Wait, what are we doing at a toy store, we're supposed to be trick or treating!
This was a film I used to see both on TV and in schools, based on a book of the same name, "The Witch Who Was Afraid of Witches". Unfortunately someone doesn't have a full version online at all, so I have to rely on these two measly clips I could find from someone who bothered selling a print on eBay and had to show these as reference.
Yeah the animation's pretty bad and goofy here, but so is school!
Recycled footage from a Garfield special urges you on the safety tips this Halloween...
Donald's nephews certainly need some help from a pro.
Quick, get home in time for two classics on CBS-TV!
The grim realities of the night before come back to haunt an individual hell bent on telling the authorities the truth over a tipped neighbor's trailer...
I was never a fan of these Buttons & Rusty specials (or the "Chucklewood Critters" series that manifested itself after wards), but here you go, a Halloween special with the critters.
Mischief night, or Gate night (also known as Devil's Night, Goosey Night, Cabbage Night and Mizzy Night in some areas), is an annual tradition in parts of England, Canada, and the United States; a night when the custom is for people (primarily teenagers and preteens) to take a degree of license to play pranks and do mischief to their neighbors. The most common date for mischief night is October 30, the day before Halloween.
In Detroit (and other places), it is known as Devil's Night. Let's see what kind of tunes we can get going for that.
I don't know about you, but I love horror movies. And not that namby-pamby Saw crap, or Final Destination: When Rube Goldberg Devices Attack. I mean real horror!
Laughter is how humans let each other know it's ok. When people have a case of "nervous laughter", they're just trying to calm themselves down. All mammals have a little place in their brain that lights up when they "laugh".
I have here a copy of Kingsley Amis' The King's English: A Guide to Modern Usage. He has this to say of Frankenstein:
Frankenstein (brilliantly named) is the eponymous character in a Gothic romance written by Mary Shelly in the early eighteenth century. He makes something like a human being from bits of dead bodies and gives the result life. The creature is fundamentally good, but after much ill treatment from mankind becomes the instrument of Frankenstein's destruction.
In the early twentieth century, when science and technology seemed t be spreading at a great rate, it was natural for writers to look for images of human invention over-reaching itself. The Frankenstein myth was pressed into service, but in a simplified or garbled form whereby the name of Frankenstein became attached to the monster. Those who talked about the danger that humans would create a deadly Frankenstein were sternly and regularly rebuked for linguistic impropriety by such as Fowler.
After a time, whether as monster or creator, Frankenstein was no longer to be found in newspaper columns. Perhaps he had simply gone out of fashion. Or perhaps, the whole question of how to refer to him had been made too difficult or cumbersome to handle. If the latter, it was something of a triumph for the sticklers.
Here's some songs by people who couldn't care one way or the other.
Back in nineteen-mumble-mumble, I had a Halloween party and invited all my friends from school. Halloween parties are really great when you're eight.
My mom had gone to the library and borrowed a 16-mm projector and a copy of War of the Worlds. The original 1953 version. This was a one-reel "highlights" version, in black-and-white.
And Mom did not know how to get the sound working on the projector.
Actually, I'll bet there was no sound on that single reel anyway. But you can't get a bunch of kids to sit in the dark and watch a silent movie....
So, being inventive, she sat behind us, next to the projector, and made all the sound effects. Dialog, funny voices, you name it.
Man, the first time that heat-ray went off, she was back there yelling "NEROWOWOWOWOWOW!!!" and we screamed.
Prestigidination - "War of the Worlds"
Betty Johnson - "The Little Blue Man" (featuring a young Hugh Downs)
I'm sure you noticed Vincent Price a lot during our week of Poe. Well, today is the anniversary of his death, a few days short of Halloween. He was 92.
Vincent was a consummate actor who could not only chew on scenery, but swallowed it whole. I have to respect that. He's got an impressive filmography and I suggest you watch some of his work. So what if it's in black-and-white?
My mom met him once and asked if it would be okay if she gave him a hug.
"Madam, you may do what ever you please," he said.
I should put that on a T-shirt. MY MOM HUGGED VINCENT PRICE.
Plus, he could sing. Oh, what a lovely voice he had.
These guys are The Residents. You have to know about them if you want any kind of geek-cred.
The story goes that they sent in a demo-tape, but never put their name on it. When the record company they sent it to returned the tape, it was addressed to "Resident". Since then, they have released over sixty albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects, two video games, ten DVDs, and have undertaken seven major world tours.
You give a listen and see why they were rejected back in 1972.
That last tack is a Residents cover by Primus. Oh, you don't know who Primus is? Thanks for making me feel old.
Someone needs to make an anime music video for Tokyo Godfathers using this song. Like, yesterday.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Tiger Lillies. Unlike Insane Clown Possie, I'll wager they understand how magnets work.
Here's a couple more of their songs; one based on the works of Edward Gorey and the other from a collection of perfectly dreadful child morality (mortality?) tales.
In an effort to increase your geek-cred, I now present Francis E. Dec. This man is a kook of the highest order.
If you listen to "Coast to Coast" with Art Bell, as I do, you've probably familiarized yourself with a number of kooks, but Dec takes the cake. No, he doesn't just take the cake; he takes the table, the kitchen, the truck that delivered the ingredients, and the cook. He's not just out of the kook-closet; he's in the living-room, sitting on your sofa, with his feet on the table.
In 1985, Boyd "Doc" Britton received a stack of Dec's flyers mass-mailed to the media; in 1986, he made a spoken word recording of himself reading five of Dec's rants over various background music selected and mixed in at random. I've got one of them here:
Rant Three
And then, later, Psychic TV made a (somewhat) danceable tune out of a rant.
Halloween is about scary things. I can't think of anything more scary than being stuck in Dec's head.
You missed the Kajui Movie Fest at the Dallas Museum of Art this weekend. You also missed SUSHI WORLD.
Tell you what. When you come to A-Kon or Animefest, we'll all go to SUSHI WORLD. They're open twenty-four hours and it's 10% after 1 AM. Even if you're there during regular hours, it's still only about $20 per person. It's so worth it.
Katie loves it. She was gushing. Big eel fan, Katie. They've got good eel there.
Blue Öyster Cult - "Godzilla"
(This is the only song that Ogre will dance to. If you don't know who Ogre is, you have not been doing cons in Dallas very long.)
A jack-o-lantern terrifies children with blue-filtered horrors of cheap Ben Cooper masks, light-reflective tape, rotten eggs and pumpkin scissors--eh, I mean knives!
