2021’s Best Halloween Junk Food, Part 1!
It’s a banner year for Halloween junk food. I know I say that every year, but I really mean it this time. There’s just so much out there.
What strikes me about this season is that while we’re getting big swings like Monster Mash cereal, we’re also getting tons of “little things” that don’t quite pass muster for social media buzz, but are worth picking up all the same.
There are enough new goodies to make cataloging ‘em all a tall order, but I’m gonna do my best. Here’s the first edition of 2021’s Best Halloween Junk Food. I’m usually good for three of these articles during the Countdown, but this year, I wouldn’t be shocked if we made it to five. There’s that much new stuff!
Mountain Dew VooDew III!
(Found at 7-Eleven)
Okay, so a spooky soda getting a goddamned threequel was gonna be a win no matter what the stuff tasted like. Even so, I was apprehensive about taking my first sip, as I was last in line and I’d already read soooo many negative reviews of this year’s mystery flavor.
Happy to report that I disagree with the naysayers. This is my favorite of the three VooDews, and I’m frankly shocked that folks seem lukewarm about it. To me, the mystery flavor is pretty obviously Starburst. Specifically red or pink Starburst, which are some of my favorite candies, so it’s no surprise that I married that bottle and we’re now Facebook Official.
As you’ll recall, the first VooDew was supposed to taste like candy corn, while VooDew II’s mystery flavor was generic Skittles. Going from Skittles to Starburst is a pretty “undramatic” change, so I don’t doubt that when Mtn Dew spills the beans, they’ll say it was something different. Doesn’t matter. I know Starburst when I taste it, and this is Starburst.
GRADE: A. Please keep this series going, Mtn Dew! A new VooDew every Halloween until the day I die. Only then can you stop. Read More…
I spent $92 at a horror convention.
I visited the New Jersey Horror Con in Atlantic City over the weekend. Specifically at the old Showboat hotel, where I used to bowl while my parents gambled. Good times as always! There’s nothing quite like seeing horror celebs and retired pro-wrestlers wander over AC’s patented gaudy carpets.
Course, my big focus at any horror convention is finding treasures in the dealers’ room. That’s the whole reason I go, and everything else is just a bonus. Which brings me to tonight’s video!
Wondering what $92 can buy you at a horror convention? Check out my haul! I got everything from a bootleg DVD to a cool shirt to an awesomely nightmarish action figure. Won’t spoil the surprises, but I was satisfied!
Click here to check out the vid on YouTube!
Thanks so much for watching. Really enjoying doing videos again! I’m gonna let this one have some room to breathe, but I’ll be back on Thursday with the next chapter of Dino Drac’s 2021 Halloween Countdown!
Classic Creepy Commercials, Volume 29!
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…
Dino Drac’s 2021 Halloween Countdown!
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.