Dinosaur Dracula!

Purple Stuff: Spooky Songs, Volume XI!

The wait is over! It’s time for one of The Purple Stuff Podcast’s most important annual traditions, where we give your Halloween playlists a boost with song suggestions that you probably never considered before. Yes indeed, it’s time for SPOOKY SONGS, VOLUME ELEVEN!

Me and Jay from Sludge Central have been at this for around a decade now, and it’s still one of our favorite shows to do. This deep into the series, it’s more challenging than ever to find killer songs that we haven’t already covered – so we had to turn over a lot of rocks to dig out the good stuff. I think we succeeded!

Join us as we celebrate another ten terrifying tracks that would be perfect for your Halloween playlist. Featured artists include Jon Mikl Thor, the Crypt Keeper, and The Chipmunks!

Click here to listen to this month’s show!

…which you can also find on Apple, Spotify, and wherever else you listen to podcasts.

As a reminder, The Purple Stuff Podcast is also on Patreon, where you can grab an exclusive bonus episode, every month. (We just dropped the latest one, where we name some of the hottest Halloween food promotions coming our way this October.)

Thanks so much for listening, and for sharing the show around! This latest episode actually counts as September’s – we had to push it off, because I’ve been sick. But that means you’ve still got more Halloween action coming from The Purple Stuff Podcast this month, so stay tuned! Happy October!

The Mausoleum of Madness!

Welcome to Dino Drac’s Mausoleum of Madness! Here you’ll find daily drops of creepy collectibles from my personal collection, all never previously seen on the site. Everything from eerie ephemera to terrifying toys. There are some major gems waiting to be featured here! Updated throughout the season!

#28: McNugget Ghouls Sign! (1998)

Those wanting to collect all of McDonald’s Halloween McNugget Buddies are in for a tougher time than they might realize. See, back in 1998, there was another set of four released in an Australian Happy Meal.

These special glow-in-the-dark figures are pretty rare today, with complete sets typically selling for hundreds of dollars. Course, as rare as the figures are, they have nothing on this giant sign, which hung in an Australian McDonald’s back in 1998. I paid a lot for it, but given the strong likelihood that it’s the last surviving example on the planet, I still think I got a good deal.

And for anyone after the actual figures? If you want my advice, you’ll wait until Halloween is over. The prices won’t totally collapse, but sellers will be much more likely to accept lowball offers once the toys are out of season.

#27: Kool Stuf Halloween S’mores! (2000)

The brief saga of Nabisco’s Kool Stuf toaster pastries began in 1999. A rebrand of Toasterettes meant to more fiercely compete with Pop-Tarts, they were only around for a few years, and left little in their wake beyond occasional Reddit posts from people who remember them as “Cool Tarts.”

Along the way, the brand dropped this absolute masterpiece. Halloween S’mores toaster pastries, with two-tone filling and sprinkled orange frosting. They don’t even look real! In fact, I’d been searching for a box just to prove that they were real, because the evidence of these things was so scant, I couldn’t rule out that the few online images were just fan creations.

It’s one of my all-time favorite Halloween package designs, looking more like something from the early ‘90s than Y2K.

#26: Pizza Hut’s Bigfoot Pizza! (1993)

This is a genuine Bigfoot Pizza bag, complete with sauce stains. Back in the ‘90s, it was stuffed with a two-foot pie containing 21 erratic slices. It certainly wasn’t the best pizza around, but for kids reared on Ellio’s and the “three minute nuke” rule, it was perfectly serviceable weekend fuel.

The thrill was in the volume, and in the theatrics. If Pizza Hut sold the Bigfoot Pizza with a less-flashy title, we wouldn’t have nearly as much nostalgia for it. Presenting the pies as being under the auspices of a sasquatch who wore neon clothes was pure genius.

If you’re wondering what the Bigfoot Pizza is doing on a Halloween feature, well… hello? It’s a pizza named after a cryptid. Where else would it be? Besides, it was surely the food of choice at hundreds of Halloween parties in the mid ‘90s. You can just picture those wee little slices on disposable orange plates, while Hallmark’s Sounds of Halloween cassette blared in the background. Read More…

Dino Drac’s Spooky September Funpack!

Dino Drac’s Spooky September Funpack is here, and it’s a banger! This one will fill you with so much Halloween spirit, your eye might pop out of your head like the guy from Friday the 13th Part 3.

It’s a boo-tiful bounty of high-end haunted collectibles, with an emphasis on quality over quantity. Some real showpieces in this one!

Subscriptions are currently closed, but I have a fair number of spares that I can offer on an individual basis. The cost is $25, shipped to anywhere in the United States. The Halloween-themed Funpacks historically sell fast, so if you’re interested, zip to the bottom to see if there are any left!

Otherwise, keep reading to learn about everything in this month’s box… Read More…

Purple Stuff: Werewolves & Wolf Creatures!

The Purple Stuff Podcast is howlin’ into the Halloween season with a jumbo-sized episode that’s many (full) moons in the making. Prepare yourselves for eight great WEREWOLVES and WOLF CREATURES from all walks of pop culture!

Now, this being us, it’s definitely not a list of the most well-known werewolves. If you wanna see The Wolf Man, turn on Turner Classic Movies. If you wanna hear about John Saxon wearing fake back hair and eating mice, listen to The Purple Stuff Podcast.

Me and Jay from Sludge Central have put together quite a hairy haul for this episode, which covers everything from movies to toys to completely forgotten episodes of long-ended syndicated TV shows. You’ll love it!

Click here to listen to this month’s show!

…which you can also find on Spotify, Apple, and wherever else you listen to podcasts.

As a reminder, The Purple Stuff Podcast is also on Patreon, where you can grab exclusive bonus shows every month. We’re doing all-spooky shows over there, all season long!

Stop reading here if you’d rather be surprised, but if not, here’s a list of links that’ll help you learn more about our assorted wolf picks!

1. Superboy “Werewolf” Episode!
2. Coors Light Beerwolf!
3. Tales from the Crypt: Werewolf Concerto!
4. My Mom’s a Werewolf!
5. Dr Pepper’s Little Red Riding Hood TV Spot!
6. Tyco’s Gorzak!
7. Hornby’s WereBears!
8. Tales from the Darkside: Family Reunion!

Thanks so much for listening, and for sharing the show around! We’ve got some killer stuff in store for you on the podcast this season. Stay tuned!

Oh, and PS: I know this is around when I usually start Halloweening on Dino Drac. I just need a few more days to catch my bearings after a truly trying month. Hang tight… the fun stuff is coming!