1986, 2008 Halloween Tips with Elvira

Happy Halloween 2013! Here a three videos of Trick or Treat tips, Halloween safety tips and how to carve a pumpkin brought to you by Elvira.

Trick or Treat tips as shown on Elvira's MTV Halloween Special from 1986:


Elvira's 5 Halloween Safety Tips from 2008:


How to Carve a Halloween Pumpkin with Elvira also from 1986:

1970 Tales of Washington Irving

This 1970 animated special contains two versions of Washington Irving's most popular stories; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - about the headless horseman (who makes a too brief appearance), and Rip Van Winkle - the man who fell asleep and awoke years later. It originally aired on TV between Halloween and Thanksgiving in the early 1970s and was later released on VHS home video by MGM in 1987 but it's currently out of print.

The animation is not all that good, but the beautiful autumn colors in the spooky backgrounds and the chilling musical score make up for it. Many may recognize the cast of famous voices from old Hanna Barbara cartoons like The Flintstones and The Jetsons and the voice of the classic Looney Tunes shorts, the multi talented, Mel Blanc.

1988 Hollow Gate

Hollow Gate is an awful shot-on-video horror film from 1988. It concerns Mark, a young boy who is almost killed by his drunken, alcoholic father at a Halloween party. Fast forward 10 Halloween's later, a traumatized Mark decides to butcher a group teenagers one by one while wearing various costumes (soldier, doctor, cowboy). Over acting, bad writing, boring story and not one bit scary or suspenseful but it is unintentionally hilarious if you like these kinds of bad 80's horror films. Unrated; Gory Violence and Profanity. No official DVD release here in the USA but it is available on Region 2 DVD in German.

1997 Animaniacs - Spooky Stuff

This is a recreation of an Animaniacs VHS video called Spooky Stuff that was released on August 26, 1997 but is currently out of print. The Animaniacs animated series ran for 5 seasons (1993–1998) and had a total of 99 episodes plus one film. The Spooky Stuff videocassette contains the following 6 spooky Halloween/horror themed segments from various seasons all written by John P. McCann:

Draculee Draculaa: The Warner siblings spend the night at Count Dracula's castle. Dan Castellanetta guest-stars as the voice Dracula.


Phranken-Runt: A Rita and Runt spoof of Frankenstein with Rocky Horror-esque or Little Shop of Horrors-type songs.


Meatballs or Consequences: Yakko, Wakko and Dot vs. the Grim Reaper (Who turns out to be Swedish).


Hot, Bothered, & Bedeviled: The Warners torment Satan in Hell.


Scare Happy Slappy: On Halloween, Slappy Squirrel takes her nephew Skippy Squirrel, who's dressed in a Buster Bunny costume, out trick-or-treating.


Witch One: Another Rita and Runt short about the Salem Witch Trials.

1986 Horrible Horror

Zacherley, the Cool Ghoul, hosts a collection of mostly public domain trailers and clips from over 50 cult films, camp horror films, sci-fi films as well as TV serials from the '30s through to the '60s. The whole video is tremendously entertaining but some of the best parts include Zacherley's segments, fun rare bloopers and outtakes from Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and a section dedicated to Bela Lugosi including rare interviews, a Betty Boop clip with Dracula and clips of Lugosi's movies including The Ape Man, Bride of the Monster, Glen or Glenda, The Phantom Creeps and Spooks Run Wild. Officially released on VHS in 1986 by Good Times Video but no DVD release.

1992 Monster in My Pocket: The Big Scream

The Big Scream is an animated special featuring several monsters from the Monster in My Pocket toyline. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera studios and originally aired on October 31, 1992. A series was planned but was scrapped due to poor ratings of this pilot.

The story is basically about the good monsters, Invisible Man (given the name Dr. Henry Davenport), Wolf-Mon, Big Ed (The Monster) and Mummy, trying to stop the evil monsters, Vampire, Swamp Beast and Medusa, from using an old horror film called The Shriek to grow big again.

Early releases of the special on VHS video from Vidmark Entertainment contained a glow-in-the-dark monster: Charun, Thunderdell, or Yama.

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:

1995 Creepy Clips from Over 40 Classic Horror Films

Creepy Clips is a VHS video released in 1995 that contains a collection of clips from horror movies made in the 1950's all strung together by cheesy keyboard music and spooky effects. Contains clips of haunted houses, vampires, werewolves, skeletons, giant monsters, freaks of science, experiments gone wrong, zombies and mad ghouls. A great video to play in the background to liven up a Halloween party.

1965-1969 The Beatles Meet Frankenstein and Dracula in Transylvania

From Wikipedia: This American animated television series features the fanciful and musical misadventures of the popular English rock band The Beatles. The series debuted on ABC on September 25, 1965 and ended on September 7, 1969 but only 1965 to 1967 was first run; later transmissions were reruns. A total of 39 episodes were produced. Each episode has a name of a Beatles song, so the story is based on its lyrics and it is also played at some time in the episode.

If I Fell is the second half of episode 2: John is kidnapped by a mad scientist's assistant named Igor. The mad scientist, Dr. Dora Florahyde, wants to bring to life a Frankenstein type monster and make it a rock star. All she needs is the brain of a beetle (hence the kidnapping of John, the "brain of the Beatles"). John and the monster's brains are switched, and the singing monster is mobbed by a herd of female fans. Originally aired October 2, 1965.

The Beatles - If I Fell:


Misery is the second half of episode 5: The Beatles are off to the wax museum to see themselves in wax. The get lost in the museum and the Count Dracula wax statue comes to life, and proceeds to give chase. The Beatles end up having to melt their wax doubles to save the day. Originally aired October 23, 1965.

The Beatles - Misery:


A Hard Day's Night is the first half of episode 1: When the studio gets too crowded, The Beatles can't rehearse with too many people hanging around, so they rent a mansion that is (unknown to the Fab Four) haunted with ghosts and monsters. The Beatles' music is enough to awaken the dead as they go off to rehearse in the Transylvanian castle. Originally aired September 25, 1965.

The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night:

1989 Elm Street: The Making of a Nightmare

This is a behind the scenes look at the practical make-up and special effects behind 1988's A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. The first 10 minutes or so focuses on the first 3 films and the rest of the time is devoted to Nightmare 4 which at the time this was made was the newest film of the franchise. Originally aired on Halloween 1989 as a TV special.

This is available on a made on demand DVD-R at Amazon.com but I remember seeing it on the USA Network when I was a kid. I recorded it on VHS and used to watch it all the time. I was fascinated by the make-up effects, which is now a lost art thanks to CGI. I would also record episodes of Freddy's Nightmares, that used to air late Saturday nights, on the same video.

1989 The Search For Haunted Hollywood

A 1989 Halloween Special hosted by John Davidson that informs viewers of legendary hauntings in Hollywood and its studio backlots. Includes ghost stories told by the stars, the Hollywood starlet who jumped off the infamous Hollywood sign and is known to still be haunting the hills, constant sightings of Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Cliff in the hallways of the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, the haunted earthly home of cowboy star Tom Mix and the haunted dressing room of golden girl Mary Pickford, ghostbuster Nonie Fagatt joins ghost hunter Richard Senate, and electronics experts Daniel Hobbit and Barry Taff to attempt a seek and destroy mission on a ghost. Also featured are actor/comedian Jack Carter, actor/comedian Norm Crosby, paranormal professional Hans Holzer, Patrick MacNee (John Steed of television's The Avengers), mentalist/magician Max Maven, and Harry Blackstone the magician.

1972 The Canterville Ghost

This animated version of the popular Oscar Wilde short story was released in Russia on November 4 1972 with the original title "Kentervilskoe prividenie". But the video below is the English dubbed version that was released on a 1996 VHS video called Classic Fairy Tales From Around The World. Click here to view a YouTube playlist that contains the other animated stories on the video cassette.

Synopsis translated from Russian: A family moves into the mansion, where, according to legend, many years ago a husband killed his wife. At night in the mansion strange things begin to happen: someone's footsteps, rattling chains, and blood stains that constantly appear in the kitchen.

Part 1:


Part 2:

1982 Wacko

Wacko is a 1982 PG rated film parody that spoofs the following horror and non-horror films: Alien, Psycho, The Exorcist, Dr. Strangelove, Saturday Night Fever, and Grease. The story follows obsessed cop Dick Harbinger as he desperately tries to convince the town that the infamous Lawnmower Killer, who murdered a girl 13 years earlier, is about to return to town for more bloodshed and horror. Meanwhile the students at Hitchcock High School, including the younger sister of the murdered girl who has nightmares about the killer, are preparing for their Halloween Pumpkin Prom where the dreaded pumpkin headed power-mowing maniac makes his final appearance.

Voluptuous women, young studs, the last virgin in school, a bald nutcase, an obsessed detective, a killer with a pumpkin on his head and a perverted doctor/father are the type of characters you'll find in this movie. There are a couple of good spoofs but nothing really laugh out load funny. I'd say this is more silly than it is actually funny. The film was released on VHS by Vestron Video. It has not been officially released on Region 1 DVD in the USA but you can find bootleg Region All/0 and official Region 2 DVDs for sale online. The full movie was on Youtube but as soon as someone uploads it seems to be taken down quick due to copyright claims, so here's the movie's trailer below.

Wacko (1982) Trailer:


UPDATE #1: Watch the full film with unremovable subtitles below:


UPDATE #2: Watch the full film in Spanish:

1960 & 1965 Mr. Magoo and Frankenstein

Two cartoons featuring Mr. Magoo and Frankenstein's Monster. The first is a 4 minute short from 1960 that's called Magoo meets Frankenstein. The nearsighted old man, Quincy Magoo, goes to what he thinks is a hotel but it’s actually a mad scientist’s castle and he’s after a brain.

1960 Magoo meets Frankenstein:


Mr. Magoo's Doctor Frankenstein is an episode of the 1965 animated series The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo. Mr. Magoo plays Dr. Frankenstein, the insane scientist who brings a creature to life. When the creature breaks out, he threatens to cause mayhem and disaster. Unlike Magoo meets Frankenstein, this 23 minute cartoon is a more faithful adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein story with heart and respect for the source material.

1965 Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo - Mr. Magoo's Doctor Frankenstein Part 1:


1965 Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo - Mr. Magoo's Doctor Frankenstein Part 2:

2002 AMC Backstory: HalloweeN - 1999 HalloweeN Unmasked

A documentary on the making of the original Halloween film released in 1978 as seen on AMC's MonsterFest 24/7, October 26, 2002 At 10 PM. I was really excited to watch this and when it aired I wasn't disappointed. Later on I found out this was basically just reused interviews and clips from another documentary Halloween Unmasked which was created three years earlier in 1999. But, I still enjoyed watching this again on Youtube after all these years. I can't find this on DVD or VHS.

1999 HalloweeN Unmasked

This documentary is featured on the Limited Edition DVD of Halloween, released in 1999.

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:

1997 Perversions of Science: Panic

Perversions of Science was a sci-fi/horror anthology series that ran on HBO for one season in 1997. Much like Tales From the Crypt but hosted by an oversexed android named Chrome. The stories were taken from EC Comics series of comic books called Weird Science, a title that couldn't be used for this show because of the film and series also called Weird Science. Most episodes focused on science fiction themes such as alien invasion or space/time travel.

Panic was the 7th episode out of 10 made. It opens at a Halloween costume party and tells the story of the panic caused by the Orson Welles Mercury Theatre production of The War of the Worlds. As of 2013 the full series has not received a DVD release in the US, but was released in Japan on Region 2 NTSC DVD where it has since gone out of print and is a rare find for collectors.

1991 Dracula: a Cinematic Scrapbook

A history of Dracula movies including trailers, trivia, movie posters and interviews with the actors who have portrayed the most famous vampire. Starting with Nosferatu (1922), Bela Lugosi in Dracula (1931) then Lon Chaney Jr. and John Carradine in the Universal films, Hammer Film Productions Christopher Lee as the bloodsucker, Blacula (1972), with short appearances by the Wolfman, Frankenstein's monster, Abbott and Costello, Frank Langella and George Hamilton.

Originally produced in 1991 along with "Frankenstein" and "Wolfman" Cinematic Scrapbooks. No DVD version but released on VHS cassette on August 27, 1996.

1988 Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Rabbit Ears)

Rabbit Ears is a production company that created audio stories in the 1980's for the radio, using famous actors to do narration. They were high quality productions, featuring classic stories, and folk tales. Later they produced the stories on a combined package of an audio cassette and a book. Finally they decided to merge the books with the audio into a video.

This version of Sleepy Hollow is narrated by Glenn Close with stunning still illustrations by Robert Van Nutt and is set to outstanding music by Tim Story. This actually got the true version of the original tale down to the last scene. Unlike the Disney version, the Headless Horseman in this adaption does not carry a sword. But still very enjoyable for kids and adults as well.

Watch at SchoolTube.com if the video does not show below:

1982 and 1983 Count Scary's Halloween Party

Here are 2 videos featuring Detroit's horror film host Count Scary played by the great Tom Ryan.

The first video is called Count Scary's Halloween Party and originally aired in 1982. The movie is "Dracula" which has been edited out. The Count intros the movie then shows a segment called "How I Spent My Last Halloween" where he goes trick or treating, rides in the Scary Mobile and gets in trouble with a bar of soap. Then the Count gets his pants scared off and talks on the phone with Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter. In a second segment, cool guy vampire, Val Scary makes an appearance in a Lacoste designer cape. Ends with Count Scary running for Governor in a political commercial.

1982 Count Scary's Halloween Party:


This second video is from the following year and is called Count Scary's Halloween Too Party. The Scary Mobile breaks down and the Count is late arriving to the studio. The featured movie "Dracula vs. Frankenstein" required you to wear 34 pairs of pants, Count Scary's way of rating movies.

1983 Count Scary's Halloween Too Party:

1996 The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper - Halloween

From Wikipedia: The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper (also known as simply Casper) is an animated television spin-off of the 1995 feature film Casper, which, in turn, was based on the Harvey Comics character of Casper the Friendly Ghost. It aired on FOX Kids television and FOX Family Channel from 1996-1998 for 3 seasons, 52 episodes. Many of the same people who worked on this show also worked on Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain.

The first segment is called:
Spooky & Poil Meet the Monsters
Responding to a Haunt Ad, Casper's mischief-minded cousin, Spooky (along with his "ghoulfriend" Poil in tow) investigates a creepy old house hoping to get a job haunting the joint. But they must contend with Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, the Wolfman, the Gill-man, the Mummy and the Invisible Man.


The second and third segments are called:
The Ghostly Trio
Edward-Gorey-esque rhymes and artwork, telling a tale of how Casper's uncles, the Ghostly Trio, decide to leave when everyone ignores them. Narrated by Kat, Casper's thirteen year old human companion.

AND

The Tricks a Treat
When Kat's school enemies, the rich spoiled Valley Girl-types, Amber and the Jennifers announce that they're having a big Halloween bash, Casper (disguised as a P.A. box) announces that Kat is also having one - with real ghosts. But as it turns out, it's against Spooksters Union rules for ghosts or monsters to scare on Halloween. With appearances by the Ghostly Trio, Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, the Mummy, the Wolfman and the Gill-man.

1996 Late Night with Conan O'Brien - Halloween

Here is the incomplete 1996 Halloween episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien with guest Dana Carvey. I find Conan and Andy Richter hilarious and I loved watching this Halloween episode.

In part 1, Conan and Andy pull a prank on Max Weinberg, a skit about the horrors of trick and treating as kids, and also contains an reenactment of the OJ Simpson trial:


Part 2 contains an interview with Dana Carvey and a Frankenstein Unleashed skit with the late great Carl "Oldie" Olsen as Frankenstein's Monster:

1970s-2010s Commercials starring Classic Monsters

A YouTube playlist of old and new commercials starring Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Invisible Man, the Mummy and the Wolfman. Who knew the classic monsters were such great pitchmen? You could watch the video below that adds up to 1 hour and 7 minutes or Click Here to view each individual commercial in the YouTube playlist.

113 Commercials - adds up to 1 hour, 7 minutes

1991 Scary Movie

This is NOT the 2000 horror comedy spoof film with the same name, this is a low-budget horror movie that was made in 1991. Few people have seen it because it never opened nationally, and was only shown in one local theater in the Austin, Texas area where it was filmed.

The story centers around Warren a nerdy paranoid young man who reluctantly goes on a double date with his friend Brad, a jock-type character, and his girlfriend Shelley to the neighborhood House of Horrors attraction on Halloween. While waiting in line Warren meets and gets to know his blind date Barbara, but he soon becomes uncomfortable as he gradually comes to believe an escaped lunatic may be hiding inside. When he finally enters he must battle his demons.

This is a pretty tame horror film, there was little to no gore, no nudity and I believe no bad language but the suspense and dark humor makes it very entertaining and I enjoyed watching. I especially liked the Halloween feel of the film. Like the props and pumpkins inside of the House of Horrors, the outside was painted with skeletons in a graveyard and the people waiting in line are wearing Halloween costumes.

Finally released to blu-ray by AGFA on October 15, 2019. The video below is a vhsrip of the film or you watch a higher quality rip at TubiTV.

1973 The Mini-Munsters

The Mini-Munsters was an episode of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie that originally aired in the 1970's as an hour-long special, but the video below is the shorter, half-hour version that later aired in the 1980's. This rare pilot was intended to be an animated spin-off of the 1964-66 CBS sitcom The Munsters but was not picked-up and I can see why. This isn't really a Halloween special but it did premiere on television on October 27, 1973. Al Lewis was the only actor of the original series to return and provide the voice of Grandpa.

Episode Summary from TV.com:
The Munsters learn that their hearse-dragster doesn't run on gas, but music.