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!
Sinister Survey! (#1)
If you’re here, you’re someone who goes bananas over Halloween junk food. Don’t deny it!
In the comments, I want you to propose a HALLOWEEN MAKEOVER for an existing junk food, soda or candy.
Walk through any supermarket, and you’ll realize that there’s still a lot of untapped potential.
I’ll start you off with two ideas:
1) I still think that those garlic-flavored Doritos from a few years ago deserved a shot in the States, but I’d also settle for GHOST DORITOS — stark white chips with a generous dusting of ghost pepper. A pretty derivative idea, I admit, but I think it’d be swell.
2) Pass me a pack of Candy Apple Bubblicious, please. Red-and-white packaging with a few falling leaves. Bright red gum with a sweet-and-sour bite. Maybe we can bring back those “flavor crystals” from the Cinn-a-Burst era to really sell it?
What would *your* Halloween junk food makeovers be? Name one or more in the comments!
Macabre Movies of the Week! (#1)
Welcome to the first edition of Macabre Movies of the Week! Every Friday between now and October 31st, I’ll share three spooky videos that are sure to put you in a Halloween mood — whether you’re a fan of long, gory things or shorter, happier things!
Trick or Treats!
Released a few days before Halloween in 1982, this slasher is arguably most famous for its badass VHS cover, which featured a bloodied candy sack.
I’ll swipe the description from Google: “An escaped madman comes home at a time when his son is playing sick jokes on the babysitter.”
Needless to say, it’s rated R. My read on Trick or Treats is that it’s one of those movies every horror fan has heard of, but far fewer have actually seen. Well, here’s your chance. You have all week! Consider it homework.
Tales from the Cryptkeeper, Episode 15!
One of the stories in this episode is Cold Blood Warm Hearts, which we covered on the podcast several months back. It’s about a sea monster with a passing resemblance to Gill-man, and I hope that’s enough to pique your interest!
Unsolved Mysteries, Season 1 Episode 5!
I admittedly only picked this episode because it had a handsome thumbnail of Robert Stack instead of some rando from the reenactments, but that turned out to be a lucky break. This ep includes one of the all-time creepiest segments, Friends to the End, about a pair of teens who got killed by a speeding train late at night. As bad as that sounds, the full story is way more unsettling. This is one of the segments that truly haunted me.
Enjoy the vids! You can binge them all this weekend, or spread ‘em across the week. I’ll be back on Friday with another trio.
Chilling Challenge! (#1)
For your first CHILLING CHALLENGE of the season, I’ll start you off nice and easy. Go find a horror movie that you’ve never seen before. If you don’t like horror movies, just pick a film that has some tie to the Halloween season, even if it’s a happy comedy.
Your goal is simple. Watch something you’ve never seen before! This season is great for that. I think a lot of us fall into the trap of sticking with “comfort movies” we’ve already seen a billion times. Consider this encouragement for you to mix it up.
In the comments section, report back after you’ve watched whatever movie you decide on. Tell us what you thought about it!
This challenge is open until next Friday night!
