Surveying the Gen X landscape and the origins of geek
The quintessential ’80s scream queen, you have to admire Quigley’s pluck and wry self-promotion. The direct-to-video “cult spoof of exercise videos and fright films” was recently re-released, and you can get an autographed copy through her website. Read a good review of the original video at The Betamax Rundown.
You can see an interview with Quigley in “VCR Horrors,” a 20/20 panic piece from 1987.
(Images via VHS Collector and The Betamax Rundown)
Above: The Exorcist opens at the Paramount Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1974. “Proof of age required”! The Paramount opened in 1964 and closed in 1990. According to Cinema Treasures, “no trace remains” except for this lone photograph.
Below: The Exorcist opens at the National Theatre in Westwood, California. The film received a limited release on December 26, 1973, and the National was one of the 26 participating theaters. The landmark was demolished in 2008, displaced by luxury apartments.
You can see more Exorcist marquees here, as well as video footage of audience reactions at the National and elsewhere.
Thrills & Chills was a kids horror magazine published by Scholastic books from 1994 through 1996. I can’t say much about the quality because I’ve only seen the covers and a handful of interior pages, but the series is historical now, if for no other reason than that Earl Norem was a regular illustrator. If you’re new to Norem, start here.
The pieces above are all originals and have sold on eBay over the last few years.
From Board Game Geek: “It’s possible for everyone to go insane and lose in this game.” Sounds about right. Beautiful Tom Sullivan cover and interior art—see more here.
(Images via Board Game Geek and this Latvian board game site)
A group of University of Washington college students made their own Star Wars costumes for a Halloween party in 1977 and staged a skit at the party. Andrew Siguenza was R2-D2, and the highlight of your day is his Flickr album of the party and costume prep.
Every time I think I’m too tired to go on with the blog, I find something like this.
I think she’s had a few too many already. Look at the size of that $100,000 Bar (now 100 Grand Bar)! And look how huge the “fun size” bars were!
(Image via Hillary Buckholtz)
Beautifully illustrated ads that originally appeared in the comics section of the Sunday paper. They sold recently on eBay for a large sum.
50 pieces of Bazooka bubble gum for 79¢? A Spider-Man costume for $1.98? Speaking of which, the Ben Cooper Spider-Man costume is probably the first Marvel licensed product, originally appearing in 1963, just a few issues into the comic’s run. It’s got a very interesting story that you can read at Hero Envy.
That’s a box of raisins in Skeletor’s bag. God, I hated getting raisins for Halloween. You can see the He-Man costume (Ben Cooper) better below. That’s Tenderheart Bear next to the big guy.
(Images via thepeachmartini and Shane Woodall)
Not exactly Halloween-relevant, but I just couldn’t wait when I saw these. So much gold. That poor Ghostbusters kid. I hope he made enough money for some Nintendo games.
The Powers of Grayskull was supposed to be a 1987 Masters of the Universe spinoff, but the forces of justice prevailed, and we were not forced to endure another round of idiotic characters with names like He-Ro, who happens to be the guy standing next to He-Man. Not sure what’s going on with all the dinosaurs, and not sure why the designs have nothing to do with the cover of the product. The Cringer sweater is the best.
Disco Dracula is so much more fun than Halloween’s Come See What It’s All About (1979), and actually evokes some groovy, sexualized monster vibes. Read a review and see some hilarious European video at Disco Delivery. As of now, you can listen to the whole album here. A recommended seasonal treat! Lesbian vampire lovers not included.
2 Warps to Neptune 