I look forward to finding these little wind-up creatues every Halloween. I picked up the Invisible Man at a CVS store. I'm not sure why he's holding a magnifying glass, but the spectables and scarf are a nice touch. In back of each glaring eye-ball is a green monster's hand holding it. Doesn't make much sense, but the design is creepy-cool. And the skeleton ninja--at least that's what I call him--looks like he's poised to chop your socks off.
I picked up these scary jigglers at Toys "R" Us during Halloween a few years ago. They are about 5 inches high and smell like strechable rubber monsters normally do, which is badly. But they were too adorable to pass up, especially with their expressive faces and shiny colors. Frankenstein's Monster is my favorite. His tux beats even Dracula's and that bolt through his head is hilarious. No wonder his eyes are popping.
There's something organically satisfying about throwing things against a wall, especially when they explode, shatter, or splat. Bouncing means too much work because you've got to catch the blasted thing on the rebound, so that's not much fun.
But squishing and splatting does it best for me. With this nifty little pocket toy you can launch the Monster's head--the splattee--with the cool skeleton arm--the splatterer. Notice on the bottom right of the card the words "Includes Splat and Launcher." That's important because without the skeleton arm to send your splat to the wall, it's just not as much fun.
I just wished they didn't make the little guy so cheerful-looking. Makes me feel guilty I'm about to squish him against a smooth, flat surface, face first. Better that he had a mean-looking or scary face, you know, like they do it in horror movies by making the victim sort of deserve what's coming, even though it's nasty as hell.
Now, I'm not sure how you'd carry this gem around with you: if you put the little head in your jeans pocket, well, I'd say you will wind up with an embarrassing situation to say the least.
There's this wonderfully spooky short story written by Montague Rhodes James called "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come To You, My Lad." A solitary walk along the shore leads to the discovery of a whistle. That whistle calls something forth that were better left unsummoned. I think of his story every time I see Halloween candy whistles like the likable witch and skull-headed ghost here.
After all the candy is gone, you can either play with them, they're finger puppets, or blow the whistle to summon forth your own nasty trickster; although today it would probably be an annoyed adult tired of all that noise telling you to quit or else.
The skeleton and Frankenstein Monster candy containers at the ends aren't finger puppets, but still fun to play with. The skeleton has a suction cup on the bottom, and the skull is on a spring. You can wobble him but good as the mood strikes you. The purple Monster has such a ghoulishly giddy grin, you wonder why he's so happy. Maybe it's because he's sitting on top of all that colorful, sweet candy, waiting to be picked up by his outstretched arms. Just for you.
Being a mad scientist is always daunting. What with digging up cadavers, piecing them together in the dead of night, and having your fiancee always dragging in some old teacher or such to interfere with your work--not to mention those numb-skull assistants the Goldstadt employment agency keeps sending you--you can never seem to get your work done.
Never fear; Steptoes of England steps in to lighten your burden with their Self Adhesive Frankenstein Accessory. Even Wolf Von Frankenstein would appreciate the workmanship. And look at that wonderful black and yellow image of Boris Karloff's creation happily demonstrating the effectiveness of this wonderful suturing appliance with the all-essential neck bolt hardware.
You'll have a Happy Halloween with this one for sure.
This Frankenstein Monster's flashing button caught my eye while I roamed an old party goods store in New Jersey, some years back, for Halloween goodies. It was made in China for The Diploma Mill of Denver Colorado (which could explain the lack of the word Frankenstein anywhere on the package as it appears to be unlicensed merchandise).
The Boris Karloff image of the Monster is what made me drool. The eyes light up and it makes that annoyingly familiar Halloween sound that could irritate you enough to commit bodily harm to the person wearing this stylish button.
Paul Bibeau (author of the excellent Sundays with Vlad), and his Goblin Books blog, noted these old Halloween photographs, collected on Flickr by stevechasmar.
Paul says "Titled 'Halloween in the Time of Cholera' the collection is funny, bizarre, and often deeply disturbing." I agree. It is also evocative: a shadow show of silver nitrate ghosts, flickering and merging across our own memories of Halloween.
Here's something to perk you up after all that candy and those Halloween thrills have subsided...
For some 24/7 Goths and part-time Twilighters, Halloween is just amateur night, but since they can only find jobs at the mall looking like Marilyn Manson, they’re allowed to vent their pent-up, creative angst through bizarre store window displays every Halloween, with the expressed purpose of scaring the living daylights out of our children. And after all, isn’t that what the spirit of Halloween is all about?
Of course, being a certified candyholic, I had to stop by my local Dylan's Candy Bar to get my sugar fix. I found these two happy fellows too cute to pass up. Press their heads down and, aside from letting out a suitable Halloween frightful sound, a piece of candy drops out their butt.
Hey, why not?
I'm a sucker for monsterish Halloween swag that keeps the ghoulishly fun aspect of the season in proper perspective. Here's one little gem I found, to my pleasant surprise, in a grocery store last week. The backing card is quite an eyeful; colorful and creepy and nicely displays the product in context.
What self-respecting little Halloween trickster wouldn't want to wear this cool safety light proudly around their necks as they stomp the sidewalks for sweets and treats?
I dread carving up the jack-o-lantern every Halloween. After spending so much money for the biggest, baddest, pumpkin in the lot, my feeble carving skills wind up leaving my orange ball of stringy guts with a rinky-dink face comprised of an uneven smile, oddball eyes, and slanted teeth that convey no horror bite, nor whimsy, nor anything remotely appropriate for Halloween.
So when I see pumpkin carving skill as displayed at http://www.extremepumpkins.com, I envy, I covet, I stand, drooling from my trembling lips, in awe.
By the tickling of my gums, something wickedly tasty this way comes! It's a sure sign of Halloween when the myriad textures, colors and tricked-out containers of candy hit the store shelves hard. With the season starting earlier and earlier each year as retailers scramble to compete for your precious shemolians, it gets better and better.
Here's my first foray's haul of wonderful Halloween candy delights. And I dare you to try and say that three times fast with a mouthful of Jelly Beans.
I found these energetic bike buddies at Walgreens. I never could figure out how skeletons could move in horror movies without muscles—let alone ride a bike—but why let reality get in the way of a good thing?
These nostalgic bikers, with their green and orange plastic parts, reminded me of those vintage Rosbro candy containers; but these are less expensive to own, so I bought the whole box of happy skeleton and pumpkin bike riders. Now if they could toss in a witch or two, that would be heaven, and not a pretty witch, either: long nose, jutting chin, green face, and black, pointed hat is Halloween appropriate. It is fantasy, you know.
At Target, I came across the Edgar and Ellen Corpse
Countdown, in a suitably atmospheric coffin-shaped box. Each "grave" contains a spooky, gummy surprise, just right for when those anxious moments of Halloween-anticipation overwhelm you.
You get thirteen days of treats, including ghoulish gummies and goofy ghouls. Brains, skulls, and eyeballs are tossed in, too, as well they should be. What's Halloween without a few chewy brains and skulls waiting to be devoured?
Dollar Tree, always a good place for Halloween items, has these spinner containers. Guess how much? Push the button to whirl the face on the grim reaper or the pumpkin. Will it stop at Mr. Happy or Mr. Frown? No fear, you can always spin again while munching on the crunchy nuggets of sugar. I found the skeleton pez-like candy dispenser at 7-Eleven last year. I hope 7-Eleven has more like it this year. But not the ones from last year; stale Halloween candy is a nightmare!
