Throwback Thursday: Halloween, 1981

I recently rediscovered some old Halloween photos and I thought it would be the perfect time for a re-share! The Halloween season was always a big deal growing up, and Trick-or-Treat was the culmination. The tradition was held in the highest regard, and much craft and care was devoted to our annual costumes...

Me: A tall, slender Prince of Darkness, just back from a moonlit feeding. Perfectly sculpted Transylvanian eyebrows complete with my plastic pumpkin pail and chic black garbage bag cape.

My brother, Scrapes: The pint-sized big-top performer, complete with recycled ensemble (I wore the same hand-sewn costume when I was younger), with rosy red cheeks and Bozo hair, and snazzy sequined derby hat. Demanding a treat in his pumpkin.

THIS. This is Halloween. Spooky, goofy, FUN. Enjoy it!

  

Throwback Thursday: Halloween, 1987

Time for one last Throwback Thursday photo for this Halloween season! My first three posts were hilarious photos from Halloweens long past: Halloween 1974-75, Halloween 1976-77, and Halloween, 1978-79. It's a great glimpse into a young boy's quest to finally find a "cool" trick-or-treat costume...

For the final installment, I'm going to jump ahead from the previous posts. I'm going to revisit Halloween, 1987 and a photo that I have never posted before!

In 1987, I was 14 years old. My partner-in-crime Jim and I were inseparable. We skated together. Listened to punk rock music together. And we loved all things horror! The 1980s was the golden age of horror films and were were both hooked! We managed to watch all of the Halloweens, Friday the 13ths, and Nightmare on Elm Streets that we could get our hands on. We even got to see a few underground flicks like Pieces, Motel Hell, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and An American Werewolf in London. The horror section at the local video store was a gold mine!! 

Our bible was Fangoria Magazine. We would scour each issue, paying special attention to the groundbreaking practical effects in all of the stories. And then we'd order all the catalogs that we could from the mask and f/x companies that advertised in the back of the mag. It was pure magic.

And during the Halloween season, we began to experiment with our own practical makeup effects. A far cry from the days of the old plastic Ben Cooper costumes!

Every time I see this photo, I laugh. It's a perfect snapshot of the time, showing exactly what we were into back then.

Simple wound appliances with cheap fake blood and rough makeup. And check out my mullet! Jim was always a mask guy, and rocked this gory masterpiece. (PLEASE NOTE: if anyone knows what company created this one, we would LOVE to know. He has been wanting to get another copy of it in his collection!)

This photo was taken at my grandmother's house. She had the perfect neighborhood to really score the candy during a night of trick-or-treating. It was actually one of the last years we went out, although we then transitioned into hitting as many haunted houses as we could during the season. And with living in Northeast Ohio, there were a TON of haunted houses to visit.

I get super nostalgic when I see this, because it reminds me of that weird time when we were no longer kids, but not quite teenagers. But it always makes me feel really good because these two ghouls are now 31 years older and they still dress up and celebrate Halloween together, visiting haunted houses, running our yard haunts and keeping the spirit alive for the next generation.

Happy Halloween everyone!

  

Throwback Thursday: Halloween 1978-1979

I'm continuing on with the the Throwback Thursday photos, this time revisiting Halloween of 1978 and 1979. If you haven't seen them yet, please check out Halloween, 1974-1975 and Halloween, 1976-1977. It a hilarious look back at a young boy's journey to finally find a cool and scary Halloween costume.

Halloween, 1978
When I had left off, I had finally gotten a spooky ghost Ben Cooper costume. Creepy face with an evil grin, incredible jack-o-lanterns, and I was ready to hit the neighborhood for trick-or-treat. I had finally turned the corner for cool Halloween costumes.

But then Halloween of 1978 arrived. My first year of the homemade costume.

I'm not sure if my parents and grandparents realized what they had created, but their twisted, hand-sewn version of a clown could still strike utter fear and dread in any haunt today!

Blackened eyes and garish lips on a pale white face. This clown costume was amazing! The unintended creepiness of this costume was a sure high point on the trajectory of Halloween costumes of my youth. And that pose!? A glimpse into the future haunter that I am today!


Halloween, 1979
1979 brought a new element to trick-or-treating, and that was new baby brother, Scrapes. Half way into his second year, he was deemed ready to learn the ways of the pumpkin. And he was greenlit for a cool costume right off the bat. No strange missteps for him. No weird witch capes or pink-lipped pandas. He went straight to Spider Man.

I, on the other hand, joined the millions of other children of the late 70s and got on the Star Wars bandwagon! Light sabers, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, the Force.

The dark side.

I had no time for heroes. I became the dark lord himself, Darth Vader.

Our neighbor didn't quite get it yet, and went as a pirate. I found his lack of faith disturbing...

Regardless, the era of uncool costumes was over! The 80s ushered in a new era of Halloween costumes for me, including my favorite Ben Cooper C-3PO costume. But as I got a little bit older, I moved on to homemade costumes, including a hobo complete with a burnt cork beard and a heavy metal rocker who mistook the Star of David as a pentagram.

Check back next week for a few more hilarious and fun photos from Halloweens of my youth!

  

Throwback Thursday: Halloween 1974-1975

I've always enjoyed seeing "Throwback Thursday" photos, as I'm a huge sucker for nostalgia. Especially when the throwbacks involve Halloweens past. It always evokes the wonderful memories from my own childhood, tearing through the porch-lit neighborhood with my fellow Ben Cooper-clad candy gang.

Many years ago, my mom showed up with a collection of Halloween photos from my past and as I went through the wonderful old stack, I immediately knew that they had to be shared.

It's been a long time since I originally posted them, so I wanted to revisit them again because they really are too heartwarming and hilarious not to share. Come back every Thursday in October for the continuing journey of Highbury's Halloweens Past.


Halloween, 1974
Yes, I really am that old. 1974 was the first year I celebrated Halloween. I was 16 months old at the time, and apparently ready to go out and cast evil spells across the neighborhood...

My cute blue bunny pajamas menacingly covered with a strange black-and-orange hooded druid witch cloak. Where did my parents find such a thing!? And yes, I think those are bunnies (or are they horned demons of some sort?) on broomsticks in the cloak's pattern. The only thing groovier than that cloak was our brown shag carpet. 


Halloween, 1975
So for my second year of trick-or-treating, my parents didn't go far for my costume. They simply conjured up the previous year's druid witch cloak. Only this time they added a complimentary dress, also complete with a pattern of witches, black cats and bats. What on earth!? It must have been cold this year, as a winter jacket and knit hat were added to complete the ensemble. And check out those vintage Buster Browns!!

Regardless, the cold obviously didn't deter the newly-discovered candy fiend in me, as I proudly posed with my post-trick-or-treat booty haul. That smile says it all. And even though some neighborhood miser gave out an apple, I was hooked!

Stop back next Thursday to see what insane costumes I was forced to wear for the 1976 and 1977 Halloween seasons. Another couple of photos you WON'T want to miss!!


 

Lizzy Borden - Me Against The World (Black Roses)

It's already time for another Throwback Thursday, where we revisit the soundtracks of classic and not-so-classic 80s horror.

Today, we are going full speed into some serious cheese! Take a band who are actually demons (!), playing their special blend of hypnotizing glam rock, to a small town of kids, with lead singer Damian (Sal Viviano) sporting THIS mullet...

...and you get the cinematic gold of John Fasano's 1988 cult classic, Black Roses.

A film that gently stomps the line between awful and awesome, the true highlight (like similar films of the time) is the heavy metal soundtrack performed by Lizzy Borden. This fan-made video for the track, "Me Against The World" sums it all up greatly...

Joe Turano - Everybody But You

It's time for another Throwback Thursday segment, where we take a look back at some absolutely classic music from some absolutely not-so-classic 80s horror.

This time up, we're hoping on board Satan's Cannonball with Joe Turano and his one single song, "Everybody But You" from the 1985 classic Night Train To Terror.

Again, the video to this song highlights everything great about this film (besides the fact that it is the ONLY song in the entire movie, played repeatedly) and the year 1985 in general. Incredible 80s outfits, poorly choreographed dancing, lots of hairspray and terrible breakdancing.

From the top!

Fastway - Trick or Treat

Welcome to the first installment of Throwback Thursday! Each week, I'm going to take a look back at some incredible music from some classic and not-so-classic 80s horror. 

In fact, the whole Throwback Thursday concept came about because I REALLY, REALLY wanted to post this first song. Mix equal parts Satan, hair spray, heavy metal and a guitar that shoots laser beams being played by a rock god who is back from the dead and you get 1986's Trick or Treat. 

I won't even bother mentioning that both Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osborne appear in the film, because it is all overshadowed by Fastway's amazing title track, "Trick or Treat," and its even-more amazing video: