Time for a new edition of Classic Creepy Commercials, a series that’s been part of every Halloween Countdown on Dino Drac!

Throughout the year, I rescue spooky old TV commercials from my collection of VHS tapes. As tempting as it is to show them off as soon as they’re uncovered, I force myself to wait until the Halloween season. For the 2021 Countdown, I’ve amassed enough spots to cover at least three articles, so after today, there’s still more to come!

Mattel’s Boglins Collection! (1987)

Here’s the first-ever TV commercial for Mattel’s Boglins collection. The creepily cute rubber puppets were part of the “gross-out toy fad” of the mid ‘80s, when things like Madballs, My Pet Monster and Mad Scientist ruled over Kay-Bee with a mix of gnarly faces and toxic slime.

I’ve owned many Boglins as a collector, but I only had one as a kid, which technically wasn’t even mine. When my older brother graduated college, he received a Boglin as a gag gift. At least, I’m pretty sure it was a gag gift, as I don’t think my brother played with toys even when he was appropriately aged for them.

It sat untouched in his bedroom for several weeks. One day, it somehow ended up in my bedroom, and the official story is that I have no idea how that happened. I swear! My brother probably would’ve given it to me had I asked, but since I didn’t, I knew better than to parade that Boglin around.

For a while, he lived in a drawer, ostensibly so my brother wouldn’t see him, but really because I loved pulling that drawer open to tuck my Boglin into his makeshift pillowcase bed. I treated that thing like the frog version of Gizmo.

PS: If you weren’t aware, the original creator and designer of Boglins, Tim Clarke, snagged the rights and is now selling them again. They’re extremely faithful to the originals, too. Same “cage boxes” and everything. Looks like Tim is having success with the relaunch, as you can even find the new ones at Walmart. He’s even brought back the beloved Halloween editions! Read More…

Posted by Matt on 09/06/21
Permalink | 87 Comments

The stink of pumpkin candles. The chillier air. The excuse to go to Target beyond needing cat food and Goodfellow-brand facemasks. Can you feel it, guys? The Halloween season IS HERE.

…and so am I!

Welcome to Dinosaur Dracula’s 2021 Halloween Countdown — a multi-month celebration of All Things Spooky, featuring videos, articles, podcasts and more. I’m kicking off this year’s Countdown with the video embedded above. Go check out Madd Matt’s latest bag of Halloween junk!

I’m excited about the Halloween season, for reasons obvious and not-so-obvious. I understand that this might put me in a basket with literally everyone else, but the end of 2020 and the start of 2021 were r-o-u-g-h. Like, rougher than I thought I could handle. But I did, and along the way, I took care of some long-lingering issues that had kept me from fully living my life.

So, gotta be honest, this is gonna be a different sort of Halloween season for me. Instead of looking for it to solve problems that it cannot possibly solve, this year I can just roll with it and enjoy whatever it brings. It’s a nice feeling, and I hope that translates into a better Halloween Countdown.

This year, I don’t want to fall into the trap where it feels like I’m just punching a timecard. I want to try out some new and different things! Earlier this week, I kicked off that new video series about Halloween junk food from the 2000s, and that was just one of the plans that’ve been swimming around my head. I don’t want to just give you what you expect from me. I wanna surprise you!

Tonight we launch simply, with a goofy video that I shot in the middle of a giant storm. Over the next two months, I plan to throw a bunch of curveballs at you. Stay tuned!

Of course, some traditions are worth keeping. Like Dino Drac’s Halloween Jukebox. It’s back online, and it works on desktop and mobile devices. The playlist is bigger than ever, with *250* spooky tracks that NEED to score your entire season. (FWIW, during the Halloween season, I listen to nothing else!)

When you’re done with me, hop in your car, load up the jukebox and go for an evening drive set to the sinister sounds of everyone from Elvira to Oingo Boingo. It’s therapeutic as hell.

There’s so much more to come, from new editions of Classic Creepy Commercials to out-of-left-field videos about things I can’t tell you about yet. (Not to mention more eerie episodes of the Purple Stuff Podcast!)

I’d also recommend following me on Twitter and Instagram, where I’ll be dropping little spooky bits that are too short for the main site. And, when it’s the dead of night and you’ve exhausted all other avenues of entertainment, drop by Dino Drac After Dark for weekly discussions about anything and everything tied to Halloween.

I love this season, and I’m very glad to have y’all with me for the ride. It’s the best part of the year, when mundane things are made magical. Embrace it, and I promise that it’ll embrace you.

Enjoy the new vid (and the other one if you missed it), and I’ll be back on Monday to continue the Countdown. We’re gonna have such a time, my friends.

Posted by Matt on 09/03/21
Permalink | 98 Comments

Surprise! The start of September doubles as the totally undeniable start of the Halloween season, and I’m kicking it off in a big way.

Today begins a four-part video series where I look back at some of the hottest Halloween junk foods from the early-to-mid 2000s! First up: Ten terrifying treats from 2003!

Click here to watch it on YouTube!

This is a full-circle moment for me, guys. All of the photos for this video series are being pulled from the earliest Halloween Countdowns! If you told me back in 2003 that I’d be cannibalizing my own photos for an HD video series 18 years later, I never would’ve believed you. Because you are a well-known liar with bad intent.

I’m committing to doing 2003 through 2006 for starters, so this Halloween season, you’re guaranteed to get three more chapters in this video series. (At that point, I’ll decide if there’s enough juice — and enough material — to continue.)

You’re gonna be blown away by some of these candies and junk foods. We still think of the 2000s like they happened yesterday, but man, in 2021, so much of this stuff has seriously aged, and it packs a surprisingly strong nostalgic punch.

As I mention in the video, I also think this series will help you see how Halloween has evolved over the years. Very excited about this one!

I’d considered saving this video for the Halloween Countdown’s proper launch on Friday night, but really, September 1st deserved something special. I hope you dig the vid, and I’d appreciate it immensely if you helped share it around!

Enjoy the start of the spooky season! I’ll be back on Friday night to kick off the Countdown with the usual bells and whistles. \m/

Posted by Matt on 09/01/21
Permalink | 73 Comments