Fear and Loathing in a Haunted Forest

What happens when monsters brave a haunted forest? Well, they get scared and apparently hungry. Good thing they've got Monster Munch to snack on! I've never had the snack, but the name would have instantly sold me if it were available to me. This commercial though, absolutely wonderful The monsters are super fun, but dig that haunted forest. I hope Monster Much was a good as their ads.

Wickedness comes this Way Occasionally

There must have been a rule back to show Something Wicked this Way Comes on local channels around Halloween time in the day. It was on steady rotation on TV's during the spooky season all over the UHF dial. Before that, Disney Channel would include it in their downright awesome Halloween programming. The movie used to terrify me as a kid... but now not so much. Still, it's charm is inescapable. In these days of streaming apps, I really hope some kids stumbles onto it. Something Wicked this way Stumbles.

The Fever Dream Of Sleepy Hollow

Ichabod Crane is a weird guy. He likes to eat food and whoop dat ass. Unfortunately he's not thicker than a toothpick once stuck in a Snicker, so the only ass whom he whoops dat is of his students. Well, the ones who don't have any food for him anyway.

I'm sure you're well versed in the story of Sleepy Hollow, so you know exactly what happens to Ichabod. However, you may not have seen this bizarre animated version from 1972 that doesn't wait until the end to bring forth the scares.

originally posted 8/3/21

Slurps it up!

Slime and Halloween go together like peanut butter and chocolate. One common slime toy you'll find is the rubber monster that can suck up and goosh out slime when squeezed. It's a simple gimmick that keeps returning for good reason, it's fun. Come Halloween, you'll be sure to see many a similar toy and even be tempted to pick one up. These Slurps look like a spooky good time... hey... what if you sat on one?

Terrified Tomatoes!

Burger Chef is a long dead fast food chain that was routinely haunted by Count Fangburger. A vampire who hungered for your blood... or a really good burger. This is another one of those times where I'm all about the production of the commercial here. Specifically Count Fangburger's classic cartoon villain portrayal. His voice, laugh, and that bat! Anyone else really hungry?

Horror Hotel, it's up to you

"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 

Hot Zam!

Party Stores may be slowly disappearing, but Halloween is a great time to look back at the fun they once offered. Your local party store was a great place to get balloons and cups for a birthday party, but Halloween... man. Not just party supplies, but these stores would have costumes, decorations, neat little doo-dads and trinkets... they were truly something special. Zam's looks like it would have been the best place for a Wolfman mask and some orange streamers. Really wish I would have had one local while they were around!

Still Going

It's probably hard for some in today's world of rechargeable devices to imagine it. That there was a time that keeping batteries around the house was absolutely necessary. These days I just keep some around for the Roku remote, but everything else just takes a USB charger. If anything, it's just a struggle to find a charging box sometimes. But back in the day, just about everything needed them and not an old one that lost it's power in the junk drawer. Once again seasonal appropriate commercials were there to remind you of the things you needed anyway... but with a little flair.

Duracell batteries last a long time, just like Dracula! This Halloween, you damn well better have a flashlight (or glow stick) on hand to light your way while trick or treating. For whatever reason the neighborhoods side walks become death traps and the ability to operate a car competently just escapes most drivers. YOU NEED THAT LIGHT. Hopefully there's a Duracell in it to ensure that not only will you be able to safely trick or treat... but also the rest of the year when your mom keeps it on her nightstand in case the power goes out.

Don't be a Halloweenie

Growing up is hard, especially in those early teenage years in that limbo of leaving childhood and becoming an adult. I was the youngest of my siblings, so there never was that little brother or sister still doing those things I was now 'too old' for. Big Pete, well, he has Little Pete to deal with. You try resisting him. Little Pete wants to set a new world record for most houses visited for trick or treat. Sounds awesome right? Well it is, but he needs help... and the only one who can do it is Big Pete... whose now 'too old'. Good thing he can wear a mask to hide his embarrassment right? Well... Halloween is a dangerous holiday sometimes. One such danger is older kids who like to bully Halloweenies.

originally posted 9/8/23 

I Vant to Betamax your Neck!

As someone who works the graveyard shift, I'm all too familiar with recording my shows and watching them later. Of course in today's streaming world that's given way to in demand video, but the sentiment remains. Whenever I watch a commercial these days, it's usually some for incontinence medication. Long gone are the hokey spots where Dracula would sell you a VCR, and that's a damn shame.

Candy Corn and Vengeance

This move seemed to always play on a local station on random Saturday afternoons when I was a kid. I'd usually flip across it during a scary part, watch for a second, and get told to mow the grass. I really appreciate it as an adult. It's a great little movie where the bad guys are the main characters. Last year, I watched it on Halloween night after all the trick or treaters stopped coming. The Mrs had fallen asleep on the couch and I had a bag of candy corn. It made for a very pleasant way to close out the spooky season. Think I'll spend another pumpkin spiced night with it this year again. Just need some candy corn.

1-900-660-UGLY

It's Friday night. You're warming up a frozen pizza in the oven while playing SEGA. Maybe after the pizza is done, you'll watch a scary movie. It's Halloween time after all, time for some creepy fun. Hey... how about calling that scary phone hotline? Heck yeah! This will be great! Time to take a JOURNEY INTO TERROR!

originally posted 9/30/22 

Jaseiken Necromancer? I hardly know you!

A scary video game is just the right thing to spend an evening with during the spooky season. If you're like me, you'll love older games like Jaseiken Necromancer. Between it's H.R Giger art (which was all the rage at the time) and scary twist on the RPG video game formula, it stood out. I really love the commercial itself too. The excellent miniatures and stop motion monsters really create a cool and creepy production. Just pure character in atmosphere.

What's going on with Igor?

A.1. is delicious, everyone loves it. Know who else everyone loves? Boris Karloff. Boris has been Frankenstein's monster most famously, but has starred in countless movies and shows. He's a perfect pitchman to sell A.1 during the spooky season, speaking of... A.1 has 13 seasonings! Spooky mad scientist aside, what the hell is going on with Igor?

Beware of the Terror House!

I'm mostly aware of Takeshi Kitano from Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, a funny dub job of the show Takeshi's Castle that was on in my early 20's. I still watch it regularly and it introduced me to Takeshi Kitano. Who's been in so many things... it's hard to list them all. It's no wonder why Bandai asked him to help sell their line of handheld LCD games in 1982, he's a big star. This one in particular is perfect for a spooky night with a horror marathon on in the background. Or something creepy to do in between handing out candy to kids on Halloween night.  Known here as Terror House and in Japan as Akuryo no Yakata, the game has some pretty great spooky graphics. I kinda want to play it right now.

originally posted 9/27/23

Epoch Marks on your Neck

LCD games were a lot of fun back in the day. Sure, what we have now is much better... but there was just an appeal about these little units you either did or just didn't get. This Dracula one is definitely neat. The game itself looks pretty complex for one from 1982 as well. It's hard not to love Dracula and I can see somebody playing there's in between bursts of trick or treaters while the local TV horror marathon plays. There's probably a slice of pizza and a soda on the same table. Good times.

Happy Gorzack Fall Y'all

Despite being super into toys... I admittedly have tunnel vision sometimes and something can completely pass me by. Gorzack came out in 1994 and I never learned of him until adulthood. It's hard not to see how cool this guy is, a giant fantasy warrior werewolf? While not specifically Halloween in nature... he's totally seasonally appropriate. Like Masters of the Universe, Gorzack is basically a Halloween decoration made into a toy. I think I've seen similar looking monsters in At Home.

Garret Rising

You take the good. You take the bad. You take so much of Joe's crap and there you have... what the crap? Holy Crap. Days in and out of tending to the girls has lead to something horrible. Somewhere between un-clogging the toilet (she pronounces it 'turlette') after another one of Natalie's 'special episodes' and Tootie microwaving another fork... Mrs Garret apparently snapped. Turns out all that head wobbling was an early sign.

originally posted 8/2/22 

Even Monsters need their Vitamins

I take my vitamins every day. Men's One-a-Day gummies, which the recommended daily dosage is 2 gummies despite the name. I've been taking vitamins daily ever since I was a small child, initially Flintstones and later this big jar of Dinosaur shaped ones I shared with my brother. While scouring for Halloween related things I came across this wonderfully charming ad for Monster Vitamins. These were out before I was alive, so I really missed out. Even now, I'd still be taking them. Just look at that haunted house box! I love the original animation and the production overall. This one just warms my heart. Trick or treating is a pretty physical thing to do, so taking your vitamins would be a pretty good idea to do Halloween morning. Monster Vitamins would be just the thing!

Shin Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem

~The red moon has appeared in the skies of Planet Zone as it has since named Planet Micro. With it the Bloody Zone opens and it's foulest contents pours out. Till all are none.~

Trick or Treat Zone Base readers, it's time again for the annual Zone Base Halloween party! It's my favorite time of year and I love to spend it with you all! It's Halloween on the site and we're going to spend the next 3 months trick or treating with robots and monsters! 

It's too early?

Hogwash.

Halloween starts appearing at stores in JUNE, there's literally spooky shit at your local stores right now. Not to mention, August is generally a spooky time in some Asian countries. Telling ghost stories is a surefire way to send a chill up your spine on a hot summer night. There's Obon in Japan, Hungry Ghost Festival in others... this Halloween party isn't too early, just others are late. Late to the party, but we're not because it starts right now! Thank you all for reading Zone Base. We've got a fun spooky season ahead. Please don't forget to share your treats with your friends and Monster High Fives everyone!