Dino Drac’s 2016 Halloween Countdown!
Welcome, foolish mortals.
Dinosaur Dracula’s 2016 Halloween Countdown…
BEGINS…
NOW.
(WATCH FULL-SIZED ON YOUTUBE!)
Thank you for that, Larry and Leviathan. Whatever that was.
This is my favorite time of year. People who aren’t Halloween addicts may look at us like we’re peculiarly focused on one single day, but really, October 31st is just the cherry on top.
This isn’t about Halloween proper, because let’s face it, Halloween proper marks the end of the season. It’s kind of sad, in its way. That’s why we spend it drinking heavily while dressed like goblins. Extreme measures to dull the pain.
Whenever someone blasts me for starting too early, I just think… why wouldn’t I? The Halloween season is the only time of year when I feel pretty close to 100% alive. Why would I want to limit that to just one month? You should be asking me why I don’t start in June.
“You’ll get bored with Halloween before it even gets here,” others might say. Trust me, I won’t. I don’t see how anyone could. I mean, maybe I’ll get sick of writing about it, but I doubt that I’ll ever piss on the excuse to draw bat/reaper hybrids while watching Unsolved Mysteries, with my free hand dipping into a bucket of fun-sized Snickers. You tell me that that’s a thing, and I’m gonna book the cabin for an extra month.
You wouldn’t be here if you disagreed.
So let’s party.
The Halloween Countdown began in 2003, when I was still running X-E. Counting those and the Dino Drac years, this is my fourteenth Countdown. This is my baby, and it’s probably older than yours.
A fair portion of you have been with me since the beginning. Together we’ve discovered that if you treat the Halloween season with the right sort of reverence, you’ll get to spend two months each year feeling half your age. Let’s listen to Filter and break Snapple bottles. While dressed like werewolves. Give me a rubber bat, and I’ll give you a better Matt.
From now through October 31st, Dino Drac is ALL SPOOKY, ALL THE TIME.
You’ll read dozens of articles that have some tie to the season, no matter how tangential. Everything from this year’s hottest Halloween candy to 1985’s most vaguely spooky action figure line is fair game. You’ll also watch videos, listen to podcasts and maybe participate in group spells. Expect to enter November with a regrettable tattoo. I will break you.
I’m a firm believer that Halloween — some aspect of Halloween — can be enjoyed every single day from now through THE day. But I also admit that I’m in the more unique position to take full advantage of that. Some of you lead lives that are far too busy for many spooky shenanigans, and I totally understand that. You’re exactly who I’m writing for. Let me be your Better Than Nothing. I’ll drive, I’ll pay, I’ll dig.
This is probably the most front-loaded Halloween Countdown I’ve ever done. You’ve already seen one video, and you’re halfway through a bitchy screed about how Halloween is everything and don’t you deny it. But there’s still more!
For starters, the first of this year’s “regular” posts is already up, paying tribute to Good Humor’s legendary Vampire’s Secret ice pops. Go read that when you’re done here. (Not a request.)
Next we have the launch of a brand new section of the site, Dino Drac After Dark. This is a little side blog that will only be updated after midnight. Expect lots of surveys and weird YouTube videos. Basically, it’s a place for people who never sleep to hang out.
And then we have… this:
(WATCH FULL-SIZED ON YOUTUBE!)
Madd Matt has returned, this time with random Halloween garbage. Let him share his trash with you.
Finally, desktop readers can once again enjoy 100 spooky songs on Dino Drac’s Halloween Jukebox, which I guess is technically X-Entertainment’s Halloween Jukebox, but whatever. The playlist is time-tested and monster-approved. Wanna listen? Look for the jukebox graphic hiding on the right side of every page.
…and we’re just getting started. Get set for 60+ days of horror movies and Frankenstein dolls and pumpkin spice this and caramel apple that. The Countdown will be updated every weekday and on certain weekends. I am going to throw so many words in your face. Hordak photos, too.
Welcome to Dinosaur Dracula’s 2016 Halloween Countdown.
More importantly, welcome to the 2016 Halloween season.
Let us all live again.
(If you didn’t read this while a pumpkin candle burned nearby, you did it wrong.)
PS: A huge thanks to two dudes who help make the Countdown what it is. First, thanks to Jason Week for absolutely rocking this year’s Halloween logo, which by every objective measure is the best one he’s ever done. (And that’s saying a lot.)
Second, thanks to Cliff of Cliffpro for his tremendous work in tackling Dino Drac’s technical end, including the site’s mobile version and the new After Dark section.
Both of them have selflessly made time for me since the very beginning of Dino Drac, and I cannot overstate the weight of their contributions. Thanks again, guys. You rule.
