Halloween Mixtape

Okay, the title is a little misleading. But "mix DVD" doesn't have the same ring.

About 20 years ago, back when DVD burners were still standard computer hardware, I made my own two-disc compilation of some of my favorite Halloween TV episodes. Most of the episodes were ones my family had recorded off television onto VHS, and I converted them to digital video. I should add that this was probably a year or two before YouTube even existed.

The first disc contains full episodes while the second is a mix of full episodes with various Halloween-themed segments from other programs.

Disc 1 (menu music: Theme from Disney's Haunted Mansion)

1. Three Stooges: "If a Body Meets a Body"
2. Bewitched: "Safe and Sane Halloween"
3. Brady Bunch: "To Move or Not to Move"
4. Brady Bunch: "The Slumber Caper"
5. Brady Bunch: "Fright Night"
6. Happy Days: "Haunted"
7. Happy Days: "The Evil Eye"

Disc 2 (menu music: "The Skeleton Dance")

1. Little House on the Prairie: "The Monster of Walnut Grove"
2. That's Incredible: Haunted Castle in New Jersey
3. That's Incredible: Haunted Toys R Us
4. Eye on L.A.: "Halloween 3-D"
5. Jack White at the Old Margo Theater
6. Saturday Night Live: Halloween with Matt Foley
7. Our Gang: "Shivering Spooks"
8. Mickey Mouse: "Haunted House"
9. Silly Symphonies: "The Skeleton Dance"
10. 1984 McDonald's Commercial
11. 1985 Vincent Price Commercial
12. McDonald's Commercial: "Scared Silly"
13. Brady Bunch: "Out of This World"
14. Brady Bunch: "Two Petes in a Pod"

In its own way, my amateur DVD compilation helped inspire this blog, The Ghosts of Halloweens Past, which I initiated several years later with posts about many of these same programs. I appreciate the low-fi quality to the VHS transfer, and the fact that I can watch these programs on a TV screen and not have to be connected online. Makes the experience a little more old-school, like when mixtapes were a thing.

What would be on your Halloween DVD compilation?

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.

Disney's Halloween Treat (1982)

"Disney's Halloween Treat" originally aired on October 30, 1982, and was released on VHS in 1984. This video appears to be from a later Disney Channel airing:

Disney's Halloween Treat (1982) from SamDisneyDiary on Vimeo.

Another airing of "Disney's Halloween Treat," from October 1992, can be found here on YouTube, with an introduction by Michael Eisner.

Donald's Halloween Scare (2000)

Donald scares his nephews to steal their candy, and they plot their revenge. This cartoon feels similar to the 1954 Donald Duck classic "Trick or Treat."

Disney's Haunted Halloween (1984)

Enjoy this Disney educational film about Halloween: a compact "Disney's Halloween Treat" with some history and safety lessons thrown in!

Mickey Mouse: The Mad Doctor (1933)

Mickey tries to rescue Pluto before he becomes part of the Mad Doctor's grotesque experiment.

Scary Tales (1983)

In 1983 or 1984, my family rented Scary Tales from a local video store called Video Biz. It was a compilation of darker-themed Disney cartoons that made for some good Halloween entertainment. Here is the intro video, followed by the six cartoons from Scary Tales:

Donald Duck and the Gorilla

Duck Pimples

The Skeleton Dance

Haunted House

Donald's Lucky Day

Pluto's Judgement Day

Here is a website that reviews Scary Tales, describing aspects of each part of the video, including the promotional segment at the end of the main program.

Mickey Mouse: Pluto's Judgement Day (1935)

Mickey Mouse: Haunted House (1929)