Haunting Homes

Happy Mid-Ween, also known as noon on Halloween.

I thought I'd share some home haunts I came across this year while out garage and estate saling.  It was actually pretty scant this year, I was surprised.  So not a lot of photos, but some fun ones.  Some of these aren't very clear as I had to take the photo from the street.  I didn't want to just walk up on someone's lawn or to their porch.

Hello Nurse! Happy Halloween!

Well, that went quick.  The big day is here.  Welcome to Halloween all!  Here in the midwest, we've been experiencing an Indian Summer with temperatures in the low 80's.  Not very Halloween-like, but it's supposed to cool down with a thunderstorm in the early morning of Halloween.

This photo was among the lot I bought earlier this year from which I've posted a few photos.  I felt pretty fortunate to find a Halloween photo as they're not terribly common, especially in this size (8" x 10"). The original owner of the photos was a nurse beginning in the 1920's.  The back of this photo is labeled "Nurse's Halloween Party Chicago".

Monster Rally

I found this book over the summer. The "Chas Addams" name was enough to catch my attention, even if it didn't already have me at "Monster".

Zither Magic

I'll admit, I sometimes buy record albums simply for the cover.  Particularly if they evoke something Halloween related.  This album fits that category.

Cat on the Moon

I'm posting this midday to make up for the missed posting yesterday.

The cat on this diecut is perched upon the nose of the moon who doesn't seem to mind.

It's made by Beistle and given it's heavy embossing, guess that it dates no later than the 1940's.

It's actually a swipe of a German design from the 1930's:

Image courtesy of eBay

If an Invisible Weeble Falls Down, Would You Know?

Way back in 2017, I showcased one of my childhood grails, the Weebles Haunted House.  But, there is an even rarer Weeble grail I was only made of aware of in recent years.  It was a promotion with 3M Scotch "Magic Tape" in the 1970's.  You might remember the Magic tape spokesman, The Invisible Man, from the commercials.

At an estate sale this past summer, I was in a crowded basement, both with items and people.  While I was breezing by for a fast pass seeing if anything jumped out, my daughter was digging through a box of small craft items.  She suddenly pulled out a Weeble, but not just any Weeble, an Invisible Man Weeble.

Scratch Cat Fever

While today's die cut isn't as vintage as some I've posted here this season, it is, to me, definitive Halloween.  This classic Beistle Scratch Cat is the one I remember hanging on our classroom wall in Elementary School in the 1970's.  I love its vibrant green outline, its wild eyes, and its polished(?) nails.  Its hackles are raised, its tail in full bushy mode, its teeth ready to bite.

As soon as the teacher brought out this die cut and hung it up, it was "go time" in my mind.  Halloween was almost here and it was hard concentrating on anything in the classroom. Staring at this die cut occupied the time I should have been focusing on the lesson at hand on the chalk board.  I'm not sure if the teacher ever figured that out, but she left the die cut up throughout the season.

Brutus and Frank

 I came across this vintage Halloween costume minus the mask, but I loved the artwork on it.  It screamed '50's Monster Movie to me. The red eyes, the fangs, the blood(?).

Flavour Candy Witch Treat Bag

 Ten (!) Years ago, I posted this Flavour Candy Treat Bag.  Today I have another.

Blowing in the Wind

I found this beaten scarecrow at the same estate sale as this witch and this witch.  I really like the design of this.  The colors are still vibrant, the haystacks and pumpkins well-detailed.

Creative Holidays

This Creative Holidays box of index cards from 1974 is chock full of ways to celebrate holidays throughout the year. These appear to be aimed at elementary schools rather than home use.

Make Some More Noise

Actually, you can't make any noise with this horn.  The mouthpiece is missing. I guess you could make your own toots through it if you really wanted to. It has those classic Halloween graphics I love.

Peck Dracula and Skeleton Die Cuts

Sorry for dropping the ball today and not posting on time, but I'm here to make up for it.  You guessed it, more die cuts!  I believe both of these are made by Peck.  The skeleton and Jack O' Lantern is classic 1970's Peck design.

Don Post Nostrum

When you discussing rubber masks (and I do frequently) you are obligated to acknowledge Don Post Studios as the crème de la crème of the mask world (with everything but Yul Brynner!).  In fact, he's known as The Godfather of Halloween.

This Don Post "Nostrum" mask dates from 1983 and is essentially, just a giant nose with eyes and ears.

Peter Pan Witch Doctor 45

Time to look at (and listen to) another record. This one didn't appear on the back of a cereal box, but was published by Peter Pan.  It features a cover of the Ross Bagdasarian (aka David Seville of Chipmunks fame) song "Witch Doctor".  I believe it dates from the 1970s.

The Fright Stuff

When you see more die cuts posted, you know I'm running behind on posts and needed something quick.  I'm having trouble keeping up this year, despite taking several days off this past week.  But anyway, here you go.  While these aren't classic die cuts, they are Beistle and they date from the 1980's, so they have a little creep cred.

First up is a classic Dracula.

Masked

Continuing from yesterday's blog about disguises, here are some rubber/vinyl masks I found this summer at various garage and estate sales.  When I was a kid, rubber masks were for the wealthy.

First up is this vampire mask with "lifelike" hair.  The odd thing is, he had sculpted hair already.  I guess it didn't do well, so they thought adding additional hair might help.  I'm not sure of the maker of this.

Disguised

When I was deciding on a Halloween costume as a kid, it was always my goal to not be recognized, whether it was through the use of mask or makeup.  I generally didn't have the scratch for a costume, so many times, it was makeup.  I've written previously about some of my failed attempts at using makeup to disguise myself.

Imagineering and other companies sold kits aimed at making kids think they could successfully disguise themselves without the need for makeup.  I recently found the remnants of some of those kits.

Stirring the Pot

We're not done with die cuts yet, not by a long shot.

Here's another witch die cut made by Beistle.  It's another unusual one I've not seen before and was bought at the same sale as yesterday's witch.  I believe it's a bit older and probably dates to the 1940's or before.

Perched on her stool, she stirs the post of her ghoulish goo with a dead branch.  When's dinner?

 

Wax On, Wax Off

I'm not sure of the age of this Glenn Confections Fun Gum.  It has a 9-digit zip code.  Zip+4 was introduced in 1983 in the United States.  Glenn confections went out of business in 1994.  At any rate, it's a survivor.  The original recipient resisted the urge to chew it.