Happy Halloween 2013!

And here we are...

I want to thank everyone who has read and commented on the blog throughout the Countdown to Halloween. I am so happy I agreed to be a part of this five years ago, as it's allowed me to not only share some great stuff with you, but also see great stuff from you guys (and gals). Blogging the rest of the year has become increasingly challenging, but I always make time for the Countdown, and I'll keep doing so as long as I'm able.

I'll leave the blog  "decorations" up for a couple of days and save new posts until next week to allow the Halloween goodness to breathe a bit before moving on.  All Saints Day is tomorrow, and Dia de Muertos is this weekend, so it's still appropriate. Besides, with the weekend almost here, I suspect many will keep the spooky fun going for a little longer.

Have fun, be safe, and most of all...Happy Halloween!

One More Halloween Dance Party!

Music has been such a big part of my Halloween celebrations the past few years that I can't help but throw in one more Halloween dance party here on the blog before the Countdown is over. Here are some last few creepy tunes to keep you in the spirit in the season's final days. Enjoy!

Tuesday's Overlooked Film: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

Today is the last Tuesday's Overlooked Film for this year's Countdown to Halloween, and we visit one of my absolute favorite monster movies--Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein!

I frickin' love this movie!

Bud and Lou are railroad baggage claim clerks who receive some scary cargo--the bodies of Dracula and Frankenstein, sent to be featured in a Miami house of horrors attraction. Drac's goal--to take control of the Frankenstein monster by replacing the monster's brain with a dim-witted person whose easy to control.  The intended victim is Lou, naturally. Larry Talbot, aka The Wolf Man, learns of Dracula's plot and goes to Miami to stop Dracula. Lon Chaney Jr once again plays the Wolf Man, the role that made him famous, with Glenn Strange playing the Frankenstein monster and the great Bela Lugosi as Dracula. Surprisingly, as famous as Lugosi is for playing the evil count, this movie is only the second and last time he played the character on screen.

The movie has very funny moments (at least if you find their style of comedy funny--and I do), but the monsters are, wisely, the straight men to the antics of Abbott and Costello, allowing the comedy and spookiness to play out equally without drowning each other out. The climax of the film is quite satisfying and exciting, and the movie turns into an all-out monsterpalooza. The whole film is just great fun--what more can you ask from a classic monster movie?

Here is the film's trailer. I highly recommend you check the movie out. It's available at the usual outlets. Thanks!

Monsters Cereals TV Commercials from Four Decades

Only four days left of the Countdown to Halloween! It is amazingly how quickly it goes by every year. Only thing we can do is to enjoy the ride. We take on the beginning of the end is sweet style.

This Halloween season has been dominated by the existence of all five General Mills Monster Cereals at one time, as you well know, so let's take our second look at the cereals this season (here is the first) by enjoying 25 minutes of compiled TV commercials for the cereals in one sitting! It's fun to see the evolution of both the characters and the commercial production over the last 40-plus decades.

40-plus decades--wow!

Enjoy!

List O' Links Halloween Edition Part 2

Holy crap--Halloween is less than a week away! Plus, this is the last weekend before the big day (unless you plan on extending your Halloween celebration into next weekend after the big day, which many of you might). We really need to crank it up several notches. Let's do that with the help of some more awesome Halloween links!

If you haven't heard, some independent filmmakers created a fun but scary movie about two of the most non-scariest places in the world--Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Or are those places so innocent? Learn more about the indie film that's getting so much attention--Escape From Tomorrow!

When handing out treats next Thursday, don't be cruel. Do NOT hand out these Top 10 Worst Things to Give Trick-or-Treaters!

A large part of my Halloween horror film watching this season has been spent on the classic Universal Studios Frankenstein films. Here's a handy guide.

If you were a kid in the 1990s, chances are you enjoyed the Goosebumps series of young adults horror books by R. L. Stein. Here is a look at classic horror movies on the covers of fake Goosebumps books.

Surely you're familiar with the famous radio broadcast of War of the Worlds by Orson Welles and the panic it caused, but perhaps you've never actually heard it. Fear not--you can listen to it (and several other Welles broadcasts) right here!

Finally, here is a fun music EP from "geek musician" John Anealio with four songs all about Halloween or horror in some way. John has been doing his thing for some time now as both a musician and as a blogger and podcaster. You can download his EP for free or, if you can, pay what you can--you name your price.

Have a great spooky weekend! Be safe and have fun!

HELL NO: The Sensible Horror Film

Tired of characters in horror films doing obviously stupid things? Then this is the movie for you!

Vincent Price and Elvira on The Tonight Show, Halloween Night 1984

Today is, of all things, TV Talk Show Host Day, a day set aside to to honor--well, TV talk show hosts. I have no idea who created this, but at least they chose a fitful day; October 23rd is the birthday of Johnny Carson. However, the day is meant to honor all talk hosts, not just Carson. This gives me the opportunity to feature today's clip that I discovered just a week or two ago.

Here is a nearly 20-minute clip from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson from Halloween night 1984. David Brenner is guest hosting for Johnny, but his guests are two people perfect for Halloween conversation--Vincent Price and Elvira. TV nostalgia at its finest!

Enjoy!