The Mausoleum of Madness, Part II!
Welcome to Dinosaur Dracula’s MAUSOLEUM OF MADNESS, PART II! Every day through Halloween, check back for another vintage creepy collectible – everything from deep cut toys to ancient store displays to at least one totally insane costume. Probably ten cereal boxes, too.
I won’t be plugging this on social media much, so you’ll have to remember to visit on your own. Maybe stick an orange Post-It on the fridge. (Yes, it must be orange.)
PS, if you missed last year’s Mausoleum of Madness, it’s over here.
#45: Dunkin’ Munchkins Box! (Early ‘90s)
Yesterday afternoon, I snagged one of the new Dunkin’ Spider Donut Munchkin Buckets, resplendent in black and purple. In the Great Halloween Bucket Wars of 2025, it may be the champ.
But this is hardly the first time the chain positioned Munchkins as Good October Eatin’. Take this adorable cardboard lunchbox, which I’m conservatively estimating as being from the early ‘90s, though it’s very possibly older.
Large enough to house 45 Munchkins, the idea was that kids could draw jack-o’-lantern faces right over the pumpkin graphics. (The reverse side had a clear version, so they wouldn’t need to work around the text.)
And, hell, I remember Munchkins being a Halloween thing even before that. When me and the neighborhood kids went trick-or-treating, it was customary for our mothers to gather, sit on someone’s porch, and scarf down Munchkins and coffee. It was ostensibly to watch over us, even if all they really kept track of were donut holes and packets of Equal.
I thought they invented the tradition out of thin air, but now that I see how far back the official Halloween/Munchkins connection goes, maybe they were just slaves to the chain’s marketing. I can relate.
#44: Die-cut Decorations! (1960s – 1990s)
Here’s an amazing pile of die-cut Halloween decorations, from Beistle and beyond, dating back as far as the ‘60s. Some may be even older, but most are from the ‘80s, when I was in elementary school.
Back then, October wasn’t October without a bunch of these cardboard freaks lining the windows in class. I don’t know who decided that they HAD to be on every classroom window during the Halloween season, but I thank them for sneaking it into the curriculum.
We had a bunch at home, too. Everyone did. Next to cotton spider webs, they were perhaps the most ubiquitous of all Halloween decorations. A cheap and easy way to broadcast that you were down with the devil.
When I look at these, I instantly smell that weird nostalgic combo of dusty books and sour milk. I can’t believe I mean that as a compliment, but I do. It’s partially because that’s how school smelled in the ‘80s, and partially because that’s how decades-old cardboard smells in 2025.
Bonus points: You may remember the green skull and werewolf on the lower-left from the pharmacy scene in Halloween 4.
#43: PAAS Vampire Makeup Kit! (1984)
I might be the only person who cares about this, but that’s okay – I care enough about it for all of us.
As mentioned earlier in this feature, PAAS used to do almost as much for Halloween as they still do for Easter. While they focus on dyeing eggs during springtime, October was all about dyeing our faces.
This Vampire Makeup Kit was just one in a series of similar sets, each containing face paint and a couple of cheap accessories. Given that I was Dracula for Halloween in kindergarten – right around the time this kit was in stores – the nostalgia hits hard.
(What a time that was. Almost every boy in class was also Dracula, and at the big Halloween soiree with our parents present, we just stood in a circle chewing blood capsules and letting the stained saliva dribble out.)
My favorite part is the bonus bat – literally a piece of cardboard that you had to punch off the back of the box, and then just like… oddly hold? “Hi, I’m a vampire, I tote a lil’ bat around.” Incredible! Read More…
1992 Broadcast of Texas Chainsaw Part 2!
The latest episode of The Purple Stuff Podcast is here, and baby, we’re takin’ ya to Texas. It’s an episode that felt right for the Halloween season, and I’m not just saying that because it references a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial where Fred the Baker played Dr. Frankenstein.
In October of 1992, a FOX affiliate out of Boston implausibly decided to run The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 – a grisly, unrated movie loaded with blood and mayhem – right there on broadcast television, in prime time. What chutzpah!!
Join me and Jay from Sludge Central for an hourlong examination of this ancient television event. We’ll tell you about the film (which we love), how this FOX affiliate handled airing such a gnarly movie, and we’ll even get into some of the commercials that played during the broadcast. (Including some that were Halloween-themed!)
If you’ve seen the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre but never the sequel, boy, it’s a WAY different movie. Loud and over-the-top as a rule. It must be seen to be believed, but playing this episode is the next best thing.
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 we drop an exclusive bonus show every month. When you join, you instantly gain access to our entire back catalog, which goes back years. There are over 80 exclusive episodes waiting for you over there!
Oh, and here’s a little video we put together showing the film’s awesomely ominous television intro, plus all of the commercials we discuss on the show.
Enjoy! The Purple Stuff Podcast isn’t done Halloweening, so when you’re through listening to this, it won’t be long before we’re attacking you with chainsaws again. Stay tuned, stay vigilant.
Dinosaur Dracula’s GLOOM BOX is here!
Got another surprise drop for you today! It’s Dinosaur Dracula’s GLOOM BOX, a package stuffed with creepy collectibles from the ‘80s and ‘90s that are sure to make your October feel more like October.
Dino Drac’s GLOOM BOX will run you $31 – one dollar for every day in October – and that INCLUDES SHIPPING to anywhere in the United States. (I can only ship to the U.S. – sorry!)
Included are five frightful items that nobody in their right mind would try to live without. Please note that the GLOOM BOX has nothing to do with my monthly Funpacks. This is a separate thing, and the October Funpack is coming later.
Supplies are limited! Zip to the bottom to order, or keep reading to learn more about what’s inside! Read More…
Dino Drac’s Sinister September Funpack is here!
Okay GHOULS, Dino Drac’s Sinister September Funpack is here, and it’s loaded with Halloween cheer. This is the second of three all-eerie Funpacks for 2025, filled with things no creature of the night should even try to live without.
If you’re a subscriber, your Funpack is already on the way. (They were shipped between Saturday and Tuesday.)
While subscriptions are currently closed, I have a few extras that I can offer on an individual basis. As always, the cost is $25, and that includes shipping to anywhere in the States. Zip to the bottom to see if there are any left, and sorry if there aren’t, because the September Funpacks always go quick!
And now, in the immortal words of that guy from UHF, let’s see what’s in the box! Read More…