Dino Drac’s 2023 Daily Halloween Thing!
Wednesday, September 6th:
I’m a Halloween candle junkie. Can’t get enough of them. Perpetually have way too many of them. Never stop buying them.
While I’m no stranger to splurging at places like Yankee Candle, my favorite is still this simple Pumpkin Pie jar from Michaels, which is almost always on sale. (You’ll rarely pay more than $5 for it, and often it’ll be closer to $3.50.)
This particular scent, which reads like a mix of pumpkin pie and Wack-O-Wax Fangs, has become so synonymous with my Halloween celebrations that it’s hard to imagine the season without it. It’s also the only Halloween candle that I’ve never gotten tired of.
From now through 10/31, it’s damn near impossible to find a Michaels that doesn’t have this candle in stock. So no excuses! Go get one, or three, and marvel at all of the other spooky bric-a-brac while you’re there.
(This reads like a sponsored post. I assure you, it isn’t, but if the titular “Michael” is reading, you owe me, dawg.)
Tuesday, September 5th:
One of my favorite things about the Friday the 13th franchise is how Jason – meaning unmasked Jason – looks different in each movie. I dig how there’s at least some logic behind his evolving appearance, based on whatever damage he took in the prior film.
I’d still rank Jason’s look from Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter as the best of them, though. Jason really didn’t become “Jason” until Part III, and given that our boy had an ax lodged in his head by the end of that movie, it made sense that The Final Chapter’s Jason looked like a battle-damaged walking corpse.
This also marked the last time that Jason could be described as fully human. He technically wasn’t in Part V, and by the time he came back for Jason Lives, we were officially in his supernatural zombie era.
PS: While The Final Chapter is only my second favorite film in the series (Part 2 is my champ), it’s the one I recommend the most often. If you’ve never seen a F13 flick, this really is the ultimate entry. Perfect Jason, great cast, a blast to watch, and you get that scene with Crispin Glover dancing, too.
Monday, September 4th:
I’m sure you didn’t expect me to shoehorn the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade into the Halloween Countdown, but I’m gonna, because I need to tell you about the Skeleton Warriors’ infamous appearance.
Well, it’s infamous to me, at least. The rest of the planet might’ve missed it, given that they were onscreen for a total of thirty quiet seconds.
It all went down at the 68th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, in 1994. About two-thirds of the way through the broadcast, none other than the Skeleton Warriors rolled down 34th Street on the classic Euclid Rocket Car, which over the years hosted everyone from soap opera stars to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Or, as was the case in 1994, the Skeleton Warriors. There were two humans and two skeletal monsters, including Baron Dark. Now, it’s really Baron Dark that made this such a spectacle. While I believe there was a live actor buried deep in the suit, Dark looked more like a wind-powered puppet, swaying and waving wildly while the crowd looked on in complete and utter shock.
It takes a lot to seem out of place at a Macy’s Parade, but the Skeleton Warriors did it. And it was GLORIOUS. This was, of course, meant to promote the cartoon and toy line. It’s hard to say if the bonkers, blink-and-you’d-miss-it appearance inspired much interest, but I’ll never forget it.
Here’s the entire broadcast, if you’re up for the challenge of finding them. You can also listen to our old Purple Stuff episode about the ‘94 parade, because if I recall correctly, I gushed about the Skeleton Warriors for five straight minutes.
Sunday, September 3rd:
I finally found the Monster Mash Remix fruit snacks, complete with Carmella Creeper pieces that fortunately do not taste like caramel apples. (Sorry, I’m a hater.)
They were at a Stop & Shop across town. I’ve said it before, but the excuse to visit different supermarkets and department stores is one of my favorite things about the Halloween season. Whenever I’m bored, I just hop in my car and drive around, in no particular direction, stopping at various stores as I happen upon them.
I don’t even have to be hunting anything specifically. If I find something, great, but it’s really just a chance to get out, get around, soak up some spooky store displays, and just feel the season.
It’s the peak time for it, too. A lot of us started making these excursions back in July, but now it’s September, and even the stores that haven’t fully switched over to Halloween are at least halfway there. And of course, by the time October rolls around, we’ll all have seen this stuff so many times, the novelty won’t be as strong.
If you’ve got a few extra minutes today, try it out. Pick a store that you don’t normally shop at, and see if you get lucky. (And if you happen to find Mtn Dew VooDew V, pick me up a bottle. Or maybe six bottles.)
Saturday, September 2nd:
It’s a lost art nowadays, but I always loved it when broadcast TV networks threw movie marathons together for Halloween. On that note, here’s a spot for FOX 5 NY’s “Shriek Week” in 1986. This was my local FOX affiliate, so there’s a good chance that I saw slivers of these movies during that marathon.
I say “slivers” because in 1986, I was still a little kid with a very limited threshold for terror. Even this screechy promo would’ve wrecked me. Course, knowing what I know now about these movies, it’s probably for the best that I avoided them. Hell, The Entity is still a tough watch!
Now I’m in the mood for some old school horror. First Saturday night of September, so the timing is right! Hope y’all will consider doing the same. If you make popcorn, add a few dashes of Tabasco. Trust me.
Friday, September 1st:
Welcome to Dinosaur Dracula’s 2023 Halloween Countdown!
Okay, so this is a modest launch compared to years past, but I wanted to ease into things this season. (Sorry to everyone who was expecting a video launch, but I’m just not in the right mindset yet. Hopefully, I will be soon!)
This might be a smaller-than-usual launch, but there’s still plenty for you to catch up on. Let’s start with the return of Dino Drac’s Halloween Thing, which is the page you’re on now. Just like last year, I’ll be updating it every single day between now and 10/31, with bite-sized blogs about ghoulish goodies.
In fact, I started secretly updating this page over a week ago, so you already have a whole bunch of entries to read. Just keep scrolling!
BUT WAIT! I’m also doing a second daily feature. Go check out The Spooky Foods Graveyard! This will be updated every day throughout September only, with tributes to discontinued snacks that all have some tie to the darkside.
In addition to all of that, Dino Drac’s Halloween Jukebox has been reactivated, and is ready to serenade you with HUNDREDS of terror-charged songs, 24/7 from now through Halloween! (Works on desktop and mobile!)
Be aware that I’m not planning to plug this stuff often on social media. If you like it when Dino Drac kicks it old school, then you’re going to have to find it the old school way – by coming here directly. Are you up for the challenge?
I’m very much looking forward to spending yet another Halloween season with y’all. Enjoy the new features, and check back every day as they grow! (And for whatever other surprises that might pop up when you least expect them.)
PS: Don’t be afraid to hang out in the comment threads, too. That’s really the only way I know anyone is reading! Happy September, everyone!
Thursday, August 31st:
Shown above is an extremely rare press photo from Toy Fair 1989, featuring Milton Bradley’s over-the-top booth for their then-new Spider Wars board game.
If you’ve never played it, it was kinda like a mutant version of Connect Four, with lots of plastic spiders. A fun game for sure, but it was hardly Monopoly, and I’m shocked that Milton Bradley pushed it that hard at Toy Fair.
A guy dressed like Dracula handled the demonstrations against a backdrop filled with enormous prop spiders. Oh, to be a fly on the wall! (Wait… on second thought, bad idea.)
While it’s always been customary for toymakers to make big productions of their newest products at Toy Fair, I’m amazed that such an obscure game got this level of fuss!
