all the new Halloween product traditions popping up in the last few years (plastic electric jack-o-lanterns, two-foot high molded candy bowl statues, designer candy corn) my favorite so far has to be the yearly crop of new Jones Soda flavors, in particular the offerings in the small grenade-sized cans, though some of the larger bottle variety are cool as well. Jones has certainly made a name for themselves on the frontlines of the new flavor battle what with their insane Thanksgiving variety packs (gravy, peas, turkey, mashed potatoes, etc.), not to mention their other holiday offerings, but it's with their Halloween selections that I really get excited.

Part of this is the awesome design on the cans, all of which feature a gnarly looking jack-o-lantern face and very pun-y flavor names, but it's also the fact that for the most part the flavors are more drinkably friendly. Call me crazy, but if I'm gonna plunk down my money on soda, I'd at least like to drink it without having to resort to a 'who can drink the whole can without puking' contest. Turkey flavored soda is certainly not going to worm its way into my refreshing beverage selection list any time soon, but Spider Cider, the apple cider flavor Jones issued last year would.

I've been buying all of the new flavors for the last couple years, but for some reason I decided not to write about them last year, well except for a brief mention in my Target review. Each year there's a slightly different line-up, and for the life of me I wish I could remember what was on the shelves two years ago. I know there was a Carmel Apple, as well as the Candy Corn, but I'm not sure what rounded out the list. Last year there were four different packs of small cans (including Candy Corn, Spider Cider, Gruesome Grape, and Berried Alive)…



…and two of the larger bottle varieties (including Lemon Drop Dead and Monster Mojito.)



For some reason I passed up on both Berried Alive and Gruesome Grape, as well as missing out on the larger bottles, opting instead for the weirder flavored cans. Luckily this year they reissued the Grape can and switched the Lemon Drop Dead from the bottles to the cans. The one flavor that I did buy and ended up loving was the Spider Cider…



Though it's more of a basic flavor, it was really flavorful without being over powering, and honestly it's one of the perfect flavors for the season. I had a can left over from last year at the back of the fridge, so I decided to take it out and crack it open so I could share what it looked like. It's a bit disturbingly opaque, almost like actual apple cider. Though this is kind of weird for a soda, it certainly adds to its realism…



Here's what was offered this year…

First off, there was yet another reissue of the Candy Corn flavor in the cans.



Though I love this because of its pure Halloweeniness, I'm not a big fan of the flavor. The soda itself is a really deep yellow, so infused with food coloring that it looks like it would make an awful stain if you were to get it on fabric or the carpet or something, a very distinct possibility after you take in a mouthful and invariably end up doing a spit-take. The main thing I noticed about the candy corn flavor was that it was more of an aftertaste, as the main flavor is just crazy sugary. Give it a second and the candy corn-ness sort of comes back up like a throw-up burp and then messes with your palette for a while. This year, for obvious reasons I opted not to waste any money on a new four-pack as the experiences I had prior will last me a lifetime.

Like I mentioned above, Jones decided to send their more adult bottled soda flavor Lemon Drop Dead to the minor leagues this year. I'm glad they did because now I can get a chance to try it, and in a much cooler looking can. I'm not sure if the flavor is exactly the same as there is a little 'Sour' logo before the name proper, but I'm not sure if this is to win over the hearts of the kids who will most likely be asking for these or not.



As far as the flavor goes, it's really freaking sour, most of which hits you on the back end (sort of like the candy corn flavor of the other variety.) At first it tastes a lot like the recent Sierra Mist with extra lemon, but then it enters a whole new world of sour. Though I don't see myself pouring a 32-ounce glass of this anytime soon, I could easily see this as making a great mixer for a cocktail.



I'm not sure if this is a new flavor (I think it might have been previously released in 2005), but Strawberry S'Lime is a nice addition, bringing in more color and a much subtler flavor to the offerings this year…



Though I think it tastes more like a regular Strawberry soda, if I'm reading the can correctly, it's also supposed to have a hint of lime in it. I think I'm missing it because I more used to this flavor from places like Sonic, that use actual limejuice which is much more powerful in the flavor department. This Jones version seems pretty tame, especially in comparison to the Lemon Drop Dead flavor.  Regardless though, this actually helps to make it very pleasing to the palette...



Rounding out the canned varieties this season is the reissue of Gruesome Grape.



This is probably the most normal of the group, and therefore the most drinkable.



One of the things that makes these sodas so great is that they are formulated with real cane sugar instead of corn syrup, which is one little difference that really changes the flavor for me.

Also available this year (though I've yet to pick any up) are two new larger bottle varieties, Black Cat Licorice and Dread Licorice. I'm not a huge fan of the flavor of licorice, though I will eat it if it's put in front of me. They're also stocking the Monster Mojito again, so I might have to break down and try it this year…



Looking on the Jones website, I see that they have the previous year's line-ups, and yes, Strawberry S'Lime was avaible in 2005...

All right, I just really can't hold back on the Halloween blogging goodness any longer. I've been sitting on three pounds of candy for weeks now, and it just sits there on the kitchen table staring at and taunting me. Well some of it is actually appearing to stare at me what with all the lifeless, molded, sugary eyes, eyes that I just can't keep hidden any longer.

As I've stated before, when it comes to candy I am basically a gummi/hard/chalky kind of guy. It’s not that I don't like chocolate or anything, I'm just not all that into sweets in general, and so when I do reach for something it's usually in the form of a watermelon Jolly Rancher or Twizzlers. Typically I also hold out on candy all together, that is until the stores start stocking up on Halloween candy, and then I feel an irresistible urge to stuff my face with everything that I see. In the past my wife and I have pretty much held off until all the ghoulish loot goes on clearance the day after the holiday, but we've begun to notice that more and more stores are changing their practices on discount candy. More often than not, the candy goes on sale before Halloween and then when we go looking it's practically all gone.

So last year I decided pretty much to buy one big bag that was hopefully varied enough to get me through, and I thought I had found a goldmine in the Scare-n-Share bag. How wrong I was. So this year I've learned my lesson and I've stuck more or less to buying individual bags and goodies, but I had to take a chance on another mixed pack when I laid eyes on the sexy looking box of Wonka Creepy Treats!



When I saw this sitting on the shelf at my local Target I just stared googlie-eyed with glee, probably because it was so tightly and neatly packed with practically all of my favorite candies from when I was a child. I did balk at buying it on the first trip though, as the stock-lady was still working on that four-foot section of candy and honestly it's sort of steeply priced (at about $12 give or take a few cents.) I mean it is a pound and a quarter of candy, but still, when was the last time you slapped down $12 for Runts, Fun Dip, Nerds and Sweetarts? I couldn't help myself the next time I was in though, as I had a chance to take a much closer look at what was included in the set. If I remember correctly, in the past the Wonka candy offerings during Halloween have been relegated to pretty much their normal candy (though in fun sized portions) in pretty much run-of-the-mill holiday packaging. Not that there is anything wrong with that, Halloween candy is built on the tradition of getting smaller portions of normal (and some seasonal) candies, but there's a dark little demon that sits in the pit of my stomach making it ache for more creativity in Halloween candy. So what was in this set that took me over the edge and got me to eagerly plunk down 12 hard earned bucks?



Well there are 4 varieties of Wonka mainstays (Runts, Nerds, Sweetarts, and Fun Dip) in five flavors (there are two separate Sweetart flavors), with three packages of each for a total of 15 (almost normal-sized) packages of candy. The kicker for me was that each separate variety was branded with a new Halloween-y name and a themed character.

The most interesting candy in the set are the Nerds branded Giant Chewy Bumpy Warts, if only because these are the only ones included that are doing something a little different candy wise. On the back of the box these are listed as Nerds Jelly Beans, which I've never seen in stores (the closest product would be the Nerds Rope I guess), and essentially that's exactly what these are. Think of a regular jellybean with the normal soft candy shell removed and replaced by a crunchy shell with Nerds candy mixed in. The packages found in these Halloween sets are grape flavored and feature a slightly gross variation on one of the patented Nerds characters with a very warty schnoz, which I assume these jellybeans are meant to represent.



Following the candy variation of the Bumpy Warts, my favorite candy in the set has to be the boxes of Runts Fungus Toenails…



At the end of the day these are just boxes of banana Runts, but they also happen to be my favorite flavor (and yes, I admit that they are terrible chemical tasting as most banana flavored products tend to be, but I love 'em anyway) and I would have to vote the new name and concept as pure genius. What a perfect and gross way to capitalize on an existing candy shape (bananas make for awesome thick toenail clippings) for a seasonal item. The picture on the box is fun as well with a sufficiently disgusting close-up of some gnarly Lumpa toenails. The only thing that would have catapulted these into the stratosphere would have been if the color had been tweaked a little to more of a tan or khaki shade of yellow, but I'm not really complaining here.

Coming in third place are two separate flavors of the liquid version of Sweetarts called, Sweetarts Squeez Sticky Snot (green apple) & Gooey Blood (cherry).



I think the Sweetarts Squeez are normally available in a variety of flavors, but their inclusion in this set is pretty cool, in particular the Gooey Blood variety as it reminds me of an edible tube of stage blood (with a vampire Umpa Lumpa no less.) Even though I'm not all that much of a fan of the Sweetarts flavor in general, these are pretty nifty, though I think they out balance the rest of the set with six tubes (almost half of the set), but it could be worse I guess.

Rounding out the set are three packages of (get this) fun size Fun Dip (one lik-m-aid stick and one pouch of candy dust) re-branded as Toad Dust. Though this is probably the least changed of the various candies, it's still pretty gruesome, what with the cartoon toads happily going to their end in a meat grinder. The dust is the color (and supposedly flavor) changing blue raspberry to green apple variety, which though again isn't my favorite, it is at least fun and interesting.



All in all the set probably isn't worth $12 (I think $7-8 would be a much more comfortable price point), but it is pretty creative and fun. Like the giant gummy frog dissection kit I reviewed last week, this set seems less about giving to trick-or-treaters on Halloween and more tailor made for splurging on one's own kids (or in my case, my own adult self.) Though normally I'd find this aspect neat, it's part of a trend in Halloweening, which is shifting the way the holiday is celebrated. I know it's nowhere near as dead as I'm making it out, but it seems like parents and companies are sort of shifting away from a community celebration to a more personal one, and I find that kind of sad (even if it does mean a whole bunch of useless Halloween swag that I can splurge on ever year.) Call me a traditionalist.

There are about three or four more packages of candy that have really caught my eye this year, so I'll probably be sharing those over the next week or so to gear up for the insanity that is 31 straight days of Halloween blogging (and if that weren't crazy enough, Cartoon Commentary! columns as well.) Man I love this season…

I was planning on holding back any Halloween commentary until October when I'm going to go temporarily insane and try and post at least once every day during the month. Heck, most of the stores around here, even though they started putting up Halloween stuff in August, have mostly only begun stocking candy, but after I saw this product on an end-cap at Target I just couldn't help myself…



First off, Holy Crap! I have never seen a piece of gummy candy quite this big or quite this unique. This Mad Lab Frog Dissection Kit is part of the Target distributed branding this year, which is using the main characters from the Edgar and Ellen book series to push their Halloween products (at least a section of their candy.) I was pretty impressed with a lot of the Target specific candy last year, and this year is no exception, though I'm not so sure about using a set of established characters in the branding.

So what's inside the package?



The set comes complete with a super large gummy toad (which judging from the acrid smell wafting up it's probably green apple flavored), a package of gummy flies (I assume to be placed in the stomach of the frog, which I'll talk about more in a minute), a plastic scalpel (read orange plastic picnic knife), and a pair of plastic tweezers. So, just how big is the frog gummy?



When I picked this set up I was hoping that the frog was solid, much in the same way that I hope all of the chocolate bunnies are solid during every Easter season, and like the bunnies, it was far from solid. Honestly, I don't think I'd really want a solid gummy the size of my hand, but some disturbing part of me can't help wishing it were. Actually, what would have been really cool was is there was a separate section that filled the body cavity that had all sorts of organs and stuff (much like the similar at home fake frog dissection kits you can buy and make), but instead we get a package of gummy flies to insert in the hole, so I guess that's just as cool. Actually, the only thing that would really have put this set over the top as the coolest gummy ever would have been the inclusion of a packet of like cherry flavored sauce so that kids (ahem, cough, and me) could pretend that it was a big bloody mess of a dissection. Sure, real dissection frogs don't have blood, but this is Halloween after all.

The set sells for $5, and is part of a Lab themed section of candy products including plastic beakers full of pixie dust, test tube sets with liquid and dust candy, and a few other odds and ends. I think there is even a stuffed 'Pet' from the character branding that has his one eye full of candy. Here's a close-up of the characters…



This is actually the mark of an interesting (and kind of sad) sort of Halloween candy evolution. Products like this are meant for the immediate family, and certainly not for sharing with kids that come trick or treating, which has for the most part been the focus of the Halloween candy industry for years. It seems that the one main observation I've heard over and over for the last few years is that less and less kids seem to be out trick-or-treating, and it's certainly been the case in the various places I've lived over the past 10 years. I think I've gotten a total of 5 kids at the door since my wife and moved in together back in 2001, though granted we live in an apartment complex. I think my friend, who lives in a pretty nice are in a decent sized neighborhood has also seen a decline in kids coming by.

So I guess what I'm getting at is that it seems like there might be a shift in the way the holiday is celebrated, possibly moving more towards Christmas or Easter, or maybe even something in the realm of a birthday party, only with less getting older and more dressing up and eating candy. Is this the future of Halloween? Private parties for kids like the ones adults tend to hold? No more roaming the streets at dusk with pillowcases of candy, no more lazy folks who feel obligated to leave a bowl of candy outside of their dark houses, no more gutters overflowing with unwanted apples and the husks of smashed jack-o-lanterns? Okay, maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but I still have to wonder…

Oh. It’s back. Yup, that’s right, as I was browsing my local Dollar Tree at lunch I saw it, right there tucked behind the dwindling display of school supplies. It was black and orange and it wanted me to buy it, which is great, because I happened to be in the mood to spend a buck on a little bit of Halloween…



Well, it’s two weeks earlier than I noticed Halloween stuff creeping into stores last year, and I guess that’s all right with me because honestly, I’ve been getting the itch. I’m starting to make guesses at where the Spirit store will pop up (hopefully it still will.) I’ve even been thinking about stuff I’d like to post about during this season, so I guess this is as good a place to start as any.

I wasn’t prepared to last year, but this year I think I’m gonna go ahead and try my hand at the whole post-a-day throughout October thing. So starting October 1st, there will be Halloween aplenty, as I spookify Branded in the 80s up a bit.