Trick 'n Treat!

Well this is it, the night of nights.  31 days of preparation have all lead up to this.  And we know what "this" is.  It's all about "Trick or Treating".  Or is it "Trick-r-Treating".  Or is it "Tricker Treating".  Or is it "Trick 'n Treating" as these die cuts say.  Either way, it's all about the candy.  Grab your bucket and let's all walk up to the haunted house.

This set of Trick 'n Treaters was created by Peck in the 1970's.  The question the children should be asking is, are the ghosts tricking or are they treating?

Baron Weirwulf's Haunted Library

I would be remiss if I neglected to post at least one horror comic this season.  And while this 1979 issue of Charlton Comics' Haunted  may be a bit tame by the classic 1950's horror comics standards, I offer it in the spirit of the season nonetheless. I don't have much to add to these pages and honestly, I'm running so far behind on decorations this season due to weather and work, I need all the time I can get to prepare for the big day.  So enjoy and tune in tomorrow for the final installment of The Countdown to Halloween.

Monster Mask Memories

Sometime around Thursday of the week, I'll begin perusing the upcoming sales on estatesales.net. If something catches my eye, I'll make note of it.  Typically, there isn't much that will get me to a sale before it opens. I've gotten to the point where waiting in line for an hour isn't worth whatever I'm going for.  I try to hit sales at least an hour after the open when the lines are gone and hope to find something others have missed.

When I saw these two masks on the site for a sale a couple weeks ago, I reconsidered my approach.

Magik Revisited

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a magician.  I asked for, and received, the Presto Magic kits with standard illusions and tricks such as the Multiplying Spots, Penetrating Vision, the Endless Water Vase, the Bullet trick and the Ball and Vase trick.  I learned to do the tricks, and learned others pouring over the included Adams' 101 Magic Tricks booklet and other magic books I bought from the Scholastic flyer, but they were all simple and most people knew how they worked.  I could never afford the professional magic tricks sold in dedicated magic shops.  I continued to pick up magic sets at sales over the years, but of course, I never became a magician.

This summer, my family vacationed in the Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  As a surprise, my wife booked a visit to Evanswood Magic Mansion.  I had seen a Youtube video by Jacob the Carpetbagger doing a tour of The Magic Mansion and had mentioned to her it would be cool to see in person. The day before we left, my wife presented me with the tickets (well, at least an email with digital tickets).

The night of the tour, we pulled up to the house silouetted in darkness.  Well, actually, the tour started at 7:00 p.m. and it was still light out, but "silouetted in darkness" sounds better.  Below is a photo I took when we left.

Blinky Lite Bonanza

Years ago, 6 to be exact, I blogged about these Blinky Jack O' Lantern flashlights.  These are fairly common and date from the late 1980's and up. Simply twist the top and they light.

Games for Hallowe'en

I was fairly gob-smacked, or perhaps even "goblin-smacked" given the season, when I found this 1912 edition of "Games for Hallowe'en" sitting on a bookshelf at an estate sale.  It was laying flat, so clearly someone had already seen it and passed it over.  We're coming down the wire to the big day.  Maybe this book will help with your plans.

Traumatic Balloon Stories

While ephemera is generally considered to be items made from paper, the actual definition is "things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time".  I think we can agree balloons fall under this definition.

I found these vintage Halloween balloons at a recent garage sale. Based on their designs, I'd place them no later than the 1970's.