Today in Halloween: Classroom decorations

This really takes me back.

Halloween and elementary school are inextricably linked for some of us. I’ve noted this before, but Halloween was in some ways the most exciting holiday of the school year because we got to wear our costumes to school.

A big part of the Halloween “mood” at school was the decor, which usually took the shape of cardboard cut-out characters and symbols of the season, suitable for pinning to bulletin boards or taping up on walls and doors.

These Beistle Halloween decorations – known as the Halloween Decorama from Beistle – are the most vivid in my mind. And they’ll continue to be familiar images for decades to come, apparently: My son tells me they were familiar to him from his elementary school years, which came a few decades after mine.

The skeleton and cat were hinged so they could be posed. And that flaming skull was freaky.

You can still buy these, by the way, from beistle.com and other online sources. And they still sell the old stuff at vintagebeistle.com.

Beistle, by the way, was founded in 1900 and calls itself “the oldest and largest manufacturer of decorations and party goods in the United States.” It’s based in Shippensburg, PA.

 

Today in Halloween: Dem bones decor

Oh, sure, when that crazy family in “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” decorated their home with bones, you were weirded out.

But now a trip to Target turns up some pretty grisly stuff.

Not really. But it is kind of funny that what once would have been considered horrific or at least in bad taste is considered kitschy fun.

I really dig some of these bony accent pieces. Dig, get it? Ah, never mind.

Today in Halloween: More creepy costumes, decorations

It’s spooky how close we are to Halloween. So it’s time for more iPhone photos of cool Halloween masks, costumes and decor.

Above is one of the coolest pieces of decor I’ve seen this year. There’s plenty to find creepy about clowns. But this freaky skeletal horror clown is enough to give anybody nightmares.

Aww, it’s a … Halloween vampire jack-in-the-box featuring a vampire. Hmm.

What would we do for a cheap Halloween costume without Michael Myers masks? Or should I say William Shatner masks?

Here’s a strange one. Slobbering dog. You provide the slobber, buddy. I guess this is for those parties where you want to be called a “dawg.”

Oh my god! They’ve killed and scalped the Hulk! Oh the humanity!

While we’re in the cranial portion of the Halloween costume shop, how about them zombie brains? How have them zombie brains been treating you?

If you’re a fan of Marvel Zombies, I’d suggest pairing the zombie brains above – and a loin cloth – with this mask for your pal: A zombie chimp. You could go as Zombie Tarzan and Zombie Cheeta.

Finally, werewolf hands. As in, “Get your damn werewolf hands off me.”

More next time.

iPhoneorgraphy: More from the Halloween store

It’s time for another look at fun stuff available this Halloween, courtesy of my iPhone.

This time I thought I’d mention some trends I’m seeing.

Political masks like the one above are a staple of Halloween dress-up, although never more so than in an election year.

I know 7-Eleven does  a straw poll each election year predicting (pretty accurately) the winner by how many straws representing which candidate are taken by customers. I’m not sure you could do this with masks, though, because the best-selling mask might not indicate support. Anyway, with a suit or – better yet – a dress shirt with rolled-up sleeves, symbolizing sympathy with the masses, these masks would make suitable costumes.

I was thinking of Halloween treats that have fallen in popularity recently and thought of popcorn balls. I see them for sale as trick-or-treating items sometimes but I’ve noticed them more this year than other years. Some kind of trend?

Did you watch “American Horror Story” on FX last season? That was a strange show, to say the least. It’s inspired the sale of black rubbery fetish suits.

I’ve seen a lot of big ol’ spiders in stores this year.

Big hairy ones.

And grisly heads on hooks appear to be a thing this year.

Yeesh. In case you need a two-pack.

And I don’t think this Gothic Minx costume represents any particular trend. I’m just posting it because my wife said she would punch me if I ever called her a “gothic minx.”

 

iPhoneography: More Halloween stuff

Not to sound like the earworm jingle from “Halloween 3: Season of the Witch” here, but the days are quickly counting down to Halloween.

That means it’s time for another set of iPhone photos of cool Halloween costumes and decor.

How much do we love zombies? While you’re counting down an even fewer number of days until the return of “The Walking Dead” on Oct. 14, how about some seasonal road decor like that warning sign above?

And we all know that leggings are popular with the kids. (Or were they popular three years ago?) Anyway, who knew that they were popular with zombies too?

I’m sure there’s a perfectly good reason for zombies to wear leggings. Or tights.

(Cricket noise.)

Here’s a sure-fire accessory for your Halloween practical joking needs. Just place a Bloody Hand with Sleeve so it’s sticking out of the trunk of your car and you’re all set to amuse and horrify your friends and random motorists.

Next time I’ll show you the same company’s spin-off product, Bloody Nose with Handkerchief.

You know what freaks me out about this costume? It’s for a kid. Imagine seeing this coming at you down your hallway.

Time for some decor. I like this black cat. Here’s a reminder: Keep your kitties indoors during Halloween season.

I like these little skulls. They’re nicely creepy.

I’ll leave you with some costume accessories that are more amusing than scary. This bottle hidden in a Bible won’t offend anyone, I’m sure.

Nor will this Sarah Palin costume. Fully authorized, I’m sure.

More next time!

iPhoneography: Cool Halloween stuff

Has it been a year already? Can it possibly be the weeks leading up to our favorite geeky and spooky holiday?

It’s twue, it’s twue. It’s not all that long now until Halloween.

And that means it’s time for our first 2012 installment of iPhone photos of freaky Halloween stuff.

If you remember from last year, I snap iPhone pics of fun, cool and unappetizing Halloween costumes, masks and decor. Considering that I saw my first Halloween stuff in the stores in July this year, I think I’ve demonstrated remarkable restraint in waiting until September.

Anyway, here goes:

Let’s start with the Zombie Baby pictured above. Remember Zombie Babies? I saw them for the first time last year and was immediately taken (and taken aback) with how twisted they were. Really. A co-worker put one in another co-workers chair last year. This year I’m waiting to see if anyone is brave enough to surprise a new parent with a Zombie Baby (like Freaky Frankie here; yes they all have names) in a playpen. They make quite a strong visual impression.

Ah, the classics. You can’t go wrong with a Michael Myers motif, copying the killer from John Carpenter’s classic “Halloween.” The original was apparently a modified William Shatner mask.

And speaking of classics: This officially sanctioned by Universal Studies mask of the classic Frankenstein monster is beautiful. This photo doesn’t do justice to how detailed it is.

Another classic, more recent: Pinhead from the “Hellraiser” movies. The pins are rubbery, of course. No need to worry about what damage you’ll do to the couch when you fall asleep, still wearing it, after the party.

And classics, part three: For decades, Don Post masks have been Halloween standards. Tor Johnson, anyone? (Remind me to do a special Don Post … er, post … in the coming weeks.) This one – Old Lady with Scarf – isn’t top-of-the line Don Post, but it’s nice to see the brand in Halloween stores.

How about a black rubber fetish mask? (The zipper doesn’t work; sorry.) How about standing in a dark room, after everyone else has gone home, wearing a black rubber fetish mask? How about someone calling 911 for me?

If you’re interested in something a little more light-hearted, you could do the time warp clear back to the 1970s with these sideburns …

Or this tambourine. Be cool, man. Some of us were alive during the ’70s.

If you prefer something of a more recent vintage. I imagine Eminem fully sanctioned and licensed this “White Rapper” mask.

As I’m sure that Tupac’s estate approved this “Thug Life” mask.

Getting away from masks for a moment: This scary clown piece would be perfect to hang in the aforementioned dark room. Now with extra creepy!

Last but not least for this time around: Pizza face for your coffee table.

More next time.

iPhoneography: Last of the Halloween photos

With only a couple of days left until Halloween, let’s wrap up our first annual look at the stuff that caught my eye in Halloween stores (and in the aisles of department and dollars stores), shall we?

I saw a lot of creepy stuff this year. Some of it intentionally so.

I’m still not a fan of the extremely gory decor and props. And the Zombie Babies are just too much.

But there’s some whimsical stuff out there. Like this Michael Jackson costume.

And some that were whimsical and creepy, like the Charlie Sheen collection.

I think my favorite piece of decor was this floating ghost/skeleton. Check out these eyes. I would have nightmares if I walked into a dark room where this was hanging.

And you want to see something really scary? Look what season is lurking right behind the Halloween stuff:

Happy Halloween and happy holidays!