From Zombos' Closet

Caltiki (1959) Movie Pressbook

Here's the four-page pressbook for Caltiki, the Immortal Monster. Mario Bava reportedly had a hand in the direction of this horror movie, but whoever is to blame, the end result is a mess only a tad less horrifying than Caltiki. Of course, I didn't notice the slipshod editing at the time, but the monster is quite impressively gloppy and scary. Hard to say if this movie was a rushed attempt at cashing in on The Blob, starring Steve McQueen, but I can tell you it scared me so much as a child I had nightmares for a week. And of course, came back for more ;) The story is still very good, just the execution could have been much, much better.

Halloween Press Photo: Funny Faces 1952

This Halloween press photo from Cleveland Press is circa 1952. Pure Americana: two boys admiring a shoe store window Halloween painting. You gotta love those rolled up jeans. 

Halloween Press Photo: Little Miss from 1958

Sure, today you can go to Party City, Spirit Halloween, Halloween Scene, and Walmart and Target and so on and on, to find costumes galore. Way back when you rolled your own. Not saying this one was a good or bad choice for Halloween trick or treating, but you rolled your own back then. It definitely gives me the willies. Just add a rubber knife or axe and a new slasher is born!

This little miss being readied for Halloween with "trick or treat" for a worthwhile cause, collecting pennies for the United Nations children's fund. Her bright costume features a lamb's head made from a paper bag and crepe paper.

Mexican Lobby Card: The Empire of Dracula (1967)

Here' the Mexican lobby card for The Empire of Dracula (El Imperio De Dracula, 1967). The sexuality of the vampire began with Bram Stoker's seminal work, then materialized in cinema with Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee's portrayals, and was beaten to death with a stake by various horror movies ever since.

Bats in Your Belfry Game 1964

Spotted this on eBay. Mattel's Bats in Your Belfry is one of the quintessential games monsterkids played with, and lament not having held on to. Here's a description for newbies from a Hake's auction.

Main portion of game consists of 15" tall molded plastic castle w/spring-loaded launchpad that would toss any of the 24 included plastic "Vampire Bats" into the sky. Object of the game was to drop one of the two included heavy metal balls into castle to activate spring-loaded mechanism and catch as many bats as possible w/the two provided plastic skeleton hand scoops. Castle has exterior pegs to hold bats and comes w/eight "Diet Tokens," plastic discs w/monster face on one side and either "Vampire Bats" or "Giant Bats" text on reverse. Game is for up to four players and comes w/four pegged racks to place your bats on.

Halloween Press Photo 1956: Store Window Painting

Here's a shot from 1956 showing store window painting for Halloween in Chicago. I remember seeing store windows painted up on Avenue U in Bensonhurst Brooklyn every October, when I was growing up. Funny the things you remember as a kid, but I noticed how the artistic talents on display grew worse over the years as students from the local high schools participated in the yearly contest. For the truly inspiring artwork, I always felt sad to see it washed away after the holiday.

Halloween Press Photo 1980: Wintergreen Witch

From 1980, the Oregonian, the Wintergreen Witch to promote Halloween Safety. Boy, how many of you remember those assemblies at school of dos and don'ts?