Sinister Survey! (#2)
During last week’s Sinister Survey, I asked you to come up with a “Halloween makeover” for an existing junk food. There were soooo many great ideas! If anyone missed that thread, it’s required reading.
Now it’s time for our second Sinister Survey:
When we think about the Halloween traditions of our youth, our minds drift to the big stuff: Costumes, candies and pumpkins.
But I wanna know if you had any traditions that were a little less obvious. Think back! What was something you counted on as part of your childhood Halloween seasons that *wasn’t* one of the “major” things?
Mine was stickers. Yeah, stickers. As in Halloween-themed stickers. Like those Hallmark stickers that came with four sheets per package. Straight through elementary school and even beyond, I needed at least one pack of those every single Halloween season.
I liked the stickers, of course, but what I remember most are the fun things they encouraged me to do, from mailing gaudily-decorated letters to prettying up my school notebooks.
To this day, I have an unusual reverence for Halloween stickers, even if I can find far fewer uses for them as an adult.
Your turn! Name some of *your* oddball childhood Halloween traditions, in the comments!
Macabre Movies of the Week! (#2)
Get ready for the second edition of Macabre Movies of the Week, featuring another trio of spoooooky vids that you can binge now or spread across the week. Your call!
First up is The Video Dead, a horror film that with a little more finesse might’ve been something huge. Course, I wouldn’t trade the final product for anything. I’ve run this on After Dark before, but it’s so worth a double-dip. Horror fans are generally aware of the film, but I feel like it isn’t talked about enough!
Synopsis, from Google: “Ghouls from the movie ’Zombie Blood Nightmare’ emerge from a brother and sister’s TV.”
Next we have the old My Pet Monster cartoon series — and I mean the whole series. This is a playlist containing every single episode, so if you enjoy what you see, you can let it play for hours.
The show ran on ABC for just one season in ‘87. Given the sheer implausibility of My Pet Monster getting a series to begin with, I’d still call that a rousing success.
This last video was suggested by our pal Jugendsehnsucht. It’s a 20/20 special report called VCR Horrors, which aired in 1987. (Fittingly enough, the same year The Video Dead was released.)
It was an exposé on the many “sadistic” movies available to impressionable kids, with the expected dose of heavy-handedness. After 30+ years, it’s more amusing than aggravating. It’s also especially resonant for someone my age, because when this aired, I was still young enough to envision all but the most mainstream horror movies as direct portals to Hell.
To view the previous Macabre Movies of the Week, click here. I’ll be back next Friday with more.
Chilling Challenge! (#2)
Last week, I challenged you to watch a horror movie you’d never seen. Looks like quite a few of you took me up on it! There are so many great “capsule” reviews of everyone’s discoveries in last week’s thread, so read it if you missed it!
Now get ready for your second Chilling Challenge of the 2020 season…
It’s time for you to EAT CANDY.
But wait — there’s a catch!
I want you to pick a candy you’ve never tried before, OR one that you normally avoid over some vague childhood memory of not liking it very much. Maybe it’ll hit differently now?
It doesn’t necessarily have to be a “Halloween” candy, because during this season, all candy is Halloweeny.
So many of us claim to hate Mary Janes — but when’s the last time we tried one? This could be your chance to give them another shot.
Most of us love Snickers — so much so that we completely ignore Milky Way. Maybe this’ll spur you to buy a full-sized Milky Way bar for the first time in your life?
Course, if you want to keep it simple, you can just sample one of the new-for-2020 candies, like the Franken Cups or those Hershey’s Vampire Kisses.
BONUS POINTS: This challenge may encourage you to hit a supermarket, department store or pharmacy to select your candy. Those little trips are the secret heart of the season.
When you’re done, report back on which candy you picked and what you thought of it. You have until next Friday to complete this challenge!
Frightening Free-For All Thread! (#1)
Dinosaur Dracula’s 2020 Halloween Countdown has begun!
…and that means Dino Drac After Dark is back in business, too!
Think of Dino Drac After Dark as your late night clubhouse. It’s for night owls who aren’t into social media, or who just need another place to hang without as much stress or pressure. Whether you use it a little or a lot, it’s always here for you in those literally-dark moments.
This season, I’m going to do things differently on After Dark. Every Friday Night (or Saturday in this case, to align with the Countdown’s launch) I’ll be adding FOUR new posts that are meant to carry you through the week:
1) Frightening Free-For-All Threads!
These are general “chat threads” for y’all to have a place to casually chill and yap. You can talk about Halloweeny things, or just tell people what you had for lunch.
There aren’t many rules, aside from keeping it mostly light and fun. Some of you will only use these threads on the weekends, I’m sure, but they’re meant to be active all week — so feel free to keep the conversations going on dumbass Wednesdays, too!
2) Sinister Surveys!
Every week, I’ll ask a specific question, or call on you to share memories about a certain thing. Obviously, all of the Sinister Surveys will have some tie to the Halloween season.
You’re all encouraged to participate, of course, but you’re also encouraged to interact with everyone else on those threads. If someone has an interesting answer or shares a cool memory, talk to them about it!
The first Sinister Survey for the 2020 season is right over here.
3) Macabre Movies of the Week!
Every Friday night (or Saturday in this special case), I’ll post three spooky videos as the Macabre Movies of the Week.
These will include mixes of horror movies, spooky cartoons, beloved Halloween specials, weird documentaries, music videos, commercial compilations and more.
The first Macabre Movies of the Week selections are over here.
4) Chilling Challenges!
Just for kicks, I’ll throw you a little challenge every week between now and Halloween. These are meant to “force” you to do some Halloweeny activities, even if they’re on the simpler side. Take the challenge, and then report back with the results! The first Chilling Challenge for 2020 is over here.
And that’s the score, yo.
This is a different approach to After Dark’s Halloween season, but it’s what felt right for 2020. Whether it works or not depends on you guys! This place is here for you, so I hope you make use of it! Participation encourages participation, so don’t doubt your ability to get things rolling by posting comments on the various threads. (And hey, if lurking is more your thing? That’s fine too!)
If I’m reading the calendar correctly, there will be TEN weekly updates to After Dark between now and October 31st, starting with tonight’s quartet. Hope you enjoy ‘em, and I’ll see ya next Friday!
This post doubles as this week’s Free-For-All Thread. Talk about whatever, all week long!
