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 daily through Halloween!
#24: Creepy Crawlers Fruit Snacks! (1993)
Back in 1993, Creepy Crawlers made the leap from toys to fruit snacks, thanks to this fine box of sugary vermin from Farley’s. (Farley’s was kind of a “budget brand,” but they made great fruit snacks and landed plenty of killer licenses – most notably the Ninja Turtles.)
The eerily appetizing shapes included spiders, butterflies, flies, scorpions, worms and grasshoppers, in bold colors that mimicked the “plasti-goop” toys.
I’ve collected a lot of old fruit snack boxes over the years, and I have to say, this one is particularly striking. Those colors! It was pretty much impossible to ignore in the supermarket. Course, whether it compelled people to eat fruit snacks shaped like bugs or not, I can’t really say.
#23: MIMP Monster Mountain! (1990)
I’ve wanted this for decades, and finally found one that was affordable enough. Behold, the Monster in My Pocket MONSTER MOUNTAIN – essentially a giant display case for all 48 first-series figures.
Despite this playset’s humble beginnings as a ten-dollar lure in KB Toys, it’s much better in the hands of an adult collector. This thing is fragile as hell. The mountain is made of a thin plastic only slightly more durable than the tray Nabisco uses for Oreo cookies.
While theoretically able to stand under its own power (I might debate that), Monster Mountain was really meant to be wall-mounted. All of the 48 first-series figures had dedicated slots, with neat name stickers right above them.
It might be flimsy, but it’s also gorgeous, and HUGE. Like, it’s so big that I can’t wrap my head around the retail angle. This was a cheap playset in its day, but the box was as big as Fireball Island’s. For the amount of shelf space a store would’ve given up, they weren’t going to get a whole lot back.
PS: Of the original 48 figures, my favorite was always the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Little cutie, that guy was. You can kinda/sorta see him at the end of the second row.
#23: Intellivision Dracula Game! (1983)
Released in 1983, Dracula for the Intellivison let you play as big bad Vlad himself. They didn’t whitewash him, either. The entire point of the game was to run around biting people!
While the graphics were pretty decent for the era, they were still modest by necessity, which left the hard sell to the box art. That was usually the case back then. Remember how good the boxes were for Atari games? They painted way more vivid pictures than the actual games ever could.
In the case of Intellivision’s Dracula, we got the lord of darkness in live action, over a reflective silver box with boldly colored stripes. Minus the vampire, it reminds me of the home decor from A Clockwork Orange. 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!
Purple Stuff: Blockbuster Video in 1994!
The bold blues, the stench of popcorn, and the telltale hum of fluorescent lighting. Are you ready to take a trip back to you-know-where?
In the latest Purple Stuff Podcast, we’re using our time-bending powers to visit Blockbuster Video in 1994!
No, really, that’s what this episode is about. Join me and Jay from Sludge Central as we ride our bikes to VHS heaven, argue over what to rent, do some people-watching, and relive the entire experience of the Blockbuster Video chain from its mid ‘90s heyday.
While people like us obviously preferred the mom-and-pop video stores from earlier in our youth – and often criticize Blockbuster for doing them so dirty – the chain was still a huge part of our collective childhood, and we spent many, many, many nights stomping around its thin carpets, looking for our weekend entertainment. It was fun as hell to do it again!
Click here to listen to this month’s show!
…which is also 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 each and every month. We’re entering the spooky season now, so if Halloween is your thing, there’s no better time to join. (And yes, when you do, you get immediate access to our back catalog of over sixty bonus episodes!)
We hope y’all dig our virtual trip to Blockbuster Video in 1994. Thanks so much for listening, and for sharing the show around! If you have any specific memories of the chain – even if they’re just about the giant gumball machines – feel free to share ‘em in the comments section.