It's the Final Countdown!

When I began this year’s Countdown to Halloween, I began it with the pessimistic outlook that I wouldn’t have enough to post daily.  As it turns out, I posted daily plus and still have a bunch leftover.  The following finds were all candidates for a post of one kind or another, but I kept passing them over for other things I wanted to post first, much like that scene in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure where he keeps passing over the snakes while saving the rest of the animals from the fire at the pet store.  Well, this is my AUGGGGHHHHH!!!! moment (imagine me laying on the ground with all of the following finds spread across me).  If you can't relate to Pee Wee Herman, think of it this way: if this blog were Gilligan's Island, these finds would be the Professor and Mary Ann.

Wreck the Halls with Bowels of Ghoulies

I'm finally getting close to being done with decorating.  I KNOW HALLOWEEN IS TOMORROW!!

Really, I mean it, I'm almost done!  Here's what I've done so far.

Restraining Halloween

I found this clipped article among the recipe booklets I found a while back. It's from the morning edition of the October 26th, 1938 edition of The St. Louis Globe-Democrat.  With a title that could get you jail time these days, it addresses and attempts to resolve an issue communities were becoming more and more concerned about -- the destructive pranks done by young Halloween revelers.  Prior to the 1940's, Halloween was an excuse to run amuck causing mayhem in your neighborhood with such pranks as soaping windows, stealing gates and porch steps, and even moving outhouses off of their pits. This article suggests planning a Halloween party to restrain those youngsters.

1953 Parade Cook Book

This St. Louis Post-Dispatch Parade cook book boasts an assortment of mouth-puckering...er...watering recipes.

One page is dedicated to Halloween.

But perhaps the most horrifying display is the back cover.

Topps Flying Things

The art on these 1960's Topps Flying Things bear a striking resemblance to the art of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, and I'm sure it's no coincidence.  Capitalizing on that Rat Fink style, these originally sold individually for 10 cents each.

Eureka Diecuts

Horror Sounds of the Night

Found among the pile of other Halloween finds from my previous post was this Topstone "Horror Sounds of the Night" cassette tape featuring "30 weird minutes" of "spine-tingling Halloween" enjoyment.

Decorations to Die (Cut) For

These late season Halloween finds came just in time to fill one day of my countdown to Halloween.  I was at the last day of a 3-day sale a couple weeks ago.  I wasn't expecting to find much, but due to an incorrectly posted start time (advertised as 8:00, but didn't open until 9:00) for the sale, I managed to be the first one in simply because I knocked on the front door to find out what was going on.

In the basement, I found one room of holiday decorations that seemed fairly ravaged.  Boxes were dumped all over the ground, so I started digging through.  In the pile, I found several bagged die cuts.

What was on TV October 25th through 31st, 1980

I have lamented in recent TV Guide posts how I was running out of Guides to blog about, even resorting to a decidely non-vintage (by my standards) TV Guide earlier this month. Well, a couple weekends ago, I stumbled upon an amazing cache of TV Guides dating from the 1960's through the 1980's at an estate sale. They were bargain priced and I ended up with 120 of them. My first offering from this group is this October 25th through 31st, 1980 issue with an Al Hirschfeld cover. Don't forget to look for his daughter's name "Nina" hidden in the picture. Enjoy, and there will be plenty more coming in the future.

The Wonder Fears

When I saw these cards in a shoebox at a sale a while ago, I was immediately taken back to a particular summer of my youth in the 1970's.  For more than one reason, you might refer to it as my "Wonder Year".

(Un)Spooky Halloween

Decidedly non-spooky (hey, what do you expect from The Wonderland Singers?), this 1974 album released by Wonderland Golden Records features kid-friendly songs about Halloween set to familiar tunes.

The (Not So Much of a) Mystery Game Find

I found these two game pieces in a box of miscellaneous toys I bought at an estate sale last weekend.

Dennison Place Cards

These Dennison Halloween place cards were in a hand glove box along with some other miscellaneous holiday decorations I bought for $1.

A Hairy & Scary Find

I found these Ben Cooper "Hairy & Scary" masks at a sale a couple weeks back.  These are similar to the ones I blogged about last year and were bargain priced at $2 each. First up is this orange haired...witch? shrunken head? shrunken witch head? Your guess is as good as mine, but you have to agree, she/he/it is creepy.

Peck Die Cuts

Monster Vitamins

Let's face it.  After a long night of terrifying children, monsters need to replenish their iron.  What better way than to take Monster Vitamins Plus Iron...and save 20 cents to boot!

Every Day a Halloween Surprise

From 1956 comes The Wonder-Wonder series (so nice, they named it twice) publication of "Every Day a Surprise" whose stories, based upon the cover, appear to involve a bulldog's explosive flatulence.

Flappy Witch

This Ben Cooper flappy rubber witch jiggler was made in Hong Kong and probably dates from the 1970's.  

Playtime Spooky Music for Spooky Occasions

Click below to listen.

Side 1

Side 2

Feel my Frankenstein

The stand out postcard in this  1960's Los Angeles Gray Line Tour booklet of 20 is by far the Universal Studios postcard of Frankenstein.

Pucker Up!

I found these masks at an estate sale a couple months ago for $3 each.  The first mask is made by Van Dam of France.  I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a monkey, a vampire or a monkey vampire.

Spooks of the Valley

"Spooks of the Valley" was written in 1947 by Louis C. Jones and illustrated by Erwin H. Austin. It's a relatively tame story about two boys who make the acquaintance of a restless spirit named George.

Injun Summer

I found this sheet of newspaper clipped and saved from the October 20th, 1963 edition of The Chicago Tribune.  Written and illustrated by Pulitzer Prize winner John T. McCutcheon in 1907, it was reprinted annually starting in 1912 until 1992. The story is told by an old man to his grandson of his memories of when Native Americans roamed the very land on which they sit and how on a Fall evening they can still be seen through the hazy smoke of a burning leaf pile.  Full of folksy, old-timey dialect, it's also full of out-dated terms and notions that lead to complaints from the public and its eventual retirement in 1992.  Since then, there have been equal calls for it to be either returned or forgotten.  To me, despite the use of insensitive terms that quite frankly were still commonly used in my childhood (not to mention still used today by certain sports teams), I think the old man in this strip is sympathetic to the "injuns" and even laments their disappearance.

I've copied the text below to save your eyes.

Halloween Napkins

I found these napkins (unused of course) in a bag of Halloween party supplies at an estate sale last weekend. Sadly, there was only one of these.  

 I love this style. I'm not sure why there hasn't been a resurgence in it.

What was on TV October 18th through 24th, 1997

When it comes to the word "vintage", I'll admit I'm a bit of a snob.  To me, vintage is 1980's and prior.  So when I found this TV Guide from 1997 mixed among my other "classics", I snubbed it. Heck, I even sneered at it.  1997?  Why, I'd already been married 5 years when you came out!  You're nothing but a punk! But then I realized, it's been almost 20 years since this issue came out.  In fact, babies born when this issue came out are graduating high school this year.  My own son was born mere months after this issue debuted.  How did that happen?  I can't even remember what I did in the past 20 years. It almost makes you nostalgic for those years.  When did the '90's go all "misty-water-colored-memories" on us?  I guess it was inevitable.  So October 18th through the 24th TV Guide, go ahead, show your stuff.  You deserve it.

Halloween Cookery

This Betty Crocker Party Book dates from 1960 and dedicates 2 pages to Halloween recipes (kind of light if you ask me).

Hoostradoos and You

I recently found this October 1982 issue of The Missouri Conservationist. 

Of Stickers and Pathetic Geeks

The first time I was going to have a naked girl in my bedroom when I was a teenager, I was pretty nervous. Whoa, whoa, whoa.  Hold on.  It's not what you think, you bunch of perverts.  Okay, let me explain.

I was having a friend over to go swimming.  She was a girl and a friend, but not a girlfriend, although I did have aspirations in that direction.  When it came time to change into our bathing suits, I offered to let her change in my room, while I changed in the bathroom.  Now let me stop for a moment again.  I was pretty immature for 15. Heck, I'm pretty immature for 48, but that's beside the point.  The point was, a girl that I liked was about to close the door to my bedroom and get nekkid.  And what's more, when she closed that door, she would see every sticker I'd put on my door since I was 5 years old.  It was covered.  Now, that might seem like a pretty silly thing to worry about, but when you're 15 and want to really impress a girl, you don't want her looking at your Six Million Dollar Man or Captain Crunch stickers.  I panicked.  I stopped her and said (or kinda screamed), "WAIT! Why don't you change in my sister's room and I'll change in here!"  She looked at me funny and said, "Okaaayyyy...."  I don't know if I made up some lame excuse, but if I did make up an excuse, I guarantee you it was lame.

After that visit, I vowed it would not happen again and proceeded to tear off every sticker I'd so carefully placed over the years.

I was reminded of the above when I found these two monster puffy stickers stuck to the side of a bedroom dresser at an estate sale a while back.

Monster Jokes & Riddles

Most people know Norman Bridwell for his "Clifford the Big Red Dog" series of books, but he also had a thing for monsters.  In addition to "The Witch Next Door" and "How to Care for Your Monster", he also released this collection of Monster Jokes and Riddles in 1972.

Casper and the Demon of Darkness

This Peter Pan Book & Record of "Casper and the Demon of Darkness" was released in 1976.  The cover art is by Warren Kremer, a long time Harvey Comics artist who created Richie Rich and Hot Stuff. 

Fosta Funglasses

These children's novelty cat glasses were made by Foster Grant in the 1950's.  I found them hiding on a closet shelf of an estate sale for 50 cents.

Bayshore Pumpkin Safety Lanterns

I recently found these Jack O' Lantern triplets at a sale.

Witch Bendy

I found this witch bendy at the same sale as the vampire bendy.  She's made in Hong Kong as well.

Halloween Covered

Someone bought this Halloween tablecloth for a party that never materialized.  Still in it's original package marked at 59 cents, I paid $1 for it.  I guess at least they made a profit.  I would guess it dates from the 1970's.

Universal Monster Candle Busts

When I first found these wax monster noggins, I thought they were old.  Doing some research, it looks like they were produced in the last 20 years.  Still cool.  I don't think I'll burn these, although, if I had the Frankenstein candle, it might be appropriate.

Since this was such a short post, can I light a candle under you (see what I did there) and advise that you head (again!  I can't stop!) on over to the great Countdown to Halloween and check out what all the other boils and ghouls are up to!

Dynamite Monster Bash

Dynamite was one of my staple orders from Scholastic Books when I was a kid.  And one of my favorite parts of the magazine was always Count Morbida.  This issue from 1975 dates a little prior to when I started reading it, but I was fortunate to come across it along with several other issues at an estate sale this summer.  It's issue number twelve and it devotes a large section to planning a Monster Bash.  Maybe you can use some of these for your Halloween party this year.

A Monster Mask Mystery

Sometimes when I start writing a post, it begins as one thing and ends as another.  Initially, this post was about trying to identify a mask, but it turned into a tangential examination of Halloween masks used in classic television shows and movies I recall fondly from my childhood.  In other words, I'm easily distracted.

Last spring, I drove a fair distance to attend what appeared to be an enormous estate sale chock full of retro goodies.  What particularly caught my eye in the ads for the sale were numerous Ben Cooper/Collegeville plastic Halloween masks. Once inside and after fighting my way through the crowd, I finally found the room with the masks, just in time to see a lady grabbing every plastic mask there. I pushed toward her to see if she'd left any, but she hadn't.  However, she had passed on a rubber mask which I grabbed.

Fun in Story

This children's book dates from 1940 and was written by Gertrude Hildreth who was a psychologist and wrote the first textbook on applying psychology to school problems.

Vampire Bendy

 I found this rubber bendy vampire figure at a sale for a quarter.  How could I pass him up?

Away, Foul Creatures of Evil!

Even Soap Operas couldn't resist the allure of the monster mania that swept the mid 1960's and countered the typical serial soap romance and melodrama with "Dark Shadows".  Hosting a variety of ghouls, the show starred Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) as the reluctant vampire in search of his lost love.

The show was cancelled in 1971, but lived on in comic books and later revivals, most recently the 2012 Tim Burton film.

In this August 1972 Gold Key issue, Barnabas' long-time nemesis Angelique (who is responsible for turning Barnabas into a vampire 175 years ago) sics two "Night Children" on Barnabas, convincing him they are simply poor waifs looking for their lost dog before going all demonic on him.  Enjoy the story and the groovy ads!

Halloween -- It's Still My Bag, Baby!

It's hard to believe the Halloween season has rolled around yet again. And once more, I have received an exclusive invitation from the countdowntohalloween.com gang to participate in this year's festivities. Okay, actually they forgot all about me and I had to politely knock and ask to come in.