We remember yesteryear’s Halloweens in dribs and drabs, and then we fill in the blanks with rosy idealizations. Generalities become specificities, and the line between “kinda happened” and “really happened” is blurry AF.

It’s that way with all matters of nostalgia, so when I find something that “archives” the past in a raw and unfiltered way, it can be pretty mind-blowing. (Consider the difference between watching a Toys “R” Us commercial from 1988 and watching actual footage shot in a 1988 Toys “R” Us store.)

That’s why this article is so important to me:

See if you can spot Pikachu!

Longtime readers know about my strange habit of buying old candid photos from eBay. Well, one seller had a metric ton of Halloween-themed photos, and she graciously permitted me to use them here.

Some of them are from the very early ‘80s. Others are from the late ‘90s. They were taken by families from all across the country. Nearly all of them were shot on October 31st.

The devil is in the details. It’s cool to look at old costumes and remember what was popular, but if you really study these, you’ll be reminded of sooo many Halloween “intricacies” that are rarely mentioned today… even by people like me.

I’m going to present them without much comment, since they speak for themselves. Enjoy them and absorb them, because I promise that there isn’t much else that could capture the essence of old Halloweens better than this photoset: Read More…

So let’s talk about Pop-Tarts. Let’s talk about Pop-Tarts for the whole day.

New for the 2017 Halloween season, get a load of Frosted Chocolate Fudge Printed Fun Pop-Tarts!

We get new fall-themed Pop-Tart flavors pretty regularly, but this is the first time in a long time that Kellogg’s went all-in on a proper spooky theme. Just look at that box! They even used the first typeface that comes up when you search for Halloween fonts.

These join the preexisting Pumpkin Pie and Caramel Apple flavors, meaning that there are currently THREE options for people who only bother with Pop-Tarts when there are bats and goblins involved. Read More…

This article will be short and sweet. Extreme emphasis on the sweet.

I dropped by 7-Eleven for an enormous cup of coffee, meant to be my fuel for an entirely different sort of article that I’d planned to write today. Suffice to say, my priorities have changed.

BECAUSE LOOK AT THIS:

The ghastly bears, the creepy forest background, the word “ghost” — it took me a minute to realize what I’d stumbled upon. When the image became one and it finally hit me, I lost control of every bodily function and could only communicate via singsongy riddles.

My friends, do you know what you are looking at?

AN ALL-NEW HALLOWEEN SLURPEE.

7-Eleven’s Ghost White Gummi Slurpee is made with Fanta, but a very specific type of Fanta that somehow tastes exactly like white gummy bears.

Gotta give 7-Eleven credit: I think about potential Halloween Slurpee flavors at least 15 times a day, generally at the top of each hour. Even with all of those daydreams, I never imagined something this bizarre but SO PERFECT. Read More…