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I'm not a fan of window-clings: they fade, they're small, so what's the point? Give me big decorations I can show off my Halloween pride with satisfaction. Now these designs are trendy; wish they'd have posterized them or made nice and BIG paper or (gulp) even window-clings of substantial size. Now that would be thrilling.
A triple avalance of grisly horror? I suppose that large PG means pretty gory, right? Better stock up on that "Shock Insurance" now.
These Amscan glow in the dark Dracula cutouts are so fearsome they are "not recommended for children under 36 months." I know you'll be tempted to hang these in your baby's crib on Halloween Night, but DON'T DO IT!
On another note, note the artist's name is highlighted; that's rare. I'd like to see the other decorations he's scared up for Amscan.
This 36 inch jointed decoration from Eureka unfolds to show not only these witchy veterans from Macbeth, but creepy pumpkins as well. The bonus spooky Halloween story that appears on the back is a fun read, too.
Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds...in between mouthfuls of candy corn...with James-Michael Roddy...storyteller...theme park dream (and nightmare) builder...
Why is Halloween important to you?
Halloween is important to me because it represents imagination. The things that go bump in the night usually get such a negative representation in our culture and society, when in reality they represent such strong traits such as imagination, resourcefulness, and creativity.
The kids who enjoy the fantastical, enjoy a life spent wondering “what if...” This is the one question that can be answered with pure imagination. What if lightning struck a body of dead tissue… would it re-animate? What if there were no more room in hell.. would the dead rise from the grave? It can be positive...What if there was intelligent life out there? and it could be negative...What if they wanted to conquer our world?
It is also the one time of year, when everyone seems to play along, and allow themselves to believe in the unbelievable.
Describe your ideal Halloween.
My ideal Halloween is spending the day with a dark grey overcast looming in the distance. The early evening is getting ready for Tricks or treats with my children and the little boy that still resides within me. Maybe scaring a few of the unwary kids that are too complacent in their begging for candy. Then, warming up some creepy cuisine and settling in with friends to tell tales of ghosts as the candles burn down. The evening draws to a close watching a movie like John Carpenter's Halloween, Frankenstein, or one of my new favorites, Trick R Treat.
One of my new annual past-times is at the end of the night, I set fire to the pumpkin that has been slowly rotting. I take pictures of it as the flames spill out from the grinning mouth and carved eyes. It represents the end of that year’s Halloween. I have performed this small closing ceremony for the last three years.
What Halloween collectibles do you cherish, or hate, or both?
I have a series of full-size busts of the classic Monsters: Frankenstein, Dracula, The Creature. The only one I am missing is the Wolf-Man. Tom Savini gave them to me as gifts through the years and I love them. I also have an original Frankenstein's Monster model from Aurora that my Mother built and painted for me when I was very young. Every year she would take such delight in making our front entry and living room a Haunted House for Halloween. This is a tradition that I continue to keep alive.
When was your very first Halloween, the one where you really knew it was Halloween, and how was it?
It is hard to remember the very first Halloween. I do however remember the one Halloween that had the most impact on me. It was in the late seventies. I lived in Atlanta Georgia and the October month was very cold. Halloween fell on a Tuesday or Wednesday that year which meant there was school the next day. The whole day, we talked about Halloween. The teacher showed us The Legend of Sleepy Hollow on an old 16mm projector. We talked about monsters at lunch, including the newest Horror film – Halloween, which I really wanted to see. I drew pictures of Frankenstein’s Monster battling Dracula. Finally school ended and I headed home on the old yellow school bus.
That year I was like everyone else, crazy about Star Wars. I went trick or treating as Luke Skywalker. Dressed in his Tatooine wear, I went out in the dusk of late afternoon. It was also the first time I ever went Trick or treating by myself.
Later that night, I came home through the darkness, the shadows seeming to watch my every move. There is a sense of excitement for any fan of monsters to walk home alone, in the dark; your footfalls mixing with the sound of the occasional crunching leaves. I walked into the safety of my house, the decorations welcoming me into my inner sanctum. The candles slowly burning down.
I went through my treats, and then settled in watching some TV. The local PBS station was running Night of the Living Dead. I had only heard about the film and was excited that it was coming on. I wasn’t exactly sure of the plot, but knew that it was an important film in the history of horror. The film grabbed me and never let go. That night I tried to sleep, but the outside wind mixed with the sugar high kept my mind racing as I knew that Zombies were now part of my horror cast of characters right alongside Dracula, The Monster and the Wolf-Man.
What's the one Halloween question you want to be asked and what's your answer?
Q: Do you get tired of Halloween?
A: Through the years, Halloween has in part become a career for me. I have been involved in events for Universal Studios, Busch Gardens, Paramount Pictures, Hershey Park and many others. I have been a part of some Halloween event for the past 20 years.
This is the first year that I am not and it is a little surreal. It has given me the opportunity to redefine the holiday for myself. As a result, I have been able to simply and completely enjoy the holiday again, like I did when I was a kid. My house is decorated, I have put together some model kits, and I have already enjoyed some great scary movies. We are going to have a costume party and then just enjoy the fun of the holiday. I hope to see you at my door.
I’ll Be Lurking For You.
Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds...in between mouthfuls of candy corn...with Scott Cole of 13 Visions...
Why is Halloween important to you?
It's the one time of year it's not generally considered weird to like ghoulish things, the one time a year pretty much everyone not only accepts, but celebrates, the things we horrorhounds love all year round.
Describe your ideal Halloween.
I really try to stretch the holiday out to the entire month of October, but if I'm limited to a one-day celebration, I suppose my "classic" ideal Halloween would include some horror films, a late afternoon walk with a cool Fall breeze at my back, dinner with assorted monsters, a trip to a haunted house, some pumpkin carving, trick or treaters, and of course, plenty of candy.
I've certainly had my share of fun ones. In recent years, my wife & I have thrown some big parties, where the entire house is creepily decorated (more so than usual), with severed body parts, glowing skeletons, floating bats, and horror movie trailers projected on the walls.
Other years have found me applying zombie makeup to Thriller dancers, vacationing in Salem, Massachusetts, and stuck to an uncomfortable chair at a 24-hour horror movie marathon.
What Halloween collectibles do you cherish, or hate, or both?
My home is filled with all sorts of scary stuff - most of it is horror-related in a general way, but some is specific to Halloween.
I have a lot of skulls. I mean, A LOT of skulls. But I guess one of my favorite things is a Halloween snowglobe I've had for years. It's the head of a green goblin-monster-thing, with big bulging orange eyes. The top and back of his head forms the snowglobe, with his brain exposed inside the clear dome. Instead of snow, it's filled with tiny plastic bats and other bits of detritus.
When was your very first Halloween, the one where you really knew it was Halloween, and how was it?
My mom tells me I was dressed as a pumpkin for my first trick-or-treat excursion, but I was maybe 2 or 3, and don't remember it. I do remember dressing up as a vampire, a devil, a ghost, a black cat, and various monsters through the years - always something scary, of course - but I honestly don't remember which one came first.
Halloween was never not fun. As a kid, it was the big after-dark, outdoor costume party I looked forward to all year long. Now, it's kind of a way of life.
What's the one Halloween question you want to be asked and what's your answer?
Q: Any horror movie recommendations for the big night?
A: You simply can't go wrong with Halloween itself. Or any of the Universal classics from the '30s or '40s. A good anthology feels right for Halloween too - I'd say go with Creepshow, or the recent Trick 'r Treat.
There's nothing that says Halloween! quite like this 11x17 inch Chiller Theatre poster of Zacherley riding on a broomstick with a curvaceous naked witch.
This 11x17 inch promotional mini-poster came in the shipping box for the Topps Universal Monsters Illustrated Deluxe Trading Cards (1994).
Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds...in between mouthfuls of candy corn...with Mr. Lobo...up all night at Cinema Insomnia...
Why is Halloween important to you?
For the world it’s a time when adults can give themselves permission to act like kids. And kids are able to dabble in the adult arts of overindulgence and masochism. On a personal level, it’s more economic. Mr. Lobo tends to eat better around Halloween. As a working genre personality/ horror host, it’s our “bread and butter” time--Well, “brownie and peanut butter cup time”. Not only does Mr. Lobo have more work, we also like to hit the sales the Day After Halloween to do my yearly shopping for –Well-Everything…clothes, kitchen wares, pantry items, birthday-X-mas-Valentines-Mothers Day-bereavement gifts! It’s the only time I can buy amenities and necessities that suit Mr. Lobo’s demanding tastes and at deep discounts.
Describe your ideal Halloween.
The season begins with an experiment where we mutilate gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and let them rot on my front stoop. Not having dental insurance, this is the time of year Mr. Lobo likes to prepare and eat Carmel Apples--to remove any loose are damaged teeth or inferior dental work. It’s always a hoot to make embarrassing or cumbersome costumes for my children out of recyclables. Mr. Lobo is a workaholic--so ideally we will host film shows, make misunderstood movies, and as a legal reverend, marry a Goth couple or two. And Finally, as Mr. Lobo does every “Devil’s Night”, we soap windows, TP the CVS, smash and destroy early Christmas decorations at major department stores, crank call my mother, and set fire to television stations and sponsors that have wronged Mr. Lobo or CINEMA INSOMNIA in the past 10 years of the show.
What Halloween collectibles do you cherish, or hate, or both?
The cheap 49 cent glow in the dark vampire teeth—the kind that come in a little sealed plastic bag and the tops and bottoms are connected with excess plastic: They make you drool like a teething Saint Bernard and they cut your gums so you’re leaving steamers of crimson slime at everyone’s front porch.
I’ve found that that a lot of Elvira dolls are badly made, it goes to prove how hard it is to capture her combination of sexy, silly, and scary…I have one with a witch hat and broom made by Figures Toy Co. that looks like a drag queen with Down Syndrome.
I also like to collect spooky Pez dispensers and those flimsy vintage Halloween treat bags that can maybe hold like 6 and a half pieces of penny candy. Even though they are maddeningly impractical—Mr. Lobo loves the kitschy artwork!
When was your very first Halloween, the one where you really knew it was Halloween, and how was it?
That would be three years ago. It was OK.
Just Kidding. Y’know, it was great when it all began. Mr. Lobo was a regular Frankie fan. I had a Don Post Frankenstein Mask when I was 5 or 6 and I remember wetting it in the sink to make the cut on his forehead look real.
Also, at a school contest I made a classic cardboard box/ tinfoil/ dryer hose robot costume and won a free ice cream at Baskin Robbins--or what I called it: “31 Flavors”. I also remember the belly aches and thinking I would die after consuming Pop Rocks and Coke.
What's the one Halloween question you want to be asked and what's your answer?
Great. Now I get to do YOUR JOB!
I have some novelty songs on iTunes including one called “HALLOWEEN CANDY” and I also have over 20 full length CINEMA INSOMNIA episodes on YOUTUBE on our “CINEMAINSOMNIATV” channel including several HALLOWEEN SPECIALS. So I suppose a question I wished someone would ask would be…
Q: Isn’t it amazing that your song “HALLOWEEN CANDY” is the most downloaded song in history, easily eclipsing THE MONSTER MASH and that more people watch CINEMA INSOMNIA episodes at HALLOWEEN than anything else in all of media?
A: Yes, it is amazing.
I've had this Jack in the Box kid's meal bag for ages. Great illustrations on front and back and the premium Universal Monster toys that came in it were fantasticly designed. You remember those days, don't you? When Halloween and Universal Monsters were inseparable? Now it's all Freddy, Jason, and Scream. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Shame on you Universal.
This animated Halloween Grim Reaper dances and sings Another One Bites the Dust. Another cool toy spotted at Walgreens, though probably available in other venues, its eyes and face light up brightly as he puts the moves on your wallet. Like death, you know you're gonna get it.
