Ok, ok... I'll watch

I've praised Disney's contributions to Halloween so much, you'd think I was on the payroll. Nope, that's those other sites (and YouTubers).

ME? I just like what I like and have always liked how Disney does Halloween.

This spot advertising the 1989 spooky season programming gives each show its own little mini trailer. That's pretty great because you'd probably skip over some of these going by the name alone.

Okay... I'm still skipping over Rusty and Buttons.

Plenty of Headroom

So maybe I relate to this one a little bit. Not just because I drive a Corolla and am tall, but also because I like Frankenstein.

Okay... okay, Frankenstein's Monster. That's how you can tell when someone has nothing to bring to a conversation, when they say, "You mean Frankenstein's monster? Frankenstein is the scientist."

Real ones know the scientist is the monster.

Regardless, man, I love those old world production values at the beginning of this commercial. You can love modern and old-world at the same time, and man, I do love those old haunted castles and the way they filmed them on older film stock.

Absolute peak cinema... and a pretty good car to have.

Trick or Trek

If you were a kid in Oakland County trick or treating on Halloween night 1995... you probably ran into the biggest wieners in the galaxy. Somebody's cousins decided to dress as a Klingon and host a 'fun' trick or treat party on public access TV. There, kids could have a safe and happy holiday while learning about Klingons. You can tell the kids loved it by Robin's excitement. No, no... he was excited... not ... the free candy wasn't worth it.

Originally Posted 9/01/2022

Witches Night

Last year I was pretty bummed. Witches Night Out had been bought up by some distributor and disappeared from all my streaming apps. Thankfully, it's now on Tubi, so it's easily watchable again! This is one of my favorite Halloween specials and it's admittedly pretty whacked out. I've posted it here every Halloween... but every season is someone's first. You've got some kids who are disappointed that their costumes didn't scare anyone and they meet a Witch who feels unwanted. Mayhem commences as the grown ups boring Halloween party gets a taste of the spooky shit! One thing that everyone notices is the solid colors the characters are represented in. I think first seeing this on Disney Channel made me make comparisons to Monsters in My Pocket and drew me in. Either way, it's pretty weird... and pretty great.

originally posted 10/28/2025

Phyllis Diller Spends Halloween At Disneyland

Disney does Halloween right. They do Halloween specials right. Somebody behind the scenes of The Mouse Factory did drugs wrong. I don't know if Phillis Diller did drugs, but I do know her name is slang for cocaine. I'm sure there was a mountain offstage on this episode.

Spooks and Magic, the Halloween episode of The Mouse Factory features Phyllis Diller as the guest star going absolutely insane with Disney characters. At one point she's breaking into the Haunted Mansion and harassing the ghosts, the next minute she's having a Halloween costume party with Donald Duck. Said costume party doesn't sound bad until she shows them her batshit family slides then runs them off by singing.

The whole thing ends with her forming a witches coven with King Louie, Goofy, and Witch Hazel. The latter is sent to Donald Duck's (who just left) house as a set up to the classic Disney 'Trick or Treat' short. In the end, Phyllis uses her evil witch powers to steal Snow Whites identity and... it just ends. That means she's still out there.

Originally Posted 10/02/2020

What the hell Imagic?

This is the second Imagic Atari video game commercial we've talked about this Halloween where another programmer they employ is some horrible monster.

Specifically, this time an alien warlord apparently programmed Atlantis after his race destroyed the real city of Atlantis. Then he just kills the guy talking to him before giving us a little jump scare.

Also, once again, Imagic's offices are apparently smoke-filled dens where nothing good occurs.

Maybe we should avoid them...

You're Doomed

This is... something.

We've all seen the various ways theaters advertise their snack bars or special events, but this animation promoting the theater's horror movies is the first time I've seen one outright tell you it's safer to die than watch their films.

I'm, uh... guessing they're not in business anymore.

Attack of the Demon Programmers

Demon Attack is often forgotten about these days due to... well, it was just another copycat game for the Atari that added to the growing problem that caused the video game crash.

However, the commercial is pretty great. You've got a room full of Imagic employees, and apparently a freaking monstrous demon is a programmer there. Just straight-up sitting there in the...

Wait, why is this company's office all dark and smoky? It looks like the back room of an illicit business where mobsters meet.

Man... the programming world is scary.

You might just have an alcoholic in your house

To be honest, the rules regarding Gremlins are pretty... crap.

Don't feed them after midnight. What time zone? How do they know? Do they update with daylight saving time?

Don't get them wet... how wet? There's moisture in the air. Does condensation count? Isn't hydration technically...?

Sunlight and bright lights? Okay, I get that one. I mean, that's workable... except when they're surrounded by lights in various scenes, but a random desk lamp is an issue.

Now... we've got to worry about them drinking and driving. Which is a pretty big rule for everyone, not just Gremlins. Like, seriously, don't do it. That's one of the most irresponsible things you can do, and you have to be a pretty big piece of shit to do it intentionally.

The Gremlins, though... they're already destroying everything, and then you let them behind the wheel of your Mom's '89 Ford Taurus, drunker than a sailor on payday?

While we're here, can we point out how many jump scares this PSA has?

Good thing Gizmo's adorable.

Bored in the Castle

Holy crap, Ghost Castle looks amazing. Why isn't this a household staple? WHY?

To be honest, a lot of board games are boring. It's in the name, but Ghost Castle looks so cool! You've got skulls falling through things, and is that treasure?

I mean, if Monopoly happened in a haunted castle, it'd be so much more fun.

I really like the ghost puppets in this commercial, too. Though I'm pretty amazed these kids gathered in a spooky mansion to play a board game together and not in the family room where Mom could make them pizza rolls.

Goosebumps in the Graveyard

Spooky season is the perfect time for a scary board game, and *Goosebumps: Terror in the Graveyard* looks pretty great. Like, if they’d release this without the Goosebumps branding, it’d probably be a hit on its own.

This could be just the thing to enjoy with others—some pizza, kids out trick-or-treating, and this on the coffee table.

The commercial itself is maybe too scary for a children’s book series tie-in board game. Clearly, the director felt like this was his time to shine, and NOBODY was taking away his moment to go down in the horror hall of fame. He probably still tells people about it.

Only 84 Cents?

What would the local party store be without Halloween? One of the few times during the year you actually go inside because you know they put the Solo cups away and brought out the good stuff. You guys see that trick or treat bucket, it was only 89 cents. That's kinda amazing. Wait, pumpkin lawn bags? Only 84 cents? How do they plan on staying in business with those prices?

Originally Posted 8/10/2020

Why is it always a pit?

It from the Pit is probably a lot of fun all year, but it definitely makes for some monster-movie-flavored fun with a cup of pumpkin-spiced latte.

While the game looks fun, the real star of this commercial is the animated segment, which makes me wish there was an ongoing story of adventurers facing off with that thing in the pit.

You know, just like quicksand, I seriously thought pits would be a bigger threat to my safety as a child. Never seen one.

Just the Worst

Before Harry Potter, "The Worst Witch" offered magic users a school to learn spells. I knew it as a special that would air every October on cable pretty often—HBO, Disney Channel, maybe TBS… it was on practically all month, and it was fun as crap while it was at it.

The special features the titular worst witch, Mildred Hubble, being an underdog at Witch School. Halloween comes, and the Grand Wizard is coming to visit for the holiday celebrations, and all hell breaks loose.

He performs probably one of the worst songs ever, sounding like he was making it up on the spot, all while in a montage straight out of a NyQuil-induced nightmare.

In the end, Mildred comes out on top and is rewarded with questionable time with the Grand Wizard as a prize. Mildred… maybe consider a career in HVAC repair instead?

Freddy has to Potty

Judging by the pee pee dance Freddy is doing, he even scares himself! These low rent mail order commercials were all over local channels when I was a kid. The Nightmare on Elm Street Dream Package does look like a great deal just in time for Halloween in 1989. Know what else is scary? The price!

Originally Posted 10/10/2024

You Wana try it?

Wana Wana is a game by TOMY that... why does this exist?

Seriously... it's a toy bear trap that you stick your head in. Essentially, you and your friends play chicken with this thing, taking turns sticking your heads in it until it snaps on the loser.

You know what? Forget what I said... that looks amazing!!

Ultra-Spooky Tiga! (4kids edition)

Oh no! There's a witch causing problems for children on Halloween! What do we do! SEND IN ULTRAMAN! It's Halloween and the GUTS team suspects a monster. The team investigates (in costumes, it's Halloween... duh) and soon discovers a witch handing out lollipops to children. Trick or Treat? It's a TRICK! The witch is stealing the children's dreams and converting them into energy! Good thing Ultraman Tiga is here to save Halloween!

Originally Posted 9/16/2022 *now with the 4kids version of the episode*

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.

Splatter in your House

I'll never forget that one morning as I was getting ready for school. I was in the 6th grade... and miserable. Middle school and high school were not happy times for me, and I dragged my feet each morning, watching cartoons before leaving for the day.

I was watching The New Adventures of He-Man when this AWESOME little spot for the TurboGrafx-16 version of Splatterhouse came on, farming all the aura possible. Splatterhouse was a game that felt like an urban legend. Either you'd seen it or you hadn't, and nobody believed you if you said you had.

ME? I'd played it at the Circle K by my grandmother's house and was blown away... and still am to this day. It's wild they allowed a game like this to happen at the time, and this particular version got some pretty crazy edits to play it safe. Still, I mentally default to this versions red horror mask whenever I think of the game.

It's the perfect way to spend an evening during the spooky season.

The Long Ass Halloween

Somebody, somewhere decided having kids trick or treat with a character would be a fun thing to do. In theory they were right. In practice they get your drunk Uncle dressed as Batman. In this special community event where a handful of kids get to meet the caped crusader and receive "a pot of gold". You know, it's hard to poop all over something like this... but something about... somebody help those kids. Not Batman.

Originally Posted 8/25/2022