The Ancient Mariner!

 

Yeah, yeah...So I missed yesterday! I had to head back to the parents' house, and by the time I got back and got set up, it was almost midnight...and then because they had had a powercut the other night, my laptop that I use here took forever to start up, meaning it was 12.30 by the time it was ready...so I just gave up trying to post!

But we're back up and running today! And so let's take another trip to the Digital Comic Museum, where I've found a story I'm going to post just so as I can add an awesome music track for you to listen to after you've read it....

Once again it was uploaded to the museum by MarkBoersma so thanks go to them, and it comes from the pages of Youthful Magazines' Chilling Tales, Issue 14, dated February 1953!

For those who don't know, this comic is based upon The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (originally The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere), written by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1797–98 and published in 1798 in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads.

This poem was also the inspiration for the song of the same title, by British heavy metal legends, Iron Maiden which I heard as a kid, loving the creepy bit in the middle where it goes all quiet and you can hear the creaking of the ship as the actual poem is recited!  Give it a listen below and revel in its awesomeness!  

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Be sure to click the badge below head over to the Countdown to Halloween hub where you can find links to all the other Cryptkeepers taking part in the Countdown...or you could visit Tom at Garage Sale Finds who has a Beistle Skull and Cross Bones Die Cut to show you!

Peter Lorre, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff Haunt Cinema of Stuff, In.... "You'll Find Out!" (1940)

TONIGHT'S FEATURE

Kal Kyser was an American bandleader and radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s.  Keyser and his band toured Midwest restaurants and night clubs and gradually built a following. Becoming popular at Chicago's Blackhawk restaurant, it was here that Kyser came up with an act combining a quiz with music which became "Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge." The act was broadcast on the Mutual Broadcasting System in 1938 and then moved to NBC Radio from 1939 to 1949. The show rose in the ratings and spawned many imitators. Kyser led the band as "The Ol' Perfessor", spouting catchphrases, some with a degree of Southern American English: "That's right—you're wrong", "Evenin' folks, how y'all?" and "C'mon, chillun! Le's dance!"

The increasing popularity of Keyser and his band led to a series of films, usually starring the band as themselves, and it's one of these movies that I have for you tonight. The comedy horror film "You'll Find Out" also managed to score three of the biggest horror actors at the time in Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre....

In the film, Kay's band are hired to play at the birthday of a young heiress, but upon arrival they discover that a mystical royal, Prince Saliano (Bela) has taken up residence in the house and is helping the heiress' aunt with her Spiritualist learnings. Also present is the family attorney, Judge Mainwaring (Boris) and Professor Fenninger (Peter), a debunker of mediums, spiritualists and the like...But are they all what they claim?? Stick around and find out in this 'Mystery with Music'..........

 

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How has a week gone by already!? Time is going way too fast! Well, at least I managed to cover the missing post from yesterday by posting twice today!

Be sure to head over to the Countdown Hub when you leave the Cinema, where you check out refreshments from all the other Cryptkeepers taking part in the Countdown! Just click the badge below!

Halloween Party - Shari Lewis Style!

 

So I was a bit late due to streaming tonight, and missed the deadline of midnight....so that means you'll get 2 posts today! 

Anyway, I was scouring the Internet Archive looking for interesting things when I stumbled upon a copy of the October 1958 issue of the American women's lifestyle magazine, Family Circle. "There must be some cool, spooky, Halloween based stuff in this, right?" I thought to myself as I started to flick through the pages...and sure enough I stumbled upon some holiday themed ads....

(click to go big)

First a recipe for some Pumpkin Cookies from Clabber Girl...

Then some fun for Halloween with Crayola....

Pretty groovy, right...well then a few pages later, I stumbled on to someone who I would have never have recognised were it not for a weird computer game ad I found a few years back. But I'm sure to some of my American readers, the name Shari Lewis will be a lot more familiar. Growing up in the UK, we were never introduced to the wonders of Shari and Lamb Chop, but I discovered a bit more about her after some research when I found the aforementioned ad for a Lamb Chop PC game from the 90s....

And now here she is, in a magazine article, giving a well received Halloween Party to some '50s kids! There's some nice hints as to things to do for any kids who might be running around your house during the season, so here's the article in full.....

Some fun stuff in there I'm sure you'll agree!

Next, I stumbled upon some Trick or Treat fun from Wrigleys....

And found some spooky popcorn!

I also found some ads that weren't spooky, but I'm including them anyway, 'coz I love the fifties-ness of them!

Simple Simon Frozen Pies!

And some grape stuff from Tea Garden!

I was happy to find so much stuff when I usually find nothing in so many magazines, so maybe I'll try and find some more issues later in the month!

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Right, I'll be back later today with another post, hopefully...although I am travelling back to the parents, so it might be a bit late in the day!  In the meantime, go check out what everybody else is doing by hopping over to the hub!  

Go on then...click that badge below! Or you could head straight over to The Horrors of Halloween, where Jack O has a look at what Family Guy has in store for us this Halloween!

Vintage Hallowe'en Cards and Decorations from Pinterest

 

Bit rushed today, so here's one of those posts of old Hallowe'en cards and decorations I use for such situations!

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Be sure to check out the other bloggers taking part in the Countdown! Lady M has some lovely fingernail decorations to show you in her Haunted Parlour for instance...but to check out the rest, click the badge below and be whisked off to the hub!

The BBC Still Haunts my Blog......

So yesterday and today, Storm Amy has been battering the UK, and my parents and cousins have been suffering from power cuts and outages. So far, I've missed losing power, but as the wind is picking up again, I still don't trust typing out any long form posts. So rather than risk it, here's a shorter post that might actually take up more time than reading a normal post would, as it's a 50 minute documentary posted last year on the BBC Archive YouTube channel....

Meet the Ghost Hunters! (1975, BBC)

(Weirdly, when I was typing out that last bit, there was an odd, light knocking from what sounded like the wall to the left of me. This is odd because that just leads to my hall, and if it was my flat door, someone would have rung the bell....spooky!)

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Be sure to go check out what the other Cryptkeepers taking part in the Countdown to Halloween are up to! Michael over at My Two Yen Worth has a great Pez collection to show you that he's just saved from further candy corruption, for instance!  For the rest, just click the badge below and that will take you to the Countdown hub!

 

Bela Lugosi Haunts Cinema of Stuff, In.......The Devil Bat!!!

 

TONIGHT'S FEATURE

Bela Lugosi stars in this cult classic from 1940, about a Scientist who becomes annoyed at his employers, so creates both a pungent aftershave and giant-sized bats that are attracted to the stinky-splashy-stuff!

Directed by Jean Yarborough

Written by John Thomas Neville

Based on original story by

George Bricker

Produced by Jack Gallagher

Starring Bela Lugosi

Cinematography by Arthur Martinelli, A.S.C.

Edited by Holbrook N. Todd

Music by David Chudnow

Produced by Producers Releasing Corporation

Distributed by Producers Releasing Corporation

Released on December 13, 1940

Running time - 68 minutes

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Be sure to head over to the Countdown Hub when you leave the Cinema, where you check out refreshments from all the other Cryptkeepers taking part in the Countdown! Just click the badge below!

The Final Waltz!

 

For our first visit to the Digital Comic Museum this year, we blow the cobwebs off Story Comics' Dark Mysteries Issue 23, from May 1955. This was uploaded to the museum by MarkBoersma, so thanks go to them for providing the original scans.

A spooky old locket is given to a man with a promise that the woman to whom he gives it will be forever bonded to him. 

I think we can all guess how this is going to go.....

Hmm...So Marcy thought she had quick-stepped out of Captain Austen's life, but as expected he just waltzed back in again! She must have felt like she took one step forward, and went two steps back!

Well, she did say she was dying to get Jeb's locket....so she danced right into that one by herself!

Never mind, I'm sure Jeb's ghost will keep her on her toes!

(..sorry...)

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Before you head off, be sure to pop over to the Countdown hub by clicking the badge below and check out what the other Cryptkeepers are up to! I know that Vraie Fiction has a cool kids magazine to show you, for instance....

And remember that tonight I'll hopefully be doing a stream at around 9pm UK time featuring some Gruesome Games on my Twitch channel....

Otherwise, pop back here tomorrow for some more spooky shenanigans!

Twitchcraft and Streamin'ology

 

Well, if the title of this post isn't a big enough clue as to what my cryptic Note 4 and post a few posts back was all about, let me just cut to the chase and tell you....

Me, stream, Inn

Me streamin' 

Me streaming!

I'm attempting to start live streaming on Twitch! For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, Twitch is a website that allows people to stream video live, or to watch people who are streaming video live!  It mostly centres around video gaming, but there are DJ streams, crafting streams, cooking streams, art streams and even people just having a chat as they go about their daily life.

So the plan for me is to stream some Gruesome Games this month to get people in the mood for Halloween and then also maybe nearer Halloween itself, to have a couple of streams where I chat to people about spooky happenings that have occurred to me or to them. The videos of these streams will then also be put up here for everyone to see after the fact...

I'm still a bit camera shy, so to start with I've managed to conjur up some life into the avatar I've been using for years, and he can now talk and move about a bit in a little window while I chat, so that's fun!

I think the first stream I have planned this month will be for tomorrow at 9pm UK Time, and will probably be going on for a few hours, so if you are around then and want to chat and think you'll be able to understand my Scottish accent, then why not drop by and see what I'm playing!?

You can hop to my channel by clicking *HERE* 

Oh, and for anyone new, Gruesome Games does NOT mean the games are actually gruesome....I mean, some of them are, but some of them are also all fluffy and cuddly...the term Gruesome Games was just used as a sort of Halloweeny, Addams Family type of thing to cover any horror or spook themed games I would be covering. It doesn't mean there will only be games filled with gruesome gore and limbs everywhere, etc. although, as mentioned, there will inevitably be some filled with such content. 

Just thought I would clarify that, as some people still don't seem to get it.....

Also, don't worry, the blog will still be filled with all the usual posts too! So pop back tomorrow for our first visit this year to the vaults of the Digital Comic Museum, and in the meantime head over to the Countdown to Halloween hub page by clicking the image below to see what the other Cryptkeepers are up to!