Form Blazing Candle

The wording of this commercial gives me pause. "Pre-Halloween?" I'm assuming that's meant to say they're showing it a few days before? I dunno.

Jack O'Lantern is a pretty fun cartoon that's a bit wild. Jack is a pumpkin-headed guy who arrives on the scene and immediately gets into one hell of a fight with a witch and her crew.

Jack is actually a leprechaun piloting the pumpkin guy... it's weird.

What is cool is the fact that it's a Rankin/Bass production, meaning it was outsourced to Japanese animation studios. Either Topcraft or Mushi Productions animated this little special, and it looks really good.

While I doubt the studio had anything to do with the script, part of me can't help but find what's essentially a Pumpkin Super Robot cartoon hilarious.

Kut the Pumpkin, not your Finger

Back in the old days, you had to rely on kitchen knives for carving your pumpkins. Ever carve a pumpkin? It's ah... not exactly the prime shape to safely use the knife Dad will carve the turkey with in a few weeks. That's where the Pumpkin Kutter comes in! You can carve all sorts of fun faces without chopping off your finger! Wow!

Pumpkin Light, Shine So Bright

If there's a song I sing every Halloween season, it's usually off key. But it's also about the Pumpkin Light. Every year I buy some variation of the same idea to light my pumpkins up (the actual Pumpkin Light isn't available at my local Walmart) as I clearly love the idea. As someone who enjoys Halloween commercials on their own as a source of entertainment, they have some good ones. Like today's for example. The mixture of low rent and literally Halloween supplies for costuming... it's amazing. It looks like something your Uncle and his neighbor made for fun and sent in to America's Funniest People. It'd be worth sitting through Dave Coulier... maybe not.

Tricks Or Treats, You're Dead Meats

Gang, we are just a few days away from the big day. Mere moments from trick or treating bliss. With this in mind, I thought it best to preach about your safety again. Also, I just like this old video. We all win today on Zone Base!

If I may be honest for a moment... did anyone ever follow any of the tips regarding masks? I mean... even the other kids in the video are happily walking around with their masks as is. I'm not saying it isn't hard to see in them, it is, but... man those things are expensive. Who's going to just cut the holes bigger? 

Nobody, that's who.

Fuddruckers Fucking Pumpkins

In 1989, Fuddruckers had a pretty amazing kids meal prize. A freaking pumpkin included with your meal! As an adult I usually get about 3-4 pumpkins a year, but when I was a kid. We got ONE. If we'd just gotten dinner at Fuddruckers, we'd probably still have just gotten one... but it would have been that one! Nothing beats a good pumpkin at Halloween and that would have been a great way to get one!

Pepsi And Universal Studios For Halloween

I've been on cloud 9 for the past few days. Not just because it's Halloween. In that case I've been on cloud 9 since the Halloween season began, which was last January. The specific reason for my numbered cloud placement for the past few days is a special one.

The Mrs surprised me with a trip to Universal Studios. Which we obviously haven't taken yet. I mean... there's a pandemic and all. It's open, but walking around in Florida wearing face masks doesn't seem like the greatest thing.  So we've got an open itinerary for next December. Which is the perfect timing. You know, put back some money, hope things are a little more back to normal by then... have time for a refund just in case...

So how to I shoehorn the thing I can't stop thinking about right now into the thing I think about all the time? Well duh, Universal Studios is synonymous with Halloween thanks to the world famous Halloween Horror Nights. Not to mention the Universal Monsters!

I also love Pepsi, which is just how great this old commercial from 1992 is! I wish this was just their ad every year, but hey... well why isn't it? Dang, I love that pumpkin.

Cursed Halloween In Bed

No matter how much I hate for Halloween to be over, it's super nice to stretch out in bed after everything's all said and done. Usually the wife is fast asleep while I watch Treehouse of Horror on FXX before passing out myself. Something about Autumn makes sleeping so much better. Especially this year where the part of Daylight Savings Time everyone likes is on Halloween night! Extra long Halloween AND morning after!

I've never been to The Bedroom (the store). As somebody who just bought a brand new bed last year, I wish there was one around here. Look at those prices! But really, it's hard to focus on those prices when there's a FUCKING HUMAN FACED PUMPKIN IN THE WINDOW. That pie joke sure would be funnier...it wouldn't ... who opened the window for him anyway? STOP WATCHING ME SLEEP YOU ORANGE FREAK.

The Conjuring Halloween Special

I've got something to admit, I was terrified of Raggedy Ann as a child. While The Conjuring movies are great, most people don't know those "true stories" they're based on happened somewhat recently.

Thanks to The Exorcist and The Amityville Horror, paranormal and occult stuff was pretty much all over the place during my childhood. Add in 80's Satanic Panic and you've got the recipe for much needed therapy. One popular ghost story was the possessed Raggedy Ann doll.

I'm of course talking about the real life Annabelle, which was an object of terror to a generation of children. It doesn't help that Raggedy Anne dolls were still everywhere at the time and someone gave her a Halloween Special. It's about the doll bringing a lonely pumpkin and child together. You read that right.

The Bloody Pumpkin Is A Lie

Ever hear about that scene in Halloween where they find a bloody pumpkin with a knife sticking out of it? I used to hear about it all the time. That and how Michael Myers was based on a real guy. I'll get to the 'real guy' thing later, but for now I kind of want to chat bloody pumpkins and the Halloweens they weren't in. It's the weirdest urban legend as I never see anyone talk about it online. The Jason using a chainsaw thing? Yeah, I still see that occasionally. Bloody pumpkin? As offline as the official Bloody Pumpkin MySpace profile I planned on making in 2005.

It wasn't even that long ago my mom said it when I mentioned looking forward to the new Halloween (wait, that was 2018... ) and she said the original was 'so scary with that big knife sticking out of that pumpkin'. Clearly it's folks mentally combining imagery. Maybe just a little excited playground exaggeration from the one kid who's parents let him stay up and watch it mixed in.

See the commercial up above? It's an old school homemade spot for a local stations airing of Halloween 2. Homemade commercials used to be pretty common back in the day. Did you uh... notice Michael? Somebody got creative to make him look 'badass'. Making monsters look badass is a staple of Halloween and teenagers really into Ozzy Osbourne. Named Chet.

I think it's from some of these type of commercials where folks get that bloody pumpkin imagery. A bloody pumpkin with a knife sticking out of it isn't exactly rare at Halloween. I know I've seen one or two in the past. I've even poured fake blood over a pumpkin myself. Why not? Make it look badass.

McBoo To You

In the glory days of McDonald's, Ronald rung in the holidays usually with some sort of great Happy Meal promotion. The most famous McD's Halloween promotion would the the various trick or treat pails that were practically an annual tradition. For a few years tacking their commercials onto the 'Scared Silly' spot was another tradition as you'll find various editions paired with that classic bit. 
 
While the obvious intention was to use these trick or treating, they usually became various storage containers. Crayons and other school supplies were a popular use. McGoblin was home to many a Battle Beast in his day in my bedroom. They had a lot of uses, except for actual trick or treating as they were pretty small. 

My cousin generally used them along with his sisters. I'll never forget the Halloween where he was VERY jealous of my Paas make up kit werewolf costume. Dude was a bed sheet ghost with some cold cream on his face. Not even Kooky Spooks and a robe as the official Halloween costume. His McBoo pail got hard spiked into somebodies yard during a temper tantrum after the third time tripping over that sheet.

Pumpkin Spice Mayhem

Summer is a Spooky Season and the prelude to Halloween.

Friday Night Frights- Halloween Safety (1985)

It's another Friday night and that means it's time for another edition of Friday Night Frights here on the base! While I normally use these posts as a fun way to share oooky spooky things with y'all, the past few weeks I've gave it a Halloween focus. We all know what's been going on with the virus, the lock downs and everything... it sucks. Halloween is the most fun time on this here site. I took it as a good time to share some of Halloween classics just so we can all have some fun and try not to think about everything else for a while.

Fortunately things are easing and we can all get back to some sort of normality soon. Not to mention, after Memorial Day, this site kicks high into spooky shit gear. Sure, I post spooky shit regularly as is. I like it and obviously so do a lot of you (I get more traffic from it than anything else), but it gets an extra focus with spooky summer and Halloween content.

Maybe just one last specifically Halloween themed Friday Night Fights until mid August when it's officially pumpkin spice time. But just like all our officials are saying, we have to ease back into normalcy slowly. We still have to observe safety guidelines and procedures in this new normal we're living in. So how about some general safety rules to help you all out until the pumpkins roll in?

Friday Night Frights- Jack O' Lantern (1972)

Wash your hands and click play, it's time for another pumpkin spice edition of Friday Night Frights here on the Base! What's that? It's a little too early for such a thing? Nonsense, it's Halloween every day on this here site! It's also much better to think of the best time of the year during the current state of things. Because this sucks and Halloween is awesome. This week we're going to watch something freaking weird. Jack O' Lantern is about a pumpkin headed scarecrow piloted by a leprechaun who gets in an epic magic fight with a witch and warlock on a farm. No, seriously.

Friday Night Frights- Halloween Party (1953)

It's Friday, and you know what that means around the base? Friday Night Frights, where I disguise a video as a post! We're all still walking around in masks, in fact, now it's getting mandated in some areas! I swear we didn't usher in a early Halloween...because this sucks and Halloween is awesome. But we could all use a little extra fun right now and what better way than one of my specialties? I've double dipped some of the videos before, I admit. I posted this last Halloween. I figure there's a fair amount of time in between postings when it's fair game again and hey.. who cares right?

This is Halloween Party, a school film allegedly from 1953 that... I really have no clue about it's purpose. There's no safety tips or anything. Just a little production of a family celebrating Halloween and their dog Shep who causes some trouble. There's actually a shorter version of this that cuts off as the family goes to bed, while this the longer version goes into an adventure with costuming. I initially thought Shep gets rabies and attempts to kill the children at the end... but on further viewings have noticed something. If you skim ahead to minute 6:03 it becomes clear. Shep is clearly targeting the kid with racist costume. Get 'em Shep!

Friday Night Frights- Halloween Saftey (1977)

Time for another Friday Night Frights here on the Base! It seems like everywhere I look these days there's all sorts of safety tips ad guidelines for the world we live in. I find myself walking around in a mask, not going inside stranger's homes, not eating unwrapped snacks, not... Did I somehow wish us into a early Halloween? No, sadly no. Halloween is awesome and fun, what's going on right now sucks. Hopefully all will be somewhat back to normal by fall (or I'm going to the corona's house and kicking it's ass). Because Halloween is awesome and fun... which we all could use some of that right now.

Carvel Ice Cream Cakes are better in October

Everyday is Halloween.

Pumpkin Kuttin

I've been on pins and needles about my pumpkin this year, it's an important part of the Halloween season. When I was a kid we'd use a kitchen knife to do our work, despite such amazing products as the Pumpkin Kutter readily available. They made a safe cutting... pardon me kutting tool, a scoop, and even a light to use in place of a candle. My parents didn't see a need for it, but these days I sure do use the crap out of these type of things. Though admittedly I'm a Pumpkin Masters man.

Pumpkin Kutter had a plethora of commercials slinging their wares. It's hard to deny the charm of them. It's that classic old school Halloween and just the overall vibe from them that I just can't get enough of. Not to miss out on a sale, Pumpkin Kutter even sold the Pumpkin Light as a safety lite while you trick or treat as opposed to a glow stick or flashlight.

Like I said above, I'm a Pumpkin Masters man. They're everywhere and produce some damn fine quality pumpkin carving kits and supplies. Though I did briefly wonder what happened to Pumpkin Kutter. Did they go out of business or something? Nope, they're still around producing the exact same tools they've always made. Literally.

It'd be super cool to score one of these kits, just to have a set. According to their site they're sold at Pumpkin Farms nationwide. I live in a nationwide and will be going to a Pumpkin Farm in a few weeks. It'd be great to score a set of the classic... pardon me, klassic tools.

Trick or Treat Fever Dream

Submitted without Context.

Pumpkin Kutter commercial

Every year I buy a new set of these things (you kind of kill those little knives) and if it's one thing I've learned, it's that the scoopings always look particularly gross when you use the scooper. Mainly for the little shaving of the pumpkin sides. Looks like slimy carrot sticks and cheese shreds floating in seed puke.