Pepsi/Doritos Monster Match Commercial (1991)

1980s Halloween Stickers

Remember these?

Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978)

Originally aired October 28, 1978, and released in theaters outside the U.S. as Attack of the Phantoms the following year. Anthony Zerbe appears in this made-for-TV movie as an evil inventor working at an amusement park. He also appeared in Child of Glass, another 1978 made-for-TV film. NBC bumper: Movie:

Phantom of the Park Movie from some random person on Vimeo.

"Monster Mash" Cartoon (1973)

Monsters from the Movies (1972), by Thomas Aylesworth

If memory serves me, I first checked this book out in the fourth grade from the school library. Throughout grade school I probably read it several more times. Like Movie Monsters, by Ormsby, this book highlights many of the great movie monsters. However, Monsters from the Movies goes into much greater detail about those creatures and presents them in a more adult manner, separating them into chapters such as "Man-Made Monsters" (which would include the Frankenstein monster) and "Self-Made Monsters" (which would include Mr. Hyde). It also chronicles the many filmed versions of monster movies such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

This book is included in a discussion of horror film books at The Rocket Video Blog.

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.

Halloween at the old Margo Theater (1988)

Jack White, for 10 News San Diego, remembers Halloweens past at the old Margo Theater in Oceanside, California. The movie theater opened in 1936 downtown. Around 1949, it was renamed the Towne, and it continued to show movies throughout the 1970s. In the 1980s, after being reduced to showing adult movies, the Towne closed and was used as a karate studio for several years. After being refurbished by the city of Oceanside and renamed the Sunshine Brooks Theater, it has continued a new life as a venue for live theater events.

Eye on LA: Halloween 3D (1987)

I only remember watching two 3D Halloween specials on TV in the mid-1980s. One was an airing of the 1961 3D film The Mask. Red and blue glasses made specifically for that TV showing were made available at participating stores. Not all of the black and white film was shot in 3D, but viewers were directed to put on their 3D glasses whenever the character in the film put on the mask.

A trailer from The Mask:

Eye on LA's "Halloween 3D" special is the other 3D special I remember watching. Chuck Henry hosted and John Astin guest hosted this cheesy Halloween special from 1987. I believe the glasses were made available at 7-Eleven markets. The whole program was shot in 3D. Although the effects as viewed through the red and blue glasses were not outstanding, it was still a fun show to watch. It featured three vignettes: "Batface," "Do Unto Others," and "Crispy Critter." It also features a segment with André De Toth, director of the 1953 film House of Wax.

By the way, in 1987 Eye on LA also aired the "Hawaiian Swimsuit Spectacular in 3D"! You can find it on YouTube, if you're interested.