jack-o-lantern laughs
midnight approaches
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween!
Month: October 2021
Poe Sundays
Happy Halloween Sunday! On this last day in October, we pay tribute to Master of Macabre, Edgar Allan Poe.
You can read the entire poem here: https://poestories.com/read/raven
Fun Fact: After being first turned down by a publisher friend, Poe sold the Raven poem to The American Review for $9. Subsequent publishings followed and even made Poe famous, but the man received little financial success.
My Favorite Vintage Halloween Ads
**This was the planned post for Throwback Thursday, but real life problems kept me away from computer. Sincerest apologies.**
Let’s visit the amazing yesteryears of Vintage Halloween advertising.
Jell-O has been around for a long time and was big into promoting its brand during the holidays. This is one of my favorites because it includes this awesome Hallowe’en poem.
Another favorite from Colgate because of the Hallowe’en poem. Note the use of the old spelling of Hallowe’en, which dropped the apostrophe over the years.
“No amusement of modern times equals it.” If makers only knew how successful their product would be. Phonographs were instrumental in helping Halloween become one of the biggest holidays in American history,, if for no more reason than their popularity at parties.
These ads reflect the dark orange and black style, which was popular back in the 1930-1940s.
Curtiss Candy Company owned Baby Ruth and Butterfinger among many others, when it was bought out by Standard in 1964, who later merged with Nabisco in 1981. Nabisco then sold off Curtiss brands to Nestlé in the 1990.
Brach’s has been making candy since 1904. They’re most famous for Candy Corn, but once upon a time, Brach’s was the go-to candy store for Halloween goodies. Their ads were simply amazingly drool-worthy, appealing to both adults and kids. Look at all that candy!
Speaking of adults, with Halloween parties all the rage well into the 1950s, beer makers made some nifty ads for Halloween.
During the 1950s, some ads featured lots of graphics and were quite wordy. What some may consider serious advertising fails today, make for some awesome vintage Halloween ads.
7-Minit was owned by 6 O’Clock Foods, Inc. and that’s about the only history we know about either.
More random vintage Halloween candy ads circa 1940s-1960s
It’s always been fashionable to make punch bowls outta pumpkins!
Back in the day, people could trust drinking and eating right there on the front porch.
Okay, I’ll admit, I only love this ad because of the Headless Horseman. Is this too scary for advertising? Some might think so. People don’t like reminders of violence and disembodied heads is about as gruesome as it gets. Absolutely my favorite! BWAHAHAHAHA….
Happy Halloween!
Friday Fright Nightcaps – Frankenstein’s Martini
It’s Frankenstein Friday! Last day in October is always dedicated to the mad scientist and his big badass monster. Today, we toast Mary Shelley’s brilliant gothic horror with a variation of a sour-apple vodka martini, called Frankenstein’s Martini.
INGREDIENTS:
2 oz sour apple mix
2 oz vodka
1 oz pineapple juice
Splash of real lime juice
Mix all items well in a cocktail shaker and pour over ice, or not. I like my cocktails chilled like the dead.
I wish I knew a potion to instantly fill my empty bottles. I drank the last of my sour apple mix experimenting on this recipe!
OCTOBER-OVER
🎃Carve a pumpkin
🎃Read a ghost story
🎃Watch a spooky movie
Make some Halloween art
🎃Create a Halloween playlist
🎃Put a Halloween decoration on the front porch
🎃Visit a Cemetery or graveyard
🎃Pick out a Halloween costume
🎃Make a Halloween themed cocktail
🎃Bake a spooky treat
🎃Make candied apples
🎃Drink some apple cider
🎃Write a spooky haiku
🎃Take a walk at night to look at your neighbor’s Halloween yard decorations and lights
Haiku of the Week
Our theme this month is Halloween icons.
bat wings fluttering
glowing eyes in the dark
spooky Halloween
Poe Sundays
On Sundays, we celebrate the Master of Macabre, Edgar Allan Poe
Fun Fact: Readers of the day were so horrified by the story’s violence, they complained to the editor of the Messenger, the first magazine to publish Berenice. Poe himself later removed 4 paragraphs of text, thus, many early publishings are missing the detailed heinous act of Poe’s story.
Poe was angry at being forced to self-censor his own work, believing a story should be judged solely by how many copies it sold.
You can read Berenice in its entirety here:
https://poestories.com/read/berenice
Sinister Saturday: Mummy Pizza Heads
We’re back with another great kid-friendly recipe for working parents on Halloween night.
The only sad thing about Halloween is how fast the day goes by. You’re working, cleaning, doing errands, running around getting the costumes together, trick-or-treating starts at sundown, but wait, the kids are hungry… Now, you could let them eat candy for dinner, that’s what a proper witch would do…or you could be a somewhat responsible parent and actually make a meal, behold the ancient power of Mummy Pizza Heads!
INGREDIENTS:
Pillsbury Grand Flaky Layer Biscuits
1 Mozzarella slice
1 tbsp of Pizza sauce
Choose your own pizza toppings
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Start by following the baking instructions of Bake Pillsbury Grand Flaky Layer Biscuits but only bake on cookie sheet or pizza pan for half the time (about 8 mins)
- Remove from oven and add mozzarella cheese slice, pepperoni slices (or desired pizza toppings), and1 spoonful of pizza sauce on the top of the biscuits
- Put pan back in the oven and cook for the remainder of time or until biscuits are golden brown
- Garnish with olives for eyes and face
Throw in a nice garden salad and call it a night. This recipe is super easy, super fast, and super fun for kids to make and to eat. If your kids are older, you can call them Bloody Mummy Pizza Heads and yes, the ingredients are premade cuz that’s how we roll around here. If you’re not cool with that, go ahead, knock yourself out and make something from scratch, be sure to send us the recipe. For the rest of us, we got more time for trick-or-treating!
Happy Halloween!
Friday Fright Nightcaps: Spooky Spicy Halloween Margaritas
There are only two weekends left in October and it’s time to kick it up a notch. No Halloween party plans, no problem. You can totally make your own party with this Spooky Spicy Halloween Margarita!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup ice
- 1/2 cup orange juice (fresh or concentrate)
- 5 oz. Blood-orange margarita mix
- 1 tsp. lime juice
- 1 tsp. hot sauce (I used Franks Red Hot)
- 1 tbsp Agave Syrup
- 2-3 oz. tequila
- Garnish with orange slices or lime wedges or black salt (optional)
Fast and Easy Black Salt Rim Garnish:
1 tablespoon of sea salt
4 drops blue food coloring
4 drops red food coloring
Mix very well together
Add tiny bit of lime juice around glass rim and dip glass in black salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Put ice, blood orange mix, orange juice, lime juice, Agave syrup, hot sauce, and tequila in a blender and blend well.
- Pour into glass
- Garnish with black salt rim or fresh fruit (optional)
As usual, this recipe is highly modifiable. Too spicy, add more juice. Want more spice, add more hot sauce. Want more alcohol, add another ounce of tequila.
I’ve heard rumblings that recipes with “premade” ingredients aren’t good recipes. Well, to that I say, congradu-friggin-lations on having your life in order long enough to make stuff from scratch, but the rest of us don’t have time for that. Now, move along, you’re blocking the blender. It’s time for Spooky Spicy Halloween Margaritas!
Throwback Thursdays: Vintage Halloween Cigarette Ads
Cigarette makers were some of the first to use Halloween in advertising. For at least a hundred years, people were fooled into thinking cigarettes didn’t taste like ashtrays.
Famous actors and entertainers would personally vouch for products, back in the day when celebrities were thought to have integrity and such opinions could be trusted.
There was the disturbing common practice of real medical doctors declaring some cigarette brands healthier than others and even making claims that smoking was beneficial.
Old Gold took the high road and chose not to lie about selling products that kill people.
What a waste of a good hat!
Excess was king during the 70s. From cigarettes to Halloween costumes, everything was sexy.
Newport brands liked to show pretty young couples having a ball carving jack-o-lanterns and picking out pumpkins to show how romantic cigarettes can be. I guess the couple that smokes together, loses a lung together.
In the 80s, Camel made huge profits off its Joe Camel character and sexy ads selling cigarettes that made you look cool.
By early 90s though, the jig was up, whistle-blowers started coming forward about the lies big tobacco companies told the world about their filthy products and the print ads all but disappeared in a puff of smoke.
So, whether we want to admit it or not, our favorite holiday definitely helped sell cancer sticks.
Halloween Horror Haiku 