"Hey man, it's Halloween. Let's do something scary!" You might find yourself saying during this time of the year. It's the Spooky Season after all, and nothing says that better than a trip to the local haunted house or scary attractions set up for the season. In 2000, you might have found yourself at the Horror Hotel surrounded by masks and dummies of famous monsters! It sounds like a great time, even though somebodies Aunt keeps trying to scare you.
originally posted 9/15/22
Man, Disney is #@%#^&$* awesome. One of the biggest companies in the world and they do Halloween better than anyone ever gives them credit. Disney's Halloween Treat is still a favorite of the wife and I (we literally have every single version of it... there's a lot of versions) and we're all over everything Disney and Halloween. We hope to make it out to the Not So Scary Halloween party next year because that just looks super amazing. This old Micky Mouse cartoon has the mouse exploring a most radical haunted house with skeletons that play songs on each others butts.
Grim grinning ghosts indeed.
Originally Posted: 08/24/2018
It's just not the Halloween season without a trip to a local haunted house on the evening news. Usually the anchor whose entire job seems to be trying out local restaurants in segments when not filling in for absent weather forecasters narrates a half hearted adventure. They'll be a mix of the home owners telling of all the spooky situations, a resident townies talking about the history of the haunting (with a partial reenactment), and ending with the part time anchor hearing something scary in the background before telling the camera 'back to you' with an artificial smile. The actual anchors will then take over laughing before instantly moving on to football.
Rodney is a a big old fraidy cat. If there's a superstition, Rodney is scared of it. Which one begs to reason... why does he even go trick or treating? Or even to a haunted house? Does he just relish is pooping his pants or something? And what's up with that one kid while they're in the haunted house? Is he ok?
Originally Posted 10/25/2023
Holy crap, this commercial is bad ass! I've never eaten Heinz Haunted House before as it wasn't available in my region, but I bet the spooky shapes made it taste better than any other canned pasta. The production of this commercial is amazing and a solid example of the old saying 'they don't make them like they used to'. That spooky mansion at the beginning is literally just the beginning as the entire experience of bats, monsters, and a Keith Moon lookalike butler makes for an amazing commercial. Too bad they don't make Haunted House any more, because the spooky season is the right time for a can!
It's Halloween and prime time to visit the local haunted house! If you were in Villa Park, IL back in 1991, you could have went to Hades Haunted House. Apparently somebody promised the guy at the beginning something... and it's been 33 years so I hope they followed up.
Troll dolls were all the rage in the early 90's. I myself had quite a few and honestly still kinda dig them. The Norfin brand of Trolls even got a few direct to video cartoons! Castle of Doom, their Halloween special, is something interesting. Some good natured trolls find themselves in a haunted castle pursued by Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Wolfman as trolls. There's a mad scientist too! Look, if I were to tell you there was a Halloween Troll OVA, would you believe me? Good thing I found an upload of the VHS. Ironically, troll dolls are also known as Dam dolls thanks to being created by a dude named Thomas Dam.
originally posted 8/25/2023
Rodney is a a big old fraidy cat. If there's a superstition, Rodney is scared of it. Which one begs to reason... why does he even go trick or treating? Or even to a haunted house? Does he just relish is pooping his pants or something? And what's up with that one kid while they're in the haunted house? Is he ok?
The Little's is one of those old Saturday morning cartoons you either love... or know nothing about. It's a perfect example of the saying 'you had to be there'. For those not in the know, the Little's are a race of tiny rodent like people who live among us in hiding. The Little's the show revolves around often interacts with Henry, a good natured kid whose house they reside in the walls of. Well, it's Halloween and Henry (with a few friends) go on an adventure at the local neighborhood haunted house. Of course his little friends get involved and we get a pretty great cartoon. Sometimes I joke about the things I post about and sometimes I'm just telling you to check out something cool. This is the later.
Voice Input Child Identicant, or better known as Vicki, is the Lawson family's little secret. She's actually a robot created by Ted Lawson. Ted brought her home under the guise as an adopted daughter and and they're all one big happy family. Well, cue one scary family movie night and an electrical accident involving the robot child... before you know it the house is haunted! Being a man of science, Ted's first reaction is to call in a team of paranormal investigators. Obviously.
I used to work in local haunted houses for awhile. It was a lot of fun, but one thing that drove me nuts was when some of the other folks would go on and on about bigger name haunts. It'd make you want to quit... and part of the reason I did. Not that big name haunts are bad by any means, it's just these local ones have so much character... and those folks tended to be unbearable. Popes Haunted Farm Hayride looks like a great time. I look at this commercial from 2012 and can see myself cherishing memories of scaring folks. Wish I could have worked there. Hopefully the folks at Popes appreciate that sort of thing as much as I do.
It may not look like much now, but this little Happy Halloween bumper from Fox 53 Pittsburgh in 1993 screams awesome to me. That was a big ass sentence about something so small but... That specific look, the production, that style of graphic on TV. That's the 90's. Watching this and suddenly I'm a dorky kid in my early teens watching cartoons after school again. It's my favorite time of year and my local channel is flashing this great haunted house with a pumpkin in the window. It's perfect, it's Halloween.
Mindy is having a hard time selling her childhood home. Further complicating matters, turns out the place is haunted! Thankfully Mork is coked out of his mind able to communicate with the dead after some spooky hi-jinks. Nanu nanu, somebody call the Ghostbusters!
Almost every town has a local haunted house. That house the kids whisper about and everybody walks a little faster to pass by. Rebellious teenagers and paranormal types try to explore it in hopes of finding something scary. In Royal Oak, Michigan, the Orson Starr house is said to be haunted by several different ghosts. Is it real?
If you were in Chicago in 1995, chances are you visited Hades Haunted House at Halloween. Despite the corny 'acting' and ham fisted themes, haunted houses are great. I always enjoy good lighting and the black lights inside these things make everything look amazing. There's a certain charm about older haunted attractions. The dated costumes and effects give them a different character than newer affairs. Though, in time, the newer ones will join the ranks of the older haunts. There is definitely a hard line somewhere in the presentation of these commercials though. I have a real appreciation of that older style. I'm sure you've noticed.
"Hey man, it's Halloween. Let's do something scary!" You might find yourself saying during this time of the year. It's the Spooky Season after all, and nothing says that better than a trip to the local haunted house or scary attractions set up for the season. In 2000, you might have found yourself at the Horror Hotel surrounded by masks and dummies of famous monsters! It sounds like a great time, even though somebodies Aunt keeps trying to scare you.