Category: Halloween

¡Feliz Día de Los Muertos!

Día de Los Muertos, Merengue Urbano (2021)

[Skulls found in our living room and on the front door stoop.
Día de los Muertos archive here. ]

Halloween in the UK 1930s

“An early reference to wearing costumes at Halloween comes from Scotland in 1585, but they may pre-date this. […] By the 1930s costumes based on characters in mass media such as film, literature, and radio were popular.”

[Images are from the UK Mirror, October 2017.]

Habilatory Hot Links

Do The Zombie, M.R. Baseman & The Symbols (1963) This song was the B-side of a 45rpm recorded on the Graphic Arts label, the A-side being a cover of the Devotions’ Rip Van Winkel, recorded by “Marty & The Symbols.” Very little is known about this group except they may have been from Astoria, Queens, NY. No relation to the 1960s UK pop band The Symbols.

Blorp.

Meow.

Retroman.

Honest Jaws.

Camper World.

Erasing US History.

Yabba Dabba Duplex?

Dancing with Michael.

Hating the Monstermash.

The original version is the best.

Izuna Fair [via Memo Of The Air].

Mr. Bone’s Pizza [via Mme. Jujujive].

The Earth is leaking [via Bunkerville].

The Book of Hallowe’en Ruth Edna Kelley (1919)
[also via Memo Of The Air].

Frankencamper [via The View From Lady Lake].

Cool but impractical shelter [via Feral Irishman].

Tired of the lies? Here’s The True Story of Hushpuppies.

[Top image: Detail from The Reward of Cruelty, William Hogarth (1751) found here.]

From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago. 15 years ago.

Saturday Matinee – The Creepshow, Messer Chups, Paulie Martin & Blues Confidential, and The Reverend Horton Heat

The Creepshow has been blasting psychopunkabilly for a while. Zombies Ate Her Brain was from their debut album, Sell Your Soul (2006).

From St. Petersburg, Russia,  Messer Chups is listed under vampire space zombie surf rock. “Messer” is German for “knife” and “Chups” is from Chupa Chups lollipops.

Decent cover of Freddie King‘s classic Boogie Man performed by Paulie Martin & Blues Confidential of Ireland. According to the band’s website, Martin has moved on to other ventures..

Gretchmaster The Reverend Horton Heat has a tailgater to deal with.

Just a few days to go before the little spooky ones come a-knockin’.  We had maybe a half dozen last year, and that includes the one who showed up twice. In any case, pumpkin vivisection is scheduled for Monday.

See you tomorrow, you know where to find me.

The .Gif Friday Post No. 825 – Mechanical Dracula, Bony Peeper, Octo Creepo & Boop’s Jack o’ Lanterns

[Found here, here, here and here. Dracula h/t Gord S.]

The .Gif Friday Post No. 824 – ‘Boonlips, Angry Hair & HUZZAH!

[Found here, here and here.]

Revealed: The Real Fake Captain K.

In June of 2011, I found a photo of Captain Kangaroo with something interesting in the background and posted it as a tribute to the late Bob Keeshan. In October 2014 a comment appeared and “Dave” corrected me – that is NOT the Captain.

Dave, Monday, 20 October 2014,  8:05 AM
FYI, that IS a kitchen in a home — an old home — in Derry, New Hampshire. And that is not Bob Keeshan as Captain Kangaroo, rather another “Mr. Dressup” in a Halloween costume. The picture you found and “acquired” is from a Halloween party that took place in 1986, and that is NOT Captain Kangaroo’s Heineken on the counter!

Now, a mere 11-1/2 years later, the identity of the fake Captain is revealed. It was Dave himself!

09 February 2023 12:45am [via email]

Hi Bunk,

Back in 2014 I was doing an online search for pics of Bob Keeshan as the Captain, and was surprised to find shots of myself mixed in with pics of the real Captain. At that time I had a website set up to highlight years of Halloween costume pictures I had of myself, and I guess some had found their way onto the Internet search engines. That is when I discovered your website, and I was amused by the Heineken comment, and flattered that someone may have thought that my portrayal made them think that I was the real Captain. Little did I know that you found that picture a whole three years earlier.

Here are a few Captain photos, including the updated 1986 shot. That shot was taken at a friend’s home in NH, an old farmhouse. Our friend is a pro artist, and they had the house decorated in total Halloween mode, including a front yard graveyard and crooked shutters on the windows, a parlor with a coffin, and an oil painting on the wall depicting a knife-wielding character with blood dripping from the blade, across the frame, and onto the floor. Plus much, much more.

I rarely repeat a costume, but the Captain was a fave, so I repeated it nine years later. This time I rigged a box with a lid to contain Bunny Rabbit. A false, sleeved arm held the box so I could use my real hand to operate the puppet. I had gotten previous use of the box when dressed as the Addams Family’s Uncle Fester, with Thing (my real hand) in the box.

Coincidentally, shortly after doing my CK reprise, I heard from a friend that Bob Keeshan was coming to a local Barnes & Noble for a book-signing. I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to meet him and brought a few pictures to show him, and a camera to get some shots of him.

You are welcome to post these pics, if you like.

Enjoy,

Dave

[Update: Dave’s website link deleted at his request.]

Here are those photos. Thanks Dave!

 

…and the Addams Family for the win:

Stuff I Do When I’m Bored

All previously posted elsewhere. Bottom image: Inverted color version of storm clouds photographed by Sol R. Land who is living somewhere in the bush with his dog.