Halloween with Morris and Boris (1975)

While we're on the topic of Halloween-themed books, here's another one that predates me but which I only learned about through library books my wife checked out for our sons—Halloween with Morris and Boris, written and illustrated by Bernard Wiseman.

Like the Nate the Great books, this series features recurring characters. In this case, the two main characters are Morris the Moose and Boris the Bear, and the rapid-fire humor and running gags in these books are very much in the vein of old vaudeville and comic teams such as Abbott and Costello. In other words, you may find them occasionally tedious—as Morris constantly misunderstands Boris (the comedic foil of the duo) and Boris responds with mounting frustration.

Halloween with Morris and Boris is no different, though in my opinion, it's the most interesting book in the series. Here Boris must explain to his simple friend how trick-or-treating works, to convince Morris to participate. The characters literally stumble into their costumes, but have to swap when people are too scared of Boris to give him any candy. The pair end up being invited to a children's Halloween party, where they bob for apples, play Pin the Tail on the Donkey, and listen to ghost stories—before Morris gets frightened of his own reflection and runs away.

Wiseman's illustrations are great, and his limited color palette of orange, blue, and black works surprisingly well. It's fun to think of this odd couple of clowns roaming my neighborhood tonight, trying their best to fit in.

Happy Halloween to you and your loved ones!

Disney Wonderful World of Reading: The Haunted House (1975)

Along with the Robert Bright book "Georgie," one of the first books I ever read about a haunted house was one I received around Christmas 1981. It was a Disney read-along book and cassette titled, simply enough, "The Haunted House." 

The story begins as many other haunted house stories do—with travelers driving along a dark country road. When their car runs out of gas, the travelers walk to an old, dilapidated house nearby, hoping someone lives there who can help. ("The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion" opens with another variation: two travelers are walking home from a dance, when a rain storm, not an empty fuel tank, prompts them to approach the house.)

In this case, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Pluto are the travelers. Through the house's windows, they see lights and shadows inside, and decide to ring the doorbell. 

That's when things get mysterious. The front door opens and immediately slams shut by itself. When the trio enters the house, a portrait hanging in the hall seems to be watching their every move, then whirls around, pulling the trio into a secret passage. Three ghosts appear there, and Mickey, Donald, and Pluto quickly escape through a laundry chute into the basement. Finding some steps that they hope will lead to an exit, they make their way back upstairs, only to encounter bats and a dancing skeleton. However, the bats prove to be fake, and Mickey begins to suspect that someone doesn't want them there and is playing tricks. 

The trio finally learns the truth when they stumble into a room and discover bags filled with money. All the ghostly happenings are the work of three bank robbers, who tie up Donald and Mickey, but aren't able to catch Pluto before he escapes with a bag of money and runs to alert the police.

One fun thing about this storybook: the Fisher Price tape that came with it was blank on side B, so that you could create your own recording.

Other stories where the hauntings are the work of individuals trying to scare away unwanted visitors include "The Haunted House," a 1963 episode of Andy Griffith; the 1966 Don Knotts film The Ghost and Mr. Chicken; and "A Haunting We Will Go," a 1984 episode of Diff'rent Strokes.

Tricks! Treats! Gangway! (1975)

This year, the world will be celebrating Halloween without the author of Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Halloween Tree, and a host of other October tales as crisp and inviting as a mound of raked leaves.  While staying at a friend's family cabin last fall, I saw a stack of worn Reader's Digest magazines from the '70s on the nightstand.  The October 1975 issue contained a wonderful essay by Ray Bradbury, a memory from his childhood about preparing for his favorite holiday: the excitement of gathering corn-shucks, cutting pumpkins, threading orange and black streamers, putting in vampire fangs and fastening a cape to his shoulders; and the sadness of realizing Halloween had passed away until next year.  May this story kindle similar Halloween memories from your childhood.

Bug (1975)

If you enjoy scary movies about killer insects, then you'll love Bug, from 1975. An earthquake releases a strain of mutant cockroaches with the ability to start fires. Eventually most of the bugs die because they cannot survive in the low air pressure on the Earth's surface, but a scientist keeps one alive in a pressure chamber. He successfully breeds the cockroach with a modern bug creating a breed of intelligent, flying super-bugs. This particular scene is interesting, because it was filmed using the living room and kitchen set from The Brady Bunch, which had ended its run the previous year. Here's a clip:

Movie Monsters (1975), by Alan Ormsby

I read this book a lot when I was younger. My older brother had probably bought it at a school book fair. Movie Monsters provided a lot of inspiration around Halloween time. It contained pages on some of the great movie monsters (Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, et al.) as well as "recipes" for creating your own monster makeup. I tried creating the "brown bag Frankenstein" but gave up before I finished. (I think my paper bag was not the right size for my head.) The book also contains a script for a play, called "The Monster of Frankenstein." Although I never actually performed it in front of an audience, I do remember recording a radio show version of the script, playing all of the roles myself.

Read some memories of this book by other bloggers, at Wonderful Wonderblog and John Rozum.com.