My appreciation for old timey Halloween Collectibles began with vintage Halloween postcards. I loved going to paper shows and perusing thrift shops and antique malls for vintage Halloween items.
I find the fact that these items have been on the planet longer than I have completely intriguing. If an item could talk…
Tally’s Vintage Halloween Party Tag, circa 1940s
Postcards often do talk, especially those from the golden age of postcards. Some people only collect blank vintage Halloween postcards, which are rare and uber-expensive, but I don’t mind used Halloween postcards. I like seeing the postmarks and reading the messages on the back. It’s a snapshot in history. It’s kinda fun to hear what people were up to back in the day.
Vintage Halloween postcard, circa 1911
I don’t own many antiques simply because I don’t have the money to be a serious collector. I’m more of a Halloween window shopper and recently, I’ve been looking for authentic Halloween metal clankers, noisemakers and toy tins. Unfortunately, two little words have really dampened my spirits, Sold Out!
Halloween Vintage noisemakers or old metal clankers, particularly those in good condition, are hard to come by and expensive, especially those sold online by Collector websites and eBay.
Most online sellers these days are hip to the fact that their items are rare and desired. I encourage people to definitely do homework first to get an idea of the current values of vintage items before putting in a bid or making a purchase.
Vintage Halloween Postcard, circa 1912
A few years ago, this antique T.C. Weygandt Three Witches chocolate candy mold, from the 1940s, inspired by the German candy mold maker Anton Reiche, was seen online for around $100. It’s nearly impossible to find these days.
T.C. Weygandt Three Witches chocolate candy mold, New York, NY, USA,, circa 1940s
A vintage collectible is truly only worth the price you’re willing to pay for it.
Odd yearly tradition: I wear Halloween pins in October. A different pin for every day.
Feeling like you just dont have time or energy to go all out for Halloween this year? It doesn’t matter why. Stop feeling guilty for being too tired to celebrate your favorite holiday. You are not alone. People are busy. There’s work. There’s kids. There’s zero bank account. Life happens and spoils our good time. Don’t get down! Get creative!
Here are 10 low-effort ways to celebrate Halloween that don’t take up a lot of time or energy.
Watch a spooky movie on free streaming service. PlutoTV, Tubi, Film Rise, YouTube, WatchFree, or Amazon with ads.
Watch one episode of a spooky TV show a week.
Carve a pumpkin.
Read a spooky novel from the library or local book shop.
Write your own spooky story!
Listen to a free spooky story podcast or old timey radio broadcast.
Create a Halloween centerpiece for your dining room or coffee table.
Color Halloween free printables or pages from a coloring book.
Make your own Halloween art.
Surf Halloween web blogs and comment on their posts.
Walk around your neighborhood and look at all the Halloween decorations
Halloween window shopping never goes out of style!
Plan and make a Halloween costume out of whatever you got.
You don’t need fancy costumes, big parties, haunted houses and lots of money to get your Halloween fix! Just setting out the tiniest pumpkin will warm the little black hearts of the Halloween gods. There’s no wrong way to do Halloween. Just do what you can.
It’s taken me all day to realize I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. Halloween toys and games actually require a lot of more dedicated time to research, and time is something I simply don’t have. I misjudged that by a lot, so, I may have rethink Timeless Thursdays. For now, let’s chat about Pez!
Pez, short for the German word Pfefferminz meaning “peppermint”, was an Austrian candy company that started in 1927 by Eduard Haas III, featuring its unique manual plastic candy dispenser.
First pez dispensers were called “regulars” and had no top.
Haas inherited a successful bakery from his father who had created Haas baking powder. Haas III was interested in branching out in the confectionary world and actually created pez candies as an anti-smoking tool.
Halloween Pez dispensers became just as popular as character dispensers and so the company regularly started making lot assortments and limited editions.
There’s actually so many I cannot post pics of them all, but the main Pez website or Pez Collector’s is the place to go if you’re looking to getting into Pez Collectibles.
New glow-in-the-dark limited edition Dia de los Muertos Pez dispenser in conjunction with Disney’s Coco, 2026Only 2500 Pamp Suisse dispensers have been released for 2026
I really love Pez and I wish I had the money to be a collector. For now, I’ll admire from afar. Good luck to you Halloween collectors out there!
“October Country” that is how Ray Bradbury described us.
“October Country . . . that country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and mid-nights stay. That country composed in the main of cellars, sub-cellars, coal-bins, closets, attics, and pantries faced away from the sun. That country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts. Whose people passing at night on the empty walks sound like rain. . . .” ~ Ray Bradbury
October is where we find the spark that relights our fires after long hot summer. Fall fills us with creavity, joy, and wonder. It’s the time when communities come together and share in the spirit of Halloween. October is a mysterious month, supernatural even. Yet, it’s a truthful month. It brings the harvest. It warns us of the winter to come. It’s where we go to time travel and discover our innocence. It’s not just a shift in the colors but a shift in mood. Embrace the magic.
As Cemetery Appreciation month comes to a close, this is the last weekend to enjoy spring flowers peeking out between the tombstones, but don’t worry, you can still enjoy these scary movies featuring the scariest cryptkeepers, creepy coroners, grave diggers, and murderous morticians all year round!
Horror’s Best Cryptkeepers and Graveyard Ghouls
12. Coroners Tommy and Austin from Autopsy of Jane Doe, 2016
Not all coroners in horror movies are bad people. Some just don’t know when to stop poking around in someone else’s cursed business, despite clear warnings to do so.
11. Ernie from Return of the Living Dead, 1985
Say what you want about Burt’s long-standing pal Ernie’s willingness to help destroy evidence that he started the zombie apocalypse, but any BFF willing to help you shoot the rabid weasels first instead of burning them alive in his crematorium and then fight off brain-eating zombies is a keeper!
10. Francesco Dellamorte from Cemetery Man, 1994
Fighting zombies and searching for love is full-time job for a Cemetery man with few friends. Between the stress of the job and losing the new love of his life, reality starts to slip for this lonely grave warden, who turns his attention to killing town locals instead.
9. Raymond of The Mortuary Assistant, 2025
Honestly, I haven’t finished this one yet, but setting up your morgue assistant to spend the rest of their life fighting demons is a pretty shitty thing to do, not to mention all the labor laws that were broken!
8. Leslie of Mortuary, 2005
By the time unsuspecting Leslie moves her family across the nation to take over as doomed mortician in a small town mortuary with cursed past history, the property had already been overrun by demonic forces. Poor lady had no chance, but there was no reason to torture her by showing off her lack of culinary skills.
7. Cryptkeeper from Tales of the Crypt, 1972
Dull but mysterious, this 1970s British very much alive Cryptkeeper helped a group of strangers get lost in the catacombs and showed them creepy visions of theirs death, only for them to figure out, they’re already home.
6. The Coroner from Play Dead, 2022
Word of advice, if you aren’t dead yet, don’t pretend to be so and get yourself locked up in the morgue. These places are a lot more secure than they look and besides, it’s not the dead who will be after you.
5. Montgomery Dark & Sam from The Mortuary Collection, 2019
Cunning Montgomery Dark is the second mortician on the list to post a help wanted sign in the window looking for a replacement. He weaved a web of spooky tales to ensnare his new protégé, but sinister Sam has a few secrets of her own.
4. Mortician William “JB” Bludworth from Final Destination series
Mysterious and a tad bit nilihilistic, Mr. Bludworth knows death, personally, but what he knows better than anyone is that there is no escaping death’s plan. Death always finds a way.
3. Mr. Simms, Tales from the Hood, 1995
Three hoodlums find out the hard way that death ain’t not joke, when a creepy funeral owner leads them through the parlor and down to the caskets to retrieve their cursed contraband, but the patiently sinister Mr. Simms as it turns out, has been waiting for them for a very long time.
2. The Tall Man from Phantasm, 1979
Honestly, the Tall Man is the scariest cryptkeeper on this list, a once mild-mannered mortician has morphed into the one of horror’s most sinister inter-dimensional time-traveling supervillains, with his wicked flying spheres that cause violent death and destruction and creepy little minions to do his bidding.
The Tall man is on a neverending quest to become the Lord of the Dead and this geriatric creep will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Men, women, children, he’s out to collect the souls of every living creature on the planet and then some. With the ability to command legions of Hell’s undead, Death should just move over and give The Tall Man the title.
1. Cryptkeeper from Demon Knight, Bordello of Blood and Tales of the Crypt series, 1980-1990s
Across 93 episodes and two feature horror films, this legendary wisecracking teller of terrors is no mere narrator, he’s our demon guide through the depths of hell and is more than happy to show what death has in store for us. Based off the long-standing EC comics from the 1950s with same name, there is no smarter, spookier and funnier horror host than the Cryptkeeper.
His wit and charm edged out the Tall Man to be named best of our list, but don’t think that means the Cryptkeeper isn’t a scary dude. With untold supernatural powers of his own, this undead ghoul has the ability to cause mortal danger to any boils and ghouls who haven’t learned their moral lesson. Be kind and respectful of your fellow humans and the undead or you will spend your eternity in agonizing pain and misery.
April is the halfway point to Halloween! It’s also Earth Month. The easiest way to celebrate both is too plant new pumpkins for the upcoming Halloween season!
blue skies and white clouds planting jack o lanterns from seed to smile
March has been a little rough, but I have a new haiku to share, celebrating both St. Patrick’s Day and the recent horror show that is the United States. Not everything that glitters is gold.
beware the trickster whose only concern is gold death is imminent
Welcome January! Welcome back old friends and new guests! This is a safe place for people who love Halloween, Horror, and Haiku, unless you’re a nazi, bigot, religious fruitcake, scammer, and an otherwise intolerant hater. I hope this message is perfectly f’n clear. A country with such a huge lying govrmnent needs citizens who speak the truth.
As my blog enters its 8th year in existence, I find myself at a crossroads in continuing a minor blog that I cannot dedicate much time to and needing a outlet for my feelings and a place to fuel my creativity. I’ve decided the latter is more important in this current climate.
There will be no gimmicks this year however, no contests, no themes per say, just Halloween, horror, and haiku. I like to celebrate holidays, celebratory events, and significant days, particularly those pertaining to the Arts, so I will continue to do so with haiku.
I quit almost all social media except BlueSky and Pinterest, where I’ve got lots of cool boards to share. Please stop by! I also keep a Reddit page, but there’s no activity there. Happy to engage though!
I thank those who stop by and read my writings. There’s still freedom in America. It will be business as usual. So, channel your inner Lord of the Rings character and let’s make 2026 unforgettable!
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