Halloween Memories From the 1970s

I know I'm going to sound like the biggest geek* but -- I LOVE HALLOWEEN!

The first Halloween I can remember I dressed up as Bullwinkle. I had a sore throat and had to stay home with my mom while my brother and sister went out on the great candy hunt. (Yes, they shared.) I watched Mad Monster Party on TV, which terrified me! The leering Peter Lorre puppet... The tentacles that came up out of the boiling cauldron... It was the stuff nightmares were made of -- at least if one was only three or four years old.

I also have very fuzzy memories of my parents taking me to my grandma's house to let her "guess" who the person in the costume was; but the Halloween didn't really click with me until I was in Kindergarten. Three big events happened:

1. My mom bought me a Batman costume at Jamesway. It was like putting on the mantle of a god! (I actually ended up wearing a Batman costume every year thereafter.)


2. We had a Halloween party at Market Street Elementary School in Warren, PA. I got shivers when I saw hundreds of classmates all dressed up in costume. I didn't know what was going to happen next, but I knew it was going to be good!


3. I got to go trick or treating with the kids from the neighborhood. I was no economist, but Knocking on someone's door and getting a piece of candy seemed like a pretty efficient distribution system to me!

The rapid approach of October 31st is putting me in a nostalgic mood, so I thought I'd post a few weblinks for fellow travelers who remember the Halloweens of yesteryear:

1. Retrocrush - The World's Greatest Halloween Costumes
   Re-live the joy of cheap plastic masks and flame-retardant costumes.


2. Monstermags!
   I wish I still had all my issues of Famous Monsters of Filmland, Creepy and Eerie! (Note: These were all published by Warren Magazines, and since we lived in Warren, Pennsylvania, my friends and I were all convinced that the magazines were made somewhere in our home town!)


3. The Gallery of Monster Toys
   How many of these did you own?


4. The Candy Wrapper Museum
   Ever lose a filling to one of these? This site makes me pine for a good old Wonka Scrunch Bar.

Halloween has changed quite a bit since Ford was President... I've traded in my Ben Cooper Batman costume for a beret and sunglasses ala Off Beat Cinema, and I'm the one giving the candy away. But I still love it! Happy Halloween!

*As if my postings about Dr. Who aren't enough.