Longtime readers know about my obsession with Castle Dracula, a famous dark ride that once graced the boardwalk in Wildwood, New Jersey.

I’ve been to Wildwood several times since Castle Dracula burned down, and if I’m being honest, it just ain’t the same without it.

New Purple Stuff logo by the amazing Matthew Skiff!

…which is why the subject of our latest Purple Stuff minisode is so special!

Jay from The Sexy Armpit is similarly obsessed with Castle Dracula, and we were both shocked to learn that there was an “escape room” attraction in Philadelphia that sought to continue Castle Dracula’s legacy:

Escape Empire: Dead by Dusk is a total throwback. You’ve probably seen some high-tech escape room attractions (they’re even popular in shopping malls now), but this one is intentionally low-fi and meant to have the vibe of truly old school haunts and dark rides.

Best of all, the owner is a major Castle Dracula nut who put an enormous amount of time into giving this place the same flavor. Hell, there are even decorations that came straight from the original attraction!

We had no idea what we were in for, but we ended up being so glad we went. Hear all about our latest adventure by clicking the giant play button down below!

You can also download this week’s minisode by right-clicking here.

Main takeaway from this show: The Halloween season is what you make of it. Don’t just sit around looking at the same stuff day after day. Don’t just go to the same five stores and then act disappointed when things feel flat. Get out there! Do things!

Enjoy the show!

Here’s another batch of super old Halloween-themed newspaper ads, and a reminder that I love super old Halloween-themed newspaper ads. It’s nostalgia without the blinders on.

VHS Horror Movies!
(McCrory’s, 1988 & 1990)

Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, it was common practice for store chains to sell spooky VHS tapes during the Halloween season — even if they normally sold no tapes at all!

Typically, you’d find a standing rack of “budget” horror tapes, all sold for the same price. This happened in stores as large as Kmart and as small as your local pharmacy.

These tape assortments were often right next to the Halloween costumes. Even if you were apprehensive about scary movies (and I sure was), it was impossible to avoid making eye contact with the monsters on those boxes.

When we were kids, the mere proximity to danger made Halloween more exciting! Read More…

During Friday the 13th Part 2’s cold open, Alice Hardy — the sole survivor from the first movie — was killed by Jason Voorhees. (Icepick to the temple, if you were wondering!)

Perhaps more shocking than the way Alice croaked was what she saw just before it happened:

See, Jason was specifically after Alice to avenge his mother’s death. (Remember, Alice beheaded Pamela Voorhees in the original Friday the 13th.)

Jason somehow hid his mother’s rotting head in Alice’s refrigerator, ensuring that it’d be the last thing she saw before cashing out. (An unusually poetic move from Mr. Voorhees!)

During this scene, all eyes are naturally on Pamela’s head… unless you’re me, and you’re way more interested in what sort of food Alice kept in her fridge.

(click here for a larger pic)

That’s why I’m here!

Using that image, I was able to identify nearly every item in Alice’s refrigerator. I don’t just mean in a general way, either. Anyone can see that there’s a bottle of salad dressing in there, but I worked hard to determine exactly what kind of salad dressing it was.

Friday the 13th Part 2 was shot in late 1980. This particular scene was filmed in Torrington, Connecticut. Naturally, the items inside of Alice’s refrigerator reflected both of those facts.

Here’s the breakdown: Read More…