Welcome to Dino Drac’s third annual MAUSOLEUM OF MADNESS! From now though October 31st, I’ll be posting teensy tributes to vintage valuables from Halloween’s petrifying past!

Check back every day for new updates, and get set for an eerie onslaught of everything from decorations to old advertisements to weird toys and beyond, all with a spooky slant! (You can also check out the prior Mausoleums here and here.)

#9: Haunted House Blow Mold! (1999) 🏚️

Well, here it is. My all-time favorite Halloween blow mold. The one that pushes all of my hyper-specific buttons so damn hard, no other blow mold has the slightest chance of topping it.

This is the second edition of the Union Products Haunted House blow mold, a two-foot terror designed by the late Don Featherstone. (If you don’t know Don’s history, I’ll summarize by saying that he invented pink lawn flamingos.)

The first version of the blow mold hit stores a few years prior, and had more of a classic haunted house color scheme. (Picture Psycho or The Addams Family.) You can see both versions in a reel I posted over on IG.

Many collectors prefer the original, but we’re talking about me, here – a guy with the general sensibilities of a goth, but with neon quirks that ruin the vibe. OF COURSE I’m gonna go bananas over a gloomy haunted house splattered with arbitrary color splotches that make no sense.

When it comes to vintage Halloween decorations, we can broadly divide into two types: Things that feel like Halloween decorations, and things that feel like all-year always-out decor for people with a certain spooky slant. This is definitely the latter type. The idea that I’d shove this into the attic after October? Don’t insult me!

The bad news? Neither version of the blow mold is cheap or easy to find, and that seems doubly true for this wacky paintball edition. If you find one in good shape for even $300, congratulations, because most people can’t!

#8: Rice Krispies Jack-o’-Lanterns! (1982) 🥣

This magazine advertisement, likely plucked from Woman’s Day, has long been a favorite. In fact, some of you might remember an article I wrote more than 20 years ago, where I followed that recipe to make my own Rice Krispies Jack-o’-Lantern Treats! (It went badly, as I recall.)

I love it when food ads double as recipes, and that’s especially true when it’s a recipe for something so simple, you barely even need to read the directions. Okay, so I’m forming Rice Krispies Treats into balls, and then covering them with cake frosting? Got it. Save your ten-step breakdown for Rice Krispies Meatloaf.

These Jack-o’-Lantern Treats look great, but let’s be real, they’re strictly for kids. Once you hit a certain age, you come to the sad realization that there’s indeed such a thing as too much frosting. “A cloying mess,” your inner food critic screams, probably in a sort of Frasier Crane accent.

For kids, that’s never true. Many times, I’ve seen my nieces and nephews eat the tops off cupcakes like they were Trandoshans collecting Wookiee scalps. A ball-shaped Rice Krispies Treat slathered in four tablespoons of radioactive orange sugar is for them, not me.

While you can easily make a modern day version of these, the recipe specifically called for long-discontinued Marshmallow Krispies. That cereal freakin’ ruled, too. Today’s Krispies carry the air of something you might line a hermit cage with, but brother, they put out some bangers back in the day.

#7: The Incredible EPI Devil! (1990) 😈

At the conclusion of last year’s Telco-heavy Mausoleum of Madness, I wondered if that was going to be another of my patented flash-in-the-pan interests, doomed to fizzle out as soon as the next shiny red ball bounced by.

Nope! I’ve only gotten more obsessed since then. In the many months since my last update, I’ve picked up some major pieces that could bankroll a weeklong Disney World vacation if I preferred going out and living life to staying in and looking at plastic monsters.

This is one of them. The EPI Devil, from 1990. Technically not a Telco – “EPI” was the company who released him – but so structurally similar that collectors don’t discriminate. (Hell, he even has the same exact head as Telco’s own glowing-eyed Devil, because many of these competing lines were sourcing from the same overseas factories.)

I don’t want to get into the weeds with this figure’s history, because we’ll be here forever, and you’ll absolutely peace-out before I’m done. Let’s stick with what’s important: He’s a two-foot glowing-eyed demon, dressed like a priest mixed with Hugh Hefner, wielding a skull and pitchfork.

The EPI Devil is quite rare, and these days, he reliably fetches $1500 with ease. (For the record, I did not pay that much!) He only pops up for sale a few times a year, so if a collector really wants one, there isn’t much time to haggle.

If you think that’s a lot to pay for an old, fragile Halloween decoration… well, you’re right, but I implore you to check out this video I posted of the EPI Devil in action. Tell me that isn’t the coolest, most demented thing you’ve ever seen. What a stud! Read More…

Posted by Matt on 09/01/26
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On the eve of September, we’re ready to drop a highly Halloween-appropriate episode of the Purple Stuff Podcast. As for the subject matter, well, picture the Oscars, staged from HELL!

It’s the Horror Hall of Fame II! This syndicated television special from 1991 was a sequel to the original Horror Hall of Fame, which we covered years ago. The second edition was just as stuffed with celebrities, corny cheese, fog machines, and a particular reverence for a genre that wasn’t getting a whole lot of respect from outside its bubble.

While we couldn’t tackle everything that happened on the two-hour broadcast, this latest episode definitely hits the highlights – like Richard Moll giving a posthumous award to Bela Lugosi, and Vincent Price namedropping Child’s Play 2 like it was no big thing.

Live from Universal Studios Hollywood! Hosted by Robert Englund and the Crypt Keeper! Tons of canned crowd noise! This baby has it all.

Click here to listen to this month’s show!

…which is also available on Apple, Spotify and wherever else you listen to podcasts.

…but wait, there’s more!

Our pal Lincoln rescued this obscure television special from the depths of a dusty VHS tape, and he was generous enough to let us share the whole thing on YouTube! That video features the entire two-hour broadcast, with the original TV commercials and all! (We talk about some of those on the podcast, too. Hard not to, when the TV spot for the Nightmare VCR game ran 37 thousand times!)

As a reminder, the Purple Stuff Podcast is also on Patreon, where we drop an exclusive bonus show every month. Join now and you’ll hear the exciting tale about us playing glow-in-the-dark Ghostbusters frisbee. (And get immediate access to our back catalog of nearly 100 bonus episodes!)

Thanks, all! The Halloween season is here! Let’s make the most of the next two months, because we’ll sure miss ‘em when they’re over!

Posted by Matt on 08/31/26
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Oh yes, it’s that time of year again! As is tradition, Dino Drac’s Eerie August Funpack kicks off three full months of ALL-SPOOKY boxes, each filled to the brim with ghoulish goodies that will make your Halloween season awesome.

Subscriptions are currently maxed out, but I have just a few August Funpacks left to sell on an individual basis. Skip to the bottom to grab one, and I’d suggest being quick about it, because the Halloween boxes are the most popular ones I do, and they always sell out fast!

As usual, the cost is $25, and that somehow includes shipping, even though the USPS now charges 400 thousand dollars to mail a letter. How do I do it? Magic, dark magic.

I’m very happy with how the 2026 Eerie August Funpack turned out, and I think you will be, too. It’s scary, it’s surprising, and it has a little bag of bat-shaped pretzels. Let’s see what’s in the box… Read More…

Posted by Matt on 08/25/26
Permalink | 8 Comments